LOCATION SUFFOLK VA+AL GA NC SCEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, siliceous, semiactive, thermic Typic Hapludults
TYPICAL PEDON: Suffolk loamy sand--cultivated. (Colors are for moist soil.)
Ap--0 to 28 centimeters (about 0 to 11 inches); dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) loamy sand; weak medium granular structure; very friable; many fine and medium roots; slightly acid; abrupt smooth boundary. (20 to 36 centimeters, about 8 to 14 inches thick)
BA--28 to 41 centimeters (about 11 to 16 inches); yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) fine sandy loam; weak medium subangular blocky structure; friable; common fine roots; many fine tubular pores; strongly acid; clear wavy boundary. (0 to 23 centimeters, about 0 to 9 inches thick)
Bt1--41 to 51 centimeters (about 16 to 20 inches); yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) fine sandy loam; weak medium subangular blocky structure; friable, slightly sticky, nonplastic; common fine and medium roots; common fine and medium tubular pores; few faint clay films on faces of peds; extremely acid; clear wavy boundary.
Bt2--51 to 74 centimeters (about 20 to 29 inches); strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) sandy clay loam; weak medium subangular blocky structure; friable, slightly sticky, slightly plastic; few fine roots; common fine tubular pores; few faint clay films on faces of peds; very strongly acid; clear wavy boundary.
Bt3--74 to 97 centimeters (about 29 to 38 inches); yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) sandy clay loam; weak medium subangular blocky structure; friable, slightly sticky, slightly plastic; common fine tubular pores; few faint clay films on faces of peds; very strongly acid; gradual wavy boundary. (Combined thickness of the Bt horizon is 40 to 90 centimeters, about 16 to 36 inches.)
BC--97 to 119 centimeters (about 38 to 47 inches); yellowish brown (10YR 5/8) fine sandy loam; weak medium subangular blocky structure; very friable; sand grains coated and bridged with clay; very strongly acid; gradual irregular boundary. (0 to 40 centimeters, about 0 to 16 inches thick)
C--119 to 200 centimeters (about 47 to 78 inches); light yellowish brown (2.5Y 6/4) loamy sand; single grain; loose; few coarse distinct strong brown (7.5YR 5/8) masses of oxidized iron; strong brown material is massive and firm; very strongly acid.
TYPE LOCATION: City of Suffolk, Virginia; 1.3 miles southwest of Chuckatuck Post Office; 0.4 mile west of Oakland Elementary School; 300 feet southwest of VA-601 or 1,200 feet northwest of VA-603.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Depth to the base of the argillic horizon: 75 to 125 centimeters (about 30 to 50 inches)
Depth to Bedrock: Greater than 150 centimeters (about 60 inches)
Depth to Seasonal High Water Table: greater than 183 centimeters (about 72 inches)
Rock Fragment content: 0 to 5 percent, by volume, in the A and B horizons and 0 to 35 percent in the C horizon
(Effective) Cation Exchange Capacity: 0 to 4 milliequivalents per 100 grams of soil in the A horizon; 0 to 3 in B horizons; and 0 to 2 in the C horizon
Exchangeable aluminum content: Less than 6 milliequivalents per 100 grams of soil
Soil Reaction: Extremely acid to moderately acid, except where limed
Shrink-swell potential: Low
Organic matter content: 0.5 to 2.0 percent in the A horizon; 0.0 to 0.5 in the B and C horizons
Silt content (particle-size control section): Less than 30 percent or less than 40 percent silt plus very fine sand
RANGE OF INDIVIDUAL HORIZONS:
A or Ap horizon (where present):
Color--hue of 7.5YR to 2.5Y, value of 3 to 6, chroma of 1 to 4
Texture--loamy sand, loamy fine sand, sandy loam, fine sandy loam, or loam
Clay content: 6 to 18 percent
E horizon (where present):
Color--hue of 7.5YR to 2.5Y, value of 5 to 7, chroma of 3 to 6
Texture--loamy sand, loamy fine sand, sandy loam, fine sandy loam, or loam
Clay content: 4 to 15 percent
BA or BE horizon (where present):
Color--hue of 7.5YR to 2.5Y, value of 5 to 7, chroma of 3 to 6
Texture--sandy loam, fine sandy loam, or loam
Clay content: 12 to 20 percent
Bt horizon:
Color--hue of 7.5YR or 10YR, value of 4 to 6, chroma of 4 to 8. Some pedons have a subhorizon with hue of 5YR or 2.5Y.
