LOCATION ESTO AL+FL GAEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine, kaolinitic, thermic Typic Kandiudults
TYPICAL PEDON: Esto fine sandy loam--forested. (Colors are for moist soil.)
A--0 to 4 inches; dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) fine sandy loam; weak medium granular structure; friable; strongly acid; clear wavy boundary. (1 to 5 inches thick)
E--4 to 8 inches; brownish yellow (10YR 6/6) fine sandy loam; weak medium granular structure; friable; strongly acid; clear wavy boundary. (0 to 7 inches thick)
Bt1--8 to 13 inches; reddish yellow (7.5YR 6/6) clay loam; common fine distinct yellow (10YR 7/8) mottles; weak medium subangular blocky structure; friable; few thin clay films on faces of peds; very strongly acid; gradual wavy boundary.
Bt2--13 to 34 inches; mottled brownish yellow (10YR 6/6), strong brown (7.5YR 5/6), red (2.5YR 4/6), reddish brown (5YR 5/4), and light gray (10YR 7/1) clay; moderate fine and medium subangular structure; firm; slightly sticky, slightly plastic; patchy clay films on faces of peds; very strongly acid; gradual wavy boundary.
Bt3--34 to 62 inches; mottled light gray (10YR 7/1), red (2.5YR 4/8), brownish yellow (10YR 6/6), and yellow (10YR 7/8) clay; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; firm; slightly sticky, slightly plastic; patchy clay films on faces of peds; very strongly acid. (Combined thickness of the Bt horizon is 40 to 80 inches).
TYPE LOCATION: Escambia County, Alabama; 3.75 miles south of bridge crossing Conecuh River on Alabama Highway 41; 3.0 miles west on gravel road and 100 feet north of road in the NE1/4NW1/4SW1/4 sec. 32, T. 1 N., R. 10 E.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Solum thickness exceeds 60 inches. Reaction ranges from extremely acid to strongly acid throughout the solum except where lime has been added. Content of ironstone and quartz gravel ranges from 0 to 10 percent in the solum.
The A or Ap horizon has hue of 10YR, value of 3 to 5, and chroma of 1 to 6. It is loam, fine sandy loam, sandy loam, loamy fine sand, or loamy sand.
The E horizon, where present, has hue of 10YR, value of 5 or 6, and chroma of 3 to 8. Texture range is the same as the A horizon.
The BA or BE horizon, where present, has hue of 7.5YR or 10YR, value of 5 or 6, and chroma of 4 to 8. It is sandy clay loam, sandy clay, or clay loam.
The upper part of the Bt horizon has hue of 5YR, 7.5YR, or 10YR, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 4 to 8. In most pedons the Bt2 horizon is mottled with shades of gray, yellow, brown, and red. In some pedons, there is no dominant matrix color and the horizon is mottled in shades of the above colors.The lower part of the Bt horizon has the same hue, value, and chroma as the upper part or is distinctly to prominently mottled in shades of gray, red, brown, and yellow. Texture of the Bt horizon is clay loam, sandy clay, silty clay, or clay.
COMPETING SERIES: These include the Faceville series in the same family and the Dewey, Fullerton, Gritney, Henderson, Marlboro, Maubila, Nankin, Summerton, Tumbleton, and Waynesboro series in related families. The Faceville series have Bt horizons with hue of 5YR or redder and do not have mottles in the upper part. The Dewey, Summerton, and Waynesboro soils do not have mottles in the upper part of the Bt horizons. Fullerton and Henderson soils have 15 to 35 percent chert fragments throughout their sola. Gritney and Maubila soils have mixed mineralogy. Marlboro soils have few or no mottles in the upper part of the Bt horizon.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Esto soils occur chiefly on knolls, short choppy slopes, and ridge crests on gently sloping to steeply sloping landscapes of the Coastal Plain. Slopes range from 2 to 25 percent. The climate is warm and humid with mean annual temperature of 64 degrees F. and mean annual precipitation of 54 inches near the type location.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These include the Cowarts, Dothan, Fuquay, Malbis, Norfolk, Orangeburg, Tifton, and Wagram series. Cowarts, Dothan, Fuquay, Malbis, and Tifton soils have layers containing more than 5 percent plinthite within 60 inches of the surface and their argillic horizons contain less than 35 percent clay. Norfolk and Orangeburg soils have argillic horizons containing less than 35 percent clay. Wagram soils have sandy surface layers 20 to 40 inches in thickness.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; rapid runoff; slow permeability.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Coastal Plains of Alabama, Florida, and Georgia. The series is of moderate extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Auburn, Alabama
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Holmes Creek SCD, Holmes and Jackson Counties, Florida; 1942.
REMARKS: A previous revision (1/72) changed the type location from Florida to Alabama. Drainage classification has been a problem with this series. Low chroma mottles appear to have been inherited from the parent material and are not thought to be due to wetness.
This revision (6/89) changes the classification from Typic Paleudults to Typic Kandiudults in recognition of the low activity clay of the kandic horizon.
Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon - the zone from the surface to a depth of 8 inches (A and E horizons).
Kandic horizon - the zone from approximately 8 to 62 inches (Bt1, Bt2, and Bt3 horizons).