LOCATION PEORIA MSEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-silty, mixed, superactive, thermic Albic Glossic Natraqualfs
TYPICAL PEDON: Peoria silt loam - forested.
(Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)
A1--0 to 2 inches; brown (10YR 5/3) silt loam; weak fine granular structure; friable; many fine to coarse roots; very strongly acid; abrupt smooth boundary.
A2--2 to 9 inches; mottled pale brown (10YR 6/3), dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4), light brownish gray (10YR 6/2), and strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) silt loam; weak fine granular structure; friable; many fine to coarse roots; very strongly acid; clear smooth boundary. (Combined thickness of the A horizon is 6 to 14 inches.)
Eg1--9 to 18 inches; light gray (10YR 7/2) silt; common medium distinct yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) and light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) mottles; weak platy structure; firm, slightly brittle; few fine roots; very strongly acid; clear irregular boundary.
Eg2--18 to 36 inches; light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) silt; common medium distinct yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) mottles; weak coarse prismatic structure parting to weak medium subangular blocky; firm, slightly brittle; common fine voids; few remnants of B material that have patchy clay films; very strongly acid; clear irregular boundary. (Combined thickness of the E horizon is 12 to 40 inches.)
Bt/E1--36 to 64 inches; dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) silt loam (B); weak coarse prismatic structure parting to moderate medium subangular blocky; firm; nearly continuous clay films on ped faces; many tongues of gray silt loam (E) 1 to 2 inches wide extend through the horizon; tongues have platy structure, are slightly brittle and have more clayey lenses in the lower part; few quartz pebbles; very strongly acid; clear irregular boundary. (14 to 30 inches thick)
Bt/E2--64 to 72 inches; light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) silt loam (B); common medium distinct yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) mottles; weak coarse prismatic structure; parting to weak medium subangular blocky; firm; dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) clay films on ped faces; common tongues of gray silt loam (E) 1 to 2 inches wide extend through the horizon; tongues have platy structure, are slightly brittle, and have clayey lenses; very strongly acid.
TYPE LOCATION: Amite County, Mississippi; 8.5 miles south of Liberty, 0.5 mile southwest and 1,500 feet south into wooded area. NE1/4SE1/4 Sec. 21, T. 1 N., R. 4 E.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: The solum is more than 60 inches thick. The part of the argillic horizon within 6 to 16 inches of the upper boundary has a subhorizon with more than 15 percent sodium saturation. The soil is very strongly acid or strongly acid throughout, except the surface layer in areas that have been limed.
The A horizon has hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 4 or 5, and chroma of 2 or 3. It is loam, silt, silt loam, or very fine sandy loam.
The E horizon has hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 5 to 7, and chroma of 1 or 2. It is loam, silt loam, silt, or very fine sandy loam. The combined thickness of the A and E horizons commonly ranges from 20 to 40 inches.
The B part of the B/E horizon has hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 4 or 5, and chroma of 2. It is silt loam or silty clay loam. It has weak to moderate coarse prismatic structure that parts to moderate fine to medium angular and subangular blocky. The E part has hue of 10YR, value of 5 or 6, and chroma of 1. It is tongues of gray silt loam or silt. Lenses of silty clay loam are in the lower part of most pedons.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Deerford, Foley, and Hillemann series. Closely related series include the Alikchi, Basile, Bonn, Caddo, Calhoun, Fountain, Frost, Guyton, McCroy, Rosella, and Verdun soils. Deerford, Foley, and Hillemann soils have A and E horizons that have a combined thickness of less than 20 inches; also, Deerford and Foley soils are neutral to alkaline in the lower part of the B horizon. Alikchi, Basile, Caddo, Calhoun, Fountain, Frost, and Guyton soils do not have a natric horizon. Bonn and Verdun soils have more than 15 percent sodium saturation throughout the argillic horizon. McCroy and Rosella soils are fine-loamy in the particle-size control section.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Peoria soils are on flood plains or low stream terraces along streams that drain areas of the Southern Coastal Plain Southern Mississippi Valley Silty Uplands Major Land Resource Areas. These soils are subject to flooding for very brief duration. They formed in alluvium in the loess belt that is high in silt. Near the type location, the mean annual air temperature is about 66 degrees Fahrenheit, and mean annual precipitation is about 57 inches.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These include the Guyton and Rosella soils that are listed with the competing series and the Ariel, Bibb, Falaya, Gillsburg, and Henry soils, which do not have a natric horizon. The well drained Ariel soils, which are browner and do not have a Bt horizon, are in slightly higher positions near channels. The poorly drained Bibb soils, which do not have a Bt horizon, are coarse-loamy in the particle-size control section. Somewhat poorly drained Falaya and Gillsburg soils, which do not have a Bt horizon, are in similar to slightly higher areas of the flood plains. The poorly drained Henry soils, which have a fragipan, are in similar positions as the Peoria soils.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Poorly drained. Runoff is slow. Permeability is slow. These soils overflow very briefly late in winter and early in spring. During prolonged wet seasons the water table is at depth of 1.0 to 1.5 feet.
USE AND VEGETATION: Most areas of the Peoria soils are used for woodland or pasture. The native vegetation is mixed hardwoods.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Mississippi. The series is of moderate extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Auburn, Alabama
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Amite County, Mississippi; 1971.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon - the zone from the surface to a depth of about 9 inches (A1, A2 horizons).
Argillic horizon - the zone from approximately 36 to 72 inches (Bt/E1, Bt/E2 horizons).
Albic Glossic Natraqualfs features - tonguing or interfingering of albic materials more than 2.5 cm into the natric horizon; more calcium and extractable acidity than magnesium and sodium in the upper part of the natric horizon (Bt/E1, Bt/E2 horizons).