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A representative soil profile of Sarco coarse sand, 0 to 2 percent slopes. The sandy surface is typically less than 50 centimeters (20 inches) thick and rests abruptly over sandy clay loam subsoil. (Soil Survey of Goliad County, Texas; by Jonathan K. Wiedenfeld, Natural Resources Conservation Service)
The Sarco series consists of very deep, moderately well drained, slowly permeable soils that formed in loamy sediments derived from alluvium of late-Pleistocene age. These nearly level and very gently sloping soils are on high terraces of streams on the coastal plain. Slope ranges from 0 to 2 percent. Mean annual air temperature is about 21.1 degrees C (70 degrees F), and mean annual precipitation is about 864 mm (34 in).
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, mixed, active, hyperthermic Oxyaquic Haplustalfs
Soil Moisture: An ustic soil moisture regime. The soil moisture control section remains dry for less than 120 cumulative days in normal years. July through September are the driest months.
Mean annual soil temperature: 21.7 to 22.8 degrees C (71 to 73 degrees F)
Depth to abrupt textural change: 20 to 46 cm (8 to 18 inches)
Depth to argillic horizon: 20 to 46 cm (8 to 18 inches)
Depth to secondary calcium carbonate: where present, 58 to 170 cm (23 to 67 in)
Depth to redox concentrations: 0 to 46 cm (0 to 18 inches)
Particle-size control section (weighted average)
Clay content: 26 to 35 percent
USE AND VEGETATION: The major use is livestock grazing and pastureland. Native grasses include little bluestem, feathery bluestem, Nash and hooded windmillgrass, and Texas plains bristlegrass. Woody species consist of live oak, post oak, mesquite, huisache, spiny hackberry and pricklypear. Coastal bermudagrass is the dominant improved pasture grass. (Ecological site name: Claypan Savannah 28-40" PZ; Ecological site number is R087AY221TX).
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Northern Rio Grande Plain (MLRA 83A in LRR I) in south central Texas mainly along the transition between MLRA 83A and MLRA 150A (Gulf Coast Prairie). Series is of moderate extent.
These soils were previously included with the Papalote series. Classification of this soil is based on the 1989 to 2002 water table study* conducted on similar soils in the central part of the Texas Gulf Coast Prairie MLRA. This soil does not have aquic conditions in most years. In some years, reduced conditions develop just above and in the upper part of the argillic horizon for brief periods following extreme above-normal precipitation events. Redoximorphic features that result from these above normal events are not diagnostic for classification.
For additional information about the survey area, visit:
www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_MANUSCRIPTS/texas/goliadTX...
For a detailed soil description, visit:
soilseries.sc.egov.usda.gov/OSD_Docs/S/SARCO.html
For acreage and geographic distribution, visit:
A representative soil profile of a Arenosol from the Hungarian Soil Classification System (HSCS) by Prof. Blaskó Lajos (2008).
For more information about these soils, visit:
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ARENOSOLS: Easily erodable sandy soil with slow weathering rate, low water and nutrient holding capacity and low base saturation (from the Latin, arena, meaning sand). Arenosols have a coarse texture to a depth of one metre or to a hard layer. Soil formation is limited by low weathering rate and frequent erosion of the surface. If vegetation has not developed, shifting sands dominate. Accumulation of organic matter in the top horizon and/or lamellae of clay, and/or humus and iron complexes, mark periods of stability. Arenosols are amongst the most extensive soil types in the world. They cover 1 percent of Europe.
The current Hungarian Soil Classification System (HSCS) was developed in the 1960s, based on the genetic principles of Dokuchaev. The central unit is the soil type grouping soils that were believed to have developed under similar soil forming factors and processes. The major soil types are the highest category which groups soils based on climatic, geographical and genetic bases. Subtypes and varieties are distinguished according to the assumed dominance of soil forming processes and observable/measurable morphogenetic properties.
Soil profile: A soil profile of McKittrick gravelly sandy loam, in an area of McKittrick-Riverwash complex, flooded, 0 to 3 percent slopes. This soil has a thick gravelly mollic epipedon over a very gravelly subsurface horizon. The parent material is alluvium from the surrounding hills and mountains. (Guadalupe Mountains National Park, Texas; by Alan L. Stahnke, Natural Resources Conservation Service)
The McKittrick series consists of very deep well drained soils that formed in gravelly alluvium. Slopes are 0 to 3 percent. The mean annual precipitation is about 584 mm (23 in) and the mean annual temperature is about 12 degrees C (54 degrees F).
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy-skeletal, mixed, superactive, mesic Fluventic Haplustolls
Thickness of mollic epipedon: 21 to 45 cm (8 to 18 in)
Particle-size control section (weighted average):
Clay Content: 14 to 29 percent
Rock fragment content: 35 to 80 percent total; 25 to 55 percent gravel; 10 to 50 percent cobbles
USE AND VEGETATION: This soil is used for wildlife habitat and recreation. Vegetation is little bluestem, yellow indiangrass, bull muhly, pinyon ricegrass, pine muhly, sedges, sotol, apache plume, bigtooth maple, chinkapin oak, velvet ash, madrone, hoptree, alligator juniper, ponderosa pine, and pinyon pine.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: LRR G; Western Great Plains Range and Irrigated Region; MLRA 70C-Central New Mexico Highlands. The soil is not extensive.
For additional information about the survey area, visit:
soilseries.sc.egov.usda.gov/OSD_Docs/M/MCKITTRICK.html
For a detailed soil description, visit:
www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_MANUSCRIPTS/texas/guadalup...
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Soil scientists sampling an aquic soil in Alaska.
A soil scientist is a person who is qualified to evaluate and interpret soils and soil-related data for the purpose of understanding soil resources as they contribute to not only agricultural production, but as they affect environmental quality and as they are managed for protection of human health and the environment. The university degree should be in Soil Science, or closely related field (i.e., natural resources, environmental science, earth science, etc.) and include sufficient soils-related course work so the Soil Scientist has a measurable level of understanding of the soil environment, including soil morphology and soil forming factors, soil chemistry, soil physics, and soil biology, and the dynamic interaction of these areas.
A description of the soils is essential in any soil survey. Standard technical terms and their definitions for soil properties and features are necessary for accurate soil descriptions. For some soils, standard terms are not adequate and must be supplemented by a narrative. Some soil properties change through time. Many properties must be observed over time and summarized if one is to fully understand the soil being described and its response to short-term environmental changes. Examples are the length of time that cracks remain open, the patterns of soil temperature and moisture, and the variations in size, shape, and hardness of clods in the surface layer of tilled soils.
For additional information about soil classification, visit:
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Rhodhiss soil series
Depth Class: Very deep
Drainage Class (Agricultural): Well drained
Internal Free Water Occurrence: Very deep
Flooding Frequency and Duration: None
Ponding Frequency and Duration: None
Index Surface Runoff: Low to high
Permeability: Moderate
Shrink-Swell Potential: Low
Landscape: Piedmont upland
Landform: Hill, ridge
Geomorphic Component: Interfluve, side slope, nose slope
Hillslope Profile Position: Summit, shoulder, back slope
Parent Material: Residuum from felsic crystalline rock
Slope: 2 to 95 percent
Elevation (type location): Unknown feet
Frost Free Period (type location): 176 days
Mean Annual Air Temperature (type location): 56 degrees F.
Mean Annual Precipitation (type location): 46 inches
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, mixed, semiactive, mesic Typic Hapludults
Depth to top of Argillic horizon: 2 to 20 inches
Depth to base of Argillic horizon: 20 to 60 inches or more
Thickness of Argillic horizon: 10 to 40 inches
Depth to Bedrock: Greater than 60 inches
Depth to Seasonal High Water Table: Greater than 60 inches
Rock Fragment Content: 0 to 35 percent, by volume in the A and E horizons and 0 to 20 percent in the B and C horizon; mostly gravel
Soil Reaction: Very strongly acid to slightly acid, unless limed
Mica Content: 0 to 20 percent, by volume mica flakes, throughout. Some pedons have C horizons, below a depth of 40 inches, that range to 35 percent mica flakes. (Due to the extremely elastic properties of mica minerals, attributed to mica's soft, spongy fabric, the micaceous soils in particular micaceous clays may deform remarkably under applied load and hence affect the bulk compressibility of such soils. Mica minerals, although rather resilient, may gradually recover their initial shape due to the elastic rebound (or springy action), thereby reducing the efficiency of compactive effort and hence potentially compromising the performance of various facilities constructed on micaceous clays,)
USE AND VEGETATION:
Major Uses: Woodland
Dominant Vegetation: Where cultivated--small grain, hay, and pasture. Where wooded--pine and mixed hardwoods.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT:
Distribution: North Carolina and Virginia
Extent: Moderate
For a detailed description, visit:
soilseries.sc.egov.usda.gov/OSD_Docs/R/RHODHISS.html
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A representative soil profile of the Triangle series. The Triangle series consists of deep, very poorly drained wide cracking soils with a high percentage of exchangeable sodium. They formed in mixed alluvium in basin rims and have slopes of less than 2 percent. The mean annual precipitation is about 11 inches and the mean annual temperature is 62 degrees F.
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine, smectitic, thermic Sodic Epiaquerts
Most years the entire profile is saturated from September through April by a water table and stagnant surface water. Cracks range from 2 to 8 cm wide at the surface and 1 to 2 cm at depths of 34 inches from May 1 to September 15. The depth from the surface to the unrelated lower C horizon ranges from 45 to 70 inches.
