LOCATION NANSEMOND          VA+SC
Established Series
EJR, Rev MHC
05/2004

NANSEMOND SERIES


MLRA(s): 133A, 153A, 153B
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Raleigh, North Carolina
Depth Class: very deep
Drainage Class (Agricultural): moderately well drained
Internal Free Water Occurrence: shallow and moderately deep, common
Index Surface Runoff: very low, but ranges to medium
Permeability: moderately rapid
Landscape: Coastal Plain
Landform: marine terraces, stream teraces
Geomorphic Component: treads, talfs
Parent Material: marine deposits, alluvium
Slope: 0 to 6 percent, ranging to 30 percent
Elevation (type location):
Mean Annual Air Temperature (type location): 66 degrees F.
Mean Annual Precipitation (type location): 47 inches

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Coarse-loamy, siliceous, subactive, thermic Aquic Hapludults

TYPICAL PEDON: Nansemond fine sandy loam - cultivated (Colors are for moist soil.)

Ap--0 to 8 inches; grayish brown (10YR 5/2) fine sandy loam; weak fine granular structure; very friable, nonsticky, nonplastic; common fine roots; common very fine pores; very strongly acid; abrupt wavy boundary. (0 to 10 inches thick)

Bt1--8 to 19 inches; light olive brown (2.5Y 5/4) fine sandy loam; weak coarse subangular blocky structure; friable, slightly sticky, nonplastic; few fine roots; many fine pores; few thin clay films on faces of peds; very strongly acid; clear wavy boundary.

Bt2--19 to 29 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) fine sandy loam; common medium distinct very pale brown (10YR 8/2) iron depletions and yellowish red (5YR 5/6)masses of iron accumulation; moderate coarse subangular blocky structure; friable, slightly sticky, nonplastic; few fine roots; common fine pores; few thin clay films on faces of peds; very strongly acid; clear wavy boundary. (Combined thickness of the Bt horizon is 16 to 35 inches)

BC1--29 to 42 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/8) loamy fine sand; few fine distinct yellowish red (5YR 5/8) Fe masses; weak coarse subangular blocky structure; very friable, nonsticky, nonplastic; many fine pores; sand grains coated and bridged with clay; many 1 to 3 cm diameter pockets and lenses of very pale brown (10YR 8/2) clean sand grains; extremely acid; diffuse irregular boundary.

BC2--42 to 66 inches; brownish yellow (10YR 6/6) loamy fine sand; common coarse distinct strong brown (7.5YR 5/8) Fe masses; weak coarse subangular blocky structure; very friable, nonsticky, nonplastic; many fine pores; sand grains coated and bridged with clay; many 3 to 7 cm diameter pockets and lenses of light gray (5Y 7/1) clean sand grains; very strongly acid; gradual wavy boundary. (Combined thickness of the BC horizon is 0 to 40 inches)

Cg--66 to 70 inches; light gray (10YR 7/1) fine sand; common medium distinct very pale brown (10YR 7/4) Fe masses; single grain; loose; very strongly acid.

TYPE LOCATION: City of Suffolk, Virginia; 0.8 km north of Hunterville on VA-624; 1.1 km west of VA-624 on farm road; 48 meters south of farm road.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Depth to the base of the Argillic: commonly less than 40 inches
Depth to Bedrock: Greater than 72 inches
Depth to Seasonal High Water Table: 18 to 30 inches, December to April
Rock Fragment content: 0 to 5 percent in the Ap, A, and E horizons, and 0 to 35 percent in the BE, Bt, Btg, BC, BCg, C, and Cg horizons
Soil Reaction: extremely acid through moderately acid, except where limed

RANGE OF INDIVIDUAL HORIZONS:

A and Ap horizon (if it occurs):
Color--hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 3 through 5, and chroma of 1 through 4
Texture (fine-earth fraction)-- loamy sand, loamy fine sand, sandy loam, or fine sandy loam.

E horizon (if it occurs):
Color--hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 4 through 7, and chroma of 2 through 6
Texture (fine-earth fraction)-- loamy sand, loamy fine sand, sandy loam, or fine sandy loam.

BE horizon (if it occurs):
Color--hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 5 or 6, and chroma of 3 through 6
Texture (fine-earth fraction)-- sandy loam or fine sandy loam

Bt horizon (upper part):
Color--hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 4 through 6, and chroma of 3 through 8
Texture (fine-earth fraction)-- sandy loam or fine sandy loam. Some pedons have a thin sub-horizon of loam or sandy clay loam.
Redoximorphic features (if they occur)-- Few to many Fe depletions and concentrations commonly occur below the upper 10 inches of the Bt horizon
Other features-- weighted average of the upper 20 inches of the argillic horizon is 10 to 18 percent clay and less than 30 percent silt

Bt horizon (lower part):
Color--hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 4 through 7, and chroma of 3 through 8
Texture (fine-earth fraction)-- sandy loam or fine sandy loam. Some pedons have a thin sub-horizon of loam or sandy clay loam.
Redoximorphic features (if they occur)-- Few to many Fe depletions and concentrations commonly occur below the upper 10 inches of the Bt horizon

Btg horizon (if it occurs):
Color--hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 4 through 7, and chroma of 1 or 2
Texture (fine-earth fraction)-- sandy loam or fine sandy loam. Some pedons have a thin sub-horizon of loam or sandy clay loam.
Redoximorphic features (if they occur)-- Few to many Fe concentrations

BC horizon:
Color--hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 4 through 7, and chroma of 3 through 8; or it is multicolored without dominant matrix hue
Texture (fine-earth fraction)-- loamy sand, loamy fine sand, or sandy loam in the fine-earth fraction. Pockets and lenses of clean sand are in most pedons.
Redoximorphic features (if they occur)-- Few to many Fe depletions and concentrations

BCg horizon (if it occurs):
Color--hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 4 through 7, and chroma of 1 or 2
Texture (fine-earth fraction)-- loamy sand, loamy fine sand, or sandy loam in the fine-earth fraction. Pockets and lenses of clean sand are in most pedons.
Redoximorphic features (if they occur)-- Few to many Fe concentrations

C horizon:
Color--hue of 7.5YR through 5Y, value of 4 through 8, and chroma of 3 through 8
Texture (fine-earth fraction)-- sand, fine sand, loamy sand, or loamy fine sand. Some pedons have lenses or strata up to 24 inches thick of sandy loam or sandy clay loam.
Redoximorphic features (if they occur)-- Few to many Fe depletions and concentrations

Cg horizon (if it occurs):
Color--hue neutral or has hue of 7.5YR through 5Y, value of 4 through 8, and chroma of 0 through 2
Texture (fine-earth fraction)-- sand, fine sand, loamy sand, loamy fine sand or sandy loam. Some pedons have lenses or strata of sandy loam or sandy clay loam.
Some pedons have lenses or strata up to 24 inches thick of sandy loam or sandy clay loam.
Redoximorphic features (if they occur)-- Few to many Fe concentrations

COMPETING SERIES:
No known soils in the same family.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Landscape: Coastal Plain
Landform: marine terraces, stream terraces
Geomorphic Component: tread, talf
Parent Material: marine deposits, alluvium
Elevation: 5 to 200 feet
Mean Annual Air Temperature: 59 to 67 degrees
Mean Annual Precipitation: 40 to 50 inches
Frost Free Period: 190 to 240 days

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS:

Alaga soilswell drained, do not have an argillic horizon
Emporia soilswell drained and fine-loamy with redox features below 40 inches
Eunola soilsfine-loamy
Goldsboro soilsfine-loamy, have clay distribution that does not decrease by 20 percent of the maximum within 60 inches of the surface
Kalmia soilswell drained, have a contrasting particle-size family
Kenansville soils-- have a sandy epipedon 20 to 40 inches thick
Pactolus soilsdo not have an argillic horizon
Rumford soils-- well drained and do not have low chroma Fe depletions within the upper 24 inches of the argillic horizon
Suffolk soilswell drained and fine-loamy

DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY:
Drainage class (Agricultural): moderately well drained
Index Surface Runoff: very low
Internal Free Water Occurrence: shallow and moderately deep, common
Permeability: moderately rapid

USE AND VEGETATION:
Major Uses: crops and forestry
Dominant Vegetation: Where cultivated-- Corn, soybeans, peanuts, and tobacco. Where wooded-- loblolly pine, Virginia pine, shortleaf pine, oaks, sweetgum, and hickory.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT:
Distribution: Virginia, and possibly Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina
Extent: moderate

MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Raleigh, North Carolina

SERIES ESTABLISHED: City of Suffolk, Virginia, 1979.

REMARKS: 1. Nansemond soils were formerly mapped as Dragston soils until the Dragston classification was officially changed from Aquic Hapludults to Aeric Ochraquults. 2. Differentiae between Foreston and Nansemond soils are not clean because of a difference in interpretation of the "pockets" and lenses of clean sand grains in Nansemond soils versus "skeletans" for these same features in Foreston soils.

Diagnostic horizons and soil characteristics recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon--the zone from 0 to 8 inches (Ap horizon)
Argillic horizon--the zone from 8 to 29 inches (Bt horizons)
Aquic conditions--the soil has redox depletions and concentrations within the upper 24 inches of the argillic horizon, with periodic saturation and reduction at some time during the year
Series control section--the zone from 0 to 60 inches

ADDITIONAL DATA: This pedon sampled as S95XX003-003. Additional reference samples...

Data Map Unit ID: 396,417

TABULAR SERIES DATA:

Soil Name   Slope  Airtemp FrFr/Seas Precip  Elevation
NANSEMOND   0- 30   58- 64  190-240  40- 50     5- 200 

FloodL FloodH Watertable Kind Months Bedrock Hardness NONE 1.5-2.5 APPARENT DEC-APR 60-60

Depth Texture 3-Inch No-10 Clay% -CEC- 0- 8 FSL SL 0- 0 95-100 6-15 - 0- 8 LFS LS 0- 0 95-100 4-10 - 8-29 FSL SL 0- 0 50-100 10-18 - 29-66 LFS LS SL 0- 0 50-100 4-12 - 66-70 S LS LFS 0- 0 50-100 2-12 -

Depth -pH- O.M. Salin Permeab Shnk-Swll 0- 8 3.6- 5.5 1.-2. 0- 0 2.0- 6.0 LOW 0- 8 3.6- 5.5 .5-1. 0- 0 2.0- 20 LOW 8-29 3.6- 5.5 0.-.5 0- 0 2.0- 6.0 LOW 29-66 3.6- 5.5 0.-.5 0- 0 2.0- 6.0 LOW 66-70 3.6- 5.5 0.-.5 0- 0 6.0- 20 LOW


National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.