LOCATION LUCEDALE MS+AL LAEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, siliceous, subactive, thermic Rhodic Paleudults
TYPICAL PEDON: Lucedale loam--cultivated.
(Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)
Ap--0 to 8 inches; dark reddish brown (5YR 3/2) loam; weak fine granular structure; friable; many fine roots; strongly acid; abrupt wavy boundary. (6 to 8 inches thick)
Bt1--8 to 15 inches; dark reddish brown (2.5YR 3/4) sandy clay loam; weak medium subangular blocky structure; friable; many fine roots; patchy clay films on faces of peds; strongly acid; gradual smooth boundary.
Bt2--15 to 40 inches; dark red (2.5YR 3/6) clay loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; friable; few fine roots; clay films on faces of peds; strongly acid; gradual smooth boundary.
Bt3--40 to 80 inches; dark red (2.5YR 3/6) sandy clay loam; weak medium subangular blocky structure; friable; clay films on surfaces of peds; strongly acid. (Combined thickness of the Bt subhorizons is more than 60 inches.)
TYPE LOCATION: George County, Mississippi; 1.5 miles north of Agricola School on Rumar Ranch, 600 yards west on Highway 613 and 200 feet south of field road in cultivated field. SW1/4SE1/4 sec. 31, T. 2 S., R. 5 W.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Thickness of the solum ranges from 60 inches to more than 80 inches.
The A horizon has hue of 10R, 5YR, or 7.5YR, value of 3, and chroma of 2 to 4. It is sandy loam, fine sandy loam, or loam. It is strongly acid to slightly acid, except where limed.
In some pedons there is a sandy loam or loam BA horizon from 3 to 10 inches thick. Color and reaction are similar to those of Bt1 horizon.
The Bt horizon has hue of 2.5YR, 5YR or 10R, value of 3, and chroma of 4 to 6. The Bt horizon is sandy clay loam, clay loam, or loam. The particle size control section, upper 20 inches of the Bt horizon, has 20 to 30 percent clay, and silt content ranges from 20 to 38 percent. It is very strongly acid or strongly acid throughout.
COMPETING SERIES: The Red Bay is the only competing series in the same family. Closely related series include the Anniston, Caldonia, Greenville, Nacogdoches, Neshoba, Pine Flat, and Ruston series. Red Bay soils have less than 20 percent silt in the Bt horizon. Anniston, Greenville, Nacogdoches, and Neshoba soils have more than 35 percent clay in the upper 20 inches of the Bt horizon. Caldonia soils have base saturation of more than 35 percent. Pine Flat soils have a coarse-loamy particle size class. Ruston soils have moist values of 4 or more throughout the solum.
GEOGRAPHICALLY SETTING: Lucedale soils formed in loamy sediments in uplands of the Southern Coastal Plain Major Land Resource Area. Slope ranges from 0 to 15 percent. The climate is warm and humid. The mean annual temperature is about 67 degrees Fahrenheit, and average annual precipitation is about 61 inches or near the type location.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the competing Ruston series and the Eustis, Lucy, and McLaurin series. Ruston soils are in similar positions on the landscape. Eustis soils, which commonly are in slightly higher positions, have a sandy Bt horizon. Lucy soils, which commonly are on more dissected parts of the terrain, have a thick sandy epipedon. McLaurin soils, which are on associated hillsides, have a value of 4 or more throughout the solum and a coarse-loamy particle size class.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; slow runoff; moderate permeability.
USE AND VEGETATION: Most areas of Lucedale soils are cropped to cotton, soybeans, corn, and small grains. Some areas are used for growing pasture and hay. Principal vegetation of wooded areas is mixed hardwoods and longleaf, slash, and loblolly pines.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi. The Lucedale series is of moderate extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Auburn, Alabama
SERIES ESTABLISHED: George County, Mississippi; 1970.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon - the zone from the surface to a depth of about 8 inches (Ap horizon).
Argillic horizon - the zone from approximately 8 to 60 inches (Bt1, Bt2, Bt3 horizons).
Rhodic feature - Moist color value of less than 4 throughout the argillic horizon.
ADDITIONAL DATA: Mineralogical data are available in Mississippi Experiment Station Publication No. 1141.