LOCATION GLOUCESTER MA+CT NH NY RIEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Sandy-skeletal, mixed, mesic Typic Dystrudepts
TYPICAL PEDON: Gloucester sandy loam, in a very stony forested area at an elevation of about 250 meters. (Colors are for moist soil.)
Oa--0 to 2 inch; black (N 2/) highly decomposed plant material; many fine roots; very strongly acid.
A--2 to 6 inches; very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) sandy loam; weak fine and medium granular structure; very friable; many fine, medium and coarse roots; 10 percent gravel; very strongly acid; abrupt wavy boundary. (1 to 5 inches thick.)
Bw1--6 to 15 inches; strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) gravelly sandy loam; weak fine and medium granular structure; very friable; many fine, medium and coarse roots; 30 percent cobbles and gravel; strongly acid; clear wavy boundary. (6 to 13 inches thick.)
Bw2--15 to 29 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) very gravelly loamy coarse sand; very weak fine and medium granular structure; very friable; common fine and medium roots; 40 percent cobbles and gravel; strongly acid; clear wavy boundary. (Combined thickness of the Bw horizons is 11 to 28 inches.)
C--29 to 65 inches; light yellowish brown (2.5Y 6/4) very gravelly loamy coarse sand; massive; very friable; few fine and medium roots; 40 percent cobbles and gravel; strongly acid.
TYPE LOCATION: Franklin County, Massachusetts; Town of Montague, Chestnut Hill Loop, 0.25 miles south of Chestnut Hill Road, 2.25 miles due west of West Road. USGA Orange quadrangle; latitude 42 degrees 31 minutes 16 seconds N., and longitude 72 degrees 28 minutes 22 seconds W., NAD 27.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Solum thickness ranges from 20 to 30 inches. Gravel content ranges from 5 to 30 percent in the surface, from 15 to 35 percent in the upper part of the Bw horizon, and from 20 to 45 percent in the lower part of the Bw and in the C horizon. Total rock fragment content ranges from 5 to 40 percent in the surface, from 20 to 50 percent in the upper part of the Bw horizon and from 35 to 70 percent in the lower part of the Bw and in the C horizon. Reaction of the A horizon ranges from extremely acid to moderately acid unless limed. Reaction of the Bw and C horizons ranges from very strongly acid to moderately acid.
The A horizon has hue of 10YR, value of 2 to 4, and chroma of 1 to 3. Texture of the A horizon is fine sandy loam, sandy loam, coarse sandy loam, or loamy sand in the fine-earth fraction. Some pedons have a thin light colored E horizon underlain by a thin dark reddish brown Bhs horizon that is less than 1 inch thick. Some pedons have an Ap horizon with hue of 10YR, value of 3 or 4 and chroma of 2 or 3.
The Bw1 horizon has hue of 7.5YR or 10YR in the upper part, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 3 to 8. It is fine sandy loam, sandy loam, or coarse sandy loam in the fine-earth fraction. The Bw1 horizon terminates between depths of 10 and 15 inches. The Bw2 horizon has hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 3 to 6. It is loamy fine sand, loamy sand, or loamy coarse sand in the fine-earth fraction, and silt content is less than 25 percent.
The C horizon has hue of 10YR to 5Y, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 1 to 4. Texture is loamy fine sand, loamy sand, or loamy coarse sand in the fine-earth fraction.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Brandywine and Hoosic series. Brandywine soils (see remarks) are from outside of Region R. They formed in residuum from gneiss and do not have stone and boulder erratics. Hoosic soils have water sorted gravel and are stratified throughout the control section.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Gloucester soils are on till upland hills and ridges. Slope gradients range from 0 to more than 50 percent. The till regolith is stony or bouldery, sandy ground moraine derived principally from granite and gneiss rocks. The mean annual air temperature is 45 to 50 degrees F. and the mean annual precipitation is 35 to 50 inches. Average frost-free period ranges from 180 days in southern and coastal New England to 120 days in the interior.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: The moderately well drained Acton, poorly drained Norwell, and very poorly drained Brockton soils that are in a drainage sequence with Gloucester soils. Canton, Charlton, Essex, and Montauk soils are on nearby glaciated uplands. The Carver, Hinckley, and Merrimac soils are on nearby sandy outwash deposits or moraines.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Somewhat excessively drained. Saturated hydraulic conductivity is high or very high.
USE AND VEGETATION: Mainly in forest. Cleared areas are used for hay, pasture, and silage corn, or are idle. Common tree species are oaks, gray birch, white pine, maples, and hemlock. Unimproved pasture and idle land contain juniper, sweet fern, hardhack, and blueberry. A few areas are in urban uses.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, eastern New York, and Rhode Island. The series is extensive. (MLRAs 144A, 145, and 149B)
MLRA OFFICE RESPONSIBLE: Amherst, Massachusetts.
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Soil Survey of Rhode Island, 1904.
REMARKS: At the time of this revision Brandywine (MD) series were still classified as Dystrochrepts which is now an obsolete class. It is presumed Brandywine series will be revised to Dystrudepts.
Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
1. Ochric epipedon - the zone from the soil surface to a depth of 5 inches (A horizon).
2. Cambic horizon - the zone from 5 to 14 inches (Bw1 horizon).
3. Sandy-skeletal feature - about 43 percent weighted average volume of rock fragments in the particle-size control section.