LOCATION BIENVILLE LA+TXEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Siliceous, thermic Psammentic Paleudalfs
TYPICAL PEDON: Bienville loamy fine sand on a smooth 1 percent slope, in a cultivated field.(Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)
Ap--0 to 7 inches; dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) loamy fine sand; weak fine granular structure; very friable; slightly acid, abrupt smooth boundary. (4 to 12 inches thick)
E--7 to 20 inches; brown (7.5YR 5/4) loamy fine sand; massive; very friable; moderately acid; clear wavy boundary. (8 to 30 inches thick)
B/E--20 to 48 inches; strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) loamy fine sand (Bt); common coarse distinct very pale brown (10YR 7/3) spots and streaks of uncoated sand grains (E); weak medium subangular blocky structure; very friable; moderately acid; clear wavy boundary. (15 to 30 inches thick)
Bt--48 to 72 inches; brown (7.5YR 5/4) loamy fine sand; common medium and coarse distinct dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) spots of finer material; common medium distinct pale brown (10YR 6/3) spots of uncoated sand grains; weak medium blocky structure; very friable; few sand grains bridged with clay; moderately acid.
TYPE LOCATION: Bienville Parish, Louisiana; 7 miles south of Friendship; 0.6 mile east of Louisiana Highway 501 via farm road; 175 yards east of house in southeast corner of open field. (NE1/4 SE1/4, sec. 36, T. 14 N., R. 5 W.)
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Solum thickness ranges from 60 to 80 inches. Total fines (clay, silt, and very fine sand) range from 30 to 50 percent.
The A or Ap horizon has hue of 10YR, value of 4 or 5, and chroma of 2 to 4. Texture is loamy fine sand or fine sandy loam. Reaction ranges from very strongly acid to slightly acid.
The E horizon and the E part of the B/E or E/B horizon have hue of 10YR or 7.5YR, value of 4 to 7, and chroma of 3 or 4. Texture is fine sand or loamy fine sand. Reaction ranges from very strongly acid to slightly acid.
The Bt horizon has hue of 7.5YR or 5YR, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 4 or 6 throughout. Some pedons have subhorizons of the Bt horizon with hue of 10YR. In some pedons parts of the Bt horizon consists of a series of lamellae. The upper part of the Bt horizon is fine sand or loamy fine sand. The lower part is fine sand, loamy fine sand, or fine sandy loam. Reaction in the Bt horizon ranges from very strongly acid to medium acid.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Flo and Glenpool series in the same family and the Alaga, Benndale, Elysian, Eustis, Hainesville, and Kershaw series. Alaga, Hainesville, and Kershaw soils do not have an argillic horizon. Benndale and Elysian soils have coarse-loamy texture in the upper 20 inches of the Bt horizon. Eustis soils have less than 30 percent fines (clay, silt, and very fine sand) and have base saturation of less than 35 percent. Flo soils do not have a seasonal high water table within a depth of 6 feet. Glenpool soils are on higher Pleistocene age terraces and do not have a high water table within a depth of 6 feet.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Bienville soils are on stream terraces in the Gulf Coastal Plains. Slope gradients are 0 to 5 percent. A water table is at depths of 4 to 6 feet in late winter and early spring. These soils formed in sandy alluvium mainly from sandy coastal plain sediments. The climate is warm and humid. Mean annual precipitation ranges from 45 to 62 inches and mean annual temperature ranges from 60 to 70 degrees F.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These include the Cahaba and Guyton series. Cahaba soils are fine-loamy. Guyton soils are poorly drained and are fine-silty.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Bienville soils are somewhat excessively drained. Runoff is slow. Permeability is moderately rapid.
USE AND VEGETATION: Most acreage is in woodland, dominantly mixed hardwood and pine. Cleared areas are used for cotton, corn, and truck crops.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Coastal Plain (MLRA 133B) portions of Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, and Texas. The series is extensive.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Temple, Texas
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Bienville Parish, Louisiana; 1908.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon -- 0 to 7 inches (Ap)
Argillic horizon -- 20 to 72 inches (Bt part B/E,Bt)
SOIL INTERPRETATION RECORD NUMBER: LA0030
ADDITIONAL DATA: Particle size distribution and mineralogy determined by the Lincoln Soil Survey Laboratory (S66LA-7-3). Base saturation data (percent of NH4OAc exchange) determined by Louisiana Agricultural Experiment Station (S64LA-7-1). About 75 to 80 percent is sand, most of which is fine sand. The sands are dominantly quartz with 5 to 10 percent weatherable minerals. Base saturation is 55 to 65 percent.