LOCATION RICEBORO GAEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Clayey, mixed, semiactive, thermic Arenic Paleaquults
TYPICAL PEDON: Riceboro loamy fine sand - nearly level in a pine plantation. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)
A--0 to 8 inches; very dark gray (10YR 3/1) loamy fine sand; weak fine granular structure; very friable; many fine and medium roots; very strongly acid; clear smooth boundary. (4 to 9 inches thick)
E1--8 to 12 inches; dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) loamy fine sand; single grained; loose; common fine and medium roots; very strongly acid; clear wavy boundary.
E2--12 to 17 inches; light brownish gray (2.5Y 6/2) loamy fine sand; single grained; loose; few fine and medium roots; very strongly acid; clear wavy boundary.
E3--17 to 25 inches; light gray (10YR 7/2) loamy fine sand; common medium distinct yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) mottles; single grained; very friable; very strongly acid; clear wavy boundary. (Combined thickness of the E horizon is 11 to 34 inches.)
Btg1--25 to 29 inches; light brownish gray (2.5Y 6/2) sandy clay loam; common medium distinct strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) mottles; weak fine subangular blocky structure; friable; very strongly acid; gradual smooth boundary. (3 to 5 inches thick)
Btg2--29 to 36 inches; light brownish gray (2.5Y 6/2) sandy clay; common medium distinct strong brown (7.5YR 5/8) and few medium prominent red (2.5YR 4/8) mottles; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; firm; few faint clay films on faces of peds; very strongly acid; gradual smooth boundary. (6 to 13 inches thick)
Btg3--36 to 48 inches; light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) sandy clay; many medium prominent red (2.5YR 4/6) and common medium distinct strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) mottles; strong coarse angular blocky structure, very firm; common distinct clay films on faces of peds; very strongly acid; gradual wavy boundary. (12 to 29 inches thick)
Btg4--48 to 70 inches; mottled grayish brown (2.5Y 5/2), strong brown (7.5YR 5/8) and red (2.5YR 4/8) sandy clay; weak coarse subangular blocky structure; firm; few faint clay films on faces of peds; few lenses of gray (N 6/0) fine sand; very strongly acid.
TYPE LOCATION: Liberty County, Georgia; 1.5 miles north of Riceboro Creek Bridge on U.S. Highway 17; 0.2 mile south of Bill Carter Road on Midway-Jones Road; 100 feet west.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Solum thickness is 65 inches or more. Reaction of the soil is strongly acid or very strongly acid, except where limed.
The A horizon has hue of 10YR, value of 3 or 4, and chroma of 1 or 2, or it is N 3/0. It is loamy fine sand, loamy sand, fine sand, sand, or loamy coarse sand.
The A2 horizon has hue of 10YR, value of 4 to 7, and chroma of 1 or 2, or hue of 2.5Y, value of 4 to 7, and chroma of 2. It is loamy fine sand, loamy sand, or sand.
The Btg1 horizon has hue of 10YR or 5Y, value or 5 or 6, and chroma of 1 or 2, or hue of 2.5Y, value of 5 or 6, and chroma of 2. Mottles in shades of brown, red, or yellow range from few to common. Texture is sandy clay loam or clay loam.
The Btg2, Btg3, and Btg4 horizons have hue of 10YR, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 1 or 2, or hue of 2.5Y, value of 5 or 6, and chroma of 2. Mottles in shades of brown, red, and yellow range from few to many. In some pedons the lower part is mottled in shades of gray, yellow, brown, or red. Few to common pockets of loamy sand or fine sand are present in the lower B2t horizon. Texture is commonly sandy clay but ranges to clay in some pedons.
COMPETING SERIES: There are no other known series in this family. Competing series in similar families include Alapaha, Bethera, Bladen, Ellabelle, Ogeechee, Pelham, Plummer and Pooler. Alapaha, Ellabelle, Pelham and Plummer soils have less than 35 percent clay in the control section. In addition, Alapaha soils have more than 5 percent plinthite in some part of the B horizon above the 60 inch depth; Ellabelle soils have an umbric epipedon and Plummer soils have a sandy epipedon more than 40 inches thick. Bethera, Bladen, Ogeechee, and Pooler soils are not arenic.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Riceboro soils are on nearly level landscapes and in slight depressions of the Atlantic Coast Flatwoods. These soils formed in sandy and clayey marine sediments mainly on the Pamlico and Talbot terraces. The mean annual temperature is about 63 to 70 degrees F, and mean annual precipitation is about 45 to 55 inches. Slope is 0 to 2 percent.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: In addition to the competing Pooler series, these are the Bayboro, Bladen, Cape Fear, Mascotte, Ocilla and Wahee series. Bayboro and Cape Fear soils have an umbric epipedon. Bladen and Wahee soils do not have a sandy epipedon more than 20 inches thick. Mascotte soils are on the same landscape but have a spodic horizon above the argillic horizon. Ocilla soils are higher on the landscape, somewhat poorly drained, and have a loamy control section.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Riceboro soils are poorly drained. Runoff is slow. Permeability is rapid in the A horizons and slow in the Btg horizon. The water table is at depths less than 1 foot for 3 to 5 months in most years. Water may stand on the surface very briefly after heavy rains. Source of flood water is from adjacent slow moving, poorly defined streams.
USE AND VEGETATION: Most areas of this soil are planted to pine. A few areas are used for improved pasture. Natural vegetation is waxmyrtle (southern bayberry), gallberry (inkberry), sweetgum, water oak, and sawpalmetto.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Riceboro soils are in the Atlantic Coastal Flatwoods of Georgia and possibly Florida, and North Carolina. They are of moderate extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Raleigh, North Carolina
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Liberty County, Georgia, 1980
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon - the zone from the surface to approximately 25 inches (A, E1, E2, and E3 horizons).
Arenic epipedon - the zone from the surface to approximately 25 inches (A, E1, E2, and E3 horizons).
Argillic horizon - the zone from approximately 25 to 70 inches (Btg1, Btg2, Btg3, and Btg4 horizons).
TABULAR SERIES DATA:
SOI-5 Soil Name Slope Airtemp FrFr/Seas Precip Elevation GA0074 RICEBORO 0- 2 63- 70 240-285 45- 55 10- 50SOI-5 FloodL FloodH Watertable Kind Months Bedrock Hardness GA0074 COMMON 0-1.0 APPARENT JAN-MAY 60-60
SOI-5 Depth Texture 3-Inch No-10 Clay% -CEC- GA0074 0-25 S LS LFS 0- 0 95-100 5-10 - GA0074 0-25 LCOS 0- 0 95-100 2- 7 - GA0074 25-29 SCL CL 0- 0 95-100 25-40 - GA0074 29-70 SC C 0- 0 95-100 35-60 -
SOI-5 Depth -pH- O.M. Salin Permeab Shnk-Swll GA0074 0-25 4.5- 5.5 1.-2. 0- 0 6.0- 20 LOW GA0074 0-25 4.5- 5.5 1.-2. 0- 0 6.0- 20 LOW GA0074 25-29 4.5- 5.5 - 0- 0 0.2- 0.6 MODERATE GA0074 29-70 4.5- 5.5 - 0- 0 0.06- 0.2 MODERATE