LOCATION FORT MEADE FL
Established Series
Rev. AGH; GRB
11/2013
FORT MEADE SERIES
The Fort Meade series consists of very deep, well drained, rapidly permeable soils that formed in moderately thick beds of loamy sand on uplands overlying or mixed with phosphatic materials. Slopes range from 0 to 5 percent.
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Siliceous, hyperthermic Humic Psammentic Dystrudepts
TYPICAL PEDON: Fort Meade loamy fine sand, on a 3 percent slope in a citrus grove (Colors are for moist soil).
Ap--0 to 11 inches; black (10YR 2/1) loamy fine sand; weak fine granular structure; friable; few fine and coarse roots; neutral; clear smooth boundary.
A--11 to 17 inches; dark brown (7.5YR 3/2) loamy fine sand; weak fine granular structure; friable; few fine and coarse roots; neutral; clear wavy boundary. (Combined thickness of the Ap and A1 horizon is 10 to 30 inches.)
C1--17 to 47 inches; dark yellowish brown (10YR 3/4) loamy fine sand; weak medium subangular blocky structure parting to moderate medium granular; friable; few coarse roots; moderately acid; gradual wavy boundary.
C2--47 to 59 inches; dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) loamy fine sand; weak medium and coarse subangular blocky structure parting to moderate medium granular; friable; few coarse roots; strongly acid; gradual wavy boundary.
C3--59 to 72 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/8) loamy fine sand; weak coarse subangular blocky structure parting to moderate medium granular; friable; few coarse roots; strongly acid; gradual wavy boundary.
C4--72 to 80 inches; reddish yellow (7.5YR 6/6) loamy fine sand; weak coarse subangular blocky structure parting to moderate medium granular; friable; about 3 percent, by volume, fine and medium weathered phosphatic and iron pebbles; strongly acid.
TYPE LOCATION: Polk County, Florida; in grapefruit grove 6 miles south of Lakeland and 200 feet north and 200 feet west of intersection of Highway 540A and Gus Stewart Road. SE1/4, SW1/4 Sec. 16, T. 29 S., R. 24 E.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Reaction ranges from strongly acid to neutral in the A or Ap horizon and very strongly acid to moderately acid in the C horizons. Profiles have more than 12 percent fines and extend to depths of 80 inches or more. Pebbles of phosphate rock or of concretionary material enriched with phosphate may or may not be in all or any one of the horizons described. Total content of weathered phosphatic and iron pebbles in the soil ranges from 0 to 5 percent, by volume. These pebbles range from 4 to 20 mm in size.
The A or Ap horizon has hue of 7.5YR or 10YR, value of 2 or 3, and chroma of 1 through 3. Texture is fine sand, loamy fine sand or loamy sand.
The C horizons have hue of 5YR to 10YR, value of 4 to 7, and chroma of 3 through 8. Texture is fine sand, loamy fine sand or loamy sand.
COMPETING SERIES: These are
Orlando series in the same family. Orlando soils have uniform texture of sand or fine sand with 1 to 12 percent fines that extends to depths of 80 inches or more. Other closely related soils are the
Gainesville and
Sellers series. Gainesville soils do not have an umbric or a mollic epipedon. Sellers soils are very poorly drained.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Fort Meade soils are on uplands of the lower Coastal Plain. Slope range from 0 to 5 percent. The climate is humid subtropical. Near the type location, mean annual precipitation is about 55 inches and mean annual temperature is about 74 degrees F.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the competing
Gainesville and
Orlando series, and in addition,
Arredondo,
Candler, and
Tavares series. Arredondo, Candler, and Tavares soils lack an umbric or mollic epipedon. In addition, Arredondo soils have an argillic horizon at depths between 40 and 80 inches. Candler soils have sand or fine sand texture throughout and have lamellae within depths of 80 inches. Tavares soils have a water table between depths of 40 to 60 inches during the rainy season.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; rapid permeability. Runoff is slow to medium.
USE AND VEGETATION: Most areas are used for growing citrus, truck crops
and improved pasture. Native vegetation is dominated by longleaf pine, slash pine and loblolly pine, laurel oak, live oak, post oak and turkey oak along with dogwood, hickory, cabbage palm and magnolia. The understory consists of widely spaced sawpalmetto, pineland threeawn, bluestems, lopsided indiangrass, paspalum and panicums.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Central peninsular Florida. The series is of minor extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Auburn, Alabama.
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Polk County, Florida; 1927.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon:
Ochric epipedon - the zone from 0 to 11 inches (Ap horizon).
The water table is below a depth of 72 inches.
Large areas that were Fort Meade soil in Polk County have been mined for phosphate.
ADDITIONAL DATA: None at the present time.
National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.