LOCATION BELHAVEN           NC+VA
Established Series
Rev. JAG-RLV
10/2008

BELHAVEN SERIES


MLRA(s): 153A, 153B
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Raleigh, North Carolina
Depth Class: Very deep
Drainage Class: Very poorly drained
Permeability: Moderately slow to moderately rapid
Surface Runoff: Very slow
Parent Material: Highly decomposed organic matter underlain by loamy marine sediments
Slope: 0 to 2 percent
Mean Annual Air Temperature (type location): 60 degrees F.
Mean Annual Precipitation (type location): 51 inches

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy, mixed, dysic, thermic Terric Haplosaprists

TYPICAL PEDON: Belhaven muck--cultivated. Colors are for moist)

Oap--0 to 9 inches; black (5YR 2.5/1) broken face and rubbed muck; about 5 percent unrubbed fiber, less than 1 percent rubbed; about 15 percent mineral content; moderate fine and medium granular structure; very friable; few fine roots and stems; few medium hard, subangular blocky peds of organic material on the surface; few fine and medium pieces of charcoal; common coated and clean sand grains; strongly acid; abrupt smooth boundary.

Oal--9 to 13 inches; dark reddish brown (5YR 2.5/2) broken face and rubbed muck; about 15 percent unrubbed fiber, less than l percent rubbed; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; friable; few medium pieces of charcoal; extremely acid; clear smooth boundary.

Oa2--13 to 26 inches; very dusky red (2.5YR 2.5/2) broken face and rubbed muck; about 25 percent unrubbed fiber, less than 1 percent rubbed; massive parting to moderate medium granular structure; friable, slightly sticky and paste-like; few fine and medium roots; few clean sand grains; few medium pieces of charcoal; extremely acid; clear smooth boundary. (The combined thickness of the Oa horizons is 16 to 51 inches.)

AC--26 to 32 inches; very dark gray (5YR 3/1) mucky sandy loam; organic materials have about 15 percent unrubbed fiber, less than 2 percent rubbed; moderate medium granular structure; friable, slightly sticky; common fine and medium roots; few clean sand grains; few medium pieces of charcoal; extremely acid; abrupt smooth boundary. (0 to 24 inches thick)

Cg1--32 to 45 inches; dark gray (10YR 4/1) clay loam; massive; firm, moderately sticky, moderately plastic; few medium roots; extremely acid; abrupt smooth boundary.

Cg2--45 to 65 inches; gray (N 5/) clay loam; massive; firm, moderately plastic, slightly sticky; few medium roots; extremely acid; clear smooth boundary. (Combined thickness of Cg is 5 to 40 inches)

Cg3--65 to 72 inches; greenish gray (5GY 6/1) loamy sand; massive; very friable; few flakes of mica and dark opaque minerals; extremely acid.

TYPE LOCATION: Washington County, North Carolina; approximately 8 miles south of Roper and 3 miles southeast of Whitehurst's north slope grain elevator, 50 feet west of Canal "C" and 0.15 mile south of Canal #1. (Approximate location of Dolman site #4; see additional data).

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Thickness of Organic Layers: 16 to 51 inches
Depth to Bedrock: Greater than 60 inches
Depth to Seasonal High Water Table: 0 to 12 inches, November to May
Soil Reaction: Organic layers are ultra acid to extremely acid (in 0.01 M CaCl2) except where the surface has been limed. The underlying mineral horizons are extremely acid through moderately alkaline
Fiber content of Oa horizons: 15 percent to 45 percent unrubbed and less than 10 percent rubbed. The amount of fiber is highest in the lower tier. The organic material of this layer has a slick feel and is paste-like(colloidal). It is massive under natural wet conditions. Upon aeration after drainage, structure of the organic material evolves. Excessive drying causes shrinkage and hard subangular blocky peds to form. These peds dry irreversibly.
Other Features: Logs, stumps, and fragments of wood occupy 0 to 5 percent of the upper organic horizons in cleared areas that are cultivated and 5 to 35 percent in undrained areas. Pieces of charcoal range from common (2 to 8 percent) in the upper tier to few (less than 2 percent) in the lower tiers

