LOCATION WICKSBURG AL+FL GA SCEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Clayey, kaolinitic, thermic Arenic Paleudults
TYPICAL PEDON: Wicksburg loamy sand--cultivated. (Colors are for moist soil.)
Ap--0 to 9 inches; dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) loamy sand; weak fine granular structure; very friable; moderately acid; clear smooth boundary. (7 to 12 inches thick)
E--9 to 26 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) loamy sand; weak fine granular structure; very friable; many worm and root channels filled with material similar to that of the Ap horizon; strongly acid; abrupt wavy boundary. (10 to 30 inches thick)
Bt1--26 to 30 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) sandy clay loam; few medium faint very pale brown (10YR 7/4) mottles; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; firm; few faint clay films on faces of peds; strongly acid; clear wavy boundary. (0 to 10 inches thick)
Bt2--30 to 65 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/8) clay; many medium prominent red (2.5YR 4/8), white (10YR 8/1), and strong brown (7.5YR 5/8) mottles; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; very firm; common faint clay films on faces of peds; strongly acid.
TYPE LOCATION: Houston County, Alabama, 1 mile north of Bazemores Lake and 25 yards east of Pansey-Grangeburg Road in the NW1/4,NE1/4,SW1/4,NW1/4 of Sec. 24, T. 1 N., R. 28 E.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Solum thickness exceeds 60 inches. Reaction is very strongly acid or strongly acid throughout except where lime has been added.
The A or Ap horizon has hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 3 to 6, and chroma of 1 to 3. Thickness of A horizons with value of 3 is less than 10 inches. Texture is loamy fine sand, loamy sand, fine sand, sand, or gravelly coarse sand.
The E horizon has hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 5 to 7, and chroma of 3 to 6. It is loamy fine sand, loamy sand, fine sand, or sand.
The upper part of the Bt horizon has hue of 7.5YR or 10YR, value of 5 or 6, and chroma of 4 to 8. It is sandy clay loam, clay loam, or sandy clay. Mottles in shades of red and brown range from none to common. The lower part of the Bt horizon has hue of 5YR to 10YR, value of 5 to 7, and chroma of 6 or 8; or it has no dominant matrix color and is mottled in shades of yellow, brown, red, and gray. Mottles in shades of red, brown, gray, and yellow range from few to many. It is clay loam, sandy clay, or clay.
COMPETING SERIES: There are no other known series in the same family. Competing series in related families are the Bonneau, Fuquay, Lucy, Rosalie, Trep, Uchee, and Wagram series. All these soils have less than 35 percent clay in the Bt horizons.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Wicksburg soils are on side slopes and ridgetops on uplands of the Coastal Plain. Slopes range from 0 to 12 percent. They formed in thick beds of stratified sandy and clayey marine sediments. The climate is warm and humid. The average annual air temperature ranges from 63 to 68 degrees F., and the average annual precipitation ranges from 48 to 60 inches.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Esto, Plummer, and Troup series. Esto soils are generally on lower slopes and do not have a thick sandy epipedon. The poorly drained Plummer soils are on less dissected positions and have a sandy epipedon more than 40 inches thick. Troup soils are on similar positions as the Wicksburg soils and have a sandy epipedon more than 40 inches thick.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; slow runoff; rapid permeability in the A horizons and slow in the Bt horizons.
USE AND VEGETATION: Used mostly for growing corn, peanuts, and pasture grasses. Some areas are in truck crops and small grains. Common trees in wooded areas include longleaf pine, loblolly pine, Southern red oak, bluejack oak, turkey oak, and willow oak.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Coastal Plain of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Auburn, Alabama
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Houston County, Alabama; 1965.
REMARKS: The low chroma mottles in the argillic horizon are interpreted as being inherited from the parent material and are not thought to be indicative of wetness.
Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon and arenic feature - the zone from the surface of the soil to a depth of 26 inches (Ap and E horizons)
Argillic horizon - the zone from 26 to 65 inches (Bt1 and Bt2 horizons)
SIR = AL0028