LOCATION OTELA FLEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy, siliceous, semiactive, thermic Grossarenic Paleudalfs
TYPICAL PEDON: Otela fine sand - on a 1 percent slope of planted pines. (Colors are for moist soils.)
Ap--0 to 8 inches; dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) fine sand; weak fine granular structure; very friable; strongly acid; abrupt smooth boundary. (1 to 10 inches thick).
E1--8 to 21 inches; brown (10YR 5/3) fine sand; single grained; loose; common root channels, 1 to 5 cm in diameter; strongly acid; clear wavy boundary.
E2--21 to 32 inches; very pale brown (10YR 8/3) fine sand; single grained; loose; common root channels about 1 to 5 cm in diameter; common medium distinct white (10YR 8/1) pockets of uncoated sand grains and common medium distinct yellow (10YR 7/6) masses of iron accumulation; strongly acid; gradual smooth boundary.
E3--32 to 50 inches; white (10YR 8/1) fine sand; single grained; loose; few brownish yellow (10YR 6/6) lamellae about 4 mm thick with texture of loamy fine sand; common fine distinct brownish yellow (10YR 6/6) masses of iron accumulation; very strongly acid; abrupt smooth boundary. (Combined thickness of the A and E horizons is 40 ranges from 78 inches.)
Bt1--50 to 61 inches; brownish yellow (10YR 6/6) fine sandy loam; moderate fine subangular blocky structure; friable; clean sand grains on faces of peds; extremely acid; clear smooth boundary.
Bt2--61 to 68 inches; brownish yellow (10YR 6/6) sandy clay loam; moderate fine subangular blocky structure; friable; common fine distinct reddish yellow (7.5YR 6/6) masses of iron accumulation; common medium distinct light gray (10YR 7/2) areas of iron depletions; very strongly acid; clear smooth boundary. (Combined thickness of the Bt horizons range from 2 to 40 inches.)
Btg--68 to 80 inches; light gray (10YR 7/2) sandy clay loam; weak coarse subangular blocky structure; friable; common fine distinct brownish yellow (10YR 6/6) masses of iron accumulation; common fine faint light gray (10YR 7/1) areas of iron depletions; extremely acid.
TYPE LOCATION: Levy County, Florida. Approximately 2 miles northeast of Chiefland, about 75 feet north and about 2,200 feet east of the southwest corner of sec. 20, T 11 S., R 15 E.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Solum thickness and depth to limestone bedrock ranges from 60 to more than 80 inches. Soil reaction ranges from very strongly acid to neutral in the A and E horizons, and from extremely acid to slightly alkaline in the upper Bt horizons and from extremely acid to moderately alkaline in the lower Bt horizons.
The A or Ap horizon has hue of 10YR, value of 3 to 6, and chroma of 1 to 3. Texture is sand or fine sand.
The E horizon has hue of 10YR, value of 5 to 8, and chroma of 1 to 8. Redoximorphic features in shades of brown or yellow range from none to common. Some pedons have many pockets of white uncoated sand grains. Thin lamellae having texture of loamy fine sand or sandy loam are present in most pedons. Pebble-sized ironstone nodules, less than about 5 percent by volume, occur in the lower parts of the E horizon in some pedons. Pebble to cobble-sized limestone or chert fragments, less than about 5 percent by volume, may be present in the E and EB horizons in some pedons. Texture is sand or fine sand.
The EB horizon, where present, has colors similar to the Bt horizon. Texture is loamy fine sand.
The Bt horizon has hue of 10YR, value of 5 to 8, and chroma of 3 to 8. Redoximorphic features in shades of gray, brown, red, or yellow range from few to many. The weighted average clay content is 15 to 35 percent in the upper 20 inches of the Bt horizon. In some pedons, less than about 5 percent, by volume, pebble to stone-sized limestone or chert fragments may be present. Texture is sandy loam, fine sandy loam, or sandy clay loam.
The Btg horizon, where present, has hue of 10YR to 5Y, value of 5 to 7, and chroma of 1 or 2; or it is neutral with value of 5 to 7. Redoximorphic features in shades of gray, yellow, brown, or red range from none to many. In some pedons, about 5 percent, by volume, pebble or cobble-sized limestone or chert fragments may be present in the lower part. Texture is sandy loam, fine sandy loam, sandy clay loam, or sandy clay. Some pedons have a 2Btg horizon that has texture of sandy clay or clay.
The BC horizon, where present, is at depths greater than 60 inches. It has hue of 10YR, value of 3 to 8, and chroma of 3 to 8. Texture is fine sand or loamy fine sand.
The Cr horizon, where present, has hue of 10YR, value of 6 to 8, and chroma of 1 to 4. It is composed of soft, weathered, fractured limestone that can be dug with a spade, has very firm to extremely firm rupture resistance with low to high excavation difficulty. It usually contains soft carbonate accumulations and few to many hard limestone or chert fragments. It is highly irregular and complex, interspersed with solution holes 4 to 12 inches in diameter, are variable within short distances, and are filled with sandy loam to sandy clay textured soil material.
The R horizon, where present, consists of hard, unweathered limestone that has slightly rigid to very rigid rupture resistance with very high to extremely high excavation difficulty. Some areas have solution holes.
COMPETING SERIES: The Lutterloh series is in the same family. The somewhat poorly drained Lutterloh soils have a water table at a depth of 20 to 30 inches for 2 to 4 months during the year.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Otela soils are on broad uplands. They formed in unconsolidated sand and loamy marine sediments on karst topography. Slopes range from 0 to 8 percent. The average annual temperature ranges from 65 to 70 degrees F., and the average annual precipitation ranges from 50 to 60 inches.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These include the Orsino, Penney, Shadeville, and Tavares soils. The Orsino, Penney, and Tavares soils are sandy to depths of 80 inches, or more. In addition, Penney soils are excessively well drained. Shadeville soils are deep to limestone bedrock.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Moderately well drained; moderately rapid to rapid permeability in the A and E horizons and moderately slow to slow permeability in the Bt and Btg horizons.
USE AND VEGETATION: Most areas of Otela soils are used for improved pasture, cultivated crops or planted pines. Peanuts, sorghum, and watermelon are the principal crops grown on this soil. The natural vegetation consists of laurel oak, live oak, turkey oak, slash pine, longleaf pine, as well as scattered hickory and red oak. The understory includes such plants as pineland threeawn, lopsided indiangrass, and creeping bluestem.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: The North Central Florida Ridge and Gulf Coast Uplands. The series is of moderate extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Auburn, Alabama.
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Wakulla County, Florida, 1988.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon - The zone from the soil surface to a depth of approximately 50 inches (A and E horizons).
Argillic horizon - The zone from about 50 to 80 inches (Bt1, Bt2, and Btg horizons).
A water table is perched above the Bt horizon for about 1 to 4 months, or for short duration during periodic high rainfall.