LOCATION UCHEE              AL+FL GA NC SC VA
Established Series
Rev. RBM:PGM
03/97

UCHEE SERIES


The Uchee series consists of very deep, well drained, moderately slowly permeable soils that formed in sandy and loamy marine sediments. They are on smooth ridgetops and dissected side slopes of the Coastal Plain. Slopes range from 0 to 25 percent. Near the type location, the average annual temperature is 65 degrees F. and average annual precipitation is about 54 inches.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy, kaolinitic, thermic Arenic Kanhapludults

TYPICAL PEDON: Uchee loamy sand, on a convex 3 percent slope, in an idle field. (Colors are for moist soil.)

Ap--0 to 6 inches; dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) loamy sand; single grained; very friable; many fine roots; strongly acid; abrupt smooth boundary. (0 to 10 inches thick)

E--6 to 26 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) loamy sand; single grained; very friable; common fine roots; 10 percent gravel less than 1 inch in diameter; very strongly acid; clear smooth boundary. (12 to 30 inches thick)

Bt1--26 to 32 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) sandy loam; common medium faint light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) mottles; weak medium subangular blocky structure; friable; slightly brittle; few fine roots; sand grains bridged and coated with clay; 5 percent gravel less than 1 inch in diameter; very strongly acid; clear smooth boundary.

Bt2--32 to 39 inches; brownish yellow (10YR 6/6) sandy clay loam; common medium distinct strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) and few medium distinct very pale brown (10YR 7/4) mottles; weak medium subangular blocky structure; friable; slightly compact in place; few fine roots; faint clay films on faces of peds; 12 percent gravel less than 2 inches in diameter; very strongly acid; abrupt smooth boundary.

Bt3--39 to 47 inches; brownish yellow (10YR 6/8) clay; common medium prominent red (2.5YR 4/6) and common medium distinct strong brown (7.5YR 5/8) mottles; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; firm; common faint clay films on faces of peds; 8 percent gravel less than 0.5 inch in diameter; few nodules of plinthite; very strongly acid; clear smooth boundary. (Combined thickness of the Bt horizon is 15 to 50 inches.)

C1--47 to 66 inches; mottled strong brown (7.5YR 5/6), red (2.5YR 4/6), and very pale brown (10YR 7/4) sandy clay loam; massive; friable; common coarse streaks and pockets of white (10YR 8/2) clay; massive; very firm; few fine flakes of mica; very strongly acid; abrupt smooth boundary.

2C2--66 to 84 inches; white (10YR 8/1) loamy sand; few fine distinct pink (7.5YR 7/4) mottles; massive; loose; few vertical streaks of yellowish red (5YR 5/8) clay; common fine flakes of mica; very strongly acid.

TYPE LOCATION: Lee County, Alabama; about 2.2 miles south-southeast of Meadows Mill, 600 feet south and 2400 feet west of the northeast corner of sec. 4, T. 17 N., R. 28 E.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Solum thickness ranges from 40 to 60 inches or more. Reaction is very strongly acid or strongly acid throughout except where lime has been added. Content of rock fragments, mostly quartz gravel, ranges from 0 to 35 percent in the A and E horizons and from 0 to 15 percent in the B and C horizons.

The Ap or A horizon has hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 3 to 6 and chroma of 2 to 4. Some pedons have A horizons less than 5 inches thick with hue of 10YR, value of 3 and chroma of 1. Texture is loamy sand, loamy coarse sand, loamy fine sand, sand or the gravelly counterparts of these textures.

The E horizon has hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 4 to 7 and chroma of 3 to 6. Texture is loamy sand, loamy fine sand, loamy coarse sand, sand or the gravelly counterparts of these textures.

A thin EB or BE horizon is present in some pedons. It has hue of 7.5YR or 10YR, value of 4 to 7 and chroma of 4 to 8. Texture is loamy sand or sandy loam.