USE AND VEGETATION: These soils are ponded and used for waterfowl hunting with some areas used for limited grazing (during spring and summer) between hunting seasons. The vegetation is swampgrass, Baltic rush, alkali bullrush, sour clover, and other salt tolerant wetland grasses and forbs.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: These soils are distributed along the basin rim of the central part of the San Joaqin Valley in California. They are not extensive. These soils were formerly included with and surveyed as the Willows series in the Los Banos Area, series 1939 report. They are being differentiated by characteristics that show a reducing environment (Aquic Moisture Regime) and by being ponded for six months which is not characteristic of the Willows series.
For additional information about Idaho soils, please visit:
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For a detailed soil description, visit:
soilseries.sc.egov.usda.gov/OSD_Docs/T/TRIANGLE.html
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Gypsiferous soils are soils that contain sufficient quantities of gypsum (calcium sulphate) to interfere with plant growth. Soils with gypsum of pedogenic origin are found in regions with ustic, xeric and aridic moisture regimes. They are well represented in dry areas where sources for the calcium sulphate exist. They do not usually occur under wet climates. In most cases the gypsum is associated with other salts of calcium and salts of sodium and magnesium.
Chris Grose (Mapping Crew Leader) for Abu Dhabi Soil Survey. Chris is a soil scientist with over 30 years’ experience in soil mapping and land evaluation much of it in Tasmania. Originally from the UK, Chris arrived in Australia after spending several years investigating soils in Papua New Guinea. He has also worked in Kuwait, Israel, the Philippines and in the United Arab Emirates.
Shabbir Shahid has more than 32 years of experience as a soil scientist in Pakistan, the UK, Kuwait, and the UAE. He served as lead soil taxonomist, technical coordinator, and quality assurance expert. He is a prolific author with over 150 scientific papers published in peer-reviewed journals and books and was a pioneer in soil survey on the Arabian Peninsula.
Mike Wilson is a Research Soil Scientist, USDA-NRCS-National Soil Survey Laboratory in Lincoln, Nebraska, He has served in this position for more than 25 years conducting soil genesis research specifically in the area of soil geochemistry and mineralogy. He has contributed to numerous USDA soils-related research projects in both the US and around the world specializing in climate change and soil classification/interpretation.
For more information about soil classification in the UAE, visit:
vdocument.in/united-arab-emirates-keys-to-soil-taxonomy.h...
For more information about describing and sampling soils, visit:
www.nrcs.usda.gov/resources/guides-and-instructions/field...
or Chapter 3 of the Soil Survey manual:
www.nrcs.usda.gov/sites/default/files/2022-09/The-Soil-Su...
For additional information on "How to Use the Field Book for Describing and Sampling Soils" (video reference), visit:
A representative soil profile of a hydric Leon soil in Florida. A hydric soil is a soil that formed under conditions of saturation, flooding or ponding long enough during the growing season to develop anaerobic conditions in the upper part.
The Leon series consists of very deep, poorly and very poorly drained, moderately rapid to moderately slowly permeable soils on upland flats, depressions, stream terraces and tidal areas. They formed in sandy marine sediments of the Eastern Gulf Coast Flatwoods (MLRA 152A), the Atlantic Coast Flatwoods (MLRA 153A) and to a lesser extent in the Southern Coastal Plain (MLRA 133A) and the North-Central Florida Ridge (MLRA 138). Slopes range from 0 to 5 percent.
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Sandy, siliceous, thermic Aeric Alaquods
The Bh horizon is within 30 inches of the soil surface. Reaction ranges from extremely acid to slightly acid throughout. In tidal areas, the soil reaction ranges from very strongly acid to moderately alkaline throughout.
USE AND VEGETATION: Most areas of Leon soils are used for forestry, rangeland and pasture. Areas with adequate water control are used for cropland and vegetables. The natural vegetation consists of longleaf pine, slash pine, water oak, myrtle, with a thick undergrowth of sawpalmetto, running oak, fetterbush and other lyionia, inkberry (gallberry), wax myrtle, goldenrod, ligustrina, dog fennel, chalky bluestem, lowbush blueberry, creeping bluestem and pineland threeawn (wiregrass). In depressions, the vegetation is dominated by brackenfern, smooth sumac and swamp cyrilla are common. Vegetation in the tidal marshes includes bushy seaoxeye, marshhay cordgrass, seashore saltgrass, batis, and smooth cordgrass.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: The Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain from Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia and Maryland. The series is of large extent.
The water table is at depths of 6 to 18 inches for 1 to 4 months during most years. In low flats or sloughs it is at a depth of 0 to 6 for periods of more than 3 weeks during most years. It is between depths of 18 and 36 inches for 2 to 10 months during most years. It is below 60 inches during the dry periods of most years. Depressional areas are covered with standing water for periods of 6 months or more in most years.
For a detailed description, visit:
soilseries.sc.egov.usda.gov/OSD_Docs/L/LEON.html
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The Colthorp series consists of shallow to a duripan, well drained soils on basalt plains and terraces. They formed in silty alluvium from loess and weathered volcanic ash. Permeability is moderately slow. Slopes are 0 to 20 percent. The average annual precipitation is about 11 inches and the average annual air temperature is about 51 degrees F.
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy, mixed, superactive, mesic, shallow Xeric Argidurids
Average annual soil temperature - 50 to 55 degrees F.
Depth to duripan - 10 to 20 inches
Depth to bedrock - 20 to 40 inches
Depth to secondary calcium carbonates - 5 to 15 inches
Particle-size control section - 18 to 30 percent clay; 0 to 15 percent rock fragments
Moisture control section - moist less than 90 consecutive days when the soil temperature is greater than 47 degrees F.
USE AND VEGETATION: The Colthorp soils are used mainly for rangeland. Some areas are irrigated and are used for pasture, hay, corn, small grains, sugar beets, and potatoes. Vegetation in the potential natural plant community is mainly Wyoming big sagebrush, bluebunch wheatgrass, Sandberg bluegrass, and Thurber needlegrass.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Southwestern and south central Idaho; MLRA 11. It is of moderate extent.
The classification of this pedon has been revised as of 4/00 from loamy, mixed, mesic, shallow Xerollic Durargids to loamy, mixed, superactive, mesic, shallow Xeric Argidurids based on revision to Soil Taxonomy.
The term silty alluvium used in this series concept infers a localized influence on the mixed loess and weathered volcanic ash soil material by overland flow of running water.
Geographic setting - terms used throughout MLRA 11 to identify the setting of this soil are quire varied although all equate to the same landscape. There will be further investigation from an MLRA project level as to the accepted terms for use.
For additional information about Idaho soils, please visit:
storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/97d01af9d4554b9097cb0a477e04...
For a detailed description, visit:
soilseries.sc.egov.usda.gov/OSD_Docs/C/COLTHORP.html
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Soil profile: A representative soil profile of the Backdoor series. (Soil Survey of Pinnacles National Monument, California; by Ken Oster, Natural Resources Conservation Service)
Landscape: Typical area of a Backdoor soil. This soil is used for watershed, wildlife habitat and recreation. Vegetation is Chamise chaparral or mixed chaparral.
The Backdoor series consists of deep, well drained soils that formed in residuum weathered from granite. The Backdoor soils are on hills. Slopes range from 9 to 70 percent. The mean annual precipitation is about 17 inches (432 millimeters) and the mean annual air temperature is about 61 to 63 degrees F (16 degrees C).
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, mixed, active, thermic Typic Argixerolls
Depth to bedrock: more than 60 inches (150 centimeters).
Mean annual soil temperature: 61 to 53 degrees F (16 to 17 degrees C).
Soil moisture control section: dry in all parts from May 15 to November 15 (180 days), and moist in all parts from about January 15 to April 15 (90 days).
Particle size control section: 25 to 30 percent clay, 5 to 25 percent rock fragments mostly gravel from granite.
Base Saturation by sum of cations: 87 to 100%
USE AND VEGETATION: This soil is used for watershed, wildlife habitat and recreation. Vegetation is Chamise chaparral or mixed chaparral.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: San Benito and Monterey Counties, California in MLRA 15 -- Central California Coast Range. These soils are of small extent. Source of name: rock formation in Pinnacles National Monument. This series was established based on limited acreage observed within the National Park Service Pinnacles National Monument boundary.
For additional information about the survey area, visit:
www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_MANUSCRIPTS/california/CA7...
For a detailed soil description, visit:
soilseries.sc.egov.usda.gov/OSD_Docs/B/BACKDOOR.html
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A representative soil profile of the Riverview series. These well drained, very deep soils are derived from alluvium and occur on flood plains other than those of the James River. These soils are very fertile, however, flooding is a limitation. (Soil Survey of Appomattox County, Virginia; by William F. Kitchel, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University)
The Riverview series consists of very deep, well drained, moderately permeable soils that formed in loamy alluvium on flood plains. Slopes range from 0 to 5 percent. Near the type location, the average annual temperature is about 66 degrees F. and the average annual precipitation is about 58 inches.
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, mixed, active, thermic Fluventic Dystrudepts
Solum thickness ranges from 24 to 60 inches. Depth to bedrock is more than 60 inches. Reaction ranges from very strongly acid to slightly acid in the A horizon and from very strongly acid to moderately acid in the Bw, BC, and C horizons. Buried A and/or B horizons, present in some pedons below a depth of 25 inches, have the same range in color and texture as the A or B horizons. Content of mica flakes ranges from none to common throughout the solum.
USE AND VEGETATION: Chiefly in woodland. Native vegetation is forests of
sweetgum, oak, beech, yellow poplar and loblolly pine.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Coastal Plain and Southern Piedmont of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia. The series is of moderate extent.
For additional information about the survey area, visit:
www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_MANUSCRIPTS/virginia/VA011...
