State ··Forest - Maryland Department of Natural Resources

Ridge Ro.ad divides the two. asso.ciatio.ns. The
so.ils to the east o.f the ro.ad are in the Weikert­
Calvin-Lehew Associatio.n and tho.se to. the
west are in the Weikert-Gilpin Asso.ciatio.n.
The so.ils in bo.th associatio.ns are primarily silt
lo.am Dr sandy lo.am soils.
Weikert-Calvin-Lehew Association
This asso.ciatio.n is the largest and mo.st
extensive soil asso.ciatio.n in Allegany Co.unty.
Abo.ut 42% is co.mprised o.f Weikert so.ils, abo.ut
23% is Calvin, abo.ut 8% is Lehew, and the
remaining 27% are mino.r so.ils. The Weikert
so.ils are shallo.w and excessively drained.
They are- co.mprised o.f shales and have lo.w
available water ho.lding capacity. The limiting
facto.rs fo.r plant life are the shallo.w depth to
bedrock and the do.ughtiness characteristics o.f
the so.il. Pro.ductivity ranges fro.m very goo.d
to. very poor depending upo.n slo.pe po.sitio.n,
aspect, and depth to. bedro.ck. Erosio.n o.f tho.se
so.ils is classified as slight to. mo.derate o.n
steeper slo.pes.
The Calvin so.ils are mo.derately deep, well
drained, and derived fro.m reddish shale,
siltsto.ne, and fine grained sandsto.ne. These
so.ils are mo.stly o.n ridges. Available water
ho.lding capacity is moderate but tends to. dry
o.ut during dro.ught perio.ds. Productivity fo.r
tree gro.wth is fair to. good. Site indexes fo.r
o.aks range fro.m 55. to 70 depending upo.n
po.sitio.n o.n slo.pe and aspect. Ero.sio.n
pro.blems are slight to. mo.derate depending
upo.n slo.pe.
Lehew soils are develo.ped fro.mred
sandsto.nes, shales, and grey sandstOne.
Fertility o.f these soils is lo.w and moderately
productive. Available water ho.lding capacity
is limited. These so.ils are similar to the Calvin
so.ils but the fragmented material is mainly
sandsto.ne instead o.f shale. The Lehew soils
are mo.re shallow to bedrock. In this
association there are 13 mino.r soil types. Mo.st
o.f these are silt lo.ams o.f varying degrees o.f
depth and parent materials.
Weikert-Gilpin Association
Green Ridge State Forest
Ten Yellr Resource Management Plan
Volume II - Support Materials
This asso.ciation makes up abo.ut 27% o.f
Allegany Co.unty. Abo.ut 60% is Weikert so.ils,
13% Gilpin, and 27% mino.r .so.ils. The Weikert
so.ils are the predo.minant so.ils as described in
the previo.us asso.ciatio.n.
The Gilpin so.ils are mo.derately deep, well
drained soils derived fro.m add shale, siltsto.ne,
and fine-grained sandsto.ne. Gilpin so.ils
co.ntain ho.rizo.ns o.f evident clay accumulatio.n.
Available water ho.lding capacity is mo.derate.
These soils are mo.derately to. highly
productive. On no.rth aspects Dr in favo.rable
slo.pe po.sitio.ns very go.o.d pro.ductivity o.f .
mixed hardwo.o.ds is po.ssible. Site indexes fo.r
o.ak exceed 75. On So.uth aspects Dr upper
slo.pes o.ak site indexes range between 65 and
75. Ero.sio.n hazards o.n Gilpin soils are
mo.derate o.n steep slopes and slight o.n lesser
o.nes.
The mino.r associated soils co.nsists o.f
deeper, pro.ductive soils such as Allegheny,
Chavies, Deko.lb, Laidig and Shelo.cta soils.
The Buchanan, Co.o.kport, Ernest, and
Mo.no.gahelia soils are so.mewhat limited in so.il
drainage. The amo.unt o.f alluvial land is small.
The so.ils o.n the Fo.rest are all capable o.f
gro.wing fo.rest tree co.ver. The average
productivity wo.uld be classified as moderate
to. good. Oak site indexes average between 55
and 75 o.n the average site. Wo.o.d pro.ducts o.n
these sites at age 50 range from 7,500 to 18,000
bo.ard feet o.f o.ak sawtimber per acre and fro.m
30 to 60 co.rds o.f pulpwo.o.d Dr firewo.od. .
Fertility o.f the so.ils is adequate fo.r the
gro.wing o.f forests. There are no. kno.wn
mineral deficiencies. The limiting facto.rs are
po.o.r mo.isture ho.lding capacity and depth to.
bedro.ck. On so.il with fragipans, roo.t
develo.pment is restricted even tho.ugh the soils
are deep to bedrock.
The hazards o.f erosio.n are slight to
mo.derate depending upo.n slope and amo.unt
o.f humus removed. With implementatio.n o.f
pro.per fo.restry practices sedimentatio.n o.f
waterways is slight.
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