LOCATION MALBIS AL+FL LA MS TX VAEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, siliceous, subactive, thermic Plinthic Paleudults
TYPICAL PEDON: Malbis fine sandy loam on a smooth 0.5 percent
slope, in field.
(Colors are for moist soil.)
Ap--0 to 7 inches; dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) fine sandy loam; weak medium granular structure; friable; many roots; medium acid; abrupt smooth boundary. (4 to 8 inches thick)
Bt--7 to 26 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) loam; weak
medium subangular blocky structure; friable; many roots; few
nodules of plinthite in lower part; 3 percent fine iron
concretions; common very thin patchy clay films on faces of peds; strongly acid; gradual wavy boundary. (8 to 32 inches thick)
Btv1--26 to 54 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) sandy clay loam; common medium faint strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) and few medium faint light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) mottles; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; friable, firm in areas around
plinthite; common roots in friable areas; 5 percent nodules of plinthite less than 1 1/2 inch in diameter; 4 percent iron concretions; common very thin patchy clay films on most faces of peds; strongly acid; gradual wavy boundary. (10 to 36 inches
thick)
Btv2--54 to 71 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/8) sandy clay loam; few medium prominent light gray (2.5Y 7/2), common medium distinct red (2.5YR 4/8), and strong brown (7.5YR 5/8) mottles;
weak medium subangular blocky structure; firm; few roots in
friable gray streaks that extend vertically through horizon;
common medium pores; 12 percent nodules of plinthite; 2 percent
iron concretions; many patchy clay films on faces of peds and in
some pores; very strongly acid.
TYPE LOCATION: Baldwin County, Alabama; 1 1/2 miles northeast of Fairhope; 176 yards south and 50 yards east of NW corner of NE1/4 sec. 9, T. 6 S., R. 2 E.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Solum thickness is greater than 60
inches. Depth to a horizon with 5 percent or more plinthite typically is 28 to 33 inches but ranges from 24 to 56 inches.
Depth to a horizon dominated by firm consistence is greater than
50 inches. Calcium content at a depth of 50 inches typically is
0.4 to 1.0 milliequivalents per 100 grams but ranges from less
than 0.1 to 2 milliequivalents per 100 grams.
The A horizon has hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 3 to 5, and
chroma of 2 or 3. Some pedons have a yellowish brown or light yellowish brown E horizon ranging to as much as 11 inches thick. Texture of the A and E horizons is sandy loam, fine sandy loam,
or loam and is very strongly acid to medium acid.
The BA or BE horizon, where present, and the Bt horizons have hue
of 7.5YR or 10YR, value of 4 or 5, and chroma of 4 to 8. Texture
is loam, sandy clay loam, or clay loam.
The Btv horizon has colors similar to the Bt horizon but includes
hue of 10YR, value of 6, and chroma of 6 or 8 mottled in various shades of brown, yellow, or red. Chroma 2 mottles commonly are
at depths of below 30 inches. Texture is loam, sandy clay loam,
or clay loam. The upper 20 inches of the Bt horizon range from
18 to 33 percent clay, 20 to 45 percent silt, and 33 to 58
percent sand. Nodules of plinthite, by volume, ranges from 5 to
25 percent in the lower part of the Btv horizon. The B horizon
is strongly acid or very strongly acid.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the
Baxterville,
Bowie,
Dothan,
Notcher,
Pinetucky, and
Tifton series. Baxterville soils have a
Bt horizon of red, dark red, or yellowish red. Bowie soils have greater than 2 milliequivalents calcium at 50 inches below the
top of the argillic horizon and are dry in some part of the
control section for more than 75 days in most years. Dothan and Notcher soils contain less than 20 percent silt in the control section. Pinetucky soils do not have a perched water table.
Tifton soils contain more than 5 percent hard iron oxide
concretion in the upper Bt horizon.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Malbis soils are on nearly level to
moderately sloping uplands of the Coastal Plains. The soils
formed in thick beds of unconsolidated loams and sandy clays.
Slope gradients range from 0 to 8 percent. Climate is humid.
Near the type location the mean annual air temperature is about
67 degrees F., and the mean annual precipitation is about 65
inches.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: In addition to the competing
Notcher and
Tifton series, these are
Ardilla,
Atmore,
Bama,
Basin,
Bayou,
Beauregard,
Escambia,
Grady,
Lucedale,
Poarch,
Ruston,
Saucier, and
Varina series. Ardilla, Beauregard,
Escambia, and Saucier soils are on slightly lower landforms and
have mottles with chroma of 2 or less within 30 inches of the surface. Atmore, Basin, Bayou, and Grady soils are on
significantly lower dominantly depressional landforms and have a matrix with chroma of 2 or less. Bama, Lucedale, and Ruston
soils are on slightly higher or more sloping convex landforms,
are better drained, and do not have 5 percent or more plinthite. Poarch and Varina soils and the competing Notcher and Tifton
soils are on similar landforms. Poarch soils have less than 18 percent clay in the control section. Varina soils have more than
35 percent clay in the control section.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained or moderately well
drained. Runoff is slow or moderate. Permeability is moderately slow in the Btv2 horizon and moderate in the upper Bt horizons. Horizons with plinthite perch water at depths of 30 to 50 inches
each year during late fall and winter.
USE AND VEGETATION: Principally for cultivation to corn, cotton, potatoes, peanuts, and soybeans. Forests consist of loblolly
pine, slash pine, shortleaf pine, longleaf pine, sweetgum, and
red oak. Pasture is mainly bermudagrass, bahiagrass, and small grains.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Southern Coastal Plain of Alabama,
Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas. The series is of
large extent.
MLRA OFFICE RESPONSIBLE: Auburn, Alabama
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Gulf Coastal Substation, Baldwin County, Alabama; 1970.
ADDITIONAL DATA: Data from the typical pedon and 10 additional pedons are available.