LOCATION AMERICUS GA+AL FLEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Sandy, siliceous, thermic Rhodic Paleudults
TYPICAL PEDON: Americus loamy sand - cultivated. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)
Ap--0 to 7 inches; dark reddish brown (5YR 3/4) loamy sand; weak fine granular structure; very friable; many fine roots; moderately acid; clear wavy boundary. (6 to 9 inches thick)
BA--7 to 11 inches; dark red (2.5YR 3/6) loamy sand; weak fine granular structure; very friable; many fine roots; many fine tongues of A horizon; moderately acid; clear smooth boundary. (0 to 12 inches thick)
Bt1--11 to 31 inches; dark red (2.5YR 3/6) loamy sand, red (2.5YR 4/6) dry; weak medium granular structure; very friable; many fine and few medium roots; thin lenses and small pockets of clean sand grains; most sand grains coated and bridged with clay; strongly acid.
Bt2--31 to 47 inches; dark red (2.5YR 3/6) loamy sand; same color dry; weak medium granular structure; friable; few fine and medium roots; few thin lenses of clean sand grains; most sand grains coated and bridged with clay; very strongly acid; gradual smooth boundary.
Bt3--47 to 72 inches; dark red (2.5YR 3/6) sandy loam; same color dry; weak medium and coarse subangular blocky structure; friable; few fine roots; few scattered clean sand grains and small pockets of clean sand grains; most sand grains coated and bridged with clay; very strongly acid.
(Combined thickness of the Bt horizon is 66 inches or more)
TYPE LOCATION: Sumter County, Georgia; 45 yards south of Georgia National Guard Armory on Georgia Highway 30.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Solum thickness exceeds 72 inches. All horizons are strongly acid or very strongly acid unless limed. The A horizon has hue of 7.5YR, 5YR, or 2.5YR, value of 3, and chroma of 2 through 4. It is loamy sand, loamy fine sand, or sand.
The Bt horizons have hue of 5YR, 2.5YR, or 10R, value of 3, and chroma of 4 or 6. Values of dry soil are l unit or less higher than that of moist soil. The Bt1 and Bt2 horizons are loamy sand or loamy fine sand. The Bt3 horizon is sandy loam, fine sandy loam, or loamy sand. The upper 20 inches of the Bt horizon averages between 8 and 14 percent clay and less than 10 percent silt.
COMPETING SERIES: There are no series in the same family. Competing series in other families are the Anniston, Bienville, Blanton, Claiborne, Eustis, Kenansville, Lucedale, Lucy, Molena, Pine Flat, Red Bay, Troup, and Wagram series. Anniston soils have kaolinitic clay mineralogy and average more than 35 percent clay in the control section. Bienville, Blanton, Eustis, Lucy, Troup, and Wagram soils have argillic horizons with dry color values of 5 or more. In addition, Lucy, Troup, and Wagram soils have a kandic horizon and have sandy clay loam Bt horizons. Claiborne soils have mean annual soil temperatures less than 59 degrees F., and have more than 18 percent clay in the upper 20 inches of the Bt. Kenansville soils have sola of less than 40 inches thick. Lucedale and Red Bay soils have more than 18 percent clay in the upper 20 inches of the Bt horizon. Molena soils have sola 40 to 72 inches thick and mixed mineralogy. Pine Flat soils are sandy loam in the upper part of the Bt horizon.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Americus soils are on smooth to dissected parts of the Coastal Plain. Slope gradients are mostly 0 to 12 percent, but the range extends up to 25 percent. Elevation is 150 to 500 feet. The soil formed in unconsolidated sandy sediment. Mean annual air temperature is about 60 to 70 degrees F., and the mean annual precipitation is about 40 to 55 inches.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: In addition to the competing Eustis, Lucy, Red Bay, Troup, and Wagram series, these are the Faceville, Greenville, Lakeland, and Orangeburg series. Faceville and Greenville soils have more than 35 percent clay in the Bt horizon. Lakeland soils do not have Bt horizons and have sand texture to a depth of 80 inches or more. Orangeburg soils average between 18 to 35 percent clay in the upper 20 inches of the Bt horizon.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Somewhat excessively drained. Runoff is slow. Permeability is moderately rapid to rapid. Available water capacity is low.
USE AND VEGETATION: Most of the soil on gentle slopes has been cleared and is used for general agriculture. The remainder is in forest of pine and blackjack oak.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and perhaps South Carolina. The series is of moderate extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Auburn, Alabama
SERIES ESTABLISHED: West Florida Experiment Station, Santa Rosa County, Florida; 1949.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizon and feature recognized in this pedon are:
Argillic horizon - the zone from approximately 11 to 72 inches (Bt1, Bt2, Bt3 horizons).
Rhodic feature - the value three colors throughout the profile.
Revised 1/93
SIR=GA0043
MLRA=133A