LOCATION EALY TNEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Coarse-loamy, siliceous, semiactive, mesic Fluventic Dystrudepts
TYPICAL PEDON: Ealy loam--cultivated. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)
Ap--0 to 6 inches; brown (10YR 4/3) loam; weak medium and fine granular structure; very friable; many fine and medium roots; medium acid; clear smooth boundary. (5 to 10 inches thick)
Bw--6 to 16 inches; dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) loam; weak medium and fine subangular blocky structure; very friable; many fine roots; few channers of sandstone up to 3 inches in diameter; strongly acid; clear smooth boundary. (8 to 30 inches thick)
C1--16 to 19 inches; brown (10YR 5/3) loamy fine sand; single grain; loose; common fine roots; strongly acid; abrupt smooth boundary.
C2--19 to 42 inches; dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) loam; weak coarse subangular blocky structure; very friable; few fine roots; few pebbles of sandstone; strongly acid; clear smooth boundary.
C3--42 to 55 inches; dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) fine sandy loam; massive; very friable; few fine roots; few pebbles of sandstone; strongly acid; clear smooth boundary.
C4--55 to 68 inches; grayish brown (10YR 5/2) fine sandy loam; common medium and coarse distinct yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) mottles; massive; very friable; few pebbles of sandstone; strongly acid. (Thickness of the C horizon is greater than 25 inches.)
TYPE LOCATION: Hawkins County, Tennessee; in Poor Valley; 100 yards northwest of foot bridge across Poor Valley Creek and 50 feet east of creek bank.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Thickness of the solum ranges from 13 to 40 inches. Reaction is strongly acid or very strongly acid except where lime has been added. Depth to bedrock is greater than 5 feet. Coarse fragments range from 0 to 15 percent in each horizon.
The Ap or A horizon has hue of 10YR, value of 4 or 5, and chroma of 2 to 4. Texture is loam or fine sandy loam.
The Bw horizon has hue of 10YR or 7.5YR, value of 4 or 5, and chroma of 3 to 6. Texture is loam or fine sandy loam.
The C horizon has hue of 10YR, value of 4 or 5, and chroma of 3 or 4 in the upper part and hue of 10YR, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 2 to 4 in the lower part. Some pedons are mottled with shades of brown and gray below 25 inches. Texture is loam or fine sandy loam except some pedons have thin subhorizons or strata of loamy fine sand or silt loam. Some pedons have a buried A horizon below a depth of 25 inches.
COMPETING SERIES: Gladden is the only series in the same family. Ennis, Neubert, Ochlockonee, Pope, Philo, Sewanee, and Toccoa series are in closely related families. Gladden soils have more than 35 percent chert fragments in a horizon between 20 and 40 inches. Ennis and Neubert soils are fine-loamy and are thermic. Ochlockonee and Toccoa soils do not have cambic horizons and are thermic. Pope and Philo soils have mixed mineralogy and Philo soils also have mottles of 2 chroma or less within a depth of 24 inches. Sewanee soils have mottles of 2 chroma or less within a depth of 24 inches.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Ealy soils are on flood plains mostly along small tributary streams. These soils formed in loamy alluvium derived mainly from sandstone. Slopes range from 0 to 3 percent. Near the type location, mean annual air temperature is 56.4 degrees F., and mean annual precipitation is 42 inches.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the competing Sewanee series on the flood plains and the Jefferson, Ramsey, and Wallen series on adjacent side slopes. Jefferson soils have argillic horizons, Ramsey soils are less than 20 inches to bedrock, and Wallen soils have greater than 15 percent fragments in the control section and are less than 40 inches to bedrock.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Ealy soils are well drained. Runoff is slow and permeability is moderately rapid.
USE AND VEGETATION: Cleared areas are used for corn, small grains, tobacco, hay, and pasture. Native forests are mainly yellow-poplar, oaks, sycamore, beech, and hickory.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Cumberland Plateau and Appalachian Ridges and Valleys of Tennessee and possibly in Alabama, Arkansas, and Kentucky. The series is of small extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Morgantown, West Virginia
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Hawkins County, Tennessee; 1973.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon - 0 to 6 inches (Ap horizon)
Cambic horizon - 6 to 16 inches (Bw horizon)