LOCATION SUDBURY MA+CT NH NY RI VTEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Sandy, mixed, mesic Aquic Dystrudepts
TYPICAL PEDON: Sudbury fine sandy loam in a cultivated field at an elevation of about 28 meters. (Colors are for moist soils unless otherwise stated.)
Ap--0 to 13 inches; very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) fine sandy loam, light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) dry; moderate fine granular structure; very friable; many fine roots; 5 percent gravel; moderately acid; abrupt smooth boundary. (6 to 14 inches thick)
Bw--13 to 19 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) sandy loam; weak medium granular structure; very friable; common grass roots; 10 percent fine gravel; few fine and medium prominent dark reddish gray (5YR 4/2) iron depletions in the lower 3 inches; moderately acid; abrupt wavy boundary. (2 to 20 inches thick)
2CB--19 to 26 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) gravelly coarse sand; single grain; loose; few fine roots; yellowish red (5YR 4/8) coatings on some sand grains; 20 percent gravel; many fine prominent dark reddish brown (2.5YR 3/4) and common coarse prominent reddish yellow (5YR 6/8) masses of iron accumulations; moderately acid; abrupt wavy boundary. (0 to 10 inches thick)
2C--26 to 65 inches; light olive brown (2.5Y 5/4) very gravelly coarse sand; single grain; loose; many sand grains coated with strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) and some sand grains slightly cemented, and many pebbles and cobbles coated with black (5YR 2/1); few fine roots; strata of sand and gravel consisting of about 50 percent gravel and some cobbles; common medium prominent strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) masses of iron accumulation; moderately acid.
TYPE LOCATION: Essex County, Massachusetts; town of Beverly, 0.2 miles south of the junction of Essex Street and Cole Street and 150 feet south of railroad track. USGS Salem quadrangle; latitude 42 degrees 33 minutes 52 seconds N., longitude 70 degrees 51 minutes 40 seconds W., NAD 27.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Thickness of the solum and depth to stratified sand and gravel range from 18 to 36 inches. Depth to grayish and brownish redoximorphic features ranges from 12 to 24 inches. Rock fragment content of individual horizons of the solum ranges from 0 to 30 percent by volume. The fragments are primarily gravel less than 1 inch in size, but include some coarse gravel and cobbles. Rock fragment content of individual layers of the C horizon ranges from 5 to 75 percent, and consists of 5 to 65 percent gravel and 0 to 25 percent cobbles and stones. Some pedons have individual layers of the C horizon with 0 to 50 percent rock fragments. The fragments are mainly granite or gneiss with less than 25 percent dark, fine-grained shale, slate, or phyllite. Reaction ranges from extremely acid to slightly acid in the solum, unless limed, and from very strongly acid to slightly acid in the substratum.
The Ap or A horizon has hue of 7.5YR or 10YR, value of 2 to 4, and chroma of 1 to 4. It is fine sandy loam, sandy loam, or very fine sandy loam in the fine-earth fraction.
Some pedons have an E horizon that has hue of 7.5YR or 10YR, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 1 or 2. The E horizon has the same texture range as the A horizon.
The Bw horizon has hue of 7.5YR to 2.5Y, value of 3 to 5, and chroma of 2 to 8. The upper part of the B horizon is fine sandy loam or sandy loam and the lower part ranges from sandy loam to coarse sand in the fine-earth fraction. Structure is granular or subangular blocky or the horizon is massive.
The 2CB horizon, where present, has hue of 7.5YR to 2.5Y, value of 3 to 6, and chroma of 2 to 8. Texture ranges from loamy sand to coarse sand in the fine-earth fraction.
The 2C horizon has hue of 7.5YR to 5Y, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 2 to 8. It consists of stratified sand, gravel, and cobbles and ranges from loamy fine sand to coarse sand in the fine-earth fraction.
COMPETING SERIES: There are no other series in the same family.
The Deerfield, Merrimac, Ninigret, Tisbury, and Walpole series are in related families. Deerfield soils have loamy fine sand or coarser textures below a depth of 10 inches. Merrimac soils are somewhat excessively drained. Ninigret soils are coarse loamy over sandy or sandy-skeletal. Tisbury soils are silt loam or very fine sandy loam in the upper part of the B horizon. Walpole soils are poorly drained.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Sudbury soils are nearly level to strongly sloping soils in slight depressions on outwash plains and on gentle foot slopes. Slope ranges from 0 to 15 percent. The soils formed in water sorted sandy and gravelly materials derived mainly from granite, gneiss, and schist. Mean annual precipitation ranges from 30 to 55 inches and mean annual temperature ranges from 45 to 50 degrees F. Mean growing season ranges from 120 to 200 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Agawam, Deerfield, Hinckley, Merrimac, Walpole and Windsor soils on nearby landscapes. Agawam, Hinckley, Merrimac, and Windsor soils do not have redox depletions within 24 inches of the surface. In addition, the Hinckley and Windsor soils have loamy sand or coarser textures in the B horizon. Deerfield soils have loamy fine sand or coarser textures below a depth of 10 inches. Walpole soils are poorly drained.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Moderately well and somewhat poorly drained. Surface runoff is slow to moderate. The internal drainage is restricted by a seasonal high water table. Saturated hydraulic conductivity is high in the upper solum and high or very high in the lower solum and substratum.
USE AND VEGETATION: Most areas used for growing hay, pasture, field and truck crops. Some are forested areas with mainly red maple, gray birch, hemlock, larch, white pine, and red, black, and scarlet oaks.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Vermont, New Hampshire and eastern New York (MLRAs 142, 144A, 145, and 149B). The series is of moderate extent.
MLRA OFFICE RESPONSIBLE: Amherst, Massachusetts.
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Middlesex County, Massachusetts, 1924.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
1. Ochric epipedon - the zone from the soil surface to a depth of 13 inches (Ap horizon).
2. Cambic horizon - the zone from 13 to 19 inches (Bw horizon).
3. Aquic subgroup - redox depletions with a chroma of 2 within 60 cm (24 in) of the soil surface.