Soils of the - Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

PATON SOILS
Location and Extent : Paton soils occupy scattered locations throughout the mountainous, northern part o f
the map area, usually intermingled with or near the base of steep, rocky areas . About 90 ha of pure map unit s
and 2840 ha of soil complexes dominated by Paton soils are mapped . The complexes are mostly with Cannel l
and Eunice soils and Rock Outcrop and Talus land types .
Topography and Elevation : The topography of Paton soils ranges from steeply to extremely sloping wit h
slope gradients from 20 to over 60 percent . Most areas, however, are very steeply sloping with gradient s
between 30 and 60 percent . Elevations range upward from sea level to about 675 m .
Parent Material and Texture : Paton soils have developed from very stony, bouldery and gravelly, coarse -
textured colluvial and alluvial-colluvial fan deposits that usually occur on or near the base of steep, rocky areas .
Included also are some stabilized talus accumulations . The deposits are usually more than 2 m thick an d
usually are underlain by bedrock . Surface and subsurface textures range from gravel to gravelly loamy san d
and from 50 and 80 percent angular coarse fragments are usually present . The subsoil generally consists o f
stony and bouldery, angular gravel containing 80 percent or more coarse fragments .
Soil Moisture Characteristics : Paton soils are well to rapidly drained . They are rapidly pervious and have
low moisture holding capacity and slow surface runoff . Telluric downslope seepage often occurs in the lowe r
subsoil (above the underlying bedrock) after heavy rain .
General Soil Description : Paton soils usually have up to 10 cm of brownish to black organic forest litter o n
the soil surface . This is underlain by a thin, discontinuous, grayish, sandy layer up to 3 cm thick which, in turn, i s
underlain by about 80 cm of very friable to loose, very gravelly material which varies in colour from dark reddis h
brown to dark brown and contains 50 to 80 percent angular stones, cobbles and boulders . The soil the n
changes to about 80 cm of loose, yellowish-brown, very gravelly material containing about 80 percent angula r
stones, cobbles and boulders. Unweathered, gravelly, stony and bouldery soil parent material occurs below
about 160 cm . Soil reaction is extremely acid in the organic surface layer and very strongly acid in the minera l
soil . Soil classification is Orthic Ferro-Humic Podzol.
Commonly Associated Soils : Cannell, Eunice, Strachan and Burwell soils and Rock Outcrop and Talu s
land types are usually closely associated with Paton soils . Strachan and Burwell soils differ from Paton soils by
being developed in glacial till and having strongly cemented subsoil layers . Burwell soils are also imperfectl y
drained . Cannell soils differ by consisting of less than 100 cm of soil over bedrock while Eunice soils differ b y
being composed of more than 10 cm of organic material over bedrock . The Rock Outcrop land type differs b y
consisting of rock either exposed at, or occurring within 10 cm of the land surface . Talus land type consists of
actively accumulating, colluvial rock debris . In some locations, stabilized talus deposits form the paren t
material of Paton soils .
Vegetation : The vegetation on Paton consists mostly of coast Douglas-fir with some western hemlock an d
western red cedar. Red alder and vine maple also occur, especially in somewhat unstable locations or in logge d
areas . Arbutus is a common component of the vegetation at the lower elevations along the sea coast . Rooting i s
unrestricted although limitations to root distribution are imposed by the severely stony, bouldery and gravell y
soil conditions .
General Land Use Comments : (1) Paton soils are unsuited for agricultural uses due to excessive slope s
and very stony, coarse textured soils . (2) Paton soils are also unsuited for urban and similar uses due to stee p
slopes and, in some areas, instability. Many areas are at or near the angle of repose and undercutting will lead t o
cut-slope ravelling and increased downslope movement . Some areas are also susceptible to periodic colluvia l
additions by rock and other debris from upslope locations . Some areas of Paton soils are moderately suited as
sources of aggregate and fill . (3) Forest growth is moderate, limited mainly by the stony nature of the soil and it s
low water holding capacity. Potential annual wood production by coast Douglas-fir is estimated at between 6 . 5
and 9 m 3/ha . During logging and road construction special care to avoid soil disturbance and exposure i s
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