Southeastern Naturalist J. Sencindiver, K. Thomas, and J. Teets 2015 Vol. 14, Special Issue 7 33 Canaan Valley & Environs 2015 Southeastern Naturalist 14(Special Issue 7):33–39 Soils of Canaan Valley and Adjacent Mountains John Sencindiver1, 2,*, Kevin Thomas1, and Jason Teets1, 3 Abstract - The genesis of all soils is a function of the interactions of climate, organisms, relief, parent material, and time, which are often called the five factors of soil formation. Because temperatures are cooler and precipitation is greater in Canaan Valley (hereafter, the Valley) than in most other parts of West Virginia, the Valley’s soils tend to be wetter during most of the year than the soils on similar landscape positions in other parts of the state. Although the Valley’s various soils differ in age, have developed on different parent materials, and are found in diverse landscape positions, most are acidic and/or wet. The Valley’s soils vary from organic soils in depressions to sandy soils on the surrounding ridges. In the Valley, the common bedrock under the organic soils is Greenbrier Limestone. Mineral soils also formed on the Valley’s floodplains and terraces. Many of these soils, especially those on the wet terraces, have slowly permeable, clayey subsoils that formed in alluvium or slack-water deposits. It is consistent that these soils are somewhat poorly, poorly, or very poorly drained. In some areas, residuum or colluvium occur below the water-deposited material; in other areas the soils formed completely within residuum or colluvium. The residual materials weathered in place from limestone, shale, and/or sandstone. The colluvium weathered from the same parent materials, but has moved downslope. The soils on the sideslopes surrounding the Valley formed in shales and sandstone and are normally dryer than the soils of the Valley’s floor. However, some of these low-lying soils are moderately well to somewhat poorly drained. Soils on the ridgetops formed in Pottsville Sandstone. Unique soil horizons developed where Picea rubens (Red Spruce) and Tsuga canadensis (Eastern Hemlock) occur. These spodosols are acidic, sandy, and have very low water-holding capacities. Introduction The soils that formed on the floor of Canaan Valley (hereafter, the Valley) and its surrounding mountain slopes reflect the interactions of climate, vegetation, topography, parent material, and time. These agents are commonly called the five factors of soil formation. Compared to surrounding areas, the Valley’s high precipitation and cool air combined with the other factors to create its unique soils. The average elevation of the Valley is about 3200 ft (960 m); the adjacent mountains reach 4000 feet (1200 m). Precipitation averages more than 50 in (125 cm) per year (Losche and Beverage 1967). Although the soil-temperature regimes may differ between the Valley and adjacent mountains, the climate is similar throughout the the Valley area. Therefore, the differences in soil properties found in the Valley area more closely reflect the other four soil-forming factors. 1Division of Plant and Soil Sciences, West Virginia University, PO Box 6108, Morgantown, WV 26506. 2Current address - 350 Whisper Wood Drive, French Creek, WV 26218. 3Current address - Wes-Mon-Ty Resource Conservation and Development Council, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, RR 1 Box 502, Philippi, WV 26416. *Corresponding author - jsencindiver@gmail.com. Southeastern Naturalist J. Sencindiver, K. Thomas, and J. Teets 2015 Vol. 14, Special Issue 7 34 The most current, extensive data on the Valley’s soils and its surrounding mountains are found in the region’s soil survey (Losche and Beverage 1967). However, this publication has some shortcomings. For instance, in some parts of the survey area, such as in the Valley, the soils were not mapped in detail and were not assigned standard soil series names because of their variability. Further, some parts of the soil survey are out of date. Soils in the report were classified by two protocols, the 1938 system (Baldwin et al. 1938) and Soil Classification (Soil Survey Staff 1960), a precursor to Soil Taxonomy, which was first published in 1975 (Soil Survey Staff 1975) and updated 24 years later (Soil Survey Staff 1999). This taxonomy is a hierarchical system with 6 categories. An example of the current classification of the Blago soil series mapped in the Valley (Losche and Beverage 1967) is shown in Table 1. Soil-classification concepts have been modified over time. The soil-temperature regime of all of the soils in the Valley region’s original soil survey was classified as mesic (Losche and Beverage 1967). A mesic soil-temperature regime is defined as a mean annual temperature of 47–59 ºF (8–15 ºC) at a depth of 20 in (50 cm), whereas a soil with a frigid soil-temperature regime has a mean annual temperature of less than 47 ºF (8 ºC) at that depth (Soil Survey Staff 1999). Research indicates that the Valley’s soils should have a borderline mesic–frigid soil-temperature regime, and the surrounding mountain soils should have a