LOCATION GRITNEY NC+AL GAEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine, mixed, semiactive, thermic Aquic Hapludults
TYPICAL PEDON: Gritney sandy loam -- cultivated, on a 3 percent slightly convex slope (Colors are for moist soil.)
Ap--0 to 6 inches; brown (10YR 5/3) sandy loam; weak medium granular structure; very friable; many fine roots; moderately acid; abrupt smooth boundary. (2 to 10 inches thick)
BE--6 to 9 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) sandy loam; weak medium subangular blocky structure; friable; few fine prominent yellowish red (5YR 5/8) masses of iron accumulation; few fine roots; moderately acid; abrupt smooth boundary. (0 to 8 inches thick)
Btl--9 to 17 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) clay; common medium prominent red (2.5YR 4/8) mottles and few medium prominent dark red (2.5YR 3/6) masses of iron accumulation; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; firm, slightly plastic, slightly sticky; few fine roots; few faint clay films on faces of peds; strongly acid; clear smooth boundary.
Bt2--17 to 37 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) clay; common medium distinct light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) iron depletions and common medium prominent red (2.5YR 4/8) masses of iron accumulation; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; very firm, plastic, sticky; few fine roots; common, distinct clay films on faces of peds; very strongly acid; clear wavy boundary.
Bt3--37 to 49 inches; 30 percent yellowish brown (10YR 5/6), 30 percent strong brown (7.5YR 5/6), 20 percent red (2.5YR 4/8), and 20 percent light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) clay; weak coarse subangular blocky structure; firm, plastic, sticky; few fine roots; few distinct clay films on faces of peds; the areas of red are iron accumulations and the areas of light brownish gray are iron depletions; very strongly acid; clear wavy boundary. (Combined thickness of the Bt horizon is 20 to 50 inches.)
BC--49 to 58 inches; 25 percent strong brown (7.5YR 5/6), 25 percent red (2.5YR 4/8), 25 percent light brownish gray (10YR 6/2), and 25 percent yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) sandy clay; weak coarse subangular blocky structure; friable, slightly plastic, sticky; the areas of red are iron accumulations and the areas of light brownish gray are iron depletions; very strongly acid; gradual wavy boundary. (0 to 15 inches thick)
C--58 to 70 inches; 30 percent strong brown (7.5YR 5/6), 25 percent red (2.5YR 4/8), 25 percent light brownish gray (10YR 6/2), and 20 percent yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) sandy clay loam; massive; friable; the areas of red are iron accumulations and the areas of light brownish gray are iron depletions; very strongly acid.
TYPE LOCATION: Northhampton County, North Carolina; about 5.6 miles east of Jackson on U.S. 158, 100 feet south of U.S. 158 in cultivated field and about 90 feet east of cemetery located in cultivated field. State Plain Coordinate, X 2,490,200, Y 983,600.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Solum thickness ranges from 35 to 60 inches or more. The soil ranges from extremely acid through strongly acid unless limed. Quartz and ironstone pebbles range from 0 to 10 percent throughout the soil. COLE is estimated to be less than 0.09 throughout the soil. Silt content of the control section is less than 30 percent.
The A or Ap horizon has hue of 7.5YR to 2.5Y, value of 2 to 5, and chroma of 2 to 6. Texture is loamy sand, loamy fine sand, sandy loam, fine sandy loam, or loam. Eroded phases are sandy clay loam or clay loam. Texture is loamy sand, loamy fine sand, sandy loam, fine sandy loam, or loam.
The E horizon, where present, has hue of lOYR to 2.5Y, value of 5 to 7, and chroma of 3 to 6. Texture is loamy sand, loamy fine sand, sandy loam, fine sandy loam, or loam.
The BE or BA horizon, where present, has hue of 7.5YR or lOYR, value of 4 to 7, and chroma of 4 to 8. Texture is sandy loam or sandy clay loam.
The upper part of the Bt horizon has hue of 5YR to 2.5Y, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 4 to 8. Iron accumulations in shades of red or brown are present in most pedons. Iron depletions are within the upper 24 inches of the Bt horizon. The middle and lower part of the Bt horizon has hue of 5YR to 2.5Y, value of 4 to 7, and chroma of 3 to 8, or it is a combination of colors in shades of gray, brown, red or yellow. Texture is clay, clay loam, and sandy clay. Some pedons have thin subhorizons of sandy clay loam.
The BC or CB horizon, present in most pedons, has colors and textures similar to those of the lower part of the Bt horizon.
The C horizon or 2C horizon is variable in color but commonly has a combination of colors in shades of brown, red, gray and yellow. Texture is sandy clay loam, loam, or clay loam with lenses, pockets or strata of loamy sand, sandy loam, or sandy clay. In some pedons, the lower part of the C horizon is clay.
