LOCATION MELDRIM GAEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy, siliceous, semiactive, thermic Oxyaquic Paleudults
TYPICAL PEDON: Meldrim sand (in an area of Meldrim sand, 0 to 2 percent slopes), on a smooth 1 percent slope, in woodland. (Colors are for moist soil, unless otherwise indicated.)
A--0 to 13 centimeters (about 0 to 5 inches); very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) sand; single grain; loose; many fine and medium roots throughout; moderately acid, pH 5.8, Hellige-Truog; clear smooth boundary. (12 to 25 centimeters/about 5 to 10 inches thick)
E1--13 to 56 centimeters (about 5 to 22 inches); brownish yellow (10YR 6/6) sand; single grain; loose; many fine roots and few medium roots throughout; moderately acid, pH 5.8, Hellige-Truog; clear smooth boundary.
E2--56 to 94 centimeters (about 22 to 37 inches); brownish yellow (10YR 6/6) sand; single grain; loose; few fine prominent strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) masses of oxidized iron and common medium distinct yellowish brown (10YR 5/8) masses of oxidized iron; common coarse prominent vertical seams of pale yellow (2.5Y 7/3) uncoated sand grains; moderately acid, pH 5.8, Hellige-Truog; gradual wavy boundary.
E3--94 to 127 centimeters (about 37 to 50 inches); yellow (10YR 7/6) sand; single grain; loose; common medium prominent yellowish red (5YR 5/8) masses of oxidized iron and medium distinct strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) masses of oxidized iron and medium distinct yellowish brown (10YR 5/8) masses of oxidized iron and common medium prominent light gray (10YR 7/2) iron depletions; strongly acid, pH 5.3, Hellige-Truog; common very pale brown (10YR 8/2) pockets of uncoated sand grains; gradual wavy boundary. (Combined thickness of the E horizon is 90 to 190 centimeters/about 35 to 75 inches.)
BE--127 to 142 centimeters (about 50 to 56 inches); light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) loamy fine sand; weak fine granular structure; very friable; common medium prominent yellowish red (5YR 5/8) masses of oxidized iron and common medium distinct strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) masses of oxidized iron and common medium distinct yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) masses of oxidized iron and many medium prominent light gray (10YR 7/2) iron depletions; strongly acid, pH 5.3, Hellige-Truog; common very pale brown (10YR 8/2) pockets of uncoated sand grains; gradual wavy boundary. (0 to 30 centimeters; 0 to about 12 inches thick)
Bt--142 to 160 centimeters (about 56 to 63 inches); light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) sandy loam; weak medium subangular blocky structure; friable; many continuous clay bridges between sand grains; common medium prominent yellowish red (5YR 5/8) masses of oxidized iron and common medium prominent strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) masses of oxidized iron and many medium prominent light gray (10YR 7/2) iron depletions; strongly acid, pH 5.3, Hellige-Truog; gradual wavy boundary. (12 to 65 centimeters; about 5 to 25 inches thick)
Btg--160 to 203 centimeters (about 63 to 80 inches); light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) sandy clay loam; weak medium subangular blocky structure; friable; few percent discontinuous clay films on all faces of peds; 3 percent plinthite nodules; common medium prominent yellowish red (5YR 5/8) masses of oxidized iron and common medium prominent strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) masses of oxidized iron and many medium prominent light gray (10YR 7/2) iron depletions; strongly acid, pH 5.3, Hellige-Truog. (0 to more than 50 centimeters; 0 to more than about 20 inches thick)
TYPE LOCATION: Effingham County, Georgia; about 1.3 mile from the intersection of U.S. Highway 80 and U.S. Highway 17 in Faulkville, GA on U.S. Highway 17, 600 feet west of the highway, along woods road; USGS Meldrim, GA topographic quadrangle; lat. 32 degrees 09 minutes 07.18 seconds N. and long. 81 degrees 20 minutes 09.38 seconds W., NAD 83.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Depth to top of argillic horizon: 100 to 195 centimeters (about 40 to 77 inches), commonly 130 to 180 centimeters (about 50 to 70 inches)
Depth to base of argillic horizon: 150 to 200 centimeters (about 60 to 80 inches) or more, commonly more than 200 centimeters (about 80 inches)
Depth to bedrock: Greater than 200 centimeters (about 80 inches)
Depth to seasonal high water table: 75 to 100 centimeters (about 30 to 40 inches), December to March with periodic fluctuation to as shallow as 50 centimeters (about 20 inches)
Thickness of the sandy surface and subsurface layers: Greater than 100 centimeters (about 40 inches)
Content and size of rock fragments: 0 to 35, by volume in the A and E horizon and 0 to 10 percent in the B horizon, mostly fine quartz gravel
Soil reaction: Extremely acid (3.5) to moderately acid (6.0), except where limed
Effective Cation Exchange Capacity: 3 to 10 milliequivalents per 100 grams of soil in the A horizon; 1 to 3 in E horizons; and 3 to 5 in the B horizon
Plinthite content: Less than 5 percent above a depth of 150 centimeters (about 60 inches) and below 150 centimeters, 0 to 15 percent
RANGE OF INDIVIDUAL HORIZONS:
A horizon or Ap (where present):
Color--hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 3 to 7, chroma of 1 to 4. Horizon thickness is less than 25 centimeters (about 10 inches) where value is 3.5 or less.
