LOCATION WITHERBEE SCEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Sandy, siliceous, thermic Aeric Alaquods
TYPICAL PEDON: Witherbee fine sand--forested. (Colors are for moist soil.)
A--0 to 7 inches; dark gray (10YR 4/1) fine sand; weak fine granular structure; very friable; many fine roots; very strongly acid; clear smooth boundary. (3 to 12 inches thick)
E1--7 to 12 inches; light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) fine sand; weak fine granular structure; very friable; many fine roots; strongly acid; clear wavy boundary. (3 to 8 inches thick)
E2--12 to 25 inches; light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) fine sand; few medium prominent yellowish red (5YR 5/8) and common coarse distinct light gray (10YR 7/2) mottles; weak fine granular structure; very friable; few fine roots; strongly acid; gradual irregular boundary. (0 to 18 inches thick)
E/B--25 to 28 inches; mottled light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4), dark brown (10YR 4/3), and yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) fine sand; weak fine granular structure; very friable; few fine root channels filled with light gray (10YR 7/1) sand; moderately acid; gradual wavy boundary. (0 to 5 inches thick)
Bh1--28 to 40 inches; dark reddish brown (5YR 2/2) fine sand; common coarse distinct black (10YR 2/1) mottles; weak fine granular structure; very friable; moderately acid; diffuse wavy boundary.
Bh2--40 to 50 inches; black (10YR 2/1) fine sand; many coarse distinct dark reddish brown (5YR 2/2) mottles; single grained; loose; moderately acid; diffuse wavy boundary.
Bh3--50 to 92 inches; dark reddish brown (5YR 2/2) fine sand; many coarse distinct black (10YR 2/1) and dark brown (10YR 3/3) mottles; single grained; loose; moderately acid; diffuse wavy boundary.
Bh4--92 to 108 inches; dark brown (10YR 3/3) fine sand; single grained; loose; slightly acid. (Combined thickness of the Bh horizon is 6 to more than 50 inches)
TYPE LOCATION: Berkeley County, South Carolina; 2300 feet southwest of intersection of Harleston Dam Road and S-08-133 on Harleston Dam Road, 60 feet west of road.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: The soil is fine sand, sand, or loamy fine sand to a depth of more than 80 inches. Depth to the Bh horizon ranges from 15 to 30 inches. The A and E horizons are extremely acid to moderately acid and the Bh horizon is very strongly acid to slightly acid.
The A or Ap horizon has hue of 10YR to 5Y or neutral, value of 2 to 4, and chroma of 0 to 4. A or Ap horizons with value of less than 3.5 are less than 6 inches thick.
The E horizon has hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 4 to 7, and chroma of 2 to 6, commonly with mottles in shades of brown, yellow, or gray. It has chroma of 3 or more in some part of all pedons.
The Bh horizon has hue of 5YR to 10YR, or neutral, value of 2 to 4, and chroma of 0 to 4. The Bh horizon does not turn redder on ignition. The matrix of the upper 12 inches of the Bh horizon has less than .06 percent organic carbon.
The C horizon, where present, is more than 30 inches below the surface. It has hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 3 to 7, and chroma of 1 to 4.
COMPETING SERIES: Talquin is the only other known series in this family. Talquin soils have chroma less than 3 in all parts of the E horizon. Echaw, Kureb, Leon, Lynn Haven, Ridgeland, Rimini, and Seewee series are similar soils in other families. Echaw and Rimini soils have A and E horizons more than 30 inches thick. Kureb soils do not have a continuous Bh horizon. Leon soils are poorly drained and have .06 percent or more organic carbon in the matrix of the upper 12 inches of the spodic horizon. Lynn Haven soils have an umbric epipedon. Ridgeland and Seewee soils have mixed mineralogy, and in addition Ridgeland soils do not have an E horizon above the spodic horizon.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Witherbee soils are on level or nearly level broad interstream divides and flats in the Lower Coastal Plain. Slopes are less than 2 percent. The soils formed in sandy marine sediments. The mean annual precipitation ranges from 48 to 52 inches and mean annual temperature ranges from 65 to 70 degrees F. The frost-free season ranges from 240 to 280 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the competing Echaw series plus the Cainhoy, Chipley, Ocilla, Olustee, Osier, Pickney, Rains, and Rutlege series. Cainhoy soils are better drained and do not have a Bh horizon within 80 inches of the surface. Chipley, Ocilla, Osier, Pickney, Rains, and Rutlege soils do not have a spodic horizon. Olustee soils have a Bt horizon beneath the spodic horizon.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Somewhat poorly drained; slow runoff; rapid permeability.
USE AND VEGETATION: Most of the areas are in native vegetation consisting of longleaf and loblolly pine, water oak, and post oak. Cleared and drained areas are used principally for growing corn, soybeans, small grain, hay, and pasture grasses.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Lower Coastal Plain of South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. The series is of moderate extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Raleigh, North Carolina
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Berkeley County, South Carolina; 1974.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in tis pedon are:
Ochric epipedon - the zone from the surface of the soil to a depth of 28 inches (A, E1, E2 and E/B horizons).
Eluvial horizon - the zone from 7 to 28 inches (E1, E2 and E/B horizons).
Spodic horizon - the zone from 28 to 108 inches (Bh1, Bh2, Bh3 and Bh4 horizons).
ADDITIONAL DATA: Content of iron and carbon of the Bh horizon and petrographic analysis data is on file for this pedon.
TABULAR SERIES DATA:
SOI-5 Soil Name Slope Airtemp FrFr/Seas Precip Elevation SC0025 WITHERBEE 0- 2 65- 70 240-280 48- 52 5- 125SOI-5 FloodL FloodH Watertable Kind Months Bedrock Hardness SC0025 NONE 1.0-2.0 APPARENT NOV-APR 60-60
SOI-5 Depth Texture 3-Inch No-10 Clay% -CEC- SC0025 0-25 FS S LFS 0- 0 100-100 1- 5 1- 2 SC0025 25-99 FS S LFS 0- 0 100-100 1- 8 1- 3
SOI-5 Depth -pH- O.M. Salin Permeab Shnk-Swll SC0025 0-25 3.6- 6.0 .5-2. 0- 0 20- 20 LOW SC0025 25-99 4.5- 6.5 .5-2. 0- 0 6.0- 20 LOW