LOCATION MOLENA GA+NC SC VAEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Mixed, thermic Psammentic Hapludults
TYPICAL PEDON: Molena sand--cultivated. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)
Ap--0 to 7 inches; reddish brown (5YR 4/3) sand; single grained; loose; many fine roots; very strongly acid; abrupt smooth boundary. (5 to 12 inches thick)
BE--7 to 18 inches; yellowish red (5YR 4/6) loamy sand; weak fine granular structure; very friable; common fine roots; few fine pores; few fine flakes of mica; very strongly acid; clear smooth boundary. (0 to 14 inches thick)
Bt--18 to 51 inches; yellowish red (5YR 5/6) loamy fine sand; moderate medium granular structure; very friable; few fine roots; few fine pores; sand grains coated and bridged with clay; few fine flakes of mica; very strongly acid; gradual wavy boundary. (25 to 50 inches thick)
C--51 to 60 inches; yellowish red (5YR 5/8) coarse sand; single grained; loose; few fine roots; common fine and medium flakes of mica; very strongly acid.
TYPE LOCATION: Pike County, Georgia; 0.5 mile south of Pedenville, and 0.5 mile north of Birch Creek on paved county road.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Solum thickness ranges from 40 to 72 inches. The upper 20 inches of the argillic horizon has 10 percent or more weatherable minerals. Mica content ranges from none to common in the A and E horizons, and few to common in the B and C horizon. Reaction ranges from very strongly acid to moderately acid, except surface layers that have been limed.
The A horizon has hue of 10YR through 5YR, value of 3 or 4 and chroma of 2 through 4. Where the moist value is 3 and dry value is 5, it is less than 6 inches thick. It is sand loamy sand or loamy fine sand.
The E horizon, where present, has hue of 5YR through 10YR, value of 4 through 6, and chroma of 4 through 8. It is sand, loamy sand, or loamy fine sand.
The BE horizon, where present, has hue of 10YR through 5YR value of 4 or 5 and chroma of 6. It is sand, loamy sand, or loamy fine sand.
The Bt horizon has hue of 10YR through 5YR, value of 3 to 5 and chroma of 4 through 8. It commonly is loamy sand or loamy fine sand; but where lamellae are within the upper 10 inches, sandy loam, fine sandy loam, or thin subhorizons of loam are permitted. Clay content of the particle size control section is 5 to 10 percent.
The BC horizon, where present, has the same color as the Bt, and the same texture as the lower part of the Bt.
The C horizon has hue of 10YR through 5YR, value of 5 or 6 and chroma of 4 through 8. It is loamy sand, fine sand, sand, coarse sand or gravelly sand.
COMPETING SERIES: There are no other series in the same family. Series in similar families include the Americus, Buncombe, Eustis, Gainesville, Lakeland, Lucy, Troup, and Wando series. Americus soils have siliceous mineralogy and a solum exceeding 72 inches in thickness. Buncombe, Lakeland, and Wando soils lack Bt horizons. In addition, Lakeland soils have siliceous mineralogy. Eustis soils have siliceous mineralogy and less than 10 percent weatherable minerals in the upper 20 inches of the argillic horizon. Gainesville soils lack argillic horizons and have mean annual soil temperature of more than 72 degrees F. Lucy and Troup soils have more than 10 percent clay in the control section and Bt horizons with textures of sandy loam or sandy clay loam.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Molena soils are on stream terraces of the Piedmont Plateau and Upper Coastal plain. Slope gradients range from 0 to 35 percent. The regolith consists of sandy alluvial deposits. The climate is warm and humid. Average annual air temperature is about 60 to 70 degrees F.; average annual precipitation is about 45 to 55 inches.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These include the similar Buncombe series, and the Altavista, Augusta, Congaree, Hiwassee, Masada, State, Thomson, and Wickham series. Altavista, Augusta, Hiwassee, Masada, State, and Wickham soils have Bt horizons with more than 18 percent clay in the control section. Thomson soils are coarse-lomay. Congaree soils lack Bt horizons.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Somewhat excessively drained; slow to medium runoff; rapid permeability.
USE AND VEGETATION: Mostly used for growing cotton, corn, small grains, and pasture. Principal vegetation of the wooded areas is loblolly pine, shortleaf pine, water oak, post oak, red oak, and white oak.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: The Piedmont of Georgia and South Carolina and possibly North Carolina and Virginia. The series is inextensive, with a total of roughly 5,000 acres.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Raleigh, North Carolina
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Pike County, Georgia; 1909.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon - the zone from the surface to approximately 7 inches (Ap horizon).
Argillic horizon - the zone from approximately 18 to 51 inches (Bt horizon).
ADDITIONAL DATA:
TABULAR SERIES DATA:
SOI-5 Soil Name Slope Airtemp FrFr/Seas Precip Elevation GA0046 MOLENA 0- 35 60- 70 200-240 45-55 200-700SOI-5 FloodL FloodH Watertable Kind Months Bedrock Hardness GA0046 NONE RARE 6.0-6.0 - 60-60
SOI-5 Depth Texture 3-Inch No-10 Clay% -CEC- GA0046 0-7 S LS 0-0 98-100 2- 7 - GA0046 7-51 LFS LS 0-0 98-100 5-10 - GA0046 51-60 S COS GR-S 0-5 60-100 0- 5 -
SOI-5 Depth -pH- O.M. Salin Permeab Shnk-Swll GA0046 0-7 4.5- 6.5 .5-2. 0- 0 6.0-20 LOW GA0046 7-51 4.5- 6.0 - 0- 0 6.0-20 LOW GA0046 51-60 4.5- 6.0 - 0- 0 6.0-20 LOW