LOCATION NUTALL                  FL

Established Series
WJA:TEC; Rev. GRB
10/2018

NUTALL SERIES


The Nutall series consists of moderately deep, poorly drained and very poorly drained, slowly permeable soils on broad flatwoods of the Lower Coastal Plains and in depressions that are covered with water for 4 to 6 months. They formed in sandy and loamy marine deposits. Near the type location, the mean annual temperature is about 68 degrees F., and the mean annual precipitation is about 57 inches. Slopes range from 0 to 1 percent.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, siliceous, superactive, thermic Mollic Albaqualfs

TYPICAL PEDON: Nutall fine sand - forested. (Colors are for moist conditions.)

Ap--0 to 4 inches; black (5Y 2/1) fine sand; weak fine granular structure; very friable; many fine, medium and coarse roots; strongly acid; clear wavy boundary. (2 to 8 inches thick)

A/E--4 to 9 inches; mixed very dark gray (10YR 3/1) and light gray (10YR 6/1) fine sand; single grained; loose; many medium and coarse roots; slightly acid; clear smooth boundary. (0 to 6 inches thick)

El--9 to 13 inches; light gray (10YR 7/1) fine sand; common medium distinct brown (10YR 5/3) masses of iron accumulation; single grained; loose; common medium roots; neutral; clear wavy boundary. (4 to 7 inches thick)

E2--13 to 17 inches; brown (10YR 5/3) fine sand; single grained; loose; few medium roots; many medium distinct light gray (10YR 6/1) areas of iron depletions; neutral; abrupt irregular boundary. (4 to 11 inches thick)

Btg--17 to 30 inches; light greenish gray (5GY 7/1) sandy clay loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; many fine prominent yellowish red (5YR 5/8) masses of iron accumulation; slightly alkaline; abrupt irregular boundary. (5 to 20 inches thick)

Cr--30 inches; light gray (10YR 7/2) soft, weathered, fractured limestone bedrock that can be dug with difficulty with a spade.

TYPE LOCATION: Jefferson County, Florida. Approximately 1.25 miles east of State Road 59 and about 2.5 miles north of U.S. Highway 98. SW l/4, NE l/4, NW l/4, Sec. 15, T. 3 S., R. 3 E.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Solum thickness and depth to limestone ranges from 20 to 40 inches. Reaction is very strongly acid or strongly acid in the A horizon, strongly acid to neutral in the E horizon, and from neutral to moderately alkaline in the Btg horizon.

The A horizon has hue of 10YR through 5Y, value of 2 or 3, and chroma of 1 or 2. Texture is fine sand, sand, or very fine sand. An A/E horizon is present in many pedons.

The E horizon has hue of 10YR, value of 5 or 7, and chroma of 1 or 2 in the upper part; and value of 5 or 6 and chroma of 2 or 3 in the lower part. Redoximorphic features in shades of brown and gray range from none to common. Texture is fine sand, sand, or very fine sand. The chroma is 2 or less in more than 60 percent of the horizon between depths of 4 and 30 inches.

The Btg horizon has hue of 10YR through 5GY, value of 4 to 7, and chroma of 1 to 2; or it is neutral with value of 4 to 7. Redoximorphic features in shades of gray, yellow, brown, and red range from common to many. Texture is sandy loam or sandy clay loam. Some pedons contain a thin layer of sandy clay in the lower part of the Bt horizon. When sandy clay is present, the weighted average clay content does not exceed 35 percent.

The Cr horizon, where present, has hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 6 or 8, and chroma of 1 to 4. It is composed of soft, weathered, fractured limestone that can be dug with difficulty with a spade, has very firm to extremely firm rupture resistance with low to high excavation difficulty. It usually contains soft carbonate accumulations along with few to many hard limestone or chert fragments. It is highly irregular and interspersed with solution holes that range from 4 to 12 inches in diameter and filled with sandy loam to sandy clay textured soil material. Depth to limestone is very variable within short distances.

The 2R horizon, where present, is composed of hard, unweathered limestone that has slightly rigid to very rigid rupture resistance with very high to extremely excavation difficulty. Some areas contain solution holes filled with Btg and/or Cr material.

COMPETING SERIES: There is no other known series in the same family.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Nutall soils are on flatwood areas of the Gulf Coastal Lowlands and the Silver Bluff and Pamlico Terraces. They formed in loamy and sandy marine sediments overlying limestone bedrock. Slopes range from 0 to l percent. The average annual temperature ranges from 66 to 70 degrees F., and the average annual rainfall ranges from 55 to 60 inches.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These include the Bayvi, Chaires, Leon, and Surrency soils. The very poorly drained Bayvi soils do not have an argillic horizon. They are on broad flat tidal marsh areas. Chaires and Leon soils have spodic horizons and are on similar landforms. In addition, Leon soils do not have an argillic horizon. They very poorly drained Surrency soils are on nearly level drainageways and depressions.

DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Poorly drained and very poorly drained; permeability is rapid in the A and E horizons and slow in the Btg horizon.

USE AND VEGETATION: Most areas of Nutall soils are in planted pines. Native vegetation consists of southern sweetbay, sweetgum, red maple, Florida elm, laurel oak, live oak, and cabbage palm. An understory dominated by waxmyrtle, inkberry, and scattered sawpalmetto is typically present.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Nutall soils are of moderate extent on the Gulf Coastal lowlands of the Big Bend area of Florida.

MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Auburn, Alabama.

ESTABLISHED SERIES: Jefferson County, Florida; 1984.

REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:

An Ap horizon that meets Mollic epipedon requirements except in thickness.

Albic horizon - the zone from 9 to 13 inches (E1 horizon).

Argillic horizon - the zone from 17 to 30 inches (Btg horizon).

Paralithic contact - limestone bedrock at approximately 30 inches (Cr layer).

Aquic feature - depth to a seasonal high water table ranges between depths of 0 and 10 inches for 6 to 8 months.

ADDITIONAL DATA: This pedon was sampled for characterization by the University of Florida IFAS - Soil Science Department - Soil Characterization Laboratory as sample S33-37-(1-5). The Btg horizon was sampled for the Florida Department of Transportation for engineering test data as Jefferson County sample number 46.

MLRA: 152A.


National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.