LOCATION WELLSBORO PA NYEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Coarse-loamy, mixed, active, mesic Typic Fragiudepts
TYPICAL PEDON: Wellsboro silt loam - cropland. (Colors are for moist soils unless otherwise noted.)
Ap--0 to 7 inches; dark brown (7.5YR 3/2) silt loam, light brown (7.5YR 6/3) dry; weak fine granular structure; friable; many roots; 10 percent rock fragments; moderately acid (limed); abrupt smooth boundary. (5 to 12 inches thick.)
Bw1--7 to 11 inches; reddish brown (5YR 4/4) silt loam; weak fine subangular blocky structure; friable; slightly sticky, slightly plastic; many roots; 10 percent rock fragments; moderately acid; clear wavy boundary.
Bw2--11 to 18 inches; reddish brown (2.5YR 4/4) loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; friable; slightly sticky, slightly plastic; many roots; 10 percent rock fragments; strongly acid; abrupt wavy boundary.
Bw3--18 to 22 inches; reddish brown (5YR 4/4) channery loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; friable; few roots; 15 percent rock fragments; common medium distinct yellowish red (5YR 5/8) iron concentrations and gray (5YR 6/1) iron depletions; very strongly acid; abrupt wavy boundary. (Combined thickness of the Bw horizons is 5 to 26 inches.)
Bx1--22 to 31 inches; dark reddish brown (2.5YR 3/4) gravelly loam; moderate very coarse prismatic structure parting to weak medium subangular blocky; firm; brittle, slightly sticky, slightly plastic; very few faint clay films in pores; weak red (10R 5/2) thin silt coats on faces of prisms; 20 percent rock fragments; very strongly acid; diffuse boundary. (5 to 30 inches thick.)
Bx2--31 to 52 inches; dusky red (10R 3/4) gravelly loam; weak very coarse prismatic structure parting to moderate medium platy; firm; brittle; weak red (10R 5/2) coatings on faces of prisms decreasing in thickness with depth; few faint clay films and few black Mn coats on face of plates and in pores in the interior of prisms; 25 percent rock fragments; very strongly acid; diffuse boundary. (0 to 30 inches thick.)
Cd--52 to 72 inches; dusky red (10R 3/4) gravelly loam; moderate medium plate-like divisions; firm; 15 percent rock fragments; very strongly acid.
TYPE LOCATION: Columbia County, Pennsylvania; Sugarloaf Township, 2 miles south southeast of village of Central, 2.4 miles east intersection of Pa. routes 118 and 487 (old route 254), 6/10 miles south on township road and 150 feet west into field. USGS Red Rock, PA topographic quadrangle; Latitude 41 degrees, 16 minutes, 11 seconds N. and Longitude 76 degrees, 21 minutes, 35 seconds W. NAD 1927.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Solum thickness is greater than 40 inches. Depth to the fragipan ranges from 12 to 30 inches. Depth to bedrock is 60 inches or more. Rock fragments of subangular and rounded sandstone, siltstone or shale range from 5 to 40 percent in the A and B horizons, and from 15 to 45 percent in the Bx and C horizons. Typically rock fragments average about 5 to 25 percent by volume above the fragipan and 15 to 40 percent by volume in and below the fragipan. The control section has less than 35 percent rock fragments by volume. Reaction ranges from very strongly acid through moderately acid unless limed.
The Ap horizon has hue of 5YR through 10YR, value of 3 or 4, and chroma 2 or 3. Dry color value is 6 or more. Texture is loam or silt loam in the fine-earth fraction.
Pedons in wooded areas have an A horizon with hue of 5YR through 10YR, value of 2 through 4, and chroma of 1 or 2. These pedons also may have an E horizon with hue of 5YR through 10YR, value of 3 through 6, and chroma of 2 or 3. Texture is loam, silt loam, or fine sandy loam in the fine-earth fraction.
A B/E horizon may also be present in some pedons. Colors and textures of the B part of the B/E are similar to those of the Bw horizon. The E part of the B/E has color and texture similar to the E horizon.
The Bw horizon above 20 inches has hue of 2.5YR through 10YR, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 3 through 6. The lower part of the Bw horizon includes subhorizons with chroma of 2. The Bw horizon has both high and low chroma redoximorphic features. Texture is loam or silt loam in the fine-earth fraction.
Some pedons have an E' horizon above the fragipan. Texture is fine sandy loam, loam, or silt loam in the fine-earth fraction.
The Bx horizon has chroma of 10R through 5YR, value of 3 through 5, and chroma of 2 through 4. Faces of prisms range in hue from 10R through 7.5YR, value of 4 through 7, and chroma of 2 or 3. Texture is sandy loam, loam, or silt loam in the fine-earth fraction. Structure of the Bx horizon is weak or moderate, coarse or very coarse prismatic. Prisms have platy, blocky, or massive interiors.
The Cd horizon is similar in color and texture to the Bx horizon.
COMPETING SERIES: The Bath, Braceville, Broadalbin, Ira, Lackawanna, Mardin, Rushford(T), Sodus, Swartswood, and Wurtsboro series are in the same family. The Bath, Broadalbin, and Mardin soils have hue of 7.5YR or yellower in the fragipan. Braceville soils have stratified sand and gravel within the series control section. Ira, Sodus, Swartswood, and Wurtsboro soils have less than 60 percent silt plus very fine sand in the particle-size control section. Lackawanna soils do not have redoximorphic features above the fragipan. Rushford(T) soils have a silty lacustrine substratum with few or no rock fragments.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Wellsboro soils are on nearly level to steep glaciated uplands. Slope ranges from 0 to 50 percent. The soils developed in firm till derived from reddish sandstone, siltstone, and shale. Mean annual precipitation ranges from 32 to 50 inches, mean annual air temperature ranges from 45 to 50 degrees, F., and the frost free season ranges from about 110 to 165 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: The Lackawanna, Morris, and Norwich soils are in a drainage sequence with Wellsboro. Morris soils have dominant chroma of 2 or less within 20 inches. Norwich soils have dominant chromas of 2 or less in all horizons below the Ap, or below 6 inches. Arnot, Lordstown, Maplecrest, and Oquaga soils are nearby. Arnot soils are shallow to bedrock; Lordstown and Oquaga soils are moderately deep. Maplecrest soils are well drained and lack a fragipan.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Moderately well and somewhat poorly drained. The potential for surface runoff is low to very high. Internal drainage is slow. Permeability is moderate in the surface and upper subsoil and slow or very slow in the fragipan and substratum.
USE AND VEGETATION: Many areas have been cleared and are used for growing hay, small grain, pasture, and potatoes. Some areas are idle. Woodlots contain sugar maple, American beech, red oak and white pine.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: The glaciated Allegheny Plateau of southern New York and northern Pennsylvania. MLRA 140. The series is extensive.
MLRA OFFICE RESPONSIBLE: Amherst, Massachusetts
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Tioga County, Pennsylvania, 1929.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
1. Ochric epipedon - the zone from the surface of the soil to a depth of about 7 inches (Ap horizon).
2. Cambic horizon - the zone from 7 to 22 inches (Bw horizon).
3. Fragipan - the zone from 22 to 52 inches (Bx horizon).
4. Udic soil moisture regime (a humid, temperate climate).
Soil Interpretation Record No: PA0027, PA0028, PA0227
The activity class is based on pedon S86NY025-5 from Delaware County, NY.