For a detailed soil description, visit:
soilseries.sc.egov.usda.gov/OSD_Docs/R/RIVERVIEW.html
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Soil profile: A representative soil profile of the Casino soil series. (Soil Survey of Pinnacles National Monument, California; by Ken Oster, Natural Resources Conservation Service)
Landscape: Typical area of a Casino soil. This soil is used for watershed, wildlife habitat and recreation. Vegetation is blue oak with an understory of grasses.
The Casino series consists of moderately deep, moderately well drained soils that formed in residuum weathered from andesite. The Casino soils are on hills. Slopes range from 20 to 70 percent. The mean annual precipitation is about 17 inches (432 millimeters) and the mean annual air temperature is about 61 degrees F (16 degrees C).
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine, smectitic, thermic Pachic Argixerolls
Depth to bedrock: 20 to 40 inches (50 to 100 centimeters).
Mean annual soil temperature: 61 to 63 degrees F (16 to 17 degrees C).
Soil moisture control section: dry in all parts from about June 15 to November 15 (90 days), and moist in all parts from about January 15 to April 15 (105 days).
Particle size control section: 38 to 60 percent clay, 0 to 35 percent rock fragments from andesite.
Base Saturation by ammonium acetate: 93 to 100%
USE AND VEGETATION: This soil is used for watershed, wildlife habitat and recreation. Vegetation is blue oak with an understory of grasses.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: San Benito and Monterey Counties, California in MLRA 15 -- Central California Coast Range. These soils are of small extent.
For additional information about the survey area, visit:
www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_MANUSCRIPTS/california/CA7...
For a detailed soil description, visit:
soilseries.sc.egov.usda.gov/OSD_Docs/C/CASINO.html
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Aaron McFarlane, St. Paul District biologist, takes a photo of soils and Eric Hanson, St. Paul District ecologist holds a towel to block out sunlight, on a Pool 8 island near Brownsville, Minnesota, July 22. The team is surveying soils and vegetation to compare natural and constructed islands along the Upper Mississippi River. The data will be used to create islands from dredged material that are closer to naturally occurring islands that provide high-value ecological communities like floodplain forests. (USACE photo by Melanie Peterson)
Ironstone fragments from a petroferric layer. A petroferric (Gr. petra, rock, and L. ferrum, iron; implying ironstone) contact is a boundary between soil and a continuous layer of indurated material in which iron is an important cement and organic matter is either absent or present only in traces. The indurated layer must be continuous within the limits of each pedon, but it may be fractured if the average lateral distance between fractures is 10 cm or more. The fact that this ironstone layer contains little or no organic matter distinguishes it from a placic horizon and an indurated spodic horizon (ortstein), both of which contain organic matter.
Using GPR to Characterize Plinthite and Ironstone Layers in Ultisols. Available from: www.researchgate.net/publication/282805887_Using_GPR_to_C... [accessed Dec 09 2020].
Several features can aid in making the distinction between a lithic contact and a petroferric contact.
First, a petroferric contact is roughly horizontal.
Second, the material directly below a petroferric contact contains a high amount of iron (normally 30 percent or more Fe2O3
Third, the ironstone sheets below a petroferric contact are thin; their thickness ranges from a few centimeters to very few meters. Sandstone, on the other hand, may be thin or very thick, may be level-bedded or tilted, and may contain only a small percentage of Fe2O3.
For more information about describing and sampling soils, visit:
www.nrcs.usda.gov/resources/guides-and-instructions/field...
or Chapter 3 of the Soil Survey manual:
www.nrcs.usda.gov/sites/default/files/2022-09/The-Soil-Su...
For additional information on "How to Use the Field Book for Describing and Sampling Soils" (video reference), visit:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_hQaXV7MpM
For additional information about soil classification using USDA-NRCS Soil Taxonomy, visit:
www.nrcs.usda.gov/resources/guides-and-instructions/keys-...
or;
www.nrcs.usda.gov/resources/guides-and-instructions/soil-...
Soil profile: Profile of Watahala gravelly silt loam. Yellowish red clay begins at a depth of about 70 Centimeters and extends to below a depth 150 centimeters. (Soil Survey of Bland County, Virginia; by Robert K. Conner, Natural Resources Conservation Service)
Landscape: Sinkholes in a hayfield in an area of Frederick and Watahala soils, karst, 8 to 15 percent slopes.
The Watahala series consists of very deep, well drained soils formed in residuum from chert or cherty limestone over residuum from purer limestone on low hills and ridges in limestone valleys. Permeability is moderately slow to moderately rapid. Slope ranges from 2 to 60 percent. Mean annual precipitation is about 44 inches and mean annual air temperature is about 57 degrees F.
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy over clayey, siliceous over mixed, subactive, mesic Typic Paleudults
Solum thickness and depth to bedrock are more than 60 inches. Depth to the 2Bt horizon ranges from 20 to 50 inches. Coarse fragments are mostly chert, but may include limestone and sandstone and are mostly gravel or cobble size. Percent coarse fragments range from 10 to 45 in individual horizons above the 2Bt, but the control section averages less than 35 percent. Percent coarse fragments range from 0 to 35 in the 2Bt horizon. Reaction is extremely acid to strongly acid in the upper part of the solum, and very strongly acid to strongly acid in the 2Bt horizon.
USE AND VEGETATION: The soils are used for the production of timber and related natural resources. Some areas are used for pasture or have been developed for homesites. Some less sloping areas are used for row crops. The overstory in most areas consists of white oak, red oak, eastern white pine, black locust, chestnut oak, yellow-poplar, red maple, black birch, white ash, and black cherry. The understory contains mountain laurel, huckleberry, azalea, flowering dogwood, sassafras, black locust, black gum, wild grape, red maple, multi-flora rose, Virginia creeper, black birch, black berry and ferns.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: MLRA 128 and 147, Appalachian Ridge and Valley areas of Virginia and northern Tennessee. Series is of moderate extent. Soils now within the range of the Watahala series were correlated as Frederick, gravelly phase in several published soil surveys.
For additional information about the survey area, visit:
www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_MANUSCRIPTS/virginia/VA021...
For a detailed soil description, visit:
soilseries.sc.egov.usda.gov/OSD_Docs/W/WATAHALA.html
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A representative profile of Potomac soil, the dominant soil on first-bottom flood plains in the Bluestone National Scenic River area. Potomac soils are characterized by a high content of cobbles and gravel throughout and commonly have layers deposited from a series of flood events. (Soil Survey of Bluestone National Scenic River, West Virginia; by Eileen Klein, Natural Resources Conservation Service)
The Potomac series consists of very deep, somewhat excessively drained soils formed in coarse-textured alluvial material on floodplains. Slopes range from 0 to 8 percent.
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Sandy-skeletal, mixed, mesic Typic Udifluvents
Depth to bedrock is greater than 5 feet. Pebbles and cobblestones dominantly of sandstone range from 0 to 50 percent in the A horizon, and the weighted average by volume in the C horizon is dominantly greater than 50 percent, but ranges from 35 to 70 percent. Subhorizons of the C horizon in some pedons are nearly free of rock fragments and in others it ranges to 80 percent. Unlimed soils are mildly alkaline to very strongly acid.
USE AND VEGETATION: More than one-half of the acreage is cleared and used mainly for pasture or hay. Many areas are idle and reverting to woody vegetation. Native vegetation was mixed hardwoods.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Ridge and Valley and southern Appalachian Plateau areas of West Virginia, also Kentucky and North Carolina. The extent is moderate. These soils were previously mapped as Alluvial land and Alluvial land, cobbly. These soils as mapped are sandy-skeletal, but in some areas they are marginal to loamy-skeletal.
For additional information about the survey area, visit:
www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_MANUSCRIPTS/west_virginia/...
For a detailed description, visit:
soilseries.sc.egov.usda.gov/OSD_Docs/P/POTOMAC.html
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(Soil Survey of Deaf Smith County, Texas by Thomas C. Byrd, Natural Resources Conservation Service; photo by Kelly Auttebury and Earl Blakley)
The Estacado series consists of very deep, well drained, moderately slowly permeable soils that formed in calcareous, loamy eolian deposits of the Blackwater Draw Formation of Pleistocene age. These soils are on nearly level to gently sloping plains and playa slopes. Slope ranges from 0 to 5 percent. Mean annual precipitation is 483 mm (19 in), and mean annual air temperature is 16 degrees C (61 degrees F).
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, mixed, superactive, thermic Aridic Paleustolls
Soil moisture: An ustic moisture regime bordering on aridic. The soil moisture control section is dry in some or all parts for more than 180 but less than 220 days, cumulative, in normal years. July through August and December through
February are the driest months. These soils are intermittently moist in September through November and March through June.
Mean annual soil temperature: 15 to 18 degrees C (59 to 64 degrees F).
Depth to argillic horizon: 13 to 25 cm (5 to 10 in).
Depth to secondary calcium carbonate: 13 to 61 cm (5 to 24 in).
Depth to calcic horizon: 63 to 100 cm (25 to 40 in).
Solum thickness: more than 203 cm (80 in).
Particle-size control section: 18 to 35 percent silicate clay.
USE AND VEGETATION: Mainly used for crop production. Principal crops grown are cotton, grain sorghum, and wheat. Climax vegetation in rangeland is mainly mid and short grasses and includes blue grama, sideoats grama, and buffalograss, with lesser amounts of vine-mesquite, western wheatgrass, galleta or tobosa, silver bluestem, wild alfalfa, and prairieclover with a light to moderate overstory of mesquite. This soil has been correlated to the Deep Hardland (R077CY022TX) ecological site in MLRA-77C.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: The Southern High Plains, Southern Part (MLRA 77C in LRR H) of western Texas and eastern New Mexico. The soil is moderately extensive. These soils were previously included with the Portales and Mansker series.
