Soils of the - Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

GROUSE SOILS (GR)
Location and Extent : Grouse soils occupy small, scattered areas at the upper elevations in the mountainous,
northern part of the map area . There are about 250 ha of soil complexes dominated by Grouse soils .
Most complexes are with Hollyburn and Dennett soils and Rock Outcrop land type .
Topography and Elevation : The topography of Grouse soils is generally moderately rolling to hilly wit h
slopes between 10 and 30 percent . The soils usually occupy slightly depressional locations or lower slop e
positions where seepage accumulates . Elevations are 1000 m or more above sea level .
Parent Material and Texture : Grouse soils have developed from moderately coarse and coarse-textured ,
stony colluvium, glacial till or mixed colluvium and till that is less than 1 m thick over bedrock . Between 15 an d
30 cm of mostly well-decomposed organic material usually covers the mineral soil surface . The mineral soil i s
mainly gravelly sandy loam or sandy loam in texture sometimes varying to gravelly loamy sand .
Soil Moisture Characteristics : Grouse soils are imperfectly drained . They are rapidly pervious and hav e
moderate water holding capacity and slow surface runoff. The soils often occur in areas where snow accumul -
ates and remains into late spring or early summer. A fluctuating, perched watertable is usually present abov e
the bedrock during heavy rains or snowmelt, or during runoff and seepage from adjacent, higher areas . It is als o
a zone of lateral, telluric seepage where the bedrock is relatively massive .
General Soil Description : Grouse soils generally have a dark reddish brown to black, matted, well -
decomposed, organic surface, about 25 cm thick, and often containing some sandy windblown materia l
derived from local sources . This grades to between 10 and 20 cm of black, friable, weakly structured, sandy soi l
usually containing 10 to 30 percent organic matter. Under this is a layer, about 5 cm thick, of gray to grayish -
black, leached, friable, sandy material which, in turn, is underlain by about 20 cm of dark brown to dark reddis h
brown, weakly structured, friable, sandy to gravelly material containing variable amounts of yellowish or reddis h
mottles . Abruptly under this layer is bedrock, usually granitic . Soil reaction varies from extremely acid in th e
organic surface to strongly acid in the mineral soil above the bedrock . Soil classification is G/eyed Sombric
Ferro-Humic Podzol:lithic phase.
Commonly Associated Soils : Hollyburn, Dennett and Sayres soils and Rock Outcrop and Talus land type s
generally are closely associated with Grouse soils . Dennett soils differ from Grouse soils by consisting of 10 c m
or more of coniferous organic material overlying bedrock . Both Hollyburn and Sayres soils are composed o f
materials similar in depth and texture to Grouse soils . They are, however, well rather than imperfectly draine d
and neither contains the dark coloured, organic matter enriched sandy layer below the organic surface .
Vegetation : Grouse soils occur in the lower alpine and subalpine parkland areas and the vegetation is typical
of these zones . It includes, among others, scattered yellow cedar and mountain hemlock, various heathers ,
blueberries, sedges and grasses . Rooting is restricted to the depth of soil above bedrock (less than 1 m) .
General Land Use Comments : (1) Harsh, high elevation climate, stoniness and adverse topograph y
preclude use of Grouse soils for any sort of arable agriculture, although limited amounts of natural grazing are
sometimes available . (2) Limitations similar to those for agriculture preclude most urban and related uses a s
well . (3) Forest growth is also poor, due mainly to the inclement climate . (4) Spectacular scenery makes Grous e
and associated soils attractive for hiking and similar recreational uses . Trails and other construction should b e
carefully located to prevent damage to the relatively fragile, slow to recover, plant communities .
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