frigid soil-temperature regime (Carter and Ciolkosz 1980, Mount et al. 1999). The study by Carter and Ciolkosz (1980) at Davis, in Tucker County, WV, demonstrated that the mesic–frigid soil-temperature boundary occurred at an elevation of 3570 ± 85 feet (1088 ± 26 m), suggesting that the Valley’s soil-temperature regime is mesic. The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) will reinterpret the Valley’s soil-temperature regime as it collects data for an updated Tucker County soil survey. Since the soil survey of Tucker County (Losche and Beverage 1967) was published, the taxonomic names of some soils from order through at least family have changed several times (Soil Survey Staff 1960, 1975, 1999). Thus, soil series names may also change as the survey is revised. Table 1. An example of the classification of a soil using Soil Taxonomy (Soil Survey Staff 2006) indicating the soil properties indicated by the taxonomic name. Category Class Properties defined by the class Order Ultisols Subsoil horizon of clay accumulation (argillic) and base saturation less than 35% at some point in lower subsoil Suborder Aquults Evidence of wetness (gleying) at or near the surface Great group Umbraquults A thick, dark-colored surface layer (umbric epipedon) Subgroup Typic Umbraquults A typical great group; no additional special horizons Family Fine, mixed, active, Clayey particle-size class, mixed mineralogy, cationmesic Typic Umbraquults exchange activity class, mesic (8 °C to 15 °C at 20-cm depth) soil temperature regime Series Blago Provides details of the properties for each horizon Southeastern Naturalist J. Sencindiver, K. Thomas, and J. Teets 2015 Vol. 14, Special Issue 7 35 Soil taxonomy consists of 12 soil orders. Order is the highest or most inclusive level of classification. Soils currently identified in the Valley area fit into five orders (Table 2). The series names shown in this table may change, and we present them here only to orient the reader to the current soil survey report (Losche and Beverage 1967). In the following sections, we use current soil order names and omit former names. Readers are encouraged to contact the soils staff in the NRCS state office in Morgantown, WV, for the most recent information. In this paper, we discuss general soils information for the Valley and adjacent Canaan and Cabin Mountains. Major Soils of the Surrounding Mountains The dominant rock formations on Cabin and Canaan mountains on either side of the Valley are the Pottsville Sandstone on the ridges and the Mauch Chunk Shales on the side slopes (Matchen et al. 1999). The major soils of upland residual sites are Spodosols and Inceptisols, with some Ultisols, all of which have a low-pH, or acidic, condition. Alfisols and Ultisols developed primarily on lower footslopes. Spodosols typically occur on coarse-textured, acidic parent materials that are subjected to leaching in moist to wet areas with cold or temperate climates. In these mountains, Spodosols are found on Pottsville rocks and are either well drained or moderately well drained. These soils typically formed under coniferous trees like Picea rubens Sarg. (Red Spruce) and Tsuga canadensis (L.) Table 2. Soil orders and series currently identified in Canaan Valley and adjacent mountains. These series and miscellaneous land units were mapped and published in Losche and Beverage (1967). Some or all of these series names may change as the soil survey of Tucker County is updated. Mod. well = moderately well drained; SWP = somewhat poorly drained. Alluvium is water-deposited material; colluvium is material that has moved downslope by the pull of gravity; and residuum is material formed in place from the bedrock. No series were identified for Histosols in Losche and Beverage (1967). Orders Major series Drainage class Parent material/landscape position Alfisols Albrights Mod. well-SWP Colluvium/footslope Belmont Well drained Residuum/upland Brinkerton Poorly drained Colluvium/footslope Histosols Muck and Peat Very poorly drained Organic materials (depressions) Inceptisols Atkins Poorly drained Floodplain/alluvium Calvin Well drained Residuum/upland Dekalb Well drained Residuum/upland Lickdale Very poorly drained Residuum/upland (depressions) Spodosols Leetonia Well-drained Residuum/upland Ultisols Blago Very poorly drained Residuum/upland (depressions) Ernest Mod. well drained Colluvium/footslope Meckesville Well drained Colluvium/footslope Nolo Poorly drained Residuum/upland (depressions) Southeastern Naturalist J. Sencindiver, K. Thomas, and J. Teets 2015 Vol. 14, Special Issue 7 36 Carriere (Eastern Hemlock). The foliage of these trees is low in base-forming cations like calcium and high in acidic resins. Spodosols are characterized by an organic layer (the O horizon) overlying a dark-colored mineral layer (the A horizon), or a light-colored E horizon. The E horizon, which is sometimes almost white, is a layer from which coloring agents, such as organic matter, aluminum, iron, and clay, have leached out and downward in the soil profile. A dark-colored and sometimes reddish-colored horizon (Bh, Bhs, and/or Bs) below the E horizon, is called Spodic. The dark color of this horizon was created when the organic matter moved out of the E and settled in the B horizon. Redness results from accumulated iron oxides. Although not naturally fertile, Spodosols may become productive when properly fertilized. For example, most of Maine’s potato-growing soils, as well as some fruit- and vegetable-producing soils in Florida, Michigan, and Wisconsin, are Spodosols (Brady and Weil 1999). We recommend, however, that the Spodosols on Cabin and Canaan Mountains remain in forest because they are quite acidic, offer low fertility, are normally stony or rocky at the surface, and contain many rock fragments within the soil profile. Inceptisols are soils at the start, or inception, of profile development. In these mountains, Inceptisols typically have a thin A horizon and a weakly developed B horizon. The clay content of these horizons is usually higher than that of the Spodosols, but textures are usually loamy. Soils developed on Mauch Chunk rocks have more silt and less sand than the soils on the Pottsville Formation. Compared to Spodosols, the properties and productivity of Inceptisols are more variable. In the Valley area, these soils vary from well drained to poorly drained. The major properties limiting land uses on these soils are low pH and fertility, high content of rock fragments, and/or water tables at or near the surface for extended times. A few soils in these mountains have an argillic horizon, which is a layer of accumulated clay. Most of these soils are classified as Ultisols. However, soils formed on Greenbrier Limestone outcrops near the lower slopes along the outer edges of the Valley (Matchen et al. 1999) and in colluvium from the Mauch Chunk may be classified as Alfisols or Utisols. Colluvium is a mix of material that has moved downslope and settled at the base. Relative to Inceptisols, the clay content of both Ultisols and Alfisols is typically higher and the pH and fertility are similar. Alfisols have somewhat higher pH and fertility than the Ultisols. These soils are well- to very poorly drained. The poorly and very poorly drained soils tend to form in depressions. Some have a fragipan, which is a loamy, dense, brittle horizon that restricts water movement and root growth. Therefore, drainage classes vary from moderately well drained to poorly drained. Major Soils of Canaan Valley’s Floor Two major rock units are responsible for soil formation on the Valley’s floor. Greenbrier Limestone underlies most of the soils around the sides of the Valley, Southeastern Naturalist J. Sencindiver, K. Thomas, and J. Teets 2015 Vol. 14, Special Issue 7 37 and a unit previously called the Pocono Sandstone, now labeled the Price Formation, is evident in the Valley’s center (Matchen et al. 1999). Alluvial, or water-deposited, sediments and wetlands cover much of the Greenbrier Limestone. One of the major soil units was originally mapped as muck and peat (Losche and Beverage 1967), but these organic soils are now called Histosols. Another major unit was mapped as wet terrace land. The water table is at or near the surface on sites with these organic and wet terrace soils, and so they are classified as hydric soils. The presence of hydric soils is a criterion that defines an area as a wetland for jurisdictional purposes. Areas identified as muck and peat generally have more than 20 in (50 cm) of organic material over a clayey, mineral material. In the Valley, the maximum thickness of the organic material is about 8.9 ft (2.7 m) (Cameron 1970). These thick zones of muck and peat occur on terraces about 9.9 ft (3 m) or more above today’s streams (Cameron 1970). In most places the organic material is very strongly to extremely acidic, with pH values of 3.5–5.0, but the mineral material below often has a higher pH because it is buffered by the underlying Greenbrier Limestone. Both organic and mineral soils have developed in the Valley. Where the materials were underwater, organic matter accumulated faster than it decomposed. Peat, which is undecomposed or partially decomposed organic material, is called fibric (Oi) or hemic (Oe) material. As the water table dropped, the peat was exposed to the air, the organic matter decomposed faster, and muck—sapric material (Oa)—formed. A thick layer of muck indicates that the level of the water table has fluctuated at that site. Wet terrace land consists of somewhat poorly drained to poorly drained soils that typically have silty surface textures and slowly permeable subsoils. In most areas of the Valley, at least the upper 14–18 in (35–45 cm) of the soils were deposited by water. The underlying material is residuum that weathered from limestone, shale, or sandstone bedrock (Losche and Beverage 1967). Limestone is dominant in the Valley’s southern end, and shale is more common in the northern end. Sandstone is intermixed with the other bedrock throughout the Valley (Matchen et al. 1999). Although the soils on the wet terraces have not yet been classified, we believe they