For additional information about the survey area, visit:
www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_MANUSCRIPTS/texas/TX117/0/...
For a detailed soil description, visit:
soilseries.sc.egov.usda.gov/OSD_Docs/E/ESTACADO.html
For acreage and geographic distribution, visit:
A hydric soil is a soil that formed under conditions of saturation, flooding or ponding long enough during the growing season to develop anaerobic conditions in the upper part.
Organic soil is a soil that is created by the decomposition of plant and animal materials to create a nutrient and mineral rich mini-ecosystem with microorganisms that feed and breathe life back into the soil.
In both the World Reference Base for Soil Resources (WRB) and the USDA soil taxonomy, a Histosol--or an organic soil--is a soil consisting primarily of decomposed plant material. They are defined as having 40 centimetres (16 in) or more of organic soil material in the upper 80 centimetres (31 in). Organic soil material has an organic carbon content (by weight) of 12 to 18 percent, or more, depending on the clay content of the soil. These materials include muck (sapric soil material), mucky peat (hemic soil material), or peat (fibric soil material). Aquic conditions or artificial drainage are required.
Typically, Histosols have very low bulk density and are poorly drained because the organic matter holds water very well. Most are acidic and many are very deficient in major plant nutrients which are washed away in the consistently moist soil. Histosols are known by various other names in other countries, such as peat or muck. In the Australian Soil Classification, Histosols are called Organosols. Histosols form whenever organic matter forms at a more rapid rate than it is destroyed. This occurs because of restricted drainage precluding aerobic decomposition, and the remains of plants and animals remain within the soil.
For more information about describing and sampling soils, visit:
www.nrcs.usda.gov/resources/guides-and-instructions/field...
or Chapter 3 of the Soil Survey manual:
www.nrcs.usda.gov/sites/default/files/2022-09/The-Soil-Su...
For additional information on "How to Use the Field Book for Describing and Sampling Soils" (video reference), visit:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_hQaXV7MpM
For additional information about soil classification using USDA-NRCS Soil Taxonomy, visit:
www.nrcs.usda.gov/resources/guides-and-instructions/keys-...
or;
www.nrcs.usda.gov/resources/guides-and-instructions/soil-...
For more information about Hydric Soils and their Field Indicators, visit:
www.nrcs.usda.gov/resources/guides-and-instructions/field...
For more soil related images, visit:
Fragipans prevent the downward movement of water and roots into the soil. The very dense, brittle, prisms block movement while coarser material surrounding the prisms serves as a preferential flow path. Limited rooting depth caused by fragipans has been found to significantly decrease crop productivity.
The Nicholson series consists of very deep, moderately well drained soils with a slowly permeable fragipan in the subsoil. The soils formed in a mantle of loess or silty material underlain by residuum of limestone, calcareous shale, and siltstone. The soil is on upland ridgetops. Slopes range from 0 to 20 percent. Near the type location, the annual air temperature is 53.3 degrees F. and the mean annual precipitation is 41.3 inches.
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-silty, mixed, active, mesic Oxyaquic Fragiudalfs
Depth to limestone, calcareous shale, or siltstone is more than 60 inches. Depth to the fragipan is 16 to 30 inches. Reaction ranges from very strongly to slightly acid above and in the fragipan; below the fragipan the reaction ranges from strongly acid to slightly alkaline. Rock fragments range from 0 to 15 percent in the Ap, Bt, Btx, and 2Bt horizon and 0 to 35 percent in the 2C horizon.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Moderately well drained. Negligible to medium runoff. Permeability is moderate above the fragipan and slow or very slow in the fragipan.
USE AND VEGETATION: Nearly all areas are used for growing corn, burley tobacco, small grains, truck and fruit crops, hay, pasture, and for urban-suburban development. The original vegetation was hardwood, chiefly oaks, maples, black walnut, hickory, ash, beech, elm, hackberry, black locust, Kentucky coffee tree; eastern redcedar.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Kentucky, Indiana, Missouri, Ohio, Tennessee, and possibly Virginia. The series is of moderate extent.
For additional information about soil classification, visit:
www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/main/soils/survey/class...
For a detailed soil description, visit:
soilseries.sc.egov.usda.gov/OSD_Docs/N/NICHOLSON.html
For acreage and geographic distribution, visit:
Soil profile: A representative soil profile of Premont fine sandy loam, 0 to 3 percent slopes. This soil is used for crop and forage production in the county. The rounded shape and the downward weathering pattern of the calcium carbonates nodules at a depth of 1 meter, suggests the parent material was deposited by alluvial processes. (Soil Survey of Duval County, Texas; by John L. Sackett III, Natural Resources Conservation Service)
Landscape: The Premont series is commonly used for crop production in Duval County as seen here. The darker area in the middle of the picture, and the area with the brush is the Realitos series, found in enclosed depressions. Ponding occurs too frequently on Realitos to make cultivation profitable.
The Premont series consists of very deep, moderately permeable, well drained soils that have formed in loamy sediments over calcareous loamy alluvium of Quaternary age. These nearly level to gently sloping soils are on crests on paleoterraces. Slope ranges from 0 to 3 percent. The mean annual temperature is about 22.2 degrees C (72 degrees F), and the mean annual precipitation is about 660 mm (26 in).
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, mixed, superactive, hyperthermic Typic Haplustalfs
Soil Moisture: An ustic moisture regime. The soil moisture control section is dry in some or all parts for more than 90 but less than 180 cumulative days in normal years. June through August and December through February are the driest months. These soils are intermittently moist in September through November and March through May.
Mean annual soil temperature: 22.2 to 23.4 degrees C (72 to 74 degrees F).
Depth to secondary calcium carbonates: 74 to 152 cm (29 to 60 in).
Particle-size control section (weighted average): Clay content: 17 to 32 percent.
Some pedons have mollic colors but do not have enough organic carbon to meet the requirements for a mollic epipedon.
USE AND VEGETATION: The major uses are crop production, livestock grazing, and wildlife habitat. Grasses present include false rhodesgrass, Kleberg bluestem, plains bristlegrass, shortspike windmillgrass, and guineagrass. Woody vegetation consists of mesquite, catclaw, elbowbush, limepricklyash, pricklypear, granjeno, and tasajillo. Crops grown include grain sorghum, watermelons and cotton. Sandy Loam (R083AY407TX).
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Northern Rio Grande Plain (MLRA 83A in LRR I) of southern Texas. The series is of moderate extent.
The Premont soils were formerly included in the Delfina series. Future study is needed to verify the calcic horizon of these soils. The calcium carbonate masses appear to be degrading petrocalcic fragments and are being removed from the soil matrix. This is characterized by the sharp boundaries of the soft material surrounding, in some cases, nodules that vary in size. These are mostly in the lower materials below the lithologic discontinuity.
For additional information about the survey area, visit:
www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_MANUSCRIPTS/texas/TX131/Du...
For a detailed soil description, visit:
soilseries.sc.egov.usda.gov/OSD_Docs/P/PREMONT.html
For acreage and geographic distribution, visit:
Soil profile: A representative soil profile of the Navilleton soil series. (Soil Survey of Floyd County, Indiana; by Steven W. Neyhouse, Byron G. Nagel, and Dena L. Marshall, Natural Resources Conservation Service)
Landscape: Hayland in an area of Caneyville, Haggatt, and Navilleton soils on hills underlain by limestone.
The Navilleton series consists of very deep, well drained soils that formed in loess and the underlying paleosol in clayey residuum. They are on hills and sinkholes underlain with limestone. Slopes range from 2 to 12 percent. Mean annual precipitation is about 109 cm (43 inches), and mean annual temperature is about 12 degrees C (54 degrees F).
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-silty, mixed, active, mesic Typic Paleudalfs
Thickness of the loess: 51 to 102 cm (20 to 40 inches)
Depth to the base of the argillic horizon and to bedrock (lithic contact): 152 to more than 254 cm (60 to more than 100 inches)
USE AND VEGETATION: These soils are typically used to grow crops. Principal crops are corn, soybeans, winter wheat, and grasses and legumes for hay and pasture. A few areas are in forest. Native vegetation is mixed deciduous hardwood forest.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: South central Indiana. This series is of small extent in MLRA 122.
This soil was included with Crider soils in the 1974 Clark and Floyd Counties, Indiana soil survey, and is identified in the updating of Floyd County. Some data shows the family particle-size class to be contrasting (fine-silty over clayey), but as of 03/2006 this soil is considered dominantly to be in the fine-silty class.
For additional information about the survey area, visit:
www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_MANUSCRIPTS/indiana/IN043/...
For a detailed soil description, visit:
soilseries.sc.egov.usda.gov/OSD_Docs/N/NAVILLETON.html
For acreage and geographic distribution, visit:
A soil profile of a Haploxerept in Tunisia. This soil has a reddish brown cambic horizon between depths of about 10 and 60 cm. (Soil Survey Staff. 2015. Illustrated guide to Soil Taxonomy. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service, National Soil Survey Center, Lincoln, Nebraska)
Haploxerepts are calcareous at some depth or have high base saturation. They are relatively high in natural fertility. Some of the soils have an accumulation of calcium carbonate in the subsoil. Haploxerepts are moist through winter and into spring but are thoroughly dry for much of the summer. Slopes are gentle to very steep, and the soils are shallow to very deep. The most common vegetation on Haploxerepts in the United States was coniferous forest on the cooler sites and grass and widely spaced trees on the warmer sites. Haploxerepts occur in the western United States and are moderately extensive.
For additional information about soil classification, visit:
www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detail/soils/survey/cla...
