LOCATION ARUNDEL MS+AL GA TNEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine, smectitic, thermic Typic Hapludults
TYPICAL PEDON: Arundel loam in a sloping woodland area. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)
A--0 to 6 inches; very dark gray (10YR 3/1) loam; weak fine and medium granular structure; friable; many fine roots; common small fragments of sandstone that make up about 3 percent of the volume; very strongly acid; clear smooth boundary. (3 to 8 inches thick)
Bt1--6 to 26 inches; dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) clay; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; firm; common fine and medium roots; nearly continuous clay films or stress surfaces on faces of peds; common fragments and small sandstones ranging from 0.8 to 2.5 cm in diameter make up about 10 percent of the volume; very strongly acid; gradual wavy boundary.
Bt2--26 to 38 inches; dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) clay; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; firm; common fine and medium roots; nearly continuous clay films or stress surfaces on faces of peds; common sandstones ranging from 1.5 to 15 cm in diameter make up about 15 percent of the volume; very strongly acid; clear irregular boundary. (Combined thickness of Bt subhorizons is 17 to 34 inches.)
Cr--38 to 45 inches; stratified sandstone, siltstone, and buhrstone fragments have pale brown (10YR 6/3) interior; dark brown (7.5YR 4/2) silt coatings between the fractures; yellowish brown stains throughout rock structure; rock layers can be cut with a spade.
TYPE LOCATION: Lauderdale County, Mississippi; 1 mile west of Meehan, Mississippi, on U.S. Highway 80; 20 feet south into woods. Southeast 1/4 southeast 1/4, sec. 29. T. 6 N., R. 14 E.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Solum thickness and depth to bedrock ranges from 20 to 40 inches. Reaction of the soil ranges from extremely acid to strongly acid.
The A horizon has hue of 10YR, value of 3 to 6, and chroma of 1 to 3. It is silt loam, loam, sandy loam, fine sandy loam, loamy sand, or loamy fine sand. Fragments of siltstone or sandstone ranging from 0.2 cm to as much as 20 cm across make up from 0 to 20 percent of the volume.
Some pedons have an E horizon that is 3 to 9 inches in thickness; it has hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 3 to 5, and chroma of 4 to 6. It is loamy sand or sand.
The Bt horizon has hue of 2.5YR, 5YR, 7.5YR, 10YR, or 5Y; value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 3 to 6 with none to common mottles in shades of brown or red. Some pedons have lower B horizons mottled in shades of red, brown, gray, or olive. It is silty clay loam, clay loam, silty clay, or clay. Clay content of the upper 20 inches of the Bt horizon ranges from 35 to 78 percent. Fragments of siltstone or sandstone ranging from 0.2 cm to more than 2.5 cm across make up from 0 to more than 20 percent of the volume with the amount increasing with depth. Some pedons have BC and/or C horizons 5 to 10 inches thick with similar hue, value, chroma, and texture as the Bt horizon. Mica flakes range from none to many.
The Cr horizon either is alternating layers of sandstone, siltstone, or buhrstone, or it is thick beds of any one of the above; in fresh exposures, it can be cut with a space.
COMPETING SERIES: There are no other series in the same family. Soil series that are in similar families include Albertville, Carnasaw, Enders, Kirvin, Luverne, McQueen, Sweatman, Townley, Vance, and Williamsville series all of which have mixed mineralogy. Albertville, Enders, and Townley soils are underlain by horizontally bedded shale. Carnasaw soils are underlain by tilted sandstone and shale. Kirvin soils have a stratified sandy loam and sandstone C horizon. Luverne and Sweatman soils have a stratified shale and fine sandy loam C horizon. McQueen soils have a loamy C horizon. Vance soils have weathered granite within 45 inches of the surface.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Arundel soils are on ridgetops and hillsides in dissected uplands of the Coastal Plain. Slope gradients