The upper part of the Bt horizon has hue of 7.5YR or 10YR, value of 5 to 7 and chroma of 4 to 8. Some pedons have hue of 5YR, value of 5 to 7 and chroma 4 to 8. Most pedons have few to common mottles in shades of brown, yellow and red. Texture is sandy loam or sandy clay loam. The lower part of the Bt horizon has the same range in color as the upper part with few to many mottles in shades of brown, yellow, red or gray. In some pedons, the lower part of the Bt horizon has no dominant matrix color and is mottled in shades of brown, red and gray. Texture is sandy clay loam, sandy clay or clay.

The BC or CB horizon, present in some pedons, has the same range in color as the lower part of the Bt horizon. It is sandy clay loam, sandy loam or loamy sand.

The C horizon is mottled in shades of yellow, brown, red or gray. It is sandy loam or sandy clay loam and commonly has streaks or strata of coarser and finer textured material. The 2C horizon, present in most pedons, ranges in color from white to red. It is loamy sand or sandy loam and commonly has streaks or strata of coarser or finer textured material.

COMPETING SERIES: These are the Baymeade, Blaney, Chipola, Chisolm, Coosaw, Garcon, Gomery, Kenansville, Remlik, Tenaha, Tomahawk and Valhalla series in the same family and the Ailey, Fuquay, Lucy and Wagram soils in closely related families. Baymeade soils have organic masses in E/Bh horizons. Blaney, Chipola and Kenansville soils do not have a perched water table within 6 feet of the soil surface. Chisolm soils have an apparent seasonal water table at a depth of 3 to 5 feet of the soil surface. Coosaw and Garcon soils are somewhat poorly drained and have an apparent seasonal water table within 3 feet of the soil surface. Ailey, Fuquay, Lucy, and Wagram soils have a kandic horizon. In addition, Ailey soils have Btx horizons with 10 to 40 percent hard masses in the matrix, Fuquay soils have more than 5 percent plinthite within 60 inches of the surface, and Lucy and Wagram soils do not have a 20 percent decrease in clay content within 60 inches of the surface. Gomery and Tenaha soils are underlain by soft sandstone bedrock. Remlik soils have common lamellae in the C horizon. Tomahawk soils are somewhat poorly drained and have a Bh horizon. Valhalla soils have buried E and Bt horizons with sand or fine sand texture.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Uchee soils are on nearly level to moderately steep ridgetops and side slopes on uplands of the Coastal Plain. Slopes range from 0 to 25 percent. These soils formed in sandy and loamy marine sediments. The climate is warm and humid. Average annual precipitation ranges from 48 to 56 inches and average annual temperature ranges from 63 to 67 degrees F.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: In addition to the competing Fuquay, Lucy and Wagram soils; these include the Blanton, Cowarts, Marlboro, Marvyn, Orangeburg and Troup series. Blanton and Troup soils have a sandy epipedon more than 40 inches thick. Cowarts, Marlboro, Marvyn, and Orangeburg soils do not have a thick sandy epipedon.

DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained. Slow runoff. Permeability is rapid in the A and E horizons, moderate in the upper part of the subsoil and moderately slow in the lower part of the subsoil. A seasonally high perched water table is at a depth of 3.5 to 5 feet during wet seasons, mainly January to April.

USE AND VEGETATION: Much of the acreage is cleared and is used for cultivated crops, mainly cotton and corn and for pasture. Common trees growing in wooded areas are longleaf pine, loblolly pine, shortleaf pine, southern red oak, bluejack oak and hickory.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Coastal Plain of Alabama, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia. It is moderately extensive.

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

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Lee County, Alabama; 1978.

REMARKS: The Uchee series was formerly mapped in the Wagram series. Laboratory data is available for the typical pedon, Sample Number S74AL-81-5-1(1-7).

Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are: Ochric epipedon - the zone from the surface of the soil to a depth of 26 inches (A and E horizons)
Argillic horizon - the zone from approximately 26 to 47 inches (Bt horizons)
Arenic feature - layer from the surface to a depth of 26 inches that has a sandy particle-size class (A and E horizons)

SIR- AL0097


National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.