LOCATION STEMLEY AL+TNEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Coarse-loamy, siliceous, semiactive, thermic Glossic Fragiudults
TYPICAL PEDON: Stemley cherty loam--pine plantation. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)
Ap--0 to 7 inches; brown (10YR 4/3) cherty loam; weak fine granular structure; very friable; many fine and few medium roots; 15 percent small chert fragments; slightly acid; clear smooth boundary. (3 to 9 inches thick)
B2t--7 to 17 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) cherty silt loam; weak medium subangular blocky structure; friable; few fine and medium roots; few fine pores; 15 percent small chert fragments; clay bridges on sand grains; strongly acid; clear wavy boundary. (4 to 28 inches thick)
Bx&A--17 to 21 inches; light yellowish brown (2.5Y 6/4) cherty loam with common medium distinct yellowish brown (10YR 5/6), brown (10YR 4/3), and very pale brown (10YR 7/4) mottles; very coarse prismatic structure; about 70 percent of the horizontal cross section is firm and brittle; few fine roots mainly in very pale brown vertical veins in polygonal network; common fine pores; 60 percent small chert fragments; strongly acid; gradual wavy boundary. (4 to 11 inches thick)
Bx--21 to 33 inches; mottled yellowish brown (10YR 5/8), light gray (10YR 7/2), light yellowish brown (2.5Y 6/4) strong brown (7.5YR 5/6), and dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) cherty sandy clay loam; moderate coarse prismatic structure that parts to weak medium subangular blocky; about 80 percent of the horizontal cross section is firm and brittle; few fine and medium roots mainly in light gray vertical veins in polygonal network; common fine pores; 80 percent small chert fragments; very strongly acid; gradual wavy boundary. (6 to 28 inches thick)
B3--33 to 65 inches; mottled gray (10YR 6/1), strong brown (7.5YR 5/8), yellowish red (5YR 5/8) and red (2.5YR 4/8) cherty loam; massive; firm; 25 percent small chert fragments; clay bridges on sand-size fragments; very strongly acid. (22 to 36 inches thick)
TYPE LOCATION: Cherokee County, Alabama; 1 1/4 miles NE of Round Mountain in the Blue Pond community, NW1/4SW1/4 sec. 22, T. 9 S., R. 9 E.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Solum thickness exceeds 60 inches. Reaction ranges from slightly acid through very strongly acid in the surface layers except in limed areas, and from strongly acid through extremely acid in lower horizons. Depth to the fragipan is 15 to 41 inches. Chert content of the horizons above the fragipan ranges from 15 to 35 percent, in the fragipan ranges from 30 to 80 percent, and below the fragipan 15 to 50 percent.
The A horizon has hue of 10YR, value of 3 through 5, and chroma of 2 through 4. Texture is cherty loam, cherty sandy loam, or cherty silt loam.
The B1 horizon, where present, has hue of 10YR, value of 5 or 6, and chroma of 4 or 6. The B2t horizon has hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 5 or 6, and chroma of 4 through 8. Some pedons are mottled with shades of brown. Texture of the B horizon is cherty loam, or cherty silt loam. In some pedons thin subhorizons have texture of silty clay loam or clay loam.
The Bx horizon is mottled in shades of gray, yellow, brown, and red, and some pedons have a brown or yellow matrix color. Texture is cherty loam, cherty silt loam, cherty clay loam, cherty sandy clay loam, or cherty silty clay loam.
The B3 horizon has the same colors and textures as the Bx horizon.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Cloudland and Prentiss series in the same family and the Cane, Dickson, Leadvale, Ora, Sango, Savannah, and Vaucluse series in related families. Cloudland, Prentiss, Dickson, Ora, Sango, and Savannah soils have less than 15 percent coarse fragments in the fragipan. Cane and Vaucluse soils have B2t horizons of hue 7.5YR or redder. Leadvale soils have less than 15 percent sand coarser than very fine sand in their control section.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Stemley soils are on nearly level to gently sloping drainageways and toeslopes that range from 0 to 5 percent. Slopes of 0 to 2 percent are dominant. The regolith is cherty limestone. Near the type location, average annual rainfall is 55 inches; average annual air temperature is 60 degrees F.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the competing Cloudland series, and the Bodine, Dewey, Fullerton, and Minvale series on the uplands, and the Guthrie and Lobelville series on the flood plains. Bodine soils have over 35 percent cherty fragments and lack a fragipan. Minvale soils lack a fragipan and have hues of 7.5YR or redder. Dewey and Fullerton soils lack fragipans and have clayey Bt horizons. Guthrie soils have gray matrix colors and Lobelville soils lack a fragipan.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Moderately well drained. Runoff is medium and permeability is moderate above the fragipan and slow in the fragipan.
USE AND VEGETATION: Most of the acreage has been cleared. The native vegetation is mixed hardwoods and pine. Corn, soybeans, and pasture are the main crops grown on the cultivated areas. Much of the open areas are now idle. Reforested areas are mainly in loblolly pines.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Northern Alabama, Georgia, and Tennessee. The series is of moderate extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Morgantown, West Virginia
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Cherokee County, Alabama; 1973.
REMARKS: Stemley soils were formerly mapped as the Tarklin soils. Tarklin soils are in the mesic temperature regime.