LOCATION STEENS MS+AL TNEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, siliceous, semiactive, thermic Aeric Endoaqualfs
TYPICAL PEDON: Steens fine sandy loam on a nearly level 1 percent slope in woodland. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)
A--0 to 4 inches; dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) fine sandy loam; common fine faint grayish brown mottles; weak fine granular structure; very friable; many fine roots; few fine brown and black concretions; very strongly acid; clear smooth boundary. (3 to 9 inches thick)
E1--4 to 7 inches; light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) fine sandy loam; weak fine granular structure; friable; common fine roots; few fine brown and black concretions; strongly acid; clear wavy boundary.
E2--7 to 15 inches; light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) fine sandy loam; common fine and medium distinct yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) mottles; weak medium subangular blocky structure; friable; few fine roots; few fine brown and black concretions; few reddish stains on faces of peds; medium acid; clear wavy boundary. (Combined thickness of E horizon is 2 to 14 inches thick.)
Bt--15 to 20 inches; mottled yellowish brown (10YR 5/6), light brownish gray (10YR 6/2), and strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; firm; few fine roots; few patchy clay films on faces of peds; few pockets and coatings of very fine sand; few fine brown and black concretions; strongly acid; clear wavy boundary. (4 to 8 inches thick)
Btg1--20 to 35 inches; grayish brown (2.5Y 5/2) loam; common fine and medium distinct yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) and strong brown (7.5YR 5/8) mottles; weak medium prismatic structure parting to moderate fine and medium subangular and angular blocky; firm; few fine roots; patchy clay films on faces of peds; few pockets and coatings of light brownish gray very fine sand; few fine brown and black concretions; strongly acid; gradual wavy boundary. (10 to 20 inches thick)
Btg2--35 to 65 inches; gray (10YR 5/1) loam; many fine, medium, and coarse distinct strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) and common medium faint grayish brown (2.5Y 5/2) mottles; weak medium prismatic structure parting to moderate fine and medium angular and subangular blocky; firm; few fine roots; few brown and black concretions; patchy clay films on faces of peds; few pockets and coats of light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) very fine sand; strongly acid.
TYPE LOCATION: Lowndes County, Mississippi; approximately 3 miles southeast of U.S. 82 and State Highway 69 intersection on east side of Columbus; 1,000 feet southwest of paved road and 30 feet west of field road in woodland. Northeast 1/4 northeast 1/4, sec. 36, T. 18 S., R. 18 W.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Solum thickness is more than 60 inches. Reaction ranges from very strongly acid to slightly acid in the A and E horizons and very strongly acid or strongly acid in the Bt horizon. Exchangeable sodium percentage ranges from 5 to 12 percent in the Bt horizon. Clay content in the upper 20 inches of the Bt horizon is 20 to 35 percent.
The A horizon has hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 3 to 7, and chroma of 1 to 3; if the chroma is less than 3.5, the thickness of the horizon is less than 6 inches. Texture is fine sandy loam, loam, or silt loam.
The E horizon has hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 5 to 7, and chroma of 1 to 4. The texture is fine sandy loam, loam, or silt loam. Some pedons have an EB or BE horizon.
The Bt horizon has hue of 10YR, value of 4 or 5, and chroma of 3 to 8, with common or many mottles in shades of brown or gray, and in some pedons the horizon is mottled in shades of these colors. The texture is loam, sandy clay loam, or clay loam.
The Btg horizon has hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 1 or 2, with few to many mottles in shades of brown, red, or gray. Brown and black concretions, if present, are few to many. Texture is loam, sandy clay loam, or clay loam.
COMPETING SERIES: There are no competing series in this family. Series in closely related families are the Dundee, Fork, Guyton, Moten, Patterson, Quitman, Stough, Rosella, and Vimville series. Dundee soils are fine-silty in the particle-size control section and have mixed mineralogy. Fork soils have a mixed mineralogy. Guyton, Rosella, and Vimville soils have a matrix with dominant chroma of 2 or less below the Ap horizon and an albic horizon that tongues into the argillic horizon; also Rosella soils have a natric horizon with more than 15 percent exchangeable sodium. Moten and Patterson soils are coarse-loamy in the particle-size control section. Quitman and Stough soils have less than 35 percent base saturation; also, Stough soils are coarse-loamy in the particle-size control section.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Steens soils are on uplands and stream terraces of the Southern Coastal Plain Major Land Resource Area. This is a nearly level soil with slopes ranging from 0 to 2 percent. The climate is warm and humid. Mean annual precipitation is about 51 inches. Mean annual temperature is about 63 degrees F.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Quitman, Rosella, Stough, and Vimville soils listed in the competing series and the Prentiss series. Prentiss soils, which have a fragipan, and Quitman and Stough soils are on slightly higher parts of the terraces. Rosella and Vimville soils are typically on lower parts of the terrain in depressions and near the heads of drainageways.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Steens soils are somewhat poorly drained. Runoff is slow, and permeability is moderately slow. A water table is at a depth of 1.0 to 2.5 feet during wet seasons late in winter and early in spring. Some areas are subject to flooding for brief to long duration from December to June.
USE AND VEGETATION: Used mainly for growing soybeans, pasture, and hay. Forested areas are mixed pines and hardwoods.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Southern Coastal Plain of Mississippi and Alabama. The series is of moderate extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Auburn, Alabama
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Lowndes County, Mississippi, 1977.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this profile are:
Ochric epipedon - the zone from the surface to a depth of about 15 inches (A, E1, E2 horizons).
Argillic horizon - the zone from about 15 inches to 65 inches or more (Bt, Btg1, Btg2 horizons).
Aeric Ochraqualfs features - a subhorizon between the base of the A horizon and a depth of 30 inches with a chroma of more than 2. (The zone from about 15 to 20 inches, the Bt horizon.)
ADDITIONAL DATA: Chemical and physical data for the typical pedon are published in the Soil Survey of Lowndes County, Mississippi (issued September 1979), pp. 134-135.