The Cg or 2Cg horizon, where present has hue of 10YR to 2.5Y, value of 3 to 7, and chroma of 0 to 2. Redoximorphic features are common in shades of gray, brown, red, and yellow. Texture is sandy clay loam, loam, or clay loam with lenses, pockets or strata of loamy sand or sandy loam. In some pedons, the Cg or 2Cg horizon may have texture of clay.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Annemaine, Beason, Cid, Craven, Creedmoor, Dogue, Eulonia, Helena, Lignum, Nemours, Nevarc, Newco, Peawick, Rosenwall, Sacul, Sheva, Stapp, Vinita, and Wolftever soils. Annemaine soils are on stream terraces and have about 3 meg/100 gm. of Ca and Mg content in the Bt horizon. Benson, Craven, Nevarc, Peawick, and Wolftever soils contain 30 percent silt or higher in the Bt horizon. In addition, Nevarc soils are commonly on steep slopes and are non-arable. Cid, Sheva, Rosenwall, and Vinita have paralithic contact within 40 inches. Creedmoor soils have higher coefficient of linear extensibility and more exchangeable aluminum in the lower Bt horizon. Dogue, Eulonia, and Nemours soils have an apparent water table. Helena and Lignum soils have C horizons formed in saprolite with rock structure. Newco soils do not have a seasonal high water table within 60 inches of the surface. Sacul soils have a high shrink-swell potential in the argillic horizon. Stapp soils have paralithic contact within 60 inches.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Gritney soils are on ridgetops and side slopes of the Coastal Plain uplands, usually above an elevation of 20 feet. Slopes commonly are 2 to 10 percent, but range from 0 to 15 percent. The soils have formed in fine-textured Coastal Plain sediments. Average annual precipitation is about 50 inches and mean annual temperature is about 65 degrees F. near the type location.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are Bonneau, Carnegie, Caroline, Cowarts, Dothan, Duplin, Faceville, Fuquay, Goldsboro, Marlboro, Norfolk, Orangeburg, and Wagram soils. These soils are on nearby landscapes. Bonneau and Wagram soils are on slightly higher areas and have arenic surface. Carnegie, Dothan and Fuquay soils are on higher areas and they contain over 5 percent nodules of plinthite and have thick sola. In addition, Fuquay soils are arenic. Cowarts soils are on similar topographic positions as Gritney soils but they have a fine loamy control section. Goldsboro, Norfolk and Orangeburg soils may be on slightly higher or lower smoother areas and have thick, fine-loamy control sections. Caroline, Duplin, Faceville and Marlboro soils are commonly on higher, smoother areas and they have a thick, clayey sola.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Gritney soils are moderately well drained; moderate to very rapid runoff; and slow permeability.
USE AND VEGETATION: Gritney soils are used for crops, pasture and forest land. Principal crops grown are corn, soybeans, small grain, cotton, peanuts and hay and pasture. Wooded areas are mixed hardwood and pine. Tree species include white oak, post oak, southern red oak, red maple, sweetgum, hickory, elm, ash, American sycamore, beech, and loblolly pine. Common understory plants are American holly, dogwood, sassafras, sourwood, and waxmyrtle. Threeawn is a common native grass.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: North Carolina, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and Virginia, and possibly South Carolina.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Raleigh, North Carolina
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Holmes County Florida; l971.
REMARKS: (1) Responsibility for Gritney series was transferred to North Carolina in l986. (2) The classification of this series was changed with the 12/86 revision - from clayey, mixed, thermic Typic Hapludults to clayey, mixed, thermic Aquic Hapludults. This is based on selected water table studies.
Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon - the zone from the surface to a depth of 9 inches (a and BE horizons).
Argillic horizon - the zone from 9 to 49 inches (Bt horizon).
Aquic conditions - periodic saturation and iron depletions in the zone from 17 to 70 inches (Bt2, Bt3, BC and C horizons)
Characterization analysis for typical pedon (S85NC-131-1) was completed by NCSU.
ADDITIONAL DATA: MLRAs: 133A, 153A
TABULAR SERIES DATA:
SOI-5 Soil Name Slope Airtemp FrFr/Seas Precip Elevation
NC0201 GRITNEY 0- 15 59- 68 200-250 45- 55 20- 350
SOI-5 FloodL FloodH Watertable Kind Months Bedrock Hardness NC0201 NONE 1.5-3.0 PERCHED DEC-APR 60-60SOI-5 Depth Texture 3-Inch No-10 Clay% -CEC- NC0201 0- 9 LS LFS 0- 0 85-100 5-10 1- 4 NC0201 0- 9 SL FSL L 0- 0 80-100 10-25 2- 7 NC0201 0- 9 SCL CL 0- 0 80-100 20-35 4- 8 NC0201 9-58 C SC CL 0- 0 90-100 35-60 7- 13 NC0201 58-70 SR LS SCL 0- 2 55-100 10-35 2- 8
SOI-5 Depth -pH- O.M. Salin Permeab Shnk-Swll NC0201 0- 9 3.5- 6.0 .5-2. 0- 0 6.0- 20 LOW NC0201 0- 9 3.5- 6.0 .5-2. 0- 0 2.0- 6.0 LOW NC0201 0- 9 3.5- 5.5 .5-1. 0- 0 0.6- 2.0 LOW NC0201 9-58 3.5- 5.5 0.-.5 0- 0 0.06- 0.2 MODERATE NC0201 58-70 3.5- 5.5 0.-.1 0- 0 0.06- 6.0 LOW