LOCATION APOPKA FL
Established Series
Rev. AGH; GRB
03/2019
APOPKA SERIES
The Apopka series consists of very deep, well drained, moderately slowly permeable soils on upland ridges, side slopes and knolls of the North Central Florida Ridge (MLRA 138), the South-Central Florida Ridge MLRA 154) and the Florida Flatwoods (MLRA 155). They formed in thick beds of sandy and loamy marine or eolian deposits. Near the type location, the mean annual temperature is about 73 degrees F., and the mean annual precipitation is about 52 inches. Slopes range from 0 to 25 percent.
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy, siliceous, subactive, hyperthermic Grossarenic Paleudults
TYPICAL PEDON: Apopka sand, in a cultivated field (Colors are for moist soil).
Ap--0 to 6 inches; very dark gray (10YR 3/1) sand; weak fine granular structure; friable; few fine roots; slightly acid; clear wavy boundary. (4 to 8 inches thick)
E1--6 to 40 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) sand; single grain; loose; few fine roots; many uncoated sand grains; common fine fragments of charcoal; moderately acid; gradual wavy boundary.
E2--40 to 55 inches; light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) sand; single grain; loose; many fine roots; many uncoated sand grains; few fine fragments of charcoal; moderately acid; abrupt wavy boundary. (Combined thickness of the E horizon is 36 to 72 inches)
Bt--55 to 84 inches; red (2.5YR 5/8) sandy clay loam; weak fine subangular blocky structure; firm; few fine roots; few fine pores; few faint clay films on faces of peds and walls of pores; sand grains coated and bridged with clay; few pebbles 2 to 10 mm in diameter; strongly acid.
TYPE LOCATION: Lake County, Florida; approximately 0.5 miles northeast of Indianhouse Lake, about 0.25 miles south of Florida Highway 19, and about 100 feet east of graded road in the NW1/4, NE1/4, Sec. 28, T. 21 S., R. 25 E.; lat. 28 degrees 38 minutes 8.05 seconds N. and long. 81 degrees 48 minutes 43.56 seconds W., NAD83.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Solum thickness exceeds 60 inches. Reaction ranges from very strongly acid through moderately acid except where the surface has been limed. Plinthite ranges from 0 to 5 percent, by volume, in the Bt horizons.
The A or Ap horizon has hue of 10YR, value of 2 to 5, and chroma 1 or 2. Texture is sand or fine sand.
The E horizon has hue of 10YR, value of 5 to 8, and chroma of 3 to 8. Fine to medium pockets of uncoated sand grains in shades of gray or white range from none to common. Masses of iron accumulation in shades of brown, red, or yellow range from none to common. Texture is sand or fine sand and contains less than 5 percent silt plus clay.
The EB horizon, where present, is less than 12 inches in thickness. It has hue of 7.5YR or 10YR, value of 4 to 8, and chroma of 4 to 8. Some pedons have a few discontinuous lamellae up to 3mm in thickness. Texture is loamy sand or loamy fine sand.
The upper part of the Bt horizon has hue of 2.5YR through 10YR, value of 4 to 7, and chroma of 4 to 8. Masses of iron accumulation in shades of brown, red, or yellow range from none to common. Texture is loamy fine sand, sandy loam, or sandy clay loam.
The lower part of the Bt horizon has colors similar to the upper part or there is no dominant color and it is multicolored in shades of red, brown, and yellow. Gray and white stripped sand grains between peds range from none to common. Texture is loamy fine sand, sandy loam, sandy clay loam, or sandy clay.
Some pedons have a BC horizon. It has colors similar to the lower Bt horizon with gray and white stripped sand grains between peds that range from few to many. Texture is loamy fine sand, loamy sand, or sandy loam.
COMPETING SERIES: The
Masaryk series is the only known series in the same family. The moderately well drained Masaryk soils are on similar to lower positions and have yellower subsoils.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Apopka soils are on ridges and side slopes in the Lower Coastal Plain. Slopes range from 0 to 25 percent in highly dissected areas. They formed in thick beds of sandy and loamy marine or eolian deposits. The climate is humid subtropical. The average annual precipitation ranges from 50 to 60 inches and average annual air temperature ranges from 72 to 74 degrees F.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These include the
Adamsville,
Arredondo,
Astatula,
Candler,
Fort Meade,
Immokalee,
Kendrick,
Lake,
Millhopper,
Myakka,
Sparr, and
Tavares series. The somewhat poorly drained Adamsville are on lower positions and are sandy throughout. Arredondo soils are on similar to lower positions, have yellower subsoils, and have 5 to 15 percent silt plus clay in the E horizons. The excessively well drained Astatula, Candler, and Lake soils are on similar to higher positions and are sandy throughout. The well drained Fort Meade soils are on slightly higher positions, have thick dark surfaces, are sandy throughout and have a seasonal high water table more than 88 inches below the surface. The poorly drained Immokalee and Myakka soils are on similar positions and have spodic horizons. Kendrick soils are on similar positions and have surface and subsurface layers 20 to 40 inches in thickness. The moderately well drained Millhopper soils are on lower positions. The somewhat poorly drained Sparr soils are on lower positions and have sandy surface and subsurface layers 20 to 40 inches in thickness. The moderately well drained Tavares soils are on lower positions and are sandy throughout.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; rapid permeability in the A and E horizons; moderate in the upper part Bt horizons and moderately slow in the lower Bt horizons.
USE AND VEGETATION: Large areas are cleared and used for citrus and tame pasture. Natural vegetation consists of bluejack oak, turkey oak, post oak, live oak, and longleaf pine. The understory vegetation consists of bluestem, dogfennel, paspalum, pineland threeawn, and other native plants.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Peninsular Florida. The series is of moderate extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Auburn, Alabama.
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Lake County, Florida; 1970.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features in this pedon:
Ochric epipedon and Grossarenic feature - 0 to 55 inches (Ap, E1, and E2 horizons).
Argillic horizon - 55 to 84 inches (Bt horizon).
National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.