LOCATION LYMAN MA+ME NH NY VTEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy, isotic, frigid Lithic Haplorthods
TYPICAL PEDON: Lyman loam, on a 55 percent northwest facing slopes in a very rocky forested area. (Colors are for moist soil.)
Oe-- 0 to 1 inches; moderately decomposed plant material. (O horizon thickness is 0 to 3 inches.)
A-- 1 to 3 inches; black (N 2/0) loam; weak fine granular structure; very friable; many fine and medium roots; extremely acid; abrupt wavy boundary. (0 to 4 inches thick)
E-- 3 to 5 inches; reddish gray (5YR 5/2) fine sandy loam; very weak fine granular structure; very friable; many fine and medium roots; 10 percent gravel; extremely acid; abrupt broken boundary. (0 to 10 inches thick)
Bhs-- 5 to 7 inches; very dusky red (2.5YR 2.5/2) loam; very weak fine granular structure; friable; many fine and medium roots; 10 percent fine gravel; extremely acid; abrupt broken boundary. (0 to 4 inches thick)
Bs1-- 7 to 11 inches; dark red (2.5YR 3/6) loam; weak fine and medium granular structure; friable; many fine and medium roots; 10 percent fine gravel; few mica flakes; very strongly acid; clear wavy boundary.
Bs2-- 11 to 18 inches; brown (7.5YR 4/4) grading with depth to brown (10YR 5/3) channery loam; weak coarse subangular blocky structure parting to medium and fine granular; friable; many fine and medium roots; 15 percent channers of schist and quartzite; common flakes of mica; very strongly acid; abrupt smooth boundary. (Combined thickness of the Bs horizon is 5 to 17 inches.)
R-- 18 inches; dark gray mica schist bedrock.
TYPE LOCATION: Franklin County, Massachusetts; Town of Monroe, about 1/2 mile west southwest of the village of Monroe Bridge and about 180 feet south of the Deerfield River; lat. 42 degrees 43 minutes 10 seconds N. and long. 72 degrees 57 minutes 07 seconds W., NAD 27.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Mineral solum thickness ranges from 10 to 20 inches and corresponds to the depth to bedrock. Rock fragments consist of 5 to 25 percent gravel and 0 to 10 percent cobbles throughout, and 0 to 15 percent stones in the A horizon and 0 to 3 percent stones in the B horizon. Rock fragments are schist with lesser amounts of phyllite, granite, and gneiss. The soil ranges from extremely acid to moderately acid throughout unless limed.
The O horizon consists of fibric, hemic and/or sapric material.
The A horizon is neutral or has hue of 5YR to 10YR, value of 2, 2.5 or 3, and chroma of 0 to 2. Some pedons have Ap horizons with value and chroma of 2 to 4. Ap horizons are typically 6 inches or more thick. Texture is sandy loam, fine sandy loam, very fine sandy loam, loam or silt loam in the fine-earth fraction.
The E horizon has hue of 5YR to 10YR, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 1 or 2. Texture is loamy sand, loamy fine sand, sandy loam, fine sandy loam, very fine sandy loam, loam or silt loam in the fine-earth fraction.
The Bhs horizon has hue of 2.5YR to 10YR, value of 2 to 3, and chroma of 1 to 3.
The Bs horizon has hue of 5YR to 10YR, value of 3 to 5, and chroma of 3 to 8. Some pedons have a Bh horizon with chroma of 5YR to 10YR, value of 2 to 3 and chroma of 1 to 4. Texture of the Bhs, Bs, and Bh is sandy loam, fine sandy loam, very fine sandy loam, loam or silt loam in the fine-earth fraction.
Some pedons have a BC horizon with hue of 10YR to 5Y, value of 3 to 5, and chroma of 3 or 4. It is sandy loam, fine sandy loam, very fine sandy loam, loam, or silt loam in the fine-earth fraction.
The R or 2R layer is generally dark gray, greenish gray or nearly black mica schist bedrock but in places the underlying bedrock is phyllite, granite or gneiss.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Abram, Creasey, and Monson series. Abram soils are 10 inches or less thick. Creasey soils formed in glacial till derived mainly from reddish brown sandstone and conglomerate. Monson soils have more than 10 percent clay in the particle size control section.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: These soils are on rocky hills, mountains and high plateaus. Slope ranges from 3 to 80 percent. The soils developed in a thin mantle of glacial till and frost fractured rock fragments derived principally from gray, greenish gray, or nearly black mica schist rocks with lesser amounts of phyllite, granite and gneiss. Mean annual precipitation ranges from 30 to 50 inches; the mean annual temperature ranges from 38 to 46 degrees F.; and the frost-free season ranges from 90 to 160 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Berkshire, Marlow, Tunbridge, Peru and Pillsbury soils. Berkshire and Marlow soils are well drained and are very deep to bedrock. Berkshire soils formed in friable till and Marlow soils formed in dense till. Tunbridge soils are well drained and are moderately deep to bedrock. Peru soils are moderately well drained and Pillsbury soils are poorly and somewhat poorly drained. They formed in dense till and are very deep to bedrock.
DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY: Somewhat excessively drained. Potential for runoff is very high. Estimated saturated hydraulic conductivity is moderately high to high in the mineral soil.
USE AND VEGETATION: Predominantly forested. Vegetation is mainly white pine, hemlock, red spruce, white, black and yellow birch, sugar maple, beech, fir, white ash and basswood. Small acreages have been cleared and used for growing hay or pasture, or are idle.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Northern New England, western Massachusetts, and northern New York. Principally in the Green and White Mountains, the Adirondack Mountains, the Berkshire uplands, and eastern and western Maine; MLRA 143, 144A and 144B. The series is extensive.
MLRA OFFICE RESPONSIBLE: Amherst, Massachusetts.
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Grafton County, New Hampshire, 1935.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are: 1. Ochric epipedon - the zone from 0 to 5 inches (Oe, A and E horizons). 2. Albic horizon - the zone from 3 to 5 inches (E horizon). 3. Spodic horizon - the zone from 5 to 18 inches (Bhs, Bs1 and Bs2 horizons). 4. Lithic feature - bedrock at 18 inches from the mineral soil surface.