Soil profile: Larkin soils typically form in loess, but in some areas loess over residuum derived from basalt or loess mixed with a small amount of volcanic ash in upper part.
Landscape--Columbia hills
Landform--loess hills, structural benches, plateaus
Slope--0 to 60 percent
Parent material--typically loess, but in some areas loess over residuum derived from basalt or loess mixed with a small amount of volcanic ash in upper part
Mean annual air temperature--about 8 degrees C
Mean annual precipitation--about 585 mm
Depth class--very deep
Drainage class--well drained
Soil moisture regime--xeric
Soil temperature regime--mesic
Soil moisture subclass--typic
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-silty, mixed, superactive, mesic Ultic Argixerolls
Thickness of mollic epipedon--25 to 50 cm
Base saturation--50 to 75 percent in some part between depths of 25 and 75 cm
Soil moisture control section--dry 45 to 75 days
Mean annual soil temperature--8 to 12 degrees C
Content of clay in particle-size control section (weighted average)--20 to 35 percent
USE AND VEGETATION:
Use--dominantly crop production; some timber production
Potential natural vegetation--dominantly ponderosa pine, mallow ninebark, common snowberry, elk sedge, and bluebunch wheatgrass
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Northern Idaho and eastern Washington; MLRA 9; moderate extent
For additional information about the survey area, visit:
www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_MANUSCRIPTS/washington/spo...
For a detailed soil description, visit:
soilseries.sc.egov.usda.gov/OSD_Docs/L/LARKIN.html
For acreage and geographic distribution, visit:
Left image—A backhoe excavation providing a large view of the soil profile and improving access for description and sampling. (Photo courtesy of Wayne Gabriel)
A soil scientist examines the soil often in the course of mapping. Examination of both horizontal and vertical variations is essential. Backhoes and shovels are used to expose larger soil sections for examination, sampling, and photography. Where a probe or auger is regularly used for examining the soil, a large pit exposed by a backhoe can be used to ensure map unit concepts are as predicted and have not strayed from the conceptual model developed.
Soil profile: Zanesville soils are deep or very deep and moderately well drained with slow permeability. Depth to a fragipan ranges from 60 to 99 centimeters. They formed in loess over residuum derived from sandstone, siltstone, and shale. (Kentucky Soil Atlas; by Anastasios D. Karathanasis, University of Kentucky)
Landscape: They are on hillslope, interfluve, ridge and saddle positions on uplands and are used for row crops, pasture and woodland. Where cultivated, corn, soybeans, wheat, and tobacco is commonly grown. Where wooded, white oak, black oak, post oak, shagbark hickory, sugar maple, tulip poplar, dogwood, and sassafras are common species.
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-silty, mixed, active, mesic Oxyaquic Fragiudalfs
Distribution: Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio
Extent: Extent is large.
For additional information about Kentucky soils, visit:
uknowledge.uky.edu/pss_book/4/
For a detailed soil description, visit:
soilseries.sc.egov.usda.gov/OSD_Docs/Z/ZANESVILLE.html
For acreage and geographic distribution, visit:
Soil profile: A representative soil profile of the Quincy series.
Landscape: Quincy soil are on dunes and terraces and are used for livestock grazing and irrigated cropland. Irrigated areas are in potatoes, hay, pasture, small grains, grapes, and tree fruits.
The Quincy series consists of very deep, excessively drained soils formed in sands on dunes and terraces. Slopes are 0 to 65 percent. The mean annual precipitation is about 10 inches and the mean annual temperature is about 52 degrees F.
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Mixed, mesic Xeric Torripsamments
The mean annual soil temperature is 50 to 57 degrees F, and the mean summer temperature is 66 to 78 degrees F. These soils are moist in the winter and spring but are dry more than one half of the time the soil temperature exceeds 40 degrees F., about 105 to 130 consecutive days. These soils are dry in all parts between depths of 7 and 20 inches. Hue is 10YR or 2.5Y. Value is 4 to 7 dry, 3 to 5 moist and chroma is 1 to 4 moist or dry. Organic matter in the surface horizon when mixed is less than 1 percent. The 10 to 40 inch particle-size control section ranges from sand to loamy fine sand. Less than 75 percent of the sand is very coarse, coarse, and medium if the clay content is less than 5 percent. If the clay content exceeds 5 percent, more than 75 percent of the sand fraction can be in the very coarse, coarse and medium size classes. The upper 15 inches of these soils is free of lime, except for small particles brought up by insects and animals. The matrix below 15 inches is noncalcareous in some pedons. Reaction in the upper 20 inches is slightly acid to moderately alkaline, and below 20 inches it is neutral to moderately alkaline. Some pedons have unconforming materials, including coarse sand, fine sandy loam, very fine sandy loam, silt loam, very gravelly sand, very gravelly loamy fine sand, at depths below 40 inches.
USE AND VEGETATION: These soils are used for livestock grazing and irrigated cropland. Irrigated areas are in potatoes, hay, pasture, small grains, grapes, and tree fruits. The natural vegetation is needleandthread, thickspike wheatgrass, Indian ricegrass, rabbitbrush, horsebrush, fourwing saltbush, Antelope bitterbrush, and big sagebrush.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Washington MLRA 7, Oregon MLRA 7 and 11, Idaho MLRA 11, and California. The soil is extensive.
For additional information about Idaho soils, please visit:
storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/97d01af9d4554b9097cb0a477e04...
For a detailed soil description, visit:
soilseries.sc.egov.usda.gov/OSD_Docs/Q/QUINCY.html
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A representative soil profile of the Bearthicket soil series. (Soil Survey of Jasper County, Missouri; by Alan C. Peer, Natural Resources Conservation Service)
The Bearthicket series consists of very deep, well drained soils formed in silty alluvium. These soils are on nearly level flood plains and low stream terraces in MLRAs 116A and 116B. Slopes range from 0 to 3 percent. Mean annual precipitation is about 42 inches and mean annual temperature is about 56 degrees F.
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-silty, mixed, active, mesic Ultic Hapludalfs
Solum Thickness: 40 to 80 inches or more
USE AND VEGETATION: Hay and pasture. A few areas are used for cultivated crops. Native forest is mixed oaks.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: The Ozarks region (MLRAs 116A and 116B) of southern Missouri and possibly northern Arkansas. The series is of moderate extent.
For additional information about the survey area, visit:
www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_MANUSCRIPTS/missouri/MO097...
For a detailed soil description, visit:
soilseries.sc.egov.usda.gov/OSD_Docs/B/BEARTHICKET.html
For acreage and geographic distribution, visit:
It was late in the afternoon and we had been sampling soils throughout the day including photo documentation. These soils were very high in salt content and once ground into your clothes... it made things very uncomfortable. We made our way back to our hotel in downtown Abu Dhabi and once there I noticed just how dirty my clothes really were. This would not normally bother me, but as we entered the lobby, a huge wedding party was gathering. It is common place in the UAE for the head of the family clan (Sheikh) to host an elaborate wedding party (up to 25 families at a time) and there I was in the middle of this immaculately dressed group barely able to walk in my dirty salt crusted jeans.
Soil profile: A profile of a Trailhead soil. These very deep soils have distinctive strong red subsurface layers. They are on stable ridges and upper mountain slopes. (Soil Survey of Redwood National and State Parks, California; by Joseph P. Seney and Alaina C. Frazier, Natural Resources Conservation Service, and James H. Popenoe, Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Retired)
Landscape: An area of Trailhead, 15 to 30 percent slopes. The dominant vegetation consists of redwood, Douglas-fir, western hemlock, tanoak, California huckleberry, and Pacific rhododendron.
The Trailhead series consists of very deep, well drained soils formed in residuum and colluvium derived from schist and sandstone. Trailhead soils are on mountains and have slopes of 0 to 50 percent. The mean annual precipitation is about 2160 millimeters (85 inches) and the mean annual temperature is about 11 degrees C (52 degrees F).
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine, parasesquic, isomesic Typic Palehumults
Soil Moisture: The soil is usually moist in all parts in the soil moisture control section in most years, but becomes nearly dry in the upper part from about September 15 to October 15 in most years. The soils have an Udic moisture regime.
Soil Temperature: The mean annual soil temperature is 10 to 13 degrees C (50 to 55 degrees F). The difference between mean summer and mean winter temperature is 2 to 4 degrees C.
Organic Matter: There is 12 to 25 kg per square meter of organic carbon to a depth of one meter.
CEC to clay ratio is 16 to 24 meq/100g in the major part of the argillic horizon.
Reaction is strongly or very strongly acid throughout. Base saturation is 5 to 35 percent between depths of 25 to 202 centimeters.
Surface fragments: 0 to 10 percent gravel
Particle-Size Control Section (weighted average):
Rock fragments: 0 to 15 percent gravel
Clay content: 40 to 60 percent clay
Note: There is 91 percent resistant minerals in the very fine sand fraction. The very fine sand and silt fractions are mostly quartz, although coarser sand and gravel fractions are predominantly schist fragments. Vermiculite, kaolinite, and chlorite are identifiable clay minerals by x-ray analysis. Although vermiculite is a major clay mineral, the CEC is kept low by the combined influence of ferric iron, gibbsite, and kaolinite.
USE AND VEGETATION: This soil has been used for commercial timber and is used for recreation, wildlife and watershed. Natural vegetation consists of redwood, Douglas-fir, western hemlock, tanoak, huckleberry, and Pacific rhododendron.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: California Coastal Redwood Belt; MLRA 4B. The series is not extensive.
For additional information about the survey area, visit:
www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_MANUSCRIPTS/california/CA6...
