LOCATION PEPPERBOX DE+MDEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy, mixed, semiactive, mesic Aquic Arenic Paleudults
TYPICAL PEDON: Pepperbox loamy sand, on a 1 percent slope, in a partially cutover woodland (colors are for moist soils).
A1--0 to 4 inches; dark grayish brown (2.5Y 4/2) loamy sand; weak medium and coarse granular structure; very friable; many very fine and fine and common medium roots; extremely acid; abrupt smooth boundary.
A2--4 to 10 inches; light olive brown (2.5Y 5/4) loamy sand; weak coarse subangular blocky structure; very friable; common very fine and fine roots; very strongly acid; clear wavy boundary. (Combined thickness of the A horizon is 7 to 12 inches.)
E--10 to 25 inches; light yellowish brown (2.5Y 6/4) loamy sand; massive; very friable; common very fine and fine roots; very strongly acid; clear wavy boundary. (14 to 25 inches thick)
Bt--25 to 37 inches; brownish yellow (10YR 6/6) sandy loam; weak medium and coarse subangular blocky structure; friable, slightly sticky, slightly plastic; few very fine and fine roots; common distinct clay bridging on sand grains and few distinct clay films (cutans) in root channels; common medium distinct light gray (10YR 7/2) iron depletions and common medium strong brown (7.5YR 5/8) and few medium prominent red (2.5YR 5/8) iron masses; very strongly acid; clear smooth boundary. (10 to 15 inches thick)
2Btg1--37 to 45 inches; gray (10YR 6/1) sandy clay loam; weak coarse subangular blocky structure; firm, sticky, slightly plastic; few very fine and fine roots on faces of peds; few distinct clay films (cutans) on faces of peds and in pores; common coarse distinct brownish yellow (10YR 6/8) and few medium prominent red (2.5YR 4/8) iron masses; very strongly acid; gradual wavy boundary.
2Btg2--45 to 65 inches; light gray (10YR 7/1) sandy clay loam; weak coarse platy structure parting to weak coarse subangular blocky; firm, sticky, slightly plastic; few fine roots; few distinct clay films (cutans) on faces of peds and in pores; few coarse prominent reddish yellow (7.5YR 6/8) and many fine prominent reddish yellow (7.5YR 6/6) iron masses; very strongly acid; gradual wavy boundary. (Combined thickness of the 2Btg horizon is 23 to 44 inches.)
2Cg--65 to 80 inches; light gray (5Y 7/1) stratified sandy clay loam containing thin sandy loam lenses; massive; firm to friable, slightly sticky, slightly plastic; common medium prominent reddish yellow (7.5YR 6/8) and few medium prominent red (2.5YR 4/6) iron masses within the sandy loam lenses; very strongly acid.
TYPE LOCATION: Sussex County, Delaware; Along powerline right-of-way, about 300 feet east and 2,550 feet south of the junction of County Roads 62 and 422, near the community of Pepperbox; USGS Trap Pond Quadrangle; Latitude 38 degrees, 30 minutes, 15.09 seconds N. and Longitude 75 degrees, 26 minutes, 43.56 seconds W., NAD 83.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Solum thickness ranges from 60 to 80 inches. Depth to a lithologic discontinuity ranges from 24 to 40 inches and is typically 30 to 40 inches. Soil reaction ranges from strongly acid to extremely acid when the soil has not been limed.
The A or Ap horizon has a hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 3 through 5, and chroma of 2 to 4. The texture is loamy sand or sand.
The E horizons have a hue of 10YR or 2.5YR, value of 6 or 7, and chroma of 4 or 6. Textures are loamy sand or sand.
The Bt horizon has a hue of 10YR through 2.5Y, value of 5 or 6, and chroma of 4 to 8. Iron depletions with chroma 2 or less occur in the lower parts of the horizon. The texture is typically sandy loam but in some pedons it is loam or sandy clay loam.
The 2Btg horizon has a hue of 10YR through 5Y, value of 5 to 7, and chroma of 2 or less. This horizon has high chroma iron concentrations, or is variegated and lacking of a single dominant matrix color. The textures are sandy clay loam, silty clay loam, silty clay, clay loam, or sandy clay, and may be stratified with thin lenses of coarser textured materials in the lower part.
The Cg horizon has hue of 10YR through 5Y, value of 4 through 7, and chroma of 1 through 2, or is neutral with value of 4 through 7. Some pedons are variegated with iron depletions and iron concentrations and lack a dominant matrix color. Stratified textures range from loamy sand to sandy clay.
