LOCATION ERNEST WV+MD NY OH PA VAEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, mixed, superactive, mesic Aquic Fragiudults
TYPICAL PEDON: Ernest silt loam - formerly cultivated. (Colors are for moist soil.)
Ap--0 to 7 inches, dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) silt loam; moderate fine granular structure; friable; common roots; 5 percent rock fragments; very strongly acid; clear wavy boundary. (5 to 11 inches thick.)
BA--7 to 10 inches, strong brown (7.5YR 5/8) silt loam; moderate fine subangular blocky structure; friable; common roots; 5 percent siltstone fragments; very strongly acid; clear wavy boundary. (0 to 12 inches thick.)
Btl--10 to 18 inches, strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) silty clay loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; friable; few roots; common brown (10YR 4/3) coatings on faces of peds; few faint clay films on faces of peds; 10 percent siltstone fragments; very strongly acid; clear wavy boundary. (6 to 14 inches thick.)
Bt2--18 to 27 inches, yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) silty clay loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; friable; common distinct clay films on faces of peds; many fine strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) iron concentrations and light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) iron depletions; 10 percent siltstone fragments; very strongly acid; clear wavy boundary. (0 to 15 inches thick.)
Btx--27 to 47 inches, light yellowish brown (10 YR 6/4) channery silt loam; weak very coarse prismatic
structure parting to weak medium and coarse subangular blocky; firm and brittle; common distinct clay films along face of prisms; common black concretions; many fine light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) iron depletions and strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) iron concentrations; 20 percent siltstone fragments; very strongly acid; clear wavy boundary. (10 to 40 inches thick.)
C--47 to 60 inches, light brownish gray (2.5Y 6/2) silt loam; massive; friable; many fine brown (7.5YR 4/4) iron concentrations; 10 percent siltstone fragments; very strongly acid.
TYPE LOCATION: Fayette County, West Virginia; about 25 yards east of Route 41/13, south of junction with West Virginia 41 and about 1 mile east of Layland.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Solum thickness ranges from 36 to 72 inches. Depth to the top of the fragipan is 20 to 36 inches. Depth to bedrock is generally greater than 5 feet. Fragments of shale, siltstone, and fine grained sandstone range from 0 to 25 percent in individual subhorizons of the A; 0 to 30 percent in the BA horizon and in individual subhorizons of the Bt; 5 to 40 percent in the Bx horizon;
and 5 to 50 percent in the C horizon. Reaction is very strongly acid to strongly acid in all horizons except the Ap, which may have moderately acid reaction.
The Ap horizon has hues of 10 YR or 7.5YR, with values of 4 or 5, and chromas of 2 through 4. The A horizon, where undisturbed, is 1 to 5 inches thick, has hues of 10YR or 7.5YR, values of 2 or 3, and chroma of 1 or 2. The E horizon, where present, is 2 to 6 inches thick, has hue of 10YR, with values of 4 or 5, and chromas of 2 through 4. Texture is silt loam in the fine-earth fraction.
The BA and Bt horizons have hues of 10YR or 7.5YR, with values of 4 through 6, and chromas of 3 through 8. High and low chroma redoximorphic features are within the upper 10 inches of the argillic horizon. Textures are silt loam with less than 20 percent sand or silty clay loam in the fine-earth fraction. The Bt horizon has weak or moderate, fine to coarse subangular blocky structure. In some pedons, the
argillic horizon has prismatic structure that parts to subangular blocky structure.
The Btx horizon has hues of 7.5YR through 2.5Y, values of 4 through 6, and chromas of 2 through 8, and it has redoximorphic features. Texture is loam, silt loam, clay loam, or silty clay loam in the fine-earth fraction. The Btx horizon has weak, very coarse prismatic structure parting to subangular blocky or platy structure.
The C horizon has 10YR, 7.5YR, or 2.5Y hue, value of 4 through 7, and chroma of 2 through 6. Texture is loam, silt loam, clay loam, silty clay loam, or silty clay in the fine-earth fraction.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the
Belvoir,
Buchanan,
Calverton,
Cookport,
Glenville,
Kedron, and
Raritan in the same family and the
Clarksburg,
Monongahela, and
Tilsit in related families. Belvoir, Buchanan, and Cookport soils have Bt horizons with more than 20 percent sand and are lower in silt. Belvoir soils, in addition, have pebbles of quartz and granodiorite. Calverton soils have fewer rock
fragments in the solum and include very slow permeability and somewhat poor drainage. Glenville soils have fragments of schist and quartzite and contain mica. Kedron soils have Bt horizons with the hues redder than 5YR. Raritan soils have rounded rock fragments. Clarksburg soils have a base saturation of more than 35 percent and lack low chroma redoximorphic features in the upper 10 inches of the argillic horizon. Monongahela soils commonly have few rock fragments in the solum and lack low chroma redoximorphic features in the upper 10 inches of the argillic horizon and have less than 15 percent sand coarser than very fine sand.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Ernest soils are on foot slopes and colluvial fans. Slopes are dominantly 15 to 35 percent, but range from 0 to 50 percent. These soils formed in acid colluvium from shale, siltstone, and sandstone. Mean annual temperature varies from 47 to 59 degrees F, and mean annual precipitation varies from 30 to 65 inches. The growing season ranges from 120 to 180 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the
Berks,
Brinkerton,
Clymer,
Dekalb,
Gilpin,
Shelocta,
Wharton, and
Weikert soils. The Berks, Dekalb, and Gilpin soils have bedrock at depths of 20 to 40 inches and lack a fragipan. Brinkerton soils are in a fine-silty family and have base
saturation greater than 35 percent at a depth of 30 inches below the top of the fragipan. Clymer soils lack a fragipan and have more than 20 percent sand in the particle-size control section. Shelocta soils lack a fragipan and low chroma redoximorphic features in the upper 10 inches of the argillic horizon. Wharton soils lack a fragipan and have more than 35 percent clay in the particle-size control section. Weikert soils lack a fragipan and have bedrock at depths of 10 to 20 inches.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Moderately well drained. Runoff is medium to rapid. Permeability is moderate in A, BA, and Bt horizons and moderately slow or slow in Btx and C horizons.
USE AND VEGETATION: Much of the land is cleared and used for pasture and crops. Woodland stands consist of mixed hardwoods with some white pine and hemlock.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Ohio, New York and Virginia. MLRA 124, 125, 126, 127, 128, 130, and 147. The soils of this series are of large extent.
MLRA OFFICE RESPONSIBLE: Morgantown, West Virginia
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Indiana County, Pennsylvania, 1931
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Argillic horizon - the zone from 10 to 47 inches (Bt1, Bt2, and Btx horizons).
Fragipan - the zone from 27 to 47 inches (Btx horizon).