Batch soil series GB
A representative soil profile of the Batch series (Skeletic Endoleptic Entic Podzols) in England. (Cranfield University 2021. The Soils Guide. Available: www.landis.org.uk. Cranfield University, UK.)
Soils classified and described by the World Reference Base for England and Wales:
www.landis.org.uk/services/soilsguide/wrb_list.cfm
This soil is in an association of well drained, stony, brownish and reddish loamy soils confined to southern Shropshire. It is mapped mainly on the Long Mynd and to the south and west on Hopesay and Linley Hills. The underlying rocks are Precambrian Longmyndian sandstones, siltstones and flaggy mudstones which range in colour from grey to purple.
Landscape: Most of the terrain is uncultivated and the semi-natural vegetation is mainly Agrostis-Festuca grassland infested to a varied extent by bracken. The higher parts of the Long Mynd carry heather and bilberry communities but there are some enclosed permanent pastures supporting sheep, particularly on Linley and Hopesay Hills.
The Batch series is moderately deep and very stony throughout or in the subsoil, and is developed in conglomerates as well as sandstones or siltstones. The main soils of this association were mapped as the Batch complex by Mackney and Burnham (1966).
Where there are rock outcrops or sparsely vegetated screes, as on the steep valley sides which dissect the eastern slopes of the Long Mynd, shallow loamy brown rankers of the Powys series are found. All the constituent soils are acid or strongly acid throughout and have the greatest percentage of clay in the topsoil, suggesting that weathering is most intense near the surface. Leaching has removed iron from the upper horizons and deposited it lower down forming a brightly colored subsoil layer.
The grazing value of the grassland communities is generally good and the heather moorland moderate to poor depending on its herb richness. The land provides grazing for sheep belonging to nearby lowland farms but is also much used for recreation. The balance between the various interests is a delicate one because sheep grazing, like burning, helps to maintain the heather and bracken vegetation by preventing the regeneration of trees.
For additional information about the soil association, visit:
www.landis.org.uk/services/soilsguide/mapunit.cfm?mu=61105
For more information on the World Reference Base soil classification system, visit:
www.fao.org/3/i3794en/I3794en.pdf
Batch soil series GB
A representative soil profile of the Batch series (Skeletic Endoleptic Entic Podzols) in England. (Cranfield University 2021. The Soils Guide. Available: www.landis.org.uk. Cranfield University, UK.)
Soils classified and described by the World Reference Base for England and Wales:
www.landis.org.uk/services/soilsguide/wrb_list.cfm
This soil is in an association of well drained, stony, brownish and reddish loamy soils confined to southern Shropshire. It is mapped mainly on the Long Mynd and to the south and west on Hopesay and Linley Hills. The underlying rocks are Precambrian Longmyndian sandstones, siltstones and flaggy mudstones which range in colour from grey to purple.
Landscape: Most of the terrain is uncultivated and the semi-natural vegetation is mainly Agrostis-Festuca grassland infested to a varied extent by bracken. The higher parts of the Long Mynd carry heather and bilberry communities but there are some enclosed permanent pastures supporting sheep, particularly on Linley and Hopesay Hills.
The Batch series is moderately deep and very stony throughout or in the subsoil, and is developed in conglomerates as well as sandstones or siltstones. The main soils of this association were mapped as the Batch complex by Mackney and Burnham (1966).
Where there are rock outcrops or sparsely vegetated screes, as on the steep valley sides which dissect the eastern slopes of the Long Mynd, shallow loamy brown rankers of the Powys series are found. All the constituent soils are acid or strongly acid throughout and have the greatest percentage of clay in the topsoil, suggesting that weathering is most intense near the surface. Leaching has removed iron from the upper horizons and deposited it lower down forming a brightly colored subsoil layer.
The grazing value of the grassland communities is generally good and the heather moorland moderate to poor depending on its herb richness. The land provides grazing for sheep belonging to nearby lowland farms but is also much used for recreation. The balance between the various interests is a delicate one because sheep grazing, like burning, helps to maintain the heather and bracken vegetation by preventing the regeneration of trees.
For additional information about the soil association, visit:
www.landis.org.uk/services/soilsguide/mapunit.cfm?mu=61105
For more information on the World Reference Base soil classification system, visit:
www.fao.org/3/i3794en/I3794en.pdf