Texture (fine-earth fraction)--sand, fine sand, coarse sand, loamy sand, or loamy fine sand
Clay content: 1 to 10 percent
E horizon:
Color--hue of 7.5YR to 2.5Y, value of 5 to 8, chroma of 3 to 8.
Texture (fine-earth fraction)--sand, fine sand, loamy sand, or loamy fine sand. It commonly has varying amounts of uncoated sand grains.
Clay content: 1 to 10 percent
Redoximorphic features--iron depletions in shades of brown, yellow, or gray and masses of oxidized iron in shades of red, yellow, or brown. Iron depletions are typically zones of uncoated sand grains.
BE horizon or EB horizon (where present):
Color--hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 5 to 7, and chroma of 3 to 8
Texture--loamy sand, loamy coarse sand, loamy fine sand, or sandy loam
Clay content: 2 to 12 percent
Redoximorphic features--iron depletions in shades of brown, yellow, or gray and masses of oxidized iron in shades of red, yellow, or brown. Iron depletions are typically zones of uncoated sand grains.
Bt horizon or Btv (where present):
Color--hue of 7.5YR to 2.5Y, value of 5 to 7, chroma of 3 to 8, or is variegated in shades of these colors
Texture--loamy sand, loamy coarse sand, loamy fine sand, sandy loam, fine sandy loam, and sandy clay loam.
Clay content: 12 to 35 percent
Redoximorphic features--iron depletions or masses of reduced iron in shades of brown, yellow, or gray and masses of oxidized iron in shades of red, yellow, or brown.
Btg horizon:
Color--hue of 7.5YR to 5Y, value of 5 to 8, chroma of 1 or 2, or is neutral with value of 4 to 8
Texture--sandy loam, fine sandy loam, sandy clay loam. Below a depth of about 60 inches, it ranges to sandy clay.
Clay content: 12 to 50 percent
Redoximorphic features--iron depletions or masses of reduced iron in shades of brown, yellow, or gray and masses of oxidized iron in shades of red, yellow, or brown.
COMPETING SERIES:
Albany soils--somewhat poorly drained and seasonal high water table above 75 centimeters (about 30 inches)
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Elevation Range: 8 to 85 meters (about 25 to 275 feet)
Frost Free Period: 200 to 275 days
Mean Annual Air Temperature: 14.0 to 21.0 degrees C. (about 57 to 70 degrees F.)
Mean Annual Precipitation: 1020 to 1400 millimeters (about 40 to 55 inches)
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS:
Albany soils--somewhat poorly drained and seasonal high water table above 75 centimeters (about 30 inches); on adjacent lower landforms
Alaga soils--sandy throughout; on higher landforms
Blanton soils--seasonal high water table at a depth of 100 to 185 centimeters (about 40 to 72 inches); on slightly higher landforms
Bonifay soils--well drained, seasonal high water table below 100 centimeters (about 40 inches), and 5 percent or more plinthite above 150 centimeters (about 60 inches); on similar landforms
Bonneau soils--seasonal high water table below 100 centimeters (about40 inches) and sandy surface layers less than 100 centimeters thick; on higher landforms
Chipley soils--sandy throughout and shallower seasonal high water table; on lower landforms
Foxworth soils--sandy throughout and seasonal high water table below 100centimeters (about 40 inches); on higher landforms
Fuquay soils--seasonal high water table below 100 centimeters (about 40 inches), have sandy surface layers 50 to 100 centimeters (about 20 to 40 inches) thick, and more than 5 percent plinthite within a depth of 150 centimeters (about 60 inches; on higher landforms
Johnston soils--very poorly drained, seasonal high water table within 30 centimeters (about 12 inches), and lack sandy surface layers; on adjacent flood plains and in depressions
Lakeland soils--sandy throughout and seasonal high water table at a depth below 200 centimeters (about 80 inches); on higher landforms
Lucy soils--sandy surface layers 50 to 100 centimeters (about 20 to 40 inches) thick and deeper to a seasonal high water table; on higher landforms
Norfolk soils--sandy surface layers less than 50 centimeters (about 20 inches) thick and seasonal high water table at a depth of more than 100 centimeters (about 40 inches); on higher landforms
Ocilla soils--sandy surface layers 50 to 100 centimeters (about 20 to 40 inches) thick and seasonal high water table at a depth of 30 to 75 centimeters (about 12 to 30 inches); on lower landforms