For a detailed soil description, visit:
soilseries.sc.egov.usda.gov/OSD_Docs/T/TRAILHEAD.html
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John Kelley, Soil Scientist with a soil profile (Rains soil) being photographed for the publication "Field Indicators of Hydric Soils in the United States; A Guide for Identifying and Delineating Hydric Soils, Version 8.2, 2018.
In the fall of 2007, an effort was initiated by the National Technical Committee for Hydric Soils (NTHCS) to photograph hydric soil features for the republication of the Field Indicators of Hydric Soils in the United States. This publication is a joint project between the USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service and the US-Army Corps of Engineers. It is a guide specifically designed to aid in the identification and delineation of hydric soils and wetlands.
The guide was developed by soil scientists of NRCS in cooperation with the USA-COE, the Environmental Protection Agency, the US Fish and Wildlife Service, and many regional, state, and local agencies. The hydric soil indicators listed in the publication are those approved by the NTCHS for use in identifying, delineating, and verifying hydric soils in the field.
One way to ensure the guide is being used to its greatest potential is to have accurate and detailed photographs of the many and varied types of soil features associated with hydric soil conditions. Many of the indicators are strongly expressed and readily observable; however, others are more subtle and require close observation. The new images will help users of the guide to have a better understanding of both typical and atypical features or conditions reflected by differences in soil color.
John Kelley, regional soil scientist, USDA-NRCS was selected to photograph and describe hydric soil profiles and individual soil features. With the support of the NTCHS and the sponsoring agencies, John travelled to several locations in the southeastern US, upper Midwest, and Alaska to photograph the commonplace as well as unique indicators. Many individuals contributed significantly to the process. Site leaders and participants in the photo project included:
John Gagnon, Resource Soil Scientist, Edenton, NC
Greg Hammer, Resource Soil Scientist, Smithfield, VA
Charlie Ogg, MLRA Soil Survey Office Leader, Bishopville, SC
Caleb Gulley, Soil Scientist, Bishopville, SC
Jackie Reed, Soil Scientist, Bishopville, SC
Alan Walters, Resource Soil Scientist, Salisbury, NC
Wade Hurt, Soil Scientist (ret.), Gainesville, FL
Joe Moore, MLRA Team Leader/State Soil Scientist, Palmer, AK
Joe White, COE, Anchorage, AK
Mike Holley, COE, Anchorage, AK,
Dave D’Amore, USFS, Juneau, AK
Nick Bonzey, USFS, Juneau, AK
Steve Sieler, State Soil Liaison, Bismarck, ND
Fred Aziz, Area Resource Soil Scientist, Jamestown, ND
Alan Gulsvig, Area Resource Soil Scientist, Devils Lake, ND
Kyle Thomson, Soil Scientist, Devils Lake, ND
For more information about Hydric Soils and their Field Indicators, visit:
www.nrcs.usda.gov/resources/guides-and-instructions/field...
A soil profile of a Calciustoll in a semiarid area of Texas. It has a mollic epipedon about 45 cm thick. Below this epipedon is a light gray to white calcic horizon that extends beyond the base of the photo. (Soil Survey Staff. 2015. Illustrated guide to Soil Taxonomy. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service, National Soil Survey Center, Lincoln, Nebraska)
Calciustolls have a gypsic (gypsum accumulation), calcic (calcium carbonate accumulation), or petrocalcic (cemented by calcium carbonate) subsoil horizon and are calcareous in all overlying horizons. Either the parent materials had more carbonates than the limited rainfall could remove from the upper horizons, or there is a continual external source of carbonates in dust or water. Calciustolls formed mostly in Pleistocene sediments or in older materials on surfaces of comparable age. In the United States, their vegetation was dominantly grass before the soils were cultivated. Calciustolls are most extensive on the Great Plains in the United States, but
some occur in the intermountain valleys of the western States.
For additional information about soil classification, visit:
www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detail/soils/survey/cla...
A representative soil profile of Riverby gravelly sandy loam, frequently flooded. Riverby soils are high in content of gravel and sand. This causes droughtiness and limits the absorption of nutrients and pesticides. (Soil Survey of Hickman County, Tennessee; by Douglas F. Clendenon, Natural Resources Conservation Service)
The Riverby series consists of deep, excessively drained soils on flood plains. They formed in coarse textured alluvium in watersheds dominated by soils that formed in residuum from cherty limestone, siltstone, shale and gravelly marine sediments. Slopes range from 0 to 2 percent. The mean annual temperature is about 61 degrees F and the mean annual precipitation is about 55 inches.
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy-skeletal, mixed, semiactive, nonacid, thermic Typic Udifluvents
Depth to bedrock is greater than 5 feet. Gravel content ranges from 10 to 60 percent in the A horizon and from 35 to 95 percent by volume in the C horizon. The content of cobbles ranges from 5 to 50 percent in parts of the C horizon. In some pedons the cobble content increases with depth. In some pedons there are thin layers of sandy material with no rock fragments. The reaction ranges from strongly acid to neutral.
USE AND VEGETATION: Areas of this soil are used mainly for woodland and pasture. A few small areas are used as cropland. Native vegetation is woodland consisting of sycamore, sweetgum, hackberry, maple, walnut, poplar, and ironwood.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: The Highland Rim of Tennessee. The series is of small extent. This series was formerly mapped as riverwash.
For additional information about the survey area, visit:
www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_MANUSCRIPTS/tennessee/TN08...
For a detailed soil description, visit:
soilseries.sc.egov.usda.gov/OSD_Docs/R/RIVERBY.html
For acreage and geographic distribution, visit:
A representative soil profile of the Southwick series in Idaho..
These soil are on loess hills in the Columbia basalt plateau. They are dominantly used as cropland of wheat, barley, peas, hay, pasture, and for timber production.
Slope--3 to 40 percent; dominantly north-facing slopes
Parent material--recent loess over older loess
Mean annual precipitation--about 585 mm
Mean annual air temperature--about 8 degrees C
Depth class--very deep
Drainage class--moderately well drained
Soil moisture regime--xeric
Soil temperature regime--mesic
Soil moisture subclass--oxyaquic
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-silty, mixed, superactive, mesic Oxyaquic Argixerolls
Note: The classification of this series was changed from fine-silty, mixed, mesic Boralfic Argixerolls to fine-silty, mixed, superactive, mesic Oxyaquic Argixerolls based on the latest revision to Soil Taxonomy. This pedon does not meet the criteria for the aquic subgroup based on the absence of redoximorphic depletions (zones with chroma less than that of matrix) within a depth of 75 cm of the mineral soil surface. The Btxb horizon is not currently considered to meet the criteria for a fragipan, but further study is needed.
Depth to diagnostic horizons and other features are measured from the top of the first mineral layer.
Thickness of mollic epipedon--40 to 75 cm
Depth to argillic horizon--70 to 100 cm
Moisture control section--dry 45 to 60 consecutive days late in summer and early in fall
Mean annual soil temperature--8 to 12 degrees C
Content of clay in particle-size control section (weighted average)--24 to 35 percent
An Oi horizon is in some pedons.
USE AND VEGETATION:
Use--dominantly wheat, barley, peas, hay, pasture, and timber production
Natural vegetation--ponderosa pine, common snowberry, white spirea, rose
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Northern Idaho; MLRA 9; moderate extent
For additional information about Idaho soils, please visit:
storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/97d01af9d4554b9097cb0a477e04...
For a detailed soil description, visit:
soilseries.sc.egov.usda.gov/OSD_Docs/S/SOUTHWICK.html
For acreage and geographic distribution, visit:
A representative soil profile of the Walong series. The moderately deep to soft bedrock Walong soils have a mollic epipedon, weak structure, and a paralithic contact of gneiss at a depth of 50 to 100 centimeters. (Supplement to the Soil Survey of Los Angeles County, California, Southeastern Part; by Randy L. Riddle and Christopher “Kit” Paris, Natural Resources Conservation Service)
Walong soils are on uplands and have gradients of 15 to 75 percent. They formed in material weathered from granite. Elevations are 800 to 5,800 feet. The climate has cold moist winters and hot dry summers. The mean annual precipitation is 10 to 30 inches. The mean annual temperature ranges from 57 to 62 degrees F.; the mean January temperature is about 47 degrees F.; and the mean July temperature is about 83 degrees F. The frost free season is 150 to 250 days.
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Coarse-loamy, mixed, superactive, thermic Typic Haploxerolls
Depth to a paralithic contact with weathered granitic rock ranges from 20 to 40 inches. The soil between depths of 8 to 24 inches is usually dry all the time from late May until mid November (or 1/2 the time), and is moist in some part for more than 90 consecutive days. The mean annual soil temperature is 59 to 64 degrees F. Organic matter is more than 1 percent to a depth of 14 to 18 inches and decreases regularly to less than 1 percent at this depth. An 01 horizon is present in some pedons where there has been some accumulation of organic matter or litter. Rock fragments 2 mm to 2 cm in diameter range from 0 to 15 percent by volume, and rock fragments 7 to 25 cm in diameter range from 0 to 10 percent.
USE AND VEGETATION: Used mainly for range, wildlife, watershed, and recreation. Vegetation is annual grasses, blue oaks, ad=nd live oaks.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Foothills of the southern Sierra Neveda and the Tehachapi Mountains. The soils are moderately extensive.
For additional information about the survey area, visit:
www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_MANUSCRIPTS/california/los...
For a detailed soil description, visit:
soilseries.sc.egov.usda.gov/OSD_Docs/W/WALONG.html
For acreage and geographic distribution, visit:
A representative soil profile of an Ultisol (Humic Hapludult).
