Kimper soil-landscape-woodland
Left photo: A soil profile and typical landscape of Kimper soil in an area of Kimper-Sharondale-Muskingum complex, 30 to 80 percent slopes, very stony; from the Soil Survey of Pike County, KY. (Photos provided by John Kelley, USDA-NRCS).
The Kimper series consists of deep and very deep, well drained soils formed in loamy colluvium or colluvium and residuum weathered from sandstone, siltstone and shale. Permeability is moderate to moderately rapid. These sloping to very steep soils are mostly on mountain sides. Slopes range from 5 to 95 percent, but are dominantly 30 to 75 percent.
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, mixed, semiactive, mesic Humic Dystrudepts
TYPE LOCATION: Pike County, Kentucky; on a north facing mountainside about 2,500 feet southeast of the confluence of Henroost Fork and Dicks Fork near the headwaters of Feds Creek; 4.6 miles east of the community of Fedscreek.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Thickness of the solum ranges from 40 to more than 60 inches and depth to bedrock ranges from 48 to 100 inches or more. Rock fragments, mostly sandstone channers, range from 5 to 60 percent in individual horizons, but the 10 to 40 inch particle-size control section averages less than 35 percent. Coverage of surface stones ranges from 0 to 15 percent. Reaction ranges from extremely acid to neutral in the A horizon and from very strongly to moderately acid in the B and C horizon.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Kimper soils are in the Cumberland-Allegheny Plateau of eastern Kentucky with possible similar areas in Virginia, West Virginia, and eastern Tennessee. The area is estimated to be of large extent, over 200,000 acres.
Center photo: Most areas of Kimper soils are in secondary growth hardwood forests with mixed stands of yellow poplar, American basswood, white ash, cucumber tree, northern red oak, black walnut, black locust and umbrella magnolia. Less sloping areas are used as pasture and sites for houses and gardens.
Right photo: Kimper soils in Pike County, Kentucky typically occur on steep slopes (30–75%) and support mixed hardwood forests, especially oak and hickory. Timber growth potential is moderate, with typical site index values for upland oaks around 60–70 feet at 50 years, translating to a moderate to moderately high yield of 50–80 cubic feet per acre per year under good management. Steep terrain, rockiness, and erosion hazards limit harvest methods — cable or selective systems with strong erosion control are preferred. With proper practices, Kimper soils can sustain productive hardwood stands while protecting water and soil resources.
Kimper soil-landscape-woodland
Left photo: A soil profile and typical landscape of Kimper soil in an area of Kimper-Sharondale-Muskingum complex, 30 to 80 percent slopes, very stony; from the Soil Survey of Pike County, KY. (Photos provided by John Kelley, USDA-NRCS).
The Kimper series consists of deep and very deep, well drained soils formed in loamy colluvium or colluvium and residuum weathered from sandstone, siltstone and shale. Permeability is moderate to moderately rapid. These sloping to very steep soils are mostly on mountain sides. Slopes range from 5 to 95 percent, but are dominantly 30 to 75 percent.
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, mixed, semiactive, mesic Humic Dystrudepts
TYPE LOCATION: Pike County, Kentucky; on a north facing mountainside about 2,500 feet southeast of the confluence of Henroost Fork and Dicks Fork near the headwaters of Feds Creek; 4.6 miles east of the community of Fedscreek.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Thickness of the solum ranges from 40 to more than 60 inches and depth to bedrock ranges from 48 to 100 inches or more. Rock fragments, mostly sandstone channers, range from 5 to 60 percent in individual horizons, but the 10 to 40 inch particle-size control section averages less than 35 percent. Coverage of surface stones ranges from 0 to 15 percent. Reaction ranges from extremely acid to neutral in the A horizon and from very strongly to moderately acid in the B and C horizon.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Kimper soils are in the Cumberland-Allegheny Plateau of eastern Kentucky with possible similar areas in Virginia, West Virginia, and eastern Tennessee. The area is estimated to be of large extent, over 200,000 acres.
Center photo: Most areas of Kimper soils are in secondary growth hardwood forests with mixed stands of yellow poplar, American basswood, white ash, cucumber tree, northern red oak, black walnut, black locust and umbrella magnolia. Less sloping areas are used as pasture and sites for houses and gardens.
Right photo: Kimper soils in Pike County, Kentucky typically occur on steep slopes (30–75%) and support mixed hardwood forests, especially oak and hickory. Timber growth potential is moderate, with typical site index values for upland oaks around 60–70 feet at 50 years, translating to a moderate to moderately high yield of 50–80 cubic feet per acre per year under good management. Steep terrain, rockiness, and erosion hazards limit harvest methods — cable or selective systems with strong erosion control are preferred. With proper practices, Kimper soils can sustain productive hardwood stands while protecting water and soil resources.