LOCATION ALAPAHA GA+FL
Established Series
Rev. GRB
03/2019
ALAPAHA SERIES
The Alapaha series consists of very deep, poorly drained, moderately slow to slowly permeable soils in small drainageways, flats, seepage areas, and depressions. They formed in sandy and loamy marine deposits of the Southern Coastal Plain. Near the type location the mean annual temperature is about 66 degrees F., and the mean annual precipitation is about 48 inches. Slopes range from 0 to 5 percent.
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy, siliceous, subactive, thermic Arenic Plinthic Paleaquults
TYPICAL PEDON: Alapaha loamy sand--wooded. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)
A--0 to 5 inches; black (10YR 2/1) loamy sand; weak medium granular structure; very friable; many fine roots; few clean sand grains; strongly acid; clear wavy boundary. (3 to 14 inches thick)
Eg1--5 to 11 inches; dark gray (N 4/0) loamy sand; few pockets of very dark gray (N 3/0); single grained; loose; common fine and medium roots; many clean sand grains; strongly acid; clear wavy boundary.
Eg2--11 to 33 inches; gray (10YR 5/1) loamy sand; single grained; loose; few medium roots; common clean sand grains; strongly acid; gradual irregular boundary. (Combined thickness of the E horizon is 17 to 34 inches)
Btg--33 to 48 inches; light gray (2.5Y 7/2) and gray (10YR 5/1) sandy clay loam and pockets of sandy loam; weak medium subangular blocky structure; very friable; sand grains coated and bridged with clay; common medium prominent strong brown (7.5YR 5/8) and common medium distinct light yellowish brown (2.5Y 6/4) masses of iron accumulation; strongly acid; clear wavy boundary. (14 to 28 inches thick)
Btv1--48 to 58 inches, 34 percent brownish yellow (10YR 6/6), 33 percent red (10R 4/8), and 33 percent light gray (10YR 7/1) sandy clay loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; firm; common coarse sand grains; sand grains coated and bridged with clay; few faint clay films on faces of peds; about 20 percent, by volume, plinthite; the areas of red and brownish yellow are iron accumulations and areas of light gray are iron depletions; very strongly acid; clear wavy boundary. (10 to 20 inches thick)
Btv2--58 to 70 inches; 25 percent dark red (10R 3/6), 25 percent brownish yellow (10YR 6/6), 25 percent red (2.5YR 5/6), and 25 percent light gray (10YR 7/1) sandy clay loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; firm; few faint clay films on faces of peds; about 25 percent, by volume, plinthite; the areas of dark red, brownish yellow, and red are iron accumulations and the areas of light gray are iron depletions; very strongly acid.
TYPE LOCATION: Ben Hill County, Georgia; 0.4 mile east of bridge crossing Alapaha River along Georgia Highway 90; 5 miles southeast along lower Rebecca Road; 50 yards south of road. Lat. 31 degrees 46 minutes 55.92 degrees N. long. 83 degrees 24 minutes 36 seconds W., WGS84.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Solum thickness exceeds 70 inches. Depth to plinthite ranges from 32 to 50 inches. Reaction of is very strongly acid to strongly acid throughout, except where limed. The sandy epipedon is 20 to 40 inches thick.
The A or Ap horizon has hue of 10YR, value of 2 to 4, and chroma of 1 or less; or it is neutral with value of 2 to 4. Where it more than 9 inches thick, the value is more than 3. Texture is loamy fine sand, loamy sand, or sand.
The Eg horizon has hue of 10YR, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 1 or less; or it is neutral with value of 4 to 6. Masses of iron accumulation range from none to common. Texture is loamy fine sand, loamy sand, or sand.
The BEg horizon, where present, has hue of 10YR, value of 6 or 7, and chroma of 2 or less; or it is neutral with value of 6 or 7. Texture is sandy loam with pockets of loamy sand in some pedons.
The Btg horizon has hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 5 to 7, and chroma of 0 or less; or it is neutral with value of 5 to 7. Masses of iron accumulation in shades of red, yellow, or brown range from few to many. Texture is sandy clay loam or sandy loam.
The Btv horizon has hue of 5YR or 7.5YR, value of 4 to 6 and chroma of 4 to 8; or more commonly, it has no dominant dolor and is multicolored in shades of red, brown, yellow, or gray. Redoximorphic features in shades of gray, brown, and yellow range from common to many. Texture is fine sandy loam, sandy loam, or sandy clay loam. Content of plinthite ranges from 5 to 35 percent, by volume. The upper 20 inches of the Bt horizon contains 15 to 30 percent clay.
The Btvg horizon, where present, has the same range in colors and textures as the Btg horizon. Content of plinthite ranges from 5 to 10 percent, by volume.
COMPETING SERIES: There are no known series in the same family.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Alapaha soils are in small drainageways, flat, depressions, and on gentle seepage slopes. They formed in sandy over loamy sediments. The climate is warm and humid. Average annual precipitation ranges from 40 to 55 inches, and average annual temperature ranges from 60 to 71 degrees F. Slopes range from 0 to 5 percent, but are dominantly less than 3 percent.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These include the
Chipley,
Irvington,
Lakeland,
Leefield,
Mascotte,
Ocilla,
Olustee,
Pelham,
Plummer,
Robertsdale, and
Stilson series. Chipley and Lakeland soils lack argillic horizons and are sandy to a depth of more than 80 inches. Irvington, Ocilla, Robertsdale, and Stilson soils are moderately well or somewhat poorly drained. Leefield soils have dominant chroma of 3 or more throughout the Bt horizons. Mascotte and Olustee soils have spodic horizons. Pelham and Plummer soils lack plinthite within 50 inches of the soil surface, in addition, Plummer soils have sandy epipedons more than 40 inches thick.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Poorly drained; moderately slow to slow permeability in the horizons containing plinthite.
USE AND VEGETATION: Most of the soil is in forest. A few small areas are used for pasture and crop land. Native vegetation is mostly slash and longleaf pine; some sweetgum, blackgum, water oak, and red maple with an understory of scattered gallberry, wax myrtle, palmetto, and wiregrass.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Primarily in the middle Coastal Plain of Georgia, eastern Alabama, northern Florida, and possibly South Carolina. The soil is of moderate extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Auburn, Alabama.
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Ben Hill County, Georgia; 1966.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon - the zone from the surface to a depth of 33 inches (A, Eg1, Eg2 horizons).
Albic horizon - the zone from approximately 5 to 33 inches (Eg1, Eg2 horizons).
Arenic feature - the sandy zone from the surface to a depth of approximately 33 inches (A, Eg1, Eg2 horizons).
Argillic horizon - the zone from approximately 33 to 70 inches (Btg, Btv1, Btv2 horizons).
Plinthite - 5 percent or more plinthite in the zone from approximately 48 to 70 inches (Btv1, Btv2 horizons).
The water table ranges from 0 to 1.0 feet below the surface.
SIR=GA0011
MLRA=133A
National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.