Texture--sandy loam, fine sandy loam, sandy clay loam, loam, or clay loam
Clay content: 15 to 35 percent
BC or CB horizon (where present):
Color--hue of 7.5YR or 10YR, value of 4 to 6, chroma of 4 to 8. Some pedons have a subhorizon with hue of 5YR or 2.5Y.
Texture--loamy sand, loamy fine sand, sandy loam, or fine sandy loam
Clay content: 4 to 20 percent
C or 2C horizon:
Color--hue of 7.5YR or 2.5Y, value of 5 to 7, chroma of 3 to 8
Texture (fine-earth fraction)--coarse sand, sand, fine sand, loamy sand, or loamy fine sand. Some pedons have thin strata of sandy loam.
Clay content: 1 to 12 percent
Redoximorphic features--lower part of the C horizon may have high chroma masses of oxidized iron or low chroma clay depletions due to stripping of sand grains
COMPETING SERIES:
Series in same family;
Biffle soils--have a paralithic contact within 40 inches of the surface
Durham soils--have moderately slow or slower permeability in the lower part of the subsoil
Granville soils-- have 6 to 13 milliequivalents of exchangeable aluminum per 100 grams of soil
Series in subactive family;
Emporia soils--have iron depletions with chroma of 2 or less indicative of wetness within the upper 125 centimeters (about 50 inches) of the soil
Kempsville soils--depth to the base of the argillic horizon greater than 125 centimeters (about 50 inches), have a double clay bulge within the Bt horizon, and have redoximorphic features within the series control section below 40 inches
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Landscape: Coastal Plains
Landform: Uplands and stream terraces
Landform Position (three-dimensional): Interfluves, side slopes
Landform Position (two-dimensional): Summit, shoulders, back slopes
Parent Material: Marine deposits and fluvial sediments
Elevation (type location): 8 to 45 meters (about 30 to 150 feet)
Mean Annual Air Temperature: 13.9 to 21 degrees C. (about 57 to 70 degrees F.)
Mean Annual Precipitation: 965 to 1320 millimeters (about 38 to 52 inches)
Frost Free Period: 190 to 245 days
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS:
Alaga soils--have a sandy particle-size control section
Bourne soils--have a fragipan
Eunola soils--not as well drained and commonly on slightly lower landscape positions
Goldsboro soils--not as well drained and commonly on slightly lower landscape positions
Kalmia soils--have a fine-loamy over sandy or sandy-skeletal particle-size control section
Kenansville soils--have a sandy epipedon
Lynchburg soils--are not as well drained; on slightly lower landscape positions
Nansemond soils--have a coarse-loamy particle-size control section and are not as well drained; on slightly lower landscape positions
Norfolk soils--have clay distribution that does not decrease significantly with depth
Pactolus soils--have a sandy particle-size control section
Rumford soils--have a course-loamy particle size control section
Wagram soils--have a sandy epipedon
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY:
Drainage Class (Agricultural): Well drained
Internal Free Water Occurrence: Very deep
Index Surface Runoff: Negligible to high
Permeability: Moderately rapid or rapid in the A horizon; moderate in the B horizon; and rapid in the C horizon
USE AND VEGETATION:
Major Uses: Nearly level and gently sloping soils are mostly cleared and use for cropland, strongly sloping through very steep areas are mostly forested
Dominant Vegetation: Where cultivated--corn, cotton, peanuts, soybeans, tobacco, small grain, and truck crops. Where wooded--pines and mixed hardwoods.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT:
Distribution: Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Alabama, and possibly Florida and Georgia
Extent: Large
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Raleigh, North Carolina
SERIES ESTABLISHED: City of Suffolk, Virginia, 1976.
REMARKS: The Suffolk soils were formerly included in the Sassafras, Norfolk, or Kalmia series. The current series concept limits the base of the argillic horizon to 150 centimeters (about 50 inches) or less with an underlying sandy C horizon.
Diagnostic horizons and soil characteristics recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon--the zone from 0 to 41 centimeters (Ap and BA horizons)
Argillic horizon--the zone from 41 to 119 centimeters (Bt and BC horizons)
ADDITIONAL DATA:
Characterization data are available from NRCS-Soil Survey Laboratory, Lincoln, NE (Lab Pedon Number: 82P0200; User Pedon ID: 81SC051015).