eventually will be identified as Inceptisols or Ultisols. Some of these may have fragipans. The floodplains along the tributaries of the Blackwater River typically consist of well-drained to poorly-drained, acidic, loamy-textured Entisols and Inceptisols (Losche and Beverage 1967). These soils developed on materials washed from upland shales and sandstones. Marsh deposits, consisting of mineral soils with thin organic surface layers, are interspersed with the mineral alluvial soils (Cameron 1970). The well-drained areas typically have gravelly or very gravelly subsoils. Entisols—soils that are too young to show evidence of subsoil-horizon formation—usually have only A and C horizons; these soils will eventually develop into Inceptisols. Most of the soils that developed on the Price Formation in the Valley’s center are classified as Inceptisols. They formed in situ on the parent sandstone. These Southeastern Naturalist J. Sencindiver, K. Thomas, and J. Teets 2015 Vol. 14, Special Issue 7 38 soils are moderately deep or deep, have loamy textures, contain more than 35% rock fragments in the subsoil, and are acidic and well-drained (Losche and Beverage 1967, Soil Survey Staff 1999). Ultisols with fragipans have developed in a few upland depressions. Developed from sandstone, shale, and/or siltstone, these Ultisols are deep or very deep, acidic, loamy-textured, and poorly drained (Losche and Beverage 1967, Soil Survey Staff 1999). Poorly drained, acidic, loamy soils with fragipans have also formed in the colluvium of the footslopes (Losche and Beverage 1967, Soil Survey Staff 1999). When the area’s soil survey is updated, the soils of the Valley and surrounding mountains will likely be classified as Histosols, Entisols, Inceptisols, Alfisols, and Ultisols. Histosols are organic soils, whereas Entisols are young mineral soils developed primarily on floodplains. Inceptisols, which are mineral soils that have begun to develop subsoil horizons, fit in the weathering sequence immediately after the Entisols. Alfisols and Ultisols are older soils with subsoil horizons of accumulated clay. Some of the mineral soils are well drained, but some of the Inceptisols, Alfisols, and Ultisols may be poorly drained. Other soils, especially those that developed in depressions above Greenbrier Limestone, do not have fragipans, but do have clayey subsoil layers that restrict water movement. Management Implications In terms of sustainable land uses, the soils on the mountains surrounding the Valley are compatible with forest cover and wilderness recreation. Most of the Valley floor’s soils are wetlands and provide wildlife habitat. Literature Cited Baldwin, M., C.E. Kellogg, and J. Thorp. 1938. Soil classification. Pp. 979–1001, In B.W. Allin, A.L. Patrick, M.A. McCall, and C.E. Kellogg (Eds.). Soils and Men: Yearbook of Agriculture 1938. US Department of Agriculture. US Government Printing Office, Washington, DC. 1232 pp. Brady, N.C., and R.R. Weil. 1999. The Nature and Properties of Soils, 12th Edition. Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ. 881 pp. Cameron, C.C. 1970. Peat resources of the unglaciated uplands along the Allegheny structural front in West Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. US Geological Survey Professional Paper 700D: D153-D161. US Government Printing Offic e, Washington, DC. 316 pp. Carter, B.J., and E.J. Clockosz. 1980. Soil temperature regimes of the central Appalachians, Soil Science Society of America Journal 44(5):1052–1058. Losche, C.K., and W.W. Beverage. 1967. Soil survey of Tucker County and part of northern Randolph County, West Virginia. USDA Soil Conservation Service and Forest Service. US Government Printing Office, Washington, DC. 78 pp. + tables and maps. Matchen, D.L., N. Fedorko, and B.M. Blake, Jr. 1999. Geology of Canaan Valley, West Virginia. West Virginia Geological and Economic Survey Open-File Report 9902, 1 sheet, 1:24,000 scale. Morgantown, WV. Southeastern Naturalist J. Sencindiver, K. Thomas, and J. Teets 2015 Vol. 14, Special Issue 7 39 Mount, H.R., D. Flegel, R. Pyle, A. Topalanchik, R. Dobos, and S. Carpenter. 1999. Soil temperature in the Central Appalachians of West Virginia. USDA-NRCS-NSSC. Internal Report WV99-ST1. Lincoln, NE. 15 pp. Soil Survey Staff. 1960. Soil Classification: A Comprehensive System. 7th Approximation. USDA Soil Conservation Service, Washington, DC. 265 pp. Soil Survey Staff. 1975. Soil Taxonomy: A Basic System of Soil Classification for Making and Interpreting Soil Surveys. Agriculture Handbook No. 436. USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. US Government Printing Office, Washington, DC. 754 pp. Soil Survey Staff. 1999. Soil Taxonomy: A Basic System of Soil Classification for Making and Interpreting Soil Surveys, 2nd Edition. Agriculture Handbook No. 436. USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. US Government Printing Office. Washington, DC. 869 pp. Soil Survey Staff. 2006. Blago Series, rev. JMR 02/2006. Available online at http:// soilseries.sc.egov.usda.gov/OSD_Docs/B/BLAGO.html. Accessed 19 March 2015.