Oa horizon (upper tier):
Color--hue of 5YR to 5Y, value of 2 or 3, and chroma of 1 or 2, or is neutral with value of 2 or 3. Ten inches or more of the upper tier is in hue of 5YR or 2.5YR
Texture--muck

Oa horizon (lower tier):
Color--hue of 2.5YR to 10YR, value of 2 or 3, and chroma of 1 or 2, or is neutral with value of 2 or 3
Texture--muck

AC horizon or A horizon (where present):
Color--hue of 2.5YR to 10YR, value of 2 or 3, and chroma of 1 or 2, or is neutral with value of 2 or 3
Texture--fine sandy loam, sandy loam, loam, or sandy clay loam, and includes the mucky texture modifier

C horizon (where present):
Color--hue of 2.5YR to 5Y, value of 3 to 6, and chroma of 3
Texture--sandy loam, loam, clay loam, or sandy clay loam

Cg horizon:
Color--hue of 2.5YR to 5Y, 5GY or 5G, value of 4 to 7, and chroma of 1 or 2 , or is neutral with value of 4 to 7. The low chroma colors are the result of iron depletion caused by wetness.
Texture--sandy loam, loam, clay loam, or sandy clay loam or is stratified sandy to clayey sediment.
Redoximorphic features (where present)--masse of oxidized iron in shades of brown, yellow, or red and iron depletions in shades of gray, olive, or white

COMPETING SERIES:
Ponzer soils--very poorly drained soils (seasonal high water table 0 to 12 inches) on similar landscape. These soils have non-colloidal organic layers that are in hue of 7.5YR to 2.5Y.
Scuppernong soils--Very poorly drained soils (seasonal high water table 0 to 12 on inches) similar landscape. These soils have mineral horizons that are silty.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Landscape: Coastal Plain
Landform: Flats, depressions and flood plains
Elevation: Less than 25 feet above mean sea level
Parent Material: Formed under very poorly drained conditions from the remains of marsh vegetation now dominated by tupelo, cypress, Atlantic white-cedar, and related non-woody fibrous hydrophytic plants over loamy marine and fluvial sediments
Mean Annual Air Temperature: 60 to 65 degrees
Mean Annual Precipitation: 42 to 58 inches
Frost Free Period: 190 to 250 days

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS:
Arapahoe soils--very poorly drained soils (seasonal high water table 0 to 12 inches) in coarse-loamy family on flats and in depressions
Ballahack soils--very poorly drained soils (seasonal high water table 0 to 12 inches) in fine-loamy family on flats and in slight depressions
Cape Fear soils--very poorly drained soils (seasonal high water table 0 to 12 inches) in fine-silty family on flats and in slight depressions
Deloss soils--very poorly drained soils (seasonal high water table 0 to 12 inches) in fine-loamy family on flats and in slight depressions
Dorovan soils--very poorly drained soils (seasonal high water table 0 to 12 inches) with organic layers more than 51 inches thick on floodplains
Hyde soils--very poorly drained soils (seasonal high water table 0 to 12 inches) in fine-silty family on flats and in slight depressions
Pasquotank soils--poorly drained soils (seasonal high water table 0 to 12 inches) with average of less than 18 percent clay in the particle size control section on flats and in slight depressions
Pettigrew soils--very poorly drained soils (seasonal high water table 0 to 12 inches) in fine family with organic surface layers 8 to 16 inches thick on similar landscapes
Ponzer soils--very poorly drained soils (seasonal high water table 0 to 12 inches) with organic layers 16 to 51 inches thick on similar landscapes
Portsmouth soils--very poorly drained soils (seasonal high water table 0 to 12 inches) in fine-loamy family on flats and in slight depressions
Pungo soils--very poorly drained organic soils (seasonal high water table 0 to 12 inches) with organic layers more than 51 inches thick on similar landscapes
Roanoke soils--poorly drained soils (seasonal high water table 0 to 12 inches) in fine family on flats and in slight depressions
Roper soils--very poorly drained soils (seasonal high water table 0 to 12 inches) in fine-silty family with organic surface layers 8 to 16 inches thick on similar landscapes
Tomotley soils--poorly drained soils (seasonal high water table 0 to 12 inches) in fine-loamy family on flats and in slight depressions
Wasda soils--very poorly drained soils (seasonal high water table 0 to 12 inches) in fine-loamy family with organic surface layers 8 to 16 inches thick on similar landscapes
Weeksville soils--very poorly drained soils (seasonal high water table 0 to 12 inches) in coarse-silty family on flats and in depressions

DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY:
Agricultural Drainage Class: Very poorly drained
Permeability: Moderately slow to moderately rapid

USE AND VEGETATION:
Major Uses: Mostly woodland
Dominant Vegetation: Where wooded--plant communities that reflect past history of treatment. Areas with a history of severe burning have scattered pond pine and a dense undergrowth of both large holly and small gallberry and huckleberry, fetterbush lyonia, swamp cyrilla, loblollybay gordonia, greenbrier and southern bayberry, as well as scattered red maple, red bay, sweetbay magnolia, and reeds. Similar areas may have a smaller population of these species and contain large amounts of broomsedge. Areas without severe burning have red maple, Southern bald cypress, pond pine, Atlantic white-cedar, red bay, sweet bay, and other hydrophytic species. Where cultivated--corn, soybeans, small grain, and pasture.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT:
Distribution: Lower Coastal Plain of North Carolina and Virginia
Extent: Moderate

MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Raleigh, North Carolina.

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Washington County, North Carolina; 1979.

REMARKS: The organic matter in these soils consists of very finely decomposed sapric material.

ADDITIONAL DATA: Dolman, J.D. and S.W. Buol. A Study of Organic Soils in the Tidewater Region of North Carolina (Site No. 4). North Carolina Agricultural Experiment Station, Technical Bulletin No. 181. December, 1967. Also Dolman, J.D. and S.W. Buol. Organic Soils on the Lower Coastal Plain of North Carolina. Soil Science Society of America Proceedings. Vol. 32 No. 2 pp. 414-18, 1968.

TABULAR SERIES DATA:

SOI-5   Soil Name   Slope  Airtemp  FrFr/Seas  Precip     Elevation
NC0097  BELHAVEN    0-2    59- 65   190-270    42- 58     5-  25
NC0276  BELHAVEN    0-2    59- 65   190-270    42- 58     5-  25

SOI-5 FloodL FloodH Watertable Kind Months Bedrock NC0097 NONE RARE 0-1.0 APPARENT NOV-MAY >60 NC0276 FREQ - APPARENT - >60

SOI-5 Depth Texture 3-Inch No-10 Clay% -CEC- NC0097 0-26 MUCK 0- 0 - 0-0 20-95 NC0097 26-32 SL FSL MK-L 0- 0 100-100 5-15 7-23 NC0097 32-65 L CL SCL 0- 0 100-100 10-35 3-10 NC0097 65-72 SR S FS 0- 0 100-100 2-8 0-2 NC0276 0-26 MUCK 0- 0 - 0-0 20-95 NC0276 26-32 SL FSL MK-L 0- 0 100-100 5-15 7-23 NC0276 32-65 L CL SCL 0- 0 100-100 10-35 3-10 NC0276 65-72 SR S FS 0- 0 100-100 2- 8 0-2

SOI-5 Depth -pH- O.M. Salinity Permeability Shrink-Swell NC0097 0-26 2.0-4.4 20-95 0-0 0.2-6.0 LOW NC0097 26-32 3.5-5.5 6.-15 0-0 2.0-6.0 LOW NC0097 32-65 3.5-5.5 1.-3. 0-0 0.2-0.6 LOW NC0097 65-72 3.5-5.5 0.-1. 0-0 6.0-20 LOW NC0276 0-26 2.0-4.4 20-95 0-0 0.2-6.0 LOW NC0276 26-32 3.5-5.5 6.-15 0-0 2.0-6.0 LOW NC0276 32-65 3.5-5.5 1.-3. 0-0 0.2-0.6 LOW NC0276 65-72 3.5-5.5 0.-1. 0-0 6.0-20 LOW


National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.