LOCATION BRADSON NC+GAEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Clayey, parasesquic, mesic Typic Hapludults
TYPICAL PEDON: Bradson gravelly loam - meadow. (Colors are for moist soil.)
Ap--0 to 6 inches; reddish brown (5YR 4/4) gravelly loam; weak coarse and fine granular structure; friable; many fine roots; few fine flakes of mica; about 20 percent by volume smooth, rounded quartz gravel; moderately acid; abrupt smooth boundary. (5 to 10 inches thick)
Bt1--6 to 24 inches; red (2.5YR 4/6) clay; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; firm, sticky, slightly plastic; few fine roots; common distinct clay films on faces of peds; common fine flakes of mica; about 10 percent by volume smooth quartz gravel; strongly acid; gradual smooth boundary.
Bt2--24 to 40 inches; red (2.5YR 4/8) clay loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; friable, slightly sticky, slightly plastic; few fine roots; common distinct films on faces of peds; common fine flakes of mica; few smooth quartz gravel; strongly acid; gradual smooth boundary. (Combined thickness of the Bt horizon is 30 to 48 inches.)
BC--40 to 65 inches; red (2.5YR 4/8) clay loam; weak medium subangular blocky structure; friable, slightly sticky, slightly plastic; few faint clay films on faces of peds; common fine flakes of mica; common soft fragments of minerals; very strongly acid; gradual smooth boundary. (10 to 36 inches thick)
C--65 to 75 inches; reddish yellow (5YR 6/8) loam; massive; friable; slightly sticky and slightly plastic; very strongly acid
TYPE LOCATION: Henderson County, North Carolina; 0.5 mile southwest of Etowah Post Office; 200 feet south of U.S. Highway 64 and SR 1205 intersection in a field 50 feet west of SR 1205.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Solum thickness ranges from 60 to 80 inches. Depth to hard bedrock is more than 72 inches. Content of rock fragments ranges from 5 to 35 percent in the A or Ap horizons and 0 to 15 percent in the B horizon; and from 3 to 35 percent in the C horizon. Rock fragments consist mostly of gravel with cobbles in some pedons. Flakes of mica range from none to common throughout. The soil is very strongly acid to moderately acid unless limed.
The A1 or Ap horizon has hue of 7.5YR or 10YR, value of 3 to 5, and chroma of 1 through 4. Where value is 3, the horizon is less than 6 inches thick. In addition, eroded pedons may have an Ap horizon that has a hue of 5YR, value of 4 or 5, and chroma of 3 to 8. Some pedons have an A2 horizon that has slightly higher value and chroma than the A1 or Ap horizon. The A1, Ap, A2 horizons are sandy loam, fine sandy loam, or loam in the fine-earth fraction.
The BE or BA horizon, where present, has hue of 2.5YR or 5YR, value of 4 or 5, and chroma of 6 or 8. Texture is sandy clay loam or clay loam.
The Bt horizon has hue of 10R to 5YR, value of 4 or 5, and chroma of 6 or 8. Texture is clay loam, sandy clay, or clay.
The BC horizon has hue of 10R to 7.5YR, value of 4 or 5, and chroma of 6 or 8. In some pedons, the BC horizon may be mottled or streaked in shades of red, yellow, or brown. This horizon is generally coarser in texture than the Bt and commonly has a higher content of rock fragments. It is sandy clay loam, clay loam, or loam. In some pedons, the BC horizon is underlain by a stone line or a 2B horizon of an older land surface.
The C horizon, where present, has color similar to the BC horizon, or is multicolored. Texture is sandy loam, fine sandy loam, loam or sandy clay loam in the fine-earth fraction.
COMPETING SERIES: There are no other series in this family. Braddock, Brevard, Evard, and Hayesville are in closely related families. Braddock soils are in a mixed mineralogy family. Brevard and Evard soils are in a fine-loamy family. Hayesville soils are in a kaolinitic family. In addition, Evard and Hayesville soils formed in residuum and have C horizons of saprolite.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Bradson soils are on high stream terraces, colluvial fans, and footslopes in the Southern Appalachian Mountains. They formed in colluvium and alluvium derived from materials weathered from felsic to mafic, high-grade metamorphic and igneous rocks. Slopes are commonly 2 to 10 percent, but range up to 25 percent. Near the type location, the mean annual air temperature is about 56 degrees F., and mean annual precipitation is about 60 inches.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: In addition to the competing Braddock, Brevard, Evard, and Hayesville soils, these include the These include the Tate, Elsinboro, and Rosman soils. The fine-loamy Tate soils are on colluvial footslopes. The fine-loamy Elsinboro soils are on lower stream terraces. The coarse-loamy Rosman soils are on flood plains. Braddock and Brevard soils are on the same landscape positions as Bradson soils. Evard and Hayesville soils are on ridges and side slopes of nearby mountains and intermountain hills.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; medium to moderately rapid surface runoff; moderate permeability.
USE AND VEGETATION: Most of the acreage is cleared and used for cultivated crops, orchards, pasture and homesites. Crops include corn, tobacco, wheat, and hay. The remainder is mainly forested. Overstory trees include pitch pine, shortleaf pine, Virginia pine, eastern white pine, northern red oak, and yellow poplar. The understory includes American holly, flowering dogwood, and greenbrier.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: North Carolina, and possibly Georgia, South Carolina, and Virginia. The series is of small extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Morgantown, West Virginia
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Henderson County, North Carolina, 1974.
REMARKS: Bradson soils are similar to the Braddock soils. The main difference is that Braddock soils are in a mixed mineralogy family and Bradson soils are classified in an oxidic family.
Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon - the zone from the surface to 6 inches (Ap horizon)
Argillic horizon - zone from 6 to 65 inches (Bt1, Bt2, and BC horizons)
MLRA: 130 SIR: NC0028