Pelham soils--sandy surface layers 50 to 100 centimeters (about 20 to 40 inches) thick and a seasonal high water table at a depth of 45 centimeters (about 18 inches) or less; on adjacent flood plains and in depressions
Plummer soils--very poorly or poorly drained with a seasonal high water table at a depth of 30 centimeters (about 12 inches) or less; on adjacent flood plains and in depressions
Pocalla soils--more than 5 percent plinthite, sandy surface layers 50 to 100 centimeters (about 20 to 40 inches) thick, and seasonal high water table at a depth of 120 centimeters (about 48 inches) or more; on higher landforms
Rains soils--sandy surface layers less than 50 centimeters (about 20 inches) thick and seasonal high water table at a depth of 30 centimeters (about 12 inches) or less; on adjacent flood plains and in depressions
Troup soils--seasonal high water table at a depth of more than 185 centimeters (about 72 inches); on higher landforms
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY:
Drainage Class (Agricultural): Moderately well drained
Internal Free Water Occurrence: Moderately deep (75 to 100 centimeters); common (December to March)
Flooding Frequency and Duration: None
Ponding Frequency and Duration: None
Index Surface Runoff: Negligible to medium
Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity: Very high or high (42.34 to 705 micrometers per second) in the upper part and high or moderately high (1.41 to 4.23 micrometers per second) in the lower part
Permeability: Very rapid or rapid in the upper part and moderate or moderately slow in the lower part
USE AND VEGETATION:
Major uses: Many areas are cleared and used for cropland, truck crops, improved pasture, and hayland.
Dominant vegetation: Where cultivated--corn, cotton, soybeans, peanuts, and truck crops. Where wooded--slash and longleaf pine, red, bluejack, and live oak with an understory of chinkapin, highland fern, huckleberry, and pineland threeawn, bluestem, panicum, and tickclover.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT:
Distribution: Coastal Plain of Georgia and possibly Alabama, Florida, North Carolina and South Carolina.
Extent: Moderate
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Raleigh, North Carolina
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Effingham County, Georgia; 2007.
REMARKS: Meldrim soils were previously mapped as a wet phase of the Blanton series. They have sandy layers that extend to a depth of more than 100 centimeters (about 40 inches) and were originally classified as Grossarenic Paleudults; however, they are presently classified as Oxyaquic Paleudults. Plans are underway to revise the Keys to Soil Taxonomy and a re-classification to a subgroup that recognizes the Grossarenic feature is anticipated. Data collected in Effingham County, GA indicate depth to redoximorphic features thought to indicate dominant seasonal wetness range from about 90 to 100 cm with an average depth of 94 cm. However, during the wettest periods of the non-growing season (typically January), Meldrim soils may be saturated for short periods (less than 20 consecutive or 30 cumulative days in a normal year) at a depth of 50 to 75 centimeters.
Diagnostic horizons and soil characteristics recognized in this pedon:
Ochric epipedon--the zone from the surface to a depth of 142 centimeters; about 56 inches (A, E, and BE horizons).
Grossarenic feature--a zone with sandy particle-size class extending from 0 to 142 centimeters; about 0 to 56 inches (A, E, and BE horizons).
Argillic horizon--the zone from 142 to 203 centimeters; about 56 to 80 inches (Bt and Btg horizons).
Oxyaquic feature--the zone from 94 to 203 centimeters (about 37 to 80 inches) in normal years is saturated for 20 consecutive or 30 cumulative days (E3, BE, Bt, and Btg horizons).
Redox concentrations--the zone from 56 to 203 centimeters; about 22 to 88 inches (E2, E3, BE, Bt, and Btg horizons)
Redox depletions with chroma of 2 or less--the zone from 56 to 203 centimeters; about 22 to 80 inches (E3, BE, Bt, and Btg horizons)
Series control section--the zone from 0 to 200 centimeters; about 80 inches
ADDITIONAL DATA:
Laboratory Data: No laboratory data available.
Database Information:
Data Mapunit ID--TBD
User Pedon ID--07GA103001-Meldrim, OSD