LOCATION TOXEY AL+MS

Established Series
SP:PGM
11/2018

TOXEY SERIES

The Toxey series consists of very deep, moderately well drained, very slowly permeable soils on upland ridges and benches. They formed in thin layers of acid clay underlain by stratified, alkaline, loamy and clayey sediments, and chalk or marl. The average annual air temperature is about 64 degrees F. and the average annual precipitation is about 58 inches. Slopes range from 1 to 15 percent.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine, smectitic, thermic Vertic Eutrudepts

TYPICAL PEDON: Toxey clay on a convex, 4 percent slope in a loblolly pine plantation, 290 feet elevation. (Colors are for moist soil.)

Ap--0 to 3 inches; very dark gray (10YR 3/1) clay; weak coarse subangular blocky structure; firm; common very fine and few fine roots; common spots of olive brown (2.5Y 4/4) clay; common fine fragments and stains of charcoal; very strongly acid; abrupt wavy boundary. (1 to 4 inches thick)

Bw1--3 to 7 inches; olive brown (2.5Y 4/4) clay; strong medium subangular blocky structure; firm; common fine, medium, and coarse roots; common fine fragments and stains of charcoal; common fine distinct yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) masses of iron accumulation on faces of peds; strongly acid; clear wavy boundary.

Bw2--7 to 15 inches; pale olive (5Y 6/3) clay; weak coarse prisms parting to strong fine and medium subangular blocky structure; firm; common coarse, medium, and fine roots; many pressure faces; common medium distinct yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) and few fine distinct dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/6) masses of iron accumulation on faces of peds; strongly acid; clear wavy boundary. (Combined thickness of the Bw horizon is 9 to 30 inches.)

BC--15 to 24 inches; pale olive (5Y 6/3) and light yellowish brown (2.5Y 6/3) silty clay; relic conchoidal rock structure; firm; few fine and very fine roots; common fine soft black masses and stains (Fe & Mn oxides); common soft masses of calcium carbonate; many coarse distinct dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) and few fine and medium distinct yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) masses of iron accumulation on fracture planes; slightly acid; clear irregular boundary. (0 to 20 inches thick.)

2C1--24 to 44 inches; pale yellow (5Y 7/3) silty clay; weak thick platy rock structure parting to strong coarse and medium angular blocky; vertical and horizontal fracture planes are 1 to 2 inches apart; very firm; few thin strata of brownish yellow (10YR 6/6) silty clay; common fine soft black masses and stains (Fe & Mn oxides); common fine white fragments of shell; common soft masses of calcium carbonate; common medium distinct dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/6), strong brown (7.5YR 4/6), and dark brown (7.5YR 3/4) masses of iron accumulation on fracture planes; strongly effervescent; slightly alkaline; clear irregular boundary.

2C2--44 to 53 inches; brownish yellow (10YR 6/6) silty clay loam; massive; many dark sand grains; few fine and medium nodules of calcium carbonate; few fine soft masses of calcium carbonate; violently effervescent; slightly alkaline; clear irregular boundary.

2C3--53 to 63 inches; pale olive (5Y 6/3) clay loam; massive; many dark sand grains; common fine nodules of calcium carbonate; violently effervescent; slightly alkaline; clear wavy boundary.

2C4--63 to 80 inches; strong brown (7.5YR 4/6) clay loam; massive; many dark sand grains; few fine nodules of calcium carbonate; strongly effervescent; slightly alkaline.

TYPE LOCATION: Choctaw County, Alabama; about 4 miles south of Melvin; 1900 feet south and 2000 feet east of the northwest corner of section 2, T.10N., R.5W.; Isney Quadrangle; lat. 31 degrees 52 minutes 6 seconds N. and long. 88 degrees 27 minutes 27 seconds W.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Depth to horizons with an alkaline reaction ranges from 10 to 35 inches. Solum thickness ranges from 10 to 50 inches.

The A or Ap horizon has hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 2 to 4, and chroma of 1 to 3. Texture is silty clay or clay. Reaction is very strongly acid or strongly acid.

The upper part of the Bw horizon has hue of 7.5YR, 10YR, or 2.5Y, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 3 to 6. Redox depletions and redox accumulations range from none to common. The lower part has hue of 10YR, 2.5Y, or 5Y, value of 5 to 7, and chroma of 3 to 6. Redox depletions and redox accumulations range from few to many. Texture of the Bw horizon is silty clay or clay. Reaction ranges from very strongly acid to moderately acid.

The BC horizon, present in most pedons, has the same range in color as the lower part of the Bw horizon. Texture is silty clay loam, clay loam, silty clay, or clay. Reaction ranges from slightly acid to moderately alkaline. Soft masses and/or nodules of calcium carbonate range from none to common.

The 2C horizon is commonly stratified. It commonly has hue of 10YR, 2.5Y, or 5Y, and less commonly has hue of 7.5YR; value of 4 to 7, and chroma of 3 to 6; or it has no dominant matrix color and is multicolored in shades of olive, brown, and gray. It is massive or has platy or blocky rock structure. Texture is sandy clay loam, silty clay loam, clay loam, silty clay, or clay. It commonly contains few to many angular, soft shale-like fragments. Reaction is slightly alkaline or moderately alkaline. Soft masses and/or nodules of calcium carbonate range from few to many. Soft black masses or stains (Fe & Mn oxides) range from none to common. Some pedons have strata of chalk or marl below a depth of 60 inches.

COMPETING SERIES: There are currently no series in the same family.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Toxey soils are on ridgetops and benches on uplands of the Southern Coastal Plain associated with the Jackson Prairie. Slopes range from 1 to 15 percent. They formed in thin layers of acid clay and stratified loamy and clayey alkaline sediments and chalk of the middle Tertiary period. The climate is warm and humid. The average annual temperature ranges from 60 to 65 degrees F. and the average annual precipitation ranges from 50 to 67 inches.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Brantley, Hannon, and Okeelala soils. Brantley and Hannon soils are on similar positons as Toxey soils. Brantley soils have a clayey argillic horizon and are acid throughout. Hannon soils have hue of 7.5YR or redder in the upper part of the solum. Okeelala soils are on lower positions than Toxey soils and are fine-loamy.

DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Moderately well drained; medium to rapid runoff; very slow permeability.

USE AND VEGETATION: Principal use is woodland and wildlife habitat. Common trees in wooded areas include loblolly pine, shortleaf pine, southern red oak, post oak, sweetgum, and hickory.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Southwest Alabama and southeast Mississippi. It is of small extent.

MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Auburn, Alabama

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Choctaw County, Alabama, 1998. The series name is derived from a small community in Choctaw County, Alabama.

REMARKS: This soil has been included in mapping with the Sumter series. It differs from the Sumter series by being acid in the upper part of the solum and having smectitic mineralogy.

Diagnostic horizons and significant features recognized in this pedon are:

Ochric epipedon......0 to 3 inches (Ap horizon)

Cambic horizon.......3 to 15 inches (Bw horizons)

Vertic features......a linear extensibility of 6 cm or more between the surface and 100 cm.

MLRA(s): 133A, 135

National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.