LOCATION POPLAR FOREST VA+NC
Established Series
RLV/DTA Rev. DTA
04/2026
POPLAR FOREST SERIES
MLRA(s): 136 (mesic part)
Soil Survey Regional Office (SSRO) Responsible: Southeast
Depth Class: Very Deep
Agricultural Drainage Class: Well drained
Index Surface Runoff: Medium
Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity Class: Moderately high
Shrink-Swell Potential: Low
Landscape: Piedmont uplands
Landform: Interstream divides, ridges, and side slopes
Parent Material: Residuum weathered from felsic or intermediate, high-grade metamorphic or igneous rocks high in content of mica
Slope: 2 to 60 percent
Elevation (type location): 286 meters (938 feet)
Mean Annual Air Temperature (type location): 14 degrees C (57 degrees F)
Mean Annual Precipitation (type location): 1092 millimeters (43 inches)
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine, kaolinitic, mesic Typic Kanhapludults
TYPICAL PEDON: Poplar Forest sandy clay loam. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)
Ap--0 to 18 centimeters (0 to 7 inches); reddish brown (5YR 4/4) sandy clay loam; weak fine granular structure; friable; slightly sticky, slightly plastic; many fine and common medium roots; 2 percent fine mica flakes; 3 percent quartz gravel; very strongly acid; abrupt smooth boundary. (5 to 23 centimeters (2 to 9 inches) thick)
Bt--18 to 63 centimeters (7 to 25 inches); red (2.5YR 4/6) clay; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; friable; slightly sticky, slightly plastic; greasy; common fine and few medium roots; many distinct clay films on faces of peds; 20 percent fine mica flakes; 3 percent quartz gravel; very strongly acid; clear wavy boundary. (30 to 76 centimeters (12 to 30 inches) thick)
BC--63 to 76 centimeters (25 to 30 inches); red (2.5YR 4/6) loam; moderate coarse subangular blocky structure; friable; slightly sticky, nonplastic; greasy; few fine and medium roots; common distinct clay films on faces of peds; 30 percent fine mica flakes; 12 percent mica gneiss fragments; very strongly acid; gradual wavy boundary. (0 to 36 centimeters (0 to 14 inches) thick)
C1--76 to 107 centimeters (30 to 42 inches); dark brown (7.5YR 3/3), yellowish red (5YR 5/8), and light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) loam saprolite; massive; friable; greasy; 40 percent fine mica flakes; 7 percent quartz gravel; strongly acid; clear irregular boundary.
C2--107 to 183 centimeters (42 to 72 inches); dark brown (10YR 3/3), brown (7.5YR 4/4), and pink (7.5YR 7/4) sandy loam saprolite; massive; friable; greasy; 50 percent fine mica flakes; strongly acid.
TYPE LOCATION: Bedford County, Virginia; 625 feet east and 375 feet south of the intersection of Virginia Routes 724 and 722, in woodland. USGS Bedford, Virginia topographic quadrangle.
Latitude--37.2809
Longitude-- -79.5156
Datum--WGS84
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Solum thickness: 51 to 127 centimeters (20 to 50 inches)
Depth to Bedrock: Greater than 183 centimeters (72 inches)
Depth to Seasonal High Water Table: Greater than 183 centimeters (72 inches)
Rock Fragment Content: 0 to 35 percent, by volume, quartz, granite, and schist pararock fragments throughout
Mica Content: 2 to greater than 20 percent, by volume, in the A, E, BE, BA, and Bt horizons and greater than 20 percent in the BC and C horizons
Soil Reaction: Moderately acid to very strongly acid throughout, unless limed
RANGE OF INDIVIDUAL HORIZONS:
A or Ap horizon:
Color--hue of 2.5YR to 10YR, value of 3 to 5, chroma of 3 to 8
Texture (fine-earth fraction)--loam, fine sandy loam, or sandy loam. Eroded pedons are sandy clay loam or clay loam.
E horizon, (if it occurs):
Color--hue of 7.5YR to 10YR, value of 3 or 5, chroma of 3 to 6
Texture (fine-earth fraction)--fine sandy loam or sandy loam
BA or BE horizons, (if it occurs):
Color--hue of 10R to 7.5YR, value of 4 to 6, chroma of 3 to 8
Texture (fine-earth fraction)--sandy loam, loam, or sandy clay loam.
Bt horizon:
Color--hue of 10R to 5YR, value of 4 to 6, chroma of 3 to 8
Texture (fine-earth fraction)--clay, sandy clay or clay loam.
BC horizon:
Color--hue of 10R to 5YR, value of 4 to 6, chroma of 3 to 8. In some pedons it is mottled in shades of red, yellow, or brown.
Texture (fine-earth fraction)--sandy loam, loam, sandy clay loam, or clay loam.
