LOCATION NECTAR ALEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine, kaolinitic, thermic Typic Hapludults
TYPICAL PEDON: Nectar silt loam, on a convex 6 percent slope, cultivated.
(Colors are for moist soil).
Ap--0 to 7 inches; brown (10YR 4/3) silt loam; weak medium granular structure; friable; many fine roots; 2 percent by volume
of sandstone pebbles; strongly acid; abrupt smooth boundary. (4
to 8 inches thick).
Bt1--7 to 27 inches; red (2.5YR 4/6) silty clay; moderate
medium subangular blocky structure; friable; few fine roots; thin continuous clay films on faces of peds; 3 percent by volume of sandstone pebbles; very strongly acid; clear smooth boundary.
Bt2--27 to 49 inches; red (2.5YR 4/6) silty clay loam;
common medium faint yellowish red (5YR 4/6) mottles; moderate
medium angular blocky structure; friable; thin continuous clay
films on faces of peds; 2 percent by volume of sandstone pebbles; very strongly acid; gradual smooth boundary. (Combined thickness
of the Bt horizon is 20 to 50 inches thick).
BC--49 to 55 inches; red (2.5YR 4/6) silty clay loam; common medium faint yellowish red (5YR 5/6) and common medium distinct strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) mottles; weak coarse subangular blocky structure; friable; few patchy clay films on vertical ped faces;
12 to 15 percent by volume of sandstone pebbles and shale
channers; very strongly acid; clear wavy boundary. (0 to 20
inches thick).
Cr--55 to 65 inches; mottled red (2.5YR 4/6), strong brown (7.5YR 5/6), and yellowish red (5YR 5/6) interbedded sandstone
and shale; crushes to a loam texture; very strongly acid.
TYPE LOCATION: Blount County, Alabama; one mile southeast of
Hayden; 2,400 feet west and 50 feet south of the NE corner of Sec. 28, T. 12 S., R. 2 W.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Solum thickness and depth to soft sandstone bedrock or interbedded sandstone and shale bedrock
ranges from 40 to 60 inches. Reaction ranges from strongly acid
to moderately acid in the surface layer and from extremely acid to strongly acid in the subsoil. Percent by volume of sandstone
pebbles and shale channers range from 0 to 15 percent in the A and
B horizons and from 10 to 40 percent in lower horizons.
The A horizon has hue of 10YR or 7.5YR, value of 3 to 5 , and
chroma of 1 to 4. Texture is silt loam, loam, sandy loam, or fine sandy loam.
The BE or BA horizon, where present, is 3 to 8 inches thick. It
has hue of 10YR to 5YR, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 3 to 8. Texture is loam, clay loam, silt loam, or silty clay loam.
The Bt horizon has hue of 5YR or 2.5YR, value of 4 to 5, and
chroma of 4 to 8. In some pedons the upper part of the Bt horizon has hue of 7.5YR. Texture of the Bt horizon is silty clay loam,
clay loam, silty clay, or clay with 35 to 55 percent clay and 20
to 45 percent silt in the control section.
The BC, CB, or C horizon, where present, has the same hue, value,
and chroma as the Bt horizon or it is mottled in varying shades of red, brown, and yellow. Texture is silty clay loam, clay loam,
silty clay, or their gravelly or channery analogues.
The Cr horizon consists of level bedded, weathered sandstone,
shale, or interbedded sandstone or shale in shades of red, yellow, brown, or gray. It ranges from highly weathered and fractured to
a slightly weathered, massive, and coherent state. It is rippable and can be cut with hand tools.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Appling,
Aragon,
Cecil,
Chestatee,
Georgeville,
Herndon,
Hulett,
Kolomoki,
Madison,
Mayodan,
Nankin,
Pacolet,
Spotsylvania, and
Wedowee series. All
of these soils except Aragon, Kolomoki, Nankin, and Spotsylvania soils developed in acid crystalline rocks or slate. The acid crystalline rock and slate are highly weathered and do not
constitute a paralithic contact within 60 inches of the surface. Aragon soils have firm consistency, are more slowly permeable, and typically have fragments of chert in the sola. Kolomoki, Nankin,
and Spotsylvania soils developed in unconsolidated marine
sediments of the Coastal Plain and do not have soft bedrock within
60 inches of the surface. In addition, Spotsylvania soils have a lithologic discontinuity within 40 inches of the surface.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Nectar soils are on broad plateaus, hilltops, mountainsides and benches in the Appalachian plateau and sand mountain. Slope is dominantly 2 to 10 percent but ranges up to 25 percent. Near the type location the average annual temperature is about 62 degrees F. and the average annual precipitation is about
54 inches.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Albertville, Cunningham, Enders, Hartsells, Linker, Montvallo, Nauvoo, Townley, and Wynnville series. Albertville, Cunningham, Enders, Hartsells, Linker, and Nauvoo soils are on similar landforms. Albertville
and Cunningham soils have mixed clay mineralogy. Nauvoo soils
have a fine-loamy Bt horizon. Enders soils have mixed clay mineralogy and very slow permeability. Hartsells and Linker soils have a fine-loamy Bt horizon and are underlain by hard sandstone bedrock within 60 inches of the surface. Montevallo and Townley soils are on lower more sloping landforms, are shallower to soft bedrock, and have mixed clay mineralogy. Wynnville soils are on adjacent interstream divides and have a fragipan.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; moderately slow permeability. Runoff if variable. It depends upon ground cover, slope, and tillage method and ranges from rapid to slow.
USE AND VEGETATION: Cleared areas are used for growing pasture, cotton, corn, and small grains. Forests are mixed hardwood and
pine.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: North Alabama. The series is of
moderate extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Morgantown, West Virginia
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Blount County, Alabama; 1974.
REMARKS: This revision changes the textural family from
fine-loamy to clayey and the rock hardness from hard to soft. Supporting data are available on the typical pedon, S79AL-127-4,
and S77AL-117-5.