Soils of the HJA Andrews The earliest work on classification and mapping of the soils of the H.J. Andrews was undertaken by F.R. Stephens and two aides in 1962 (F. Stephens. Soil Survey Report of the H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest, Willamette National Forest. Inservice Report, 1964, USDA For. Serv., Pac. Northwest For. and Range Exp. Sta., Corvallis, OR, 85 pp., mimeo.). They recognized the following groups of parent materials on the H.J. Andrews: alluvium, glacial drift, residuun and/or colluvium from basalt or andesite, residuum and/or colluvium from greenish breccias, and residuum and/or colluvium from reddish breccias. Within these parent material groupings they established and mapped 12 soil series on the H.J. Andrews. Although these series have never been correlated, they have been much-used as a basis for classifying the soils in the H.J. Andrews. The origianl soil series mapped on the H.J. Andrews are as follows: 1. Convoy Soil Series Alluvial soils formed in relatively recent alluvium on low terraces adjacent to streams. The alluvium is derived from basic igneous rocks and is generally coarse-textured. These are immature soils which lack B-horizons. Surface soil texture is commonly cobbly, gravelly sandy loam. 2. Quentin Soil Series Brown Podzols soils formed in medium-textured alluvium from basic igneous rocks along relatively high terraces. Surfaced soil texture is most aften gravelly loam. 3. Carpenter Soil Series Brown Podzolic soils formed in medium-textured glacial deposits resulting from local mountain glaciation in an area of basic igneous rocks. Soil profiles are generally poorly developed and lack a textural B horizon. Surface soil is most often a gravelly sandy loam or loam. 4. Flunky Soil Series Lithosolic Brown Podzolic Soils formed in colluvium and residuum from basalt bedrock. These are shallow, immature soils with gravelly or stony surface soil textures. 5. Blue River Soil Series Brown Podzolic soils formed in residuum or colluvium from andesite at mid to high elevations an the H.J. Andrews. These soils also have the influence of considerable amounts of volcanic ash. Surface soils tend to be gravelly loam in texture. 6. Tidbits Soil Series Ando-like soils formed at mid to high elevations under coniferous forest, derived from residuum and collluvium from andesite bedrock. Surface soils tend to be black gravelly loam. 7. Lucky Boy Soil Series Ando-like soils formed at mid to high elevations under mountain meadow vegetation, derived from residuum and colluvium from andesite bedrock. Surface soils are generally very dark brown gravelly loam which are very smeary when wet. 8. Limberlost Soil Series Regosols formed in colluvium from greenish tuffs and breccias. These are shallow soils lacking a B horizon. Surface soils are generally gravelly clay loam in texture. 9. Budworm Soil Series Yellowish Brown Lateritic soils forming in residuum and colluvium from greenish tuffs and breccias. These are fairly well developed and well drained soils with a textural B horizon. Surface soils are generally clay loam textured. 10. Slipout Soil Series Imperfectly drained Yellowish Brown Lateritic soils formed in colluvium from greenish tuffs and breccias. These soils generally formed on bench landforms and tend to have silty clay B horizons with mottled colors. 11. Frissell Soil Series Regosol soils formed on colluvium from reddish tuffs and breccias. These are immature soils, lacking textural B horizons. Surface soils tend to be gravelly or shotty clay loam or loam. 12. McKEnzie River Soil Series Reddish Brown Lateritic soils forming in residuum and colluvium from reddish tuffs and breccias. These soils have developed profiles which include a textural B horizon. Surface soil is generally shotty loam in texture. Since the original soil survey on the H.J. Andrews several additional units at the soil series level have been used from time to time. The three principal units are soils from mixed colluvium and from andesite colluvium at lower elevations and the Wildcat Soil Series at higher elevations. The Wildcat tends to be a loam or sandy loam soil derived mainly from volcanic ash and pumice. The soils from colluvium are moderately fine-textured formed in very deep deposits of colluvium which often show sequential depositions. These soils often occupy toe slope landforms. Most of the soil profiles which have been described on the H.J. Andrews have been classified according to the current soil taxonomy. This information is included in the soils database. The soil series at the H.J. Andrews were established to a large extent in the basis of soil parent material characteristics. As a result, many of the soil series tend to have a substantial range in profile characteristics such as coarse fragment content, thickness of the A horizon, and soil depth. This variation causes the soil profiles within a series to be in a range of units according to the soil taxonomy. However, to illustrate the soil taxons represented on the H.J. Andrews, the following are the units for the type location profiles as described by Stephens et al. (1964): Series Soil Great Group Soil Family ------ ---------------- ----------- Convoy Fluventic Hapludolls fragmental, mixed,mesic Quentin Fluventic Dystrochrepts loamy-skeletal, mixed, mesic Carpenter Typic Dystrochrepts coarse-loamy, mixed, frigid Flunky Lithic Dystrochrepts loamy-skeletal,mixed, mesic Blue River Pachic Cryumbrepts loamy-skeletal, mixed Tidbits Dystric Cryumbrepts medial-skeletal Lucky Boy Lithic Cryandepts medial Limberlost Pachic Haplumbrepts fine-loamy, montmorillonitic, mesic Budworm Umbric Haplumbrepts fine, montmorillonitic, mesic Slipout Typic Ochraqualfs fine, montmorillonitic, mesic Frissell Typic Eutrochrepts loamy-skeletal, mixed, mesic McKenzie River Ultic Hapludalfs fine-silty, mixed, mesic