LOCATION PIKECITY           AR
Established Series
JWO:RKR:AMR
06/2010

PIKECITY SERIES


The Pikecity series consists of very deep, well drained, moderately permeable soils that formed in loamy and gravelly marine sediments of Cretaceous age. These soils are on nearly level to moderately sloping marine terraces in the Cretaceous Western Gulf Coastal Plain Major Land Resource Area, MLRA 135B. Slopes are 1 to 15 percent.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, siliceous, semiactive, thermic Typic Hapludults

TYPICAL PEDON: Pikecity silt loam, 1 to 6 percent slopes, in forest. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)

A--0 to 8 cm (0 to 3 in); dark brown (10YR 3/3) silt loam; weak fine granular structure; very friable; many fine to coarse roots throughout; common fine and medium pores; few prominent patchy black (10YR 2/1) stains on faces of peds; 10 percent rounded sandstone gravel; strongly acid; abrupt smooth boundary.

BA--8 to 15 cm (3 to 6 in); strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) silt loam; weak fine subangular blocky structure; friable; common fine to coarse roots throughout; common fine pores; 10 percent rounded sandstone gravel; very strongly acid; clear smooth boundary.

Bt1--15 to 56 cm (6 to 22 in); red (2.5YR 4/6) clay loam; moderate medium and coarse subangular blocky structure; firm; common fine roots and common medium roots throughout; common fine pores; common faint discontinuous red (2.5YR 5/6) clay films on faces of peds and in pores; about 5 percent by volume rounded sandstone gravel; extremely acid; clear wavy boundary.

Bt2--56 to 79 cm (22 to 31 in); red (2.5YR 4/6) gravelly clay loam; moderate medium and coarse subangular blocky structure; firm; common fine roots, common medium roots, and common coarse roots throughout; common fine pores; common faint discontinuous red (2.5YR 5/6) clay films on faces of peds and in pores; about 15 percent by volume rounded sandstone gravel; extremely acid; gradual wavy boundary.

Bt3--79 to 122 cm (31 to 48 in); red (2.5YR 4/6) gravelly clay; moderate medium and coarse subangular blocky structure; firm; common fine and medium roots throughout; common fine pores; common faint discontinuous red (2.5YR 5/6) clay films on faces of peds and in pores; about 20 percent by volume rounded sandstone gravel and about 5 percent rounded sandstone cobbles; extremely acid; clear wavy boundary.

Bt4--122 to 203 cm (48 to 80 in); light gray (10YR 7/1), yellowish brown (10YR 5/8), and dark yellowish brown (10YR3/6) cobbly clay loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; firm; common faint patchy red (2.5YR 4/6) clay films on faces of peds and in pores; about 35 percent by volume rounded sandstone gravel and about 15 percent subrounded sandstone cobbles; extremely acid.

TYPE LOCATION: Pike County, Arkansas; about 1.5 miles west of Narrows Dam. SE14, NE1/4, SW1/4 Section. 14, T.7 S., R.26 W.; NARROWS DAM USGS topographic quadrangle; Latitude: 34 degrees, 8 minutes, 49 seconds North; Longitude: 93 degrees, 44 minutes, 49 seconds West.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Solum thickness is more than 183 cm (72 in). Depth to horizons containing more than 35 percent by volume gravel begin at a depth of 76 cm (30 in) or deeper. Depth to horizon(s) containing more than 40 percent clay begin at a depths of 76 cn (30 in) or deeper. Reaction ranges from slightly acid to strongly acid in the A and BA horizons and strongly acid to extremely acid in the Bt and BC horizons. Coarse fragments range from 0 to 35 percent by volume in the A, E, BE, and upper Bt horizons and 15 to 60 percent in the lower Bt horizons and BC horizon.

A or Ap horizon:
Hue: 10YR
Value: 3 or 4
Chroma: 2 through 4
or Hue: 7.5YR
Value: 4
Chroma: 4
Texture: silt loam.

E horizon (where present):
Hue: 10YR
Value: 4 to 6
Chroma: 3 or 4
Texture: fine sandy loam, sandy loam, loam or silt loam or their gravelly analogs.

BA horizon:
Hue: 7.5YR
Value: 4 to 6
Chroma: 5 or 6
or Hue: 10YR
Value: 4 or 5
Chroma: 4 to 8
Texture: very fine sandy loam, loam or silt loam or their gravelly analogs.

Bt1 horizon:
Hue: 7.5YR
Value: 4 or 5
Chroma: 6 or 8
or Hue: 5YR
Value: 4 or 5
Chroma: 4 to 8
or Hue: 2.5YR
Value: 4 or 5
Chroma: 6 or 8
Texture: loam, clay loam, sandy clay loam, or their gravelly analogs.

Bt2 horizon:
Same colors as the Bt1 horizon
or Hue: 10R
Value: 3
Chroma: 6
Texture: sandy clay loam, clay loam, clay, or their gravelly analogs.

Bt3 horizon:
Same colors as the Bt2 horizon. Some pedons may not have a dominant matrix color, but are variegated in various shades of brown, red, and gray.
Texture: loam, sandy clay loam, clay loam, clay, or their gravelly, very gravelly or cobbly analogs.

Bt4 horizon:
Hue: 7.5YR
Value: 4 or 5
Chroma: 6 or 8
or Hue: 5YR
Value: 4 or 5
Chroma: 4 to 8
or Hue: 2.5YR
Value: 4 or 5
Chroma: 6 or 8
In many pedons, these horizons are variegated in various shades of brown, red , and gray.
Texture is loam, clay loam, sandy clay loam, or their gravelly, very gravelly, or cobbly analogs.

BC horizon (where present):
Hue: 7.5YR
Value: 4 or 5
Chroma: 6 or 8
or Hue: 5YR
Value: 4 or 5
Chroma: 4 to 8
or Hue: 2.5YR
Value: 4 or 5
Chroma: 6 or 8
In some pedons, these horizons are variegated in various shades of brown, red , and gray.
Texture: gravelly loam, gravelly clay loam, gravelly sandy clay loam, or their very gravelly, cobbly, or very cobbly analogs.

COMPETING SERIES: There are no competing series in this family.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Pikecity soils are on marine terraces of the Cretaceous Western Gulf Coastal Plain, MLRA 135B. They formed in loamy and gravelly marine sediments. Slopes range from 1 to 15 percent. Mean annual precipitation ranges from 1143 to1397 cm (45 to 55 in). Mean annual temperature ranges from 17 to 23 degrees C (63 degrees to 75 degrees F). Thornthwaite annual P-E indices are greater than 64.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Nathan, Peanutrock and Tiak series.
Nathan soils have a fine-loamy control section and have mixed mineralogy.
Peanutrock soils have a loamy-skeletal control section.
Tiak soils have a fine control section.

DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Pikecity soils are well drained. Runoff is low to medium and permeability is moderate.

USE AND VEGETATION: Used mainly for native pasture and woodland. The vegetation is primarily southern red oak, sweetgum, American sycamore, white oak, and loblolly pine.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Cretaceous Western Gulf Coastal Plain of southwest Arkansas and possibly southeast Oklahoma. The series is of moderate extent.

MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Morgantown, West Virginia

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Pike County, Arkansas; 2006

REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon: Surface to 8 cm (0 to 3 in)
Argillic horizon: 15 to 203 cm (6 to 80 in)
These soils were formerly included in the Pikeville series.

ADDITIONAL DATA: Characterization of the typical pedon by the University of Arkansas Soil Characterization Laboratory; S98AR-109-01.

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National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.