LOCATION BENNDALE MS+AL FLEstablished Series
TYPICAL PEDON: Benndale fine sandy loam--pine forest.
(Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)
A--0 to 2 inches; dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) fine sandy loam, weak fine granular structure; friable; many fine roots; strongly acid; abrupt smooth boundary. (2 to 6 inches thick)
E/B--2 to 5 inches; mixed dark grayish brown (10YR '/2) and yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) fine sandy loam; weak fine granular and weak medium subangular blocky structure; friable; many fine roots; very strongly acid; clear smooth boundary. (0 to 10 inches thick)
Btl--5 to 11 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) loam with some mixing of dark grayish brown by worm action and in root channels; weak medium subangular blocky structure; friable; few fine and medium roots; sand grains coated and bridged with clay; very strongly acid; clear smooth boundary.
Bt2--11 to 25 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) loam; weak and moderate medium subangular blocky structure; friable; few fine roots; sand grains coated and bridged with clay; very strongly acid; gradual wavy boundary.
Bt3--25 to 33 inches; brownish yellow (10YR 6/6) loam, few medium faint strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) mottles; weak and moderate medium subangular blocky structure; friable; few fine pores; few pockets of uncoated sand grains; sand grains coated and bridged with clay and few patchy clay films; very strongly acid; clear wavy boundary.
Bt4--33 to 48 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) fine sandy loam, many medium faint strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) and common medium distinct yellowish red (5YR 4/6) mottles; weak and moderate medium subangular blocky structure; friable; sand grains coated and bridged with clay; some pockets of uncoated sand grains; few nodules of plinthite; very strongly acid; gradual irregular boundary.
Bt5--48 to 68 inches; brownish yellow (10YR 6/6) fine sandy loam, many medium distinct gray (10YR 6/1) and yellowish red (5YR 4/6) and few fine prominent red (2.5YR 5/8) mottles; weak coarse angular blocky structure; friable; sand grains coated and bridged with clay; some pockets of uncoated sand grains; few nodules of plinthite; thin patchy clay films on faces of peds; very strongly acid; gradual wavy boundary. (Combined thickness of the Bt subhorizons commonly is about 60 inches or more.)
BC--68 to 73 inches; mottled red (10R 4/8), yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) and gray (10YR 6/1) sandy loam; weak coarse angular blocky structure; friable; sand grains coated and bridged with clay; thin patchy clay films on faces of some peds; few nodules of plinthite; very strongly acid.
TYPE LOCATION: George County, Mississippi. Six miles north of Crossroads Methodist Church on Merrill Road, 100 feet east of road, 10 feet west of gate on woods road. Gate and fence are on section line between sections 29 and 40, T. 1 S., R. 7 W.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Solum thickness exceeds 60 inches. The soil is extremely acid to strongly acid, except the surface layers that have been limed.
The A horizon has hue of 10YR, with value of 3 or 4, and chroma of 1 to 3 or hue of 2.5Y, value of 3 or 4, and chroma of 2, or neutral, with value of 3 or 4 and chroma of 0. The Ap horizon has hue of 10YR to 2.5Y, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 2 to 4. The A or Ap horizon is fine sandy loam, sandy loam, loam, or loamy sand.
The E/B horizon, where present, has hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 4 to 6 and chroma of 2 or 4. It is fine sandy loam, sandy loam, loam or loamy sand. (Some pedons have an E horizon with a similar range in color and texture.)
The upper part of the Bt horizon has hue of 7.5YR to 2.5Y, value of 5 or 6, and chroma of 4 to 8. The lower part of the Bt horizon has similar colors but has few to many mottles in shades of red, brown, and gray; some pedons do not have a dominant matrix color but are mottled in these colors. The Bt horizon is loam, sandy loam, fine sandy loam, or sandy clay loam. The particle-size control section, the upper 20 inches of the Bt horizon, is 8 to 18 percent clay, and the silt content is more than 20 percent.
The BC horizon is either mottled in shades of red, gray, and brown or has a matrix color in hue of 5YR or 2.5YR, value of 4 or 5, and chroma of 4 to 6. It is loam, sandy loam, or loamy sand. Some pedons have a bisequum. In the lower part of the solum, nodules of plinthite, if present, are few to 5 percent of the mass. In some pedons a few brown and black concretions are in the lower part of the solum; also, in some pedons gravel makes up as much as 10 percent of the volume.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Butters, Heidel, McLaurin, and Niwana series in the same family and the closely related Baxterville, Bowie, Cahaba, Latonia, Malbis, Norfolk, Poarch, and Wagram series. Butters soils do not have as much as 20 percent silt in the top 20 inches of the Bt horizon. Heidel and McLaurin soils have a Bt horizon with hue of 5YR or redder. Niwana soils have tongues of albic material in the argillic horizon and an ochric epipedon in which the combined thickness of the A and E horizons is more than 20 inches. Baxterville and Bowie soils have a Bt horizon with more than 18 percent clay and more than 5 percent plinthite in some part. Cahaba soils have a thinner solum and more than 18 percent clay in the upper part of the Bt horizon. Latonia soils have a solum less than 45 inches thick. Malbis soils are in a fine-loamy family and have 5 percent or more plinthite in the lower part of the Bt horizon. Norfolk soils, which are similar in color to Benndale soils, are in a fine-loamy family and have less than 20 percent silt in the upper part of the Bt horizon. Poarch soils have more than 5 percent plinthite between a depth of 24 and 58 inches of the surface. Wagram soils have an arenic surface.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Benndale soils are on uplands and stream terraces of the Coastal Plain and Eastern Gulf Coast Flatwoods and Southern Coastal Plain Major Land Resource Areas. Slopes range from 0 to 12 percent. The soil formed in marine or stream deposits, consisting of thick beds of sandy loams. The climate is warm and humid. Mean annual rainfall is 62 inches, and the mean annual temperature is 66 degrees Fahrenheit near the type location.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: In addition to the competing Malbis, McLaurin and Wagram series, these include the Alaga, Atmore, Basin, Ora, Ruston, Saucier, and Savannah series. Well drained or moderately well drained Malbis soils and well drained McLaurin and Wagram soils are either on positions similar to or slightly higher than the Benndale soils. Well to somewhat excessively drained Alaga soils, which commonly are in slightly higher positions, are sandy throughout. Both the poorly drained Atmore and somewhat poorly drained Basin soils, which are in depressions and broad flats, have more than 5 percent plinthite. Moderately well drained Ora and Savannah soils, which are on ridgetops and terraces, have a fragipan. Well drained Ruston soils, which are in similar positions, have a more clayey Bt horizon. Moderately well drained Saucier soils, which are on similar positions, have a more clayey Bt horizon and more than 5 percent plinthite.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; slow runoff; moderate permeability.
USE AND VEGETATION: Most of these soils are in forests of loblolly, longleaf, shortleaf, and slash pines. The understory is gallberry, flowering dogwood, wax myrtle, and grasses. Cleared areas are used for pasture, hay, corn, and soybeans.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi. The series is of moderate extent.
MLRA OFFICE RESPONSIBLE: Auburn, Alabama
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Escambia County, Alabama; 1969.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon - the zone from the surface to a depth of about 5 inches (A, E/B horizons).
Argillic horizon - the zone from approximately 5 to 68 inches (Bt1, Bt2, Bt3, Bt4, and Bt5 horizons).
ADDITIONAL DATA: Laboratory data: Chemical analyses and particle size distribution for one pedon--8156 (7-12)--from Stone County, Mississippi. Data from Mississippi State University Soil Genesis Laboratory.