When photographing soil profiles, a soil scientist will commonly use a knife to pick the face to show natural soil structure (left side of profile). Or they may use a knife or shovel to smooth the surface (right side of the profile) which helps show change in color or pedogenic features, or horizonation.
Hapludults are the Udults that mostly formed in areas of acid rocks or sediments on surfaces that are at least of Pleistocene age. Where the soils are not cultivated, the vegetation consists almost exclusively of forest plants, either hardwood trees or conifers. Hapludults are extensive in the Southeastern United States, in the Middle Atlantic States, and on the coastal plain along the Gulf of Mexico in the Southern States east of the Mississippi River. Slopes generally are gently sloping to steep, but a few of the soils on the lowest part of the coastal plain are nearly level.
Humic Hapludults have a dark colored surface layer. They have a color value, moist, of 3 or less and a color value, dry, of 5 or less (crushed and smoothed sample) in either an Ap horizon that is 18 cm or more thick; or the surface layer after mixing of the upper 18 cm has these colors.
Some have an umbric epipedon or, if heavily limed, a mollic epipedon. Humic Hapludults are mainly in the mountains in the Southeastern United States. They are of moderate extent. The natural vegetation consisted of forest plants. Slopes range from nearly level to very steep. Many of these soils are used as cropland or forest. Some are used as pasture.
When photographing soil profiles, a soil scientist will commonly use a knife to pick the face to show natural soil structure or a knife or shovel to smooth the surface which helps show change in color or pedogenic features.
For additional information about soil classification, visit:
www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/main/soils/survey/class...
A representative soil profile of the Highpeaks series. (Soil Survey of Pinnacles National Monument, California; by Ken Oster, Natural Resources Conservation Service)
The Highpeaks series consists of shallow to a lithic contact, well drained soils that formed in residuum weathered from igneous rocks. The Highpeaks soils are on hills. Slopes range from 35 to 70 percent. These soils formed in residuum weathered from rhyolite and andesite. The Highpeaks soils are on hills. The mean annual precipitation is about 17 inches (432 millimeters) and the mean annual air temperature is about 61 degrees F (16 degrees C).
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy-skeletal, mixed, superactive, thermic Lithic Haploxerolls
Depth to bedrock: 10 to 20 inches (25 to 50 centimeters)
Mean annual soil temperature: 60 to 63 degrees F (16 to 17 degrees C).
Soil moisture: Soil is dry from mid-June through mid-November.
Particle size control section: clay content averages 15 to 25 percent; rock fragments average 35 to 75 percent, mostly gravel
Base saturation by ammonium acetate: 89 to 98 percent.
USE AND VEGETATION: This soil is used for watershed, wildlife habitat and recreation. Vegetation is mixed chaparral.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: San Benito and Monterey Counties, California in MLRA 15, Central California Coast Range. These soils are of small extent.
For additional information about the survey area, visit:
www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_MANUSCRIPTS/california/CA7...
For a detailed soil description, visit:
soilseries.sc.egov.usda.gov/OSD_Docs/H/HIGHPEAKS.html
For acreage and geographic distribution, visit:
Fluvaquentic Endoaquept (loamy) and landscape PRC-08 from Xinxing County, Guangdong Province, Peoples Republic of China (PRC)
These are the Endoaquepts that have either 0.2 percent or more organic carbon (Holocene age) at a depth of 125 cm below the mineral soil surface or an irregular decrease in organic-carbon content (Holocene age) between a depth of 25 cm and either a depth of 125 cm below the mineral soil surface or a densic, lithic, or paralithic contact, whichever is shallower. They also have slopes of less than 25 percent.
Endoaquepts are the Aquepts that have endosaturation. The ground water commonly fluctuates from a level near the soil surface to below a depth of 50 cm. These soils have a frigid or warmer soil temperature regime and do not have any sulfuric, placic, or salic horizon or a fragipan near the soil surface. Before they were cultivated, most Endoaquepts supported forest vegetation. Generally, Endoaquepts are nearly level, and their parent materials are typically late-Pleistocene or younger sediments.
These soils are extensive in the United States. They are on flood plains in all parts of the country, except for the coldest and the driest parts. The native vegetation is mostly water-tolerant trees and grasses. Some of these soils are used as forest, and some have been cleared and artificially drained and are used as cropland or pasture.
Xinxing County is a county of the prefecture-level city of Yunfu in Guangdong, China.
The government of China has placed great importance on work relating to agriculture, rural areas, and the rural population. Since the convening of the Sixteenth National Congress, the government has implemented a series of policies to strengthen agriculture, benefit the rural population, and enable people in rural areas to prosper and thus ensuring balanced development of urban and rural areas. These efforts have brought about remarkable advances in China's agricultural and rural development. China's grain output has grown steadily for years, and overall progress has been made in farming, forestry, animal husbandry and fishery. The development of agriculture is our number one priority and the key focus of our macro-control policies.
About two-fifths of the people of Guangdong province live in villages, which remain the basic functional units in the countryside. The greatest numbers of villages are in the fertile river deltas and along the waterways. To an even greater extent, towns and cities are located in the deltas and coastal areas and along major communication lines. The most highly urbanized area within the province is the Pearl River Delta, where the great majority of the population lives in urban areas. Guangdong is a relatively highly urbanized province for China, with its largest urban agglomeration centered on Guangzhou.
A representative soil profile of the Crosscan series. (Soil Survey of Arches National Park, Utah; by Catherine E. Scott, Natural Resources Conservation Service)
Landscape: A typical landscape of Crosscan family-Rock outcrop complex, 5 to 30 percent slopes.
The Crosscan series consists of shallow and very shallow, well drained soils that formed in colluvium and residuum derived from sandstone and shale. Crosscan soils are in canyons and on hills. Slopes range from 6 to 80 percent. Mean annual precipitation is about 12 inches and the mean annual temperature is about 48 degrees F.
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy-skeletal, mixed, superactive, calcareous, mesic, shallow Ustic Torriorthents
Note: Crosscan soils in this survey area include Lithic Ustic Torriorthents.
Soil moisture regime: aridic bordering on ustic
Soil temperature regime: mesic
Mean annual soil temperature: 52 to 54 degrees F
Depth to paralithic contact: 6 to 20 inches
Reaction: slightly or moderately alkaline
Particle-size control section: 27 to 35 percent clay
USE AND VEGETATION: These soils are used principally for wildlife habitat and livestock grazing. Dominant vegetation in the potential plant community are pinyon, juniper, mountain mahogany, and Indian ricegrass.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Southwest Colorado. LRR D, MLRA 36. The series is of moderate extent.
For additional information about the survey area, visit:
www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_MANUSCRIPTS/utah/archesUT2...
For a detailed soil description, visit:
soilseries.sc.egov.usda.gov/OSD_Docs/C/CROSSCAN.html
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The Wehadkee series consists of very deep, poorly drained and very poorly drained soils on flood plains along streams that drain from the mountains and piedmont. They are formed in loamy sediments. Slopes range from 0 to 2 percent.
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, mixed, active, nonacid, thermic Fluvaquentic Endoaquepts
Solum thickness ranges from about 20 to more than 60 inches. The content of mica flakes ranges from few to many. The soil ranges from very strongly acid through neutral, but some part of the 10 to 40 inch control section is moderately acid through neutral. Content of rock fragments ranges from 0 to 5 percent by volume in the A and B horizons, and from 0 to 20 percent by volume in the C horizons. Fragments are dominantly pebbles in size.
USE AND VEGETATION: Most of the area is in forest; chiefly water tolerant hardwoods such as sweetgum, blackgum, water oak, willow, oak, poplar, hickories, beech, and elm. Drained areas are used for pasture, corn, and hay.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. The soil is of moderate extent.
For a detailed description, visit:
soilseries.sc.egov.usda.gov/OSD_Docs/W/WEHADKEE.html
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A representative soil profile of the Tatum soil series in North Carolina.
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine, mixed, semiactive, thermic Typic Hapludults
SOIL FEATURES:
Depth Class: Deep
Drainage Class: Well drained
Permeability: Moderate
Surface Runoff: Slow to very rapid
Parent Material: residuum from sericite schist, phyllite, or other fine-grained metamorphic rocks
Slope: 0 to 50 percent
USE AND VEGETATION:
Major Uses: Mostly in woodland
Dominant vegetation: Where wooded--mostly hardwoods and pine. Where cultivated--corn, small grain, hay and soybeans
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT:
Distribution: Thermic piedmont plateau in North Carolina, South Carolina, Alabama, Georgia, and Virginia
Extent: Moderate
For a detailed description, please visit:
soilseries.sc.egov.usda.gov/OSD_Docs/T/TATUM.html
For acreage and geographic distribution, visit:
Arkansas State Soil
Soil profile: The Stuttgart series consists of very deep, moderately well to somewhat poorly drained, slowly permeable soils that formed in silty and clayey alluvium. There is an abrupt texture change between the ochric epipedon and the underlying argillic horizon. (Soil Survey of Arkansas County, Arkansas; by Cornelius Harris, Kenneth Crader, and Edgar Mersiovsky, Natural Resources Conservation Service)
Landscape: Because of the surface layer of silt loam and slow permeability in the clayey subsoil, the soils are ideal for rice production. These level to gently sloping soils are on Prairie terraces in the Lower Mississippi Valley, MLRA 131. Slopes are typically less than 3 percent, but range to 5 percent. The terraces are thought to be made up of sediments from the Arkansas River system with a silty mantle from the Mississippi River system. The upper mantle may be mixed with loess in some places.
Stuttgart soils are named for the City of Stuttgart in southeast Arkansas. They are used primarily for crops, mainly rice, soybeans, small grains, and corn. The Stuttgart area is famous for its large fall and winter population of ducks and geese. These waterfowl feed heavily on the crops grown on the Stuttgart soils. Stuttgart soils have been mapped on about 200,000 acres in Arkansas.