COMPETING SERIES: There are no other known series in the same family. Similar soils in other families are the Matawan and Runclint soils. Matawan soils do not have sandy surface layers thicker than 20 inches and subsoil clay decreases by greater than 20 percent from the maximum within 60 inches. Runclint soils are well drained, have sandy textures to greater than 40 inches and do not have argillic horizons.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Pepperbox soils occur on broad interstream divides, which occur on level to nearly level areas of the North Atlantic Coastal Plain. The soils formed in loamy Fluviomarine sediments overlain by stratified coarser-textured sediments that were partially reworked by wind or water. Mean annual air temperature ranges from 55 to 58 degrees F. and mean annual precipitation ranges from 36 to 55 inches.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Hammonton, Hurlock, Klej, Matawan, and Runclint soils. Hammonton and Hurlock soils occur on nearby depressional landscapes and do not have sandy surface horizons thicker than 20 inches. Additionally, Hurlock soils have low chroma iron depletions or are gleyed immediately beneath the A horizon. Klej, Matawan and Runclint soils occur on similar nearby landscapes. Klej and Runclint soils are sandy to depths greater than 40 inches. Runclint is well drained with a water table occurring below 48 inches. Matawan soils have a fine-loamy particle size control section.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Moderately well drained. Permeability is moderately rapid in the A and E horizons, moderate in the Bt horizon, and slow in the 2Bt horizons and in the substratum. Water perches on the substratum, creating a seasonal high water table from approximately December through May. Index Surface Runoff is low to medium.
USE AND VEGETATION: Cultivated areas are used for corn, soybeans, small grain, and some vegetables. Wooded areas are in Loblolly Pine and mixed hardwoods.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Coastal Plain areas of Delaware and Maryland, and possibly New Jersey. The series is moderately extensive.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Morgantown, West Virginia
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Anne Arundel County, Maryland, 2003.
REMARKS: This series is separated from areas that were formerly mapped as Evesboro loamy sand, loamy substratum in southern Delaware. The 02/2005 revision updates the status from tentative to established (per correlation of Anne Arundel County, Maryland). Some minor edits were also made.
Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon - the zone from the surface to 25 inches (A1, A2, and E horizons).
Arenic feature - the zone from the surface to 25 inches (A1, A2, and E horizons).
Eluvial horizon - the zone from 10 to 25 inches (E horizon).
Argillic horizon - the zone from 25 to 65 inches (Bt, 2Btg1, and 2Btg2 horizons).
Aquic feature - the soil has mottles with chroma of 2 or less in the upper part of the Bt and a gray matrix with high chroma iron concentrations in the 2Btg1 and 2Btg2 horizons.
Udult feature - no part of the moisture control section is dry for as long as 90 consecutive days.
Revised: 11/2002-RLH,CDP; 02/2005-SLD,DHK,PSK
ADDITIONAL DATA: Data from characterization pedons S90DE-005-020, S90DE-005-020B and S90DE-005-020A are available from the National Soil Survey Laboratory, Lincoln, Nebraska NE.
TABULAR SERIES DATA:
SOI-5 Soil Name Slope Airtemp FrFr/Seas Precip Elevation DE0004 PEPPERBOX 0- 5 55- 58 175-200 36- 55 20- 40SOI-5 FloodL FloodH Watertable Kind Months Bedrock Hardness DE0004 NONE 2.0-3.0 APPARENT JAN-APR 60-60
SOI-5 Depth Texture 3-Inch No-10 Clay% -CEC- DE0004 0-10 LS 0- 0 100-100 4-12 1- 6 DE0004 10-25 LS 0- 0 100-100 2-10 1- 2 DE0004 25-37 SL FSL L 0- 0 95-100 8-20 1- 4 DE0004 37-80 SCL SICL SC 0- 0 95-100 20-40 3- 10
SOI-5 Depth -pH- O.M. Salin Permeab Shnk-Swll DE0004 0-10 3.6- 5.5 1.-3. 0- 0 2.0- 6.0 LOW DE0004 10-25 3.6- 5.5 - 0- 0 2.0- 6.0 LOW DE0004 25-37 3.6- 5.5 - 0- 0 0.6- 2.0 LOW DE0004 37-80 3.6- 5.5 - 0- 0 0.06- 0.2 MODERATE