C horizon:
Color--hue of 10R to 10YR, values of 4 to 6, chroma of 3 to 8 or is mottled with these colors. In some pedons it is mottled in shades of red, yellow, or brown.
Texture--sandy loam, fine sandy loam, loam, or sandy clay loam saprolite from mica schist, mica gneiss, or other high-grade metamorphic or igneous rocks that are high in mica content.
COMPETING SERIES:
Clifford soils--lack the many flakes of mica
Fairview soils--lack the many flakes of mica
Nathalie soils--lack the many flakes of mica
Toast soils--lack the many flakes of mica
Westfield soils--are deep to bedrock
Woolwine soils--are moderately deep to bedrock
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Landscape: Piedmont upland
Landform: Interstream divides, ridges, and side slopes
Parent Material: Residuum weathered from felsic or intermediate, high-grade metamorphic or igneous rocks high in content of mica
Mean Annual Air Temperature: 12 to 14 degrees C (54 to 58 degrees F)
Mean Annual Precipitation: 1016 to 1651 millimeters (40 to 65 inches)
Frost-free period: 160 to 210 days
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS:
Chester soils--are fine-loamy
Elioak soils-are not kandic
Glenelg soils--are fine loamy
Halifax soils--are moderately well drained
Huddleston soils--are fine-loamy
Perrowville soils--are coarse-loamy and moderately deep to soft bedrock
DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY:
Agricultural Drainage Class: Well drained
Index Surface Runoff: Medium
Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity: Moderately high
USE AND VEGETATION:
Major Uses: Cultivated crops, pasture, and woodland
Dominant Vegetation: Where cultivated--cotton, corn, small grains, soybeans, apples, vegetables, and hay. Where wooded--white, black, post, and red oaks; hickories; dogwood, sourwood; maple and elm. Shortleaf and loblolly pine were present in places and are now common, along with Virginia pine, in abandoned fields.
SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (SSRO) RESPONSIBLE: Auburn, Alabama
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT:
Distribution: Virginia and North Carolina
Extent: Moderate
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Bedford County, Virginia; 2008.
REMARKS: This series was proposed as a mesic equivalent to the Madison series mapped in thermic MLRA 136. The name comes from the summer house that belonged to Thomas Jefferson in Bedford County. The April 2026 revision reformatted the description to semi-tabular. No data was changed.
Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon--the zone from the surface to a depth of 18 centimeters (7 inches)
Kandic horizon--the zone from 18 to 76 centimeters (7 to 30 inches): it meets the low activity clay requirement for Kandic in more than 50 percent of the horizon.
Argillic horizon--the zone from 18 to 76 centimeters (7 to 30 inches)
ADDITIONAL DATA: None
TABULAR SERIES DATA:
Slope Airtemp FrFr/Seas Precip Elevation
2-60 52-60 160-210 40-65 300-1400
2-60 52-60 160-210 40-65 300-1400
FloodL FloodH Watertable Kind Months Bedrock Hardness
NONE >6.0 - >60
NONE >6.0 - >60
Depth Texture 3-Inch No-10 Clay% -CEC-
0-7 L FSL SL 0-3 80-100 5-20 1-4
0-7 GR-FSL GR-SL 3-10 60-85 5-15 1-4
0-7 CL SCL 0-3 85-100 25-35 3-6
7-25 C CL SC 0-3 85-100 30-50 3-6
25-30 L SCL CL 0-3 85-100 25-35 2-4
30-72 FSL SL L 0-5 80-100 5-20 1-4
0-7 GR-SCL GR-CL 3-10 55-75 20-35 3-6
7-25 C CL SC 0-3 85-100 30-60 4-8
25-30 L SCL CL 0-3 85-100 15-35 2-5
30-72 FSL SL L 0-3 80-100 8-20 1-3
Depth -pH- O.M. Salin Permeab Shnk-Swll
0-7 4.5-6.5 .5-2. 0-0 2.0-6.0 LOW
0-7 4.5-6.5 .5-2. 0-0 6.0-20 LOW
0-7 4.5-6.5 .5-2. 0-0 0.6-2.0 LOW
7-25 4.5-5.5 0.-.5 0-0 0.6-2.0 LOW
25-30 4.5-6.0 0.-.5 0-0 0.6-2.0 LOW
30-72 4.5-6.0 0.-.5 0-0 0.6-2.0 LOW
0-7 4.5-6.5 .5-2. 0-0 0.6-2.0 LOW
7-25 4.5-5.5 0.-.5 0-0 0.6-2.0 LOW
25-30 4.5-6.0 0.-.5 0-0 0.6-2.0 LOW
30-72 4.5-6.0 0.-.2 0-0 0.6-2.0 LOW
________________________________________
National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.