LOCATION SUBLIGNA GAEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy-skeletal, siliceous, subactive, thermic Fluventic Dystrudepts
TYPICAL PEDON: Subligna extremely gravelly sandy loam - forested. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)
Oa--0 to 2 inches; highly decomposed leaves, pine needles and twigs.
A--2 to 6 inches; dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) extremely gravelly sandy loam; weak fine granular structure; very friable; many very fine to coarse roots; few small pores; 60 percent sandstone gravel by volume; strongly acid; clear wavy boundary. (1 to 10 inches thick)
Bw--6 to 18 inches; strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) extremely gravelly sandy loam; weak medium granular and weak fine subangular blocky structure; friable; many very fine to coarse roots; 70 percent sandstone gravel by volume; very strongly acid; abrupt wavy boundary. (6 to 50 inches thick)
C--18 to 60 inches; brownish yellow (10YR 6/6) extremely gravelly sandy loam; massive; very friable; few very fine to coarse roots; 70 percent sandstone gravel by volume; strongly acid.
TYPE LOCATION: Whitfield County, Georgia; 0.4 mile North of subligna; 300 feet West of Subligna Road, north facing side of creek bank. (USGS Quadrangle Subligna, GA [1967] lat. 34 degrees 33 minutes 56.15 seconds N., long. 85 degrees 11 minutes 17.21 seconds W.)
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Solum thickness ranges from 12 to more than 60 inches. Depth to bedrock is more than 6 feet. Content of coarse fragments ranges from 30 to 70 percent in the A and E horizons and from 35 to 85 percent in the B and C horizons. Soil reaction ranges from very strongly acid to moderately acid throughout, unless the surface has been limed.
The A horizon has hue of 2.5Y, 10YR, or 7.5YR; value of 3, 4, or 5; and chroma of 2, 3, or 4. Texture of the fine-earth fraction is loam, silt loam, sandy loam, or fine sandy loam
The E horizon (where present) has hue of 2.5Y, 10YR or 7.5YR; value of 5 or 6; and chroma of 2, 3, 4, or 6. Texture of tThe fine-earth fraction is loam, silt loam or sandy loam.
The Bw horizon has hue of 2.5Y, 10YR, or 7.5YR; value of 4, 5, or 6; and chroma of 3, 4, or 6, with mottles in shades of brown and red. Texture of tThe fine-earth fraction is loam, silt loam, sandy loam, fine sandy loam, or sandy clay loam.
The C horizon has colors similar to that of the Bw horizon. Texture of the fine-earth fraction is loam, silt loam, sandy loam, loamy sand, or fine sandy loam.
COMPETING SERIES: There are no other competing series in this family. Soils in related families are the Avant, Beanblossom, Bigfork, Cliffside, Cobstone, Craigsville, Lillington, Lockhart, Saffell, Steprock, Trestle, and Zaffra series. Avant, Bigfork, Cliffside, Cobstone, Lillington, Lockhart, Saffell, Steprock, and Zaffra soils have argillic horizons. Beanblossom, Craigsville, and Trestle soils are in a mesic temperature regime.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Subligna soils are on nearly level to gently sloping alluvial fans at the foot of mountains and steep ridges along drainageways. Slopes range from 1 to 6 percent. The soils formed in alluvium high in sandstone and chert rock fragments. Average annual temperature is 60 to 65 degrees F, and average annual precipitation is about 45 to 55 inches.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These include the related Bigfork series, and the Bodine, Fullerton, Minvale, Nella, Shack, and Wax series. All of these soils have argillic horizons. With the exception of Bigfork and Bodine soils, all have less than 35 percent rock fragments throughout. Bigfork, Bodine, Fullerton, and Shack soils formed in residuum on adjacent uplands. Minvale and Nella soils formed in colluvium on adjacent footslopes, benches, and fans. Wax soils are moderately well drained and formed in alluvium on adjacent toe slopes and drainageways.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained, medium runoff, rapid permeability. Flooding is rare to occasional for brief periods.
USE AND VEGETATION: Most of the soil is in mixed stand of oaks and scattered pines. Some areas cleared. Corn, cotton, soybeans, and pasture are the main crops grown.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: The Southern Appalachian Ridges and Valleys (MLRA 128) of Georgia, and possibly Alabama and Tennessee. The series is of small extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Morgantown, West Virginia
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Chattooga County, Georgia, 1975; Chattooga, Floyd, and Polk counties, Georgia survey area.
REMARKS: Soils of the Subligna series were formerly classified as Loamy-skeletal, siliceous, thermic Typic Hapludults. The 6/01 revision reflects the reclassification of the series and the movement of the typical pedon to Whitfield County, Georgia.
Diagnostic horizon and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon - the zone from the surface to approximately 6 inches (Oa and A horizon).
Cambic horizon - the zone from approximately 6 to 18 inches (Bw horizon).