LOCATION MELHOMES TXEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Siliceous, thermic Humaqueptic Psammaquents
TYPICAL PEDON: Melhomes loamy sand on 1 percent slope in forest.
(Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)
A1--0 to 4 inches; black (10YR 2/1) and very dark gray (10YR 3/1) loamy sand; weak fine granular structure; very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; many fine, medium, and coarse roots; very strongly acid; clear smooth boundary. (2 to 7 inches thick)
A2--4 to 8 inches; very dark gray (10YR 3/1) and dark gray (10YR 4/1) loamy sand; single grained; loose, nonsticky and nonplastic; many fine, medium, and coarse roots; very strongly acid; clear smooth boundary. (0 to 5 inches thick)
Cg--8 to 65 inches; gray (10YR 5/1) sand; single grained; loose; nonsticky and nonplastic; few medium and coarse roots in upper part; very strongly acid.
TYPE LOCATION: Newton County, Texas; from the intersection of Texas Highway 63 and Texas Highway 87 in Burkeville, 5.3 miles north on Texas Highway 87, 2.5 miles east on county road, 150 feet north in forest.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Reaction ranges from very strongly acid to strongly acid in all horizons. The A horizon is loamy fine sand, loamy sand, or sand.
The A horizon has hue of 10YR, 7.5YR, or N/, value of 2 to 4 and chroma of less than 2. The combined thickness of the A horizon with value of 3.5 or less ranges from 6 to 10 inches.
The Cg horizon has hue of 10YR, 2.5Y, or N/, value of 5 through 7, and chroma of less than 2. Mottles range from none to common in colors of brown, yellow, and gray. Texture is loamy sand, sand, or coarse sand. Some pedons have thin strata of sandy loam and sandy clay loam materials below 40 inches.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Scranton series in the same family, and the Chipley, Dianola, Osier, and Plummer series. Scranton soils are better drained, and have slightly cooler mean annual temperatures. Chipley soils lack dark surface layers 6 inches or more thick, are moderately well drained, and are not dominated by gray colors throughout. Dianola soils lack dark surface layers 6 inches or more thick, and have mean annual temperatures greater than 72 degrees F. Osier soils have 5 inches or less of dark colored A horizons. Plummer soils have an argillic horizon 40 to 60 inches below the surface.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Melhomes soils are on concave poorly defined drainageways, that are nearly level or gently sloping. Slopes range from 0 to 5 percent. The soils formed in thick beds of recent sandy colluvium from coastal plain sediments of Pleistocene age, mainly from the Willis formation. Mean annual precipitation ranges from 46 to 58 inches. Summer rainfall ranges from 30 to 40 inches. Summer moisture deficit ranges from 0 to 4 inches. Mean annual temperature ranges from 66 to 70 degrees F., and the Thornthwaite annual P-E indices exceed 72.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Boykin, Corrigan, Doucette, Iuka, Letney, Newco, Rayburn, Shankler, and Tehran series. Boykin, Corrigan, Doucette, Letney, Newco, Rayburn, Shankler, and Tehran soils are higher in the landscape on uplands. They all have B horizons containing more clay. Iuka soils are on broad stream bottom, have defined stream channel, and are in a coarse-loamy family.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Melhomes soils are poorly drained. Runoff is very slow, and permeability is rapid. The water table is at or within 12 inches of the surface for 12 months in most years. These soils flood frequently for brief periods.
USE AND VEGETATION: These soils are used mainly for timber, but a few areas are used for pasture. Forest vegetation is mostly scattered loblolly pine with some black gum, red maple, sweetgum, bay, and wateroak. The understory is grasses, sedges, and shrubs that are water tolerant. Pastures are mainly bermudagrass and bahiagrass.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Southeastern Texas and southwest Louisiana. The series is of moderate extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Temple, Texas
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Newton County, Texas; 1980.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Low chroma colors due to wetness.
Darkened surface layer (too thin for Mollic or umbric horizon).
ADDITIONAL DATA: At type location, base saturation by Hach Kit ranged from 18 to 25 percent throughout the upper meter.