LOCATION BEATRICE AL+AR

Established Series
Rev. LAD:BCF
10/2018

BEATRICE SERIES

The Beatrice series consists of deep, moderately well drained, very slowly permeable soils that formed in clayey shale marine sediments. These soils are on uplands of the Coastal Plain. Slopes range from 1 to 10 percent.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Very-fine, smectitic, thermic Vertic Hapludults

TYPICAL PEDON: Beatrice silt loam--on a convex 3 percent slope under mixed hardwoods and pine at an elevation of about 245 feet.
(Colors are for moist soil.)

Ap--0 to 3 inches; dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) silt loam; moderate fine granular structure; friable; few fine roots; medium acid; clear smooth boundary. (2 to 6 inches thick)

Bt1--3 to 16 inches; red (2.5YR 4/6) clay; moderate fine subangular blocky structure; firm; few fine roots; thin continuous distinct clay films on faces of peds; few old cracks filled with dark grayish brown silt loam material; very strongly acid; clear wavy boundary.

Bt2--16 to 24 inches; yellowish red (5YR 4/6) clay; many medium distinct red (2.5YR 4/6), yellowish brown (10YR 5/6), and light gray (10YR 7/1) mottles; strong fine angular blocky structure; very firm; few fine roots; thin continuous distinct clay films on horizontal faces of peds; few almost vertical nonintersecting slickensides; very strongly acid; gradual wavy boundary.

Bt3--24 to 41 inches; mottled yellowish red (5YR 4/6), red (2.5YR 4/6), yellowish brown (10YR 5/6), and light gray (10YR 7/1) clay; strong fine angular blocky structure; very firm; few fine roots; thin continuous distinct clay films on horizontal faces of peds; few almost vertical nonintersecting slickensides; very strongly acid; clear wavy boundary. (Combined thickness of the Bt horizon is 24 to more than 40 inches.)

BC--41 to 50 inches; light brownish gray (2.5Y 6/2) clay; many medium distinct yellowish brown (10YR 5/8) and red (2.5YR 4/6) mottles; moderate thick platy structure parting to moderate fine subangular blocky; very firm; thin patchy clay films on most faces of peds; common nonintersecting slickensides; very strongly acid; gradual wavy boundary. (0 to 14 inches thick)

C--50 to 72 inches; layers of light olive gray (5Y 6/2) shaly clay; common medium distinct red (2.5YR 4/6) and yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) mottles; strong medium platy structure; extremely firm; interbedded with thin strata of clay loam and sandy clay loam; very strongly acid.

TYPE LOCATION: Monroe County, Alabama; 1.75 miles southwest of Beatrice, 900 feet south and 1500 feet east of the NW corner of sec. 26, T. 9 N., R. 8 E.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Solum thickness ranges from 40 to 60 inches. Reaction is extremely acid or very strongly acid except surface layers that have been limed. The calcium magnesium ratio is less than 1. The COLE is more than 0.09 in the Bt horizon.

The A1 or Ap horizon has hue of 10YR or 7.5YR, value of 3 to 6, and chroma of 2 to 4. The E horizon, where present, is as much as 4 inches thick and has hue of 10YR, value of 4 or 5, and chroma of 4 to 6. Texture of the A and E horizons is silt loam, loam, sandy loam, or fine sandy loam.

The upper part of the Bt horizon has hue of 2.5YR or 5YR, value of 4 or 5, and chroma of 4 to 8. Some pedons have a few mottles in shades of red or brown. The lower part of the Bt horizon has hue of 2.5YR or 5YR, value of 4 or 5, and chroma of 4 to 8 with common to many mottles in shades of gray, red, yellow, or brown; or it is mottled in shades of red, brown, yellow, and gray. Mottles of chroma 2 or less are within the upper 10 to 24 inches of the Bt horizon. The clay content of the upper 20 inches of the Bt horizon ranges from 60 to 80 percent.

The BC or CB horizon, where present, has hue of 10YR to 5Y, value of 6 or 7, and chroma of 1 or 2 with mottles in shades of red, yellow, or brown; or it is mottled in shades of gray, red, yellow, and brown. It is clay, clay loam, or sandy clay loam.

The C horizon has the same colors as the BC or CB horizon and it is weathered clayey shale; stratified with sandy clay loam and clay loam in some pedons. The clayey shale layers range from a few millimeters to a few centimeters in thickness and the loamy material is a few millimeters thick. At depths of more than 60 inches, the clayey shale is continuous.

COMPETING SERIES: There are no other known series in this family. Competing series in similar families are the Arundel and Sacul series. Arundel soils are underlain by horizontally bedded sandstone, shale, or siltstone at depths of 20 to 40 inches. Sacul soils have COLE values of less than 0.09.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Beatrice soils are on smooth convex very gently sloping to sloping uplands of the Coastal Plain. Slopes range from 1 to 10 percent. The soils formed in clayey shaly marine sediments. The climate is warm and humid with average annual temperature of 65 degrees F. and average annual precipitation of 54 inches near the type location.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: In addition to the competing Arundel and Sacul soils, these are the Iuka, Luverne, and Mantachie soils. Arundel and Sacul soils are on similar landforms. Iuka soils are on adjacent flood plains, have a coarse-loamy control section, and do not have an argillic horizon. Luverne soils are on adjacent side slopes, have a control section with less than 60 percent clay, and have a moderate shrink-swell potential. Mantachie soils are on adjacent flood plains, are somewhat poorly drained, have a fine-loamy control section, and do not have an argillic horizon.

DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Moderately well drained; medium to very rapid runoff; very slow permeability.

USE AND VEGETATION: Most of the Beatrice soils are used for woodland. Forests are mainly pine with some mixed hardwoods. Small areas are used for pasture, hay, and cultivated crops.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Uplands of the Coastal Plain of Alabama and possibly in other southern states. Known areas are in the Hatchetigbee, Nanafalia, and Tuscahoma geological formations. The acreage is believed to be of large extent.

MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Auburn, Alabama

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Monroe County, Alabama, 1984.

REMARKS: Beatrice series was formerly included in the Boswell and Sacul series. The low chroma mottles in the argillic horizon are interpreted as being inherited from the parent material and do not indicate wetness.

Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:

Argillic horizon - the zone from approximately 3 to 41 inches. (Bt1, Bt2, and Bt3 horizons)

ADDITIONAL DATA: Particle-size, chemical, and mineralogy data are available for the typical pedon (S79AL-99-13-(1-6). Alabama Highway Department test data are also available on the typical pedon. Partial data are available on one other pedon.

National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.