Soil Series Atlas

Berks soil series

Loamy-skeletal, mixed, active, mesic Typic Dystrudepts

050cm1 ft2 ft3 ftApTopsoil · plowed0–25 cm · 0–10 inBw1Subsoil · color or structure change25–43 cm · 10–17 inBw2Subsoil · color or structure change43–53 cm · 17–21 inCBParent material with subsoil traits53–66 cm · 21–26 inCParent material66–84 cm · 26–33 inRHard bedrock84 cm and deeper · 33+ in050cmApTopsoil · plowed0–25 cm · 0–10 inBw1Subsoil · color orstructure change25–43 cm · 10–17 inBw2Subsoil · color orstructure change43–53 cm · 17–21 inCBParent material withsubsoil traits53–66 cm · 21–26 inCParent material66–84 cm · 26–33 inRHard bedrock84 cm and deeper · 33+ in
Typical pedon, to scale: 84 cm (33 in), 6 horizons.

Inceptisols — young soils with weakly developed horizons

With 3.24 million acres mapped, Berks is the 10th-largest of 24,791 U.S. soil series. In West Virginia only one series covers more ground. No other Inceptisol series covers as much ground. Outside its main state it also ranks high: the 3rd-largest of 704 series in Virginia.

Depth
Moderately deep
Drainage
Well drained
Water movement
Moderate

Compare with another seriesSimilar series in the finder

Where Berks is mapped

3,241,125 acres in 178 soil survey areas, from current SSURGO data.

AlabamaArizonaColoradoFloridaGeorgiaIndiana: 99,337 acresKansasMaineMassachusettsMinnesotaNew Jersey: 5,339 acresNorth CarolinaNorth DakotaOklahomaPennsylvania: 846,584 acresSouth DakotaTexasWyomingConnecticutMissouriWest Virginia: 991,130 acresIllinois: 43,942 acresNew MexicoArkansasCaliforniaDelawareDistrict of ColumbiaIowaKentucky: 169,860 acresMaryland: 23,938 acresMichiganMississippiMontanaNew HampshireNew YorkOhio: 389,503 acresOregonTennessee: 15,856 acresUtahVirginia: 655,635 acresWashingtonWisconsinNebraskaSouth CarolinaIdahoNevadaVermontLouisianaRhode Island

Share of all Berks acres

  1. West Virginia31%
  2. Pennsylvania26%
  3. Virginia20%
  4. Ohio12%
  5. Kentucky5%
  6. Indiana3%
  7. Illinois1%
  8. Maryland0.7%
  9. Tennessee0.5%
  10. New Jersey0.2%

In the field

Drainage

Well drained

Drains fastStays wet

Soil depth

Moderately deep

ShallowDeep

Of the 7 atlas series that are classed moderately deep, this is the largest.

Permeability

Moderate

SlowFast
Parent material
Residuum, shale, mudstone/siltstone, sandstone
Landform
Hillslopes, uplands
Major land resource areas
115, 120, 121, 124, 125, 126, 127, 128, 130, 139, 147, 148
Type location
Pennsylvania

How it is classified

  1. OrderInceptisols
  2. SuborderUdepts
  3. Great groupDystrudepts
  4. SubgroupTypic Dystrudepts
  5. FamilyLoamy-skeletal, mixed, active, mesic Typic Dystrudeptsloamy-skeletal particle-size classmixed mineralogy classactive cation-exchange activity classmesic soil temperature regime

Against other Inceptisols

Berks makes up 1.78% of all mapped Inceptisols — the 1st largest of 3,264 series in the order.

Solum thickness (topsoil + subsoil)

53 cm under a median of 80 cm

Depth to the subsoil

25 cm over a median of 18 cm

Depth described

84 cm under a median of 152 cm

Its relatives

17 other established series share the family “Loamy-skeletal, mixed, active, mesic Typic Dystrudepts”

  1. Berks3.2 M
  2. Highsplint745 k
  3. Calvin560 k
  4. Matewan556 k
  5. Brownsville301 k
  6. Cadosia186 k
  7. Sylco155 k
  8. Peaks142 k
  9. Manlius139 k

Close relatives, at one scale

  1. Berks84 cm · Typic Dystrudepts
  2. Hazleton183 cm · Typic Dystrudepts
  3. Narragansett152 cm · Typic Dystrudepts
  4. Weikert46 cm · Lithic Dystrudepts

Horizon by horizon

HorizonLayerDepthThickness
ApTopsoil: plowed0–25 cm0–10 in25 cm
Bw1Subsoil: color or structure change25–43 cm10–17 in18 cm
Bw2Subsoil: color or structure change43–53 cm17–21 in10 cm
CBParent material with subsoil traits53–66 cm21–26 in13 cm
CParent material66–84 cm26–33 in18 cm
RHard bedrock84– cm33– in—

Sources: USDA–NRCS Official Series Description (revised 1999-09), Soil Classification database and SSURGO. Ranks computed by Soil Series Atlas. Method · Guides