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3 Major Soils of the Highlands John C. F. Tedrow and Richard K. Shaw Introduction The term “soil” has somewhat different connotations within various disciplines . Soil is generally considered to be the uppermost portion of the earth’s crust. The gardener or agriculturalist generally considers soil to be the six- to twelve-inch layer of earth in which plants grow. Some investigators consider the term “soil” to reflect certain geologic materials and use such terms as glacial soil, windblown soil, bedrock soil, sandstone soil, limestone soil, and so on to reflect the parent material from which the soil is derived. Engineers generally use the term “soil” as mineral (e.g., sand, clay) or organic material resting on bedrock and focus on soil-binding properties such as texture and compaction among many others as related to construction. A vertical cut through the soil will generally show various layers (a.k.a. horizons) that have their own distinguishing properties, such as color, texture , moisture levels, fabric, mineral composition, and organic matter content . Collectively the soil layers make up the soil profile. The terms “surface,” “subsoil,” and “substratum” or “parent material” are used to denote the A, B, and C horizons, respectively. The substratum, or C horizon, is that portion of the soil profile that is little affected by soil-forming processes. Soil profiles are generally depicted as having a depth of about three to four feet, but in other situations the depth may be only a few inches. In other locations the profiles may have depths of many feet. Soil scientists (pedologists) consider the soil to be a function of the interaction of five factors: parent material, climate, biotic processes, topography, and time. Simonson (1959) expanded the soil-forming processes to include additions, losses, translocations, and transformations. To some extent, these processes take place in all soils, but the influence of the five soil-forming factors affects their balance, resulting in a distinctive set of horizons and related soil properties for a given set of conditions. With admitted weaknesses in any soil classification system, soil maps constitute one of the best single-source methods of dividing the landscape into Major Soils of the Highlands 45 component natural types. However, soil maps should be used in concert with information concerning geology and vegetation. While climate, geologic, vegetation, and pedologic conditions are generally similar across the fourstate Highlands region of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, and Connecticut , local conditions are important in the characterization and mapping of soils. This chapter discusses some of the key factors determining suitability, limitations, and soil characteristics of the major soil types of the Highlands region in relation to various land uses. A brief history of some of the more important soil names that have been used in the region as well as the currently used soil series is included. Parent Material of the Highlands Soils Parent material on which Highlands soils were formed is largely determined by the underlying bedrock, the overlying glacially deposited material, and, in rarer cases, deposits of organic matter. As described in chapter 1, the Highlands physiographic province (sometimes referred to as the Reading Prong) consists of a series of crystalline intrusive and metamorphic bedrock ridges interfingered with valleys underlain by softer sedimentary shale, limestone, or marble bedrock. The four-state federal Highlands Conservation Act area extends out of the Highlands proper to include portions of the limestone valleys to the west and the Triassic lowlands to the east, areas with quite different topography, parent material, and, consequently, soils. Glacial features of the Highlands are very important in dictating the nature of the soil, particularly with respect to texture, mineral composition, drainage, acidity, age of the deposits, and related properties. Salisbury (1902) was one of the first to give details concerning character of the glacial drift in the Highlands of New Jersey and correlate the nature of the resulting till with the bedrock from which it was formed. As described in chapter 2, there were three major glacial epochs in the Highlands in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, whereas farther north in New York and Connecticut only the more recent Wisconsinan epoch is represented. This chronology is relevant in depicting soil formation, especially that in the Highlands. The more recent Wisconsinage glaciers extended south into the northern half of the Highlands of New Jersey (see fig. 2.1). Thus, all of New York and Connecticut Highlands are north of the Wisconsinan terminal moraine, all of the Pennsylvania Highlands are south, and the New Jersey Highlands...

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