For additional information about the survey area, visit:
www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_MANUSCRIPTS/arkansas/AR001...
For a detailed soil description, visit:
soilseries.sc.egov.usda.gov/OSD_Docs/S/STUTTGART.html
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Soil profile: A representative soil profile of the Oxford series.
The Oxford series consists of very deep, moderately well drained soils that formed in lacustrine deposits and alluvium derived from mixed sources. Oxford soils are on dissected lake terraces. Slopes are 2 to 50 percent. The mean annual precipitation is about 16 inches and the mean annual temperature is about 44 degrees F.
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine, smectitic, frigid Vertic Haploxerepts
Soil moisture - Usually dry in the moisture control section for 45 to 60 consecutive days in the 4 months following the summer solstice.
Mean annual soil temperature - 44 to 47 degrees F.
Vertic features - Cracks: Extend to the base of the surface horizon annually and are open to the soil surface in some years.
Linear extensibility (LE) - 6 to 9 cm.
Particle-size control section - Clay content: 40 to 58 percent.
USE AND VEGETATION: Oxford soils are used dominantly for dryland cropping. Natural vegetation is assumed to have been basin big sagebrush, bluebunch wheatgrass, and sod-forming grasses.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Southeastern Idaho. These soils are moderately extensive. The series concept and main acreage is in MLRA 28A, while other acreage occurs in MLRA 13.
For additional information about Idaho soils, please visit:
storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/97d01af9d4554b9097cb0a477e04...
For a detailed soil description, visit:
soilseries.sc.egov.usda.gov/OSD_Docs/O/OXFORD.html
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Left Photo: Describing Myra soil and landscape
John Kelley, Soil Survey Project Leader for the Soil Survey of Pike County, KY, stands at the edge of a reclaimed mine site, describing a newly formed soil derived from overburden—the displaced material from mountaintop removal (MTR) coal mining. MTR is a method of surface mining where entire summits are blasted away to access underlying coal seams. The resulting spoil, a mix of fractured rock and soil, is redistributed across adjacent valleys and slopes.
This site represents a transitional landscape—where geology, mining history, and pedogenesis intersect. The soil here is not a legacy soil shaped by centuries of natural processes, but a technogenic soil, formed in the aftermath of industrial disturbance. Its genesis reflects both the calcareous nature of the spoil and the early stages of horizon development, offering a rare opportunity to document soil formation in real time. Kelley’s field notes and diagnostic observations contribute to the formal recognition of a new soil series, shaped by human activity yet governed by natural recovery.
Center Photo: Landscape Reimagined
This photo captures the newly formed terrain resulting from MTR operations—an engineered landscape of broad benches, steep fill slopes, and recontoured ridgelines. Once forested and dissected by hollows, the land has been reshaped into a mosaic of reclaimed surfaces. Vegetation is in early succession, with grasses, legumes, and pioneer hardwoods establishing cover over the loose, rocky substrate.
Despite its industrial origin, this landscape is undergoing ecological renewal. Soil formation begins with the weathering of spoil material, root penetration, and organic matter accumulation. Over time, these processes will evolve, reflecting the unique parent material and hydrologic conditions of reclaimed mine lands. The photo invites reflection on the resilience of Appalachian ecosystems and the role of soil scientists in documenting their transformation.
Right Photo: Profile of the Myra Soil Series
This soil profile represents the Myra series, a soil formally recognized in Pike County, KY, and West Virginia. Myra soils are very deep, well-drained soils formed in calcareous materials derived from coal mine overburden—a mix of siltstone, shale, sandstone, and minor coal fragments. The regolith is loamy-skeletal, with high rock fragment content and moderate to moderately slow permeability.
• Taxonomic class: Loamy-skeletal, mixed, superactive, calcareous, mesic Typic Udorthents
• Solum depth: >60 inches
• Rock fragments: 35–70% in the control section; mostly channers and flagstones
• Reaction: Slightly to moderately alkaline; very slightly effervescent
• Structure: Weak angular blocky in surface; massive below
• Color: Dominantly gray and grayish brown hues, reflecting spoil origin
This profile exemplifies the diagnostic complexity of soils formed in anthropogenic parent materials. It also underscores the importance of soil survey work in documenting post-mining landscapes—not just for classification, but for guiding reclamation, land use planning, and ecological restoration.
Soil profile: A representative soil profile of Nallen loam in a forested area. Nallen soils have bedrock at a depth of 51 to 102 centimeters (20 to 40 inches). In this photo, weathered sandstone bedrock begins at a depth of about 90 centimeters (35 inches). (Soil Survey of New River Gorge National River, West Virginia; by Wendy Noll and James Bell, Natural Resources Conservation Service)
MLRA(s): 127 (Eastern Allegheny Plateau and Mountains)
Depth Class: Moderately deep
Drainage Class (Agricultural): Well drained
Internal Free Water Occurrence: Absent
Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity: High
Landscape: Foothills and mountains of the Allegheny Plateau
Parent Material: Pennsylvanian-aged sandstone
Slope: 0 to 35 percent
Elevation (type location): 646 meters (2120 feet)
Frost-free period (type location): 166 days
Mean Annual Air Temperature (type location): 11.1 degrees C. (52 degrees F.)
Mean Annual Precipitation (type location): 1168 mm (46 inches)
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Coarse-loamy, siliceous, semiactive, mesic Typic Hapludults
Depth to the top of the Argillic: 8 to 51 cm (3 to 20 inches)
Depth to the base of the Argillic: 30 to 102 cm (12 to 40 inches)
Depth to Bedrock: 51 to 102 cm (20 to 40 inches). The bedrock is strongly cemented to indurated acid sandstone.
Rock Fragment content (by volume): 0 to 15 percent in the upper solum, 5 to 50 percent in the BC and C horizons.
Soil Reaction: very strongly acid to extremely acid throughout, except where limed or affected by burning.
USE AND VEGETATION:
Major Uses: Woodland, pasture and hay land, and urban development
Dominant Vegetation: Oak-hickory or mixed mesophytic forests.
Where wooded--scarlet, black, white, red, or chestnut oak, red maple, pignut or mockernut hickory, yellow poplar, American holly, beech, and Virginia or white pine.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT:
Distribution: West Virginia. Possibly Maryland, and Pennsylvania.
Extent: Moderate
For additional information about the survey area, visit:
www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_MANUSCRIPTS/west_virginia/...
For a detailed soil description, visit:
soilseries.sc.egov.usda.gov/OSD_Docs/N/NALLEN.html
For acreage and geographic distribution, visit:
credit: Kristy Dybala/Point Blue
Riparian soil monitoring at STRAW site; Dec 2018
Avian Ecologists Renee Cormier (L) and Hilary Allen
A hydric soil is defined by federal law to mean "soil that, in its undrained condition, is saturated, flooded, or ponded long enough during a growing season to develop an anerobic condition that supports the growth and regeneration of hydrophytic vegetation". This term is part of the legal definition of a wetland included in the United States Food Security Act of 1985 (P.L. 99-198).
For additional information about soil classification using USDA-NRCS Soil Taxonomy, visit:
www.nrcs.usda.gov/resources/guides-and-instructions/keys-...
or;
www.nrcs.usda.gov/resources/guides-and-instructions/soil-...
For more information about Hydric Soils and their Field Indicators, visit:
www.nrcs.usda.gov/resources/guides-and-instructions/field...
A profile of Musgrave silty clay in an area of Musgrave silty clay, 1 to 20 percent slopes. Musgrave soils very shallow or shallow densic material. The densic material begins at a depth of about 50 cm. (Soil Survey of Big Bend National Park, Texas; by James Gordon, Soil Scientist, James A. Douglass, Soil Scientist, and Dr. Lynn E. Loomis, Soil Scientist, Natural Resources Conservation Service)
The Musgrave series consists of soils that are very shallow and shallow to weathered tuff bedrock. They are well drained soils that have moderately slowly permeable surface layers over slowly permeable tuffaceous bedrock of the Duff and Pruett Formations. They formed in residuum derived from tuff. These soils are on scarps and erosional remnants. Slopes range from 1 to 30 percent.
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Clayey, mixed, superactive, calcareous, hyperthermic, shallow Ustic Torriorthents
Soil moisture - Intermittently moist in some part of the soil moisture control section during July-September. Ustic aridic soil moisture regime. Geographically associated soils occur in the thermic temperature regime.
Depth to weathered tuff bedrock: 4 to 20 inches
Clay content of the particle-size control section: 35 to 55 percent
Calcium carbonate equivalent: less than 15 percent
Ignimbrite, tuff, limestone, and chert pebbles, cobbles, stones, and boulders cover 35 to 95 percent of the surface
These soils do not have subsoil horizons above the densic contact that have soil structure.
Reaction: moderatelt alkaline to strongly alkaline
USE AND VEGETATION: This soil is used for livestock grazing and wildlife habitat. Woody species include creosotebush, ocotillo, whitethorn acacia, and range ratany. Grass species include black grama, chino grama, sideoats grama, bush muhly, plains bristlegrass, Arizona cottontop, and slim tridens.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Trans-Pecos Texas in the Southern Desertic Basins, Plains, and Mountains, Desert Shrub vegetative zone. This soil occurs in LRR-D, MLRA 42. The soil is of moderate extent.
For additional information about the survey area, visit:
www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_MANUSCRIPTS/texas/bigbendT...
For a detailed soil description, visit:
soilseries.sc.egov.usda.gov/OSD_Docs/M/MUSGRAVE.html
For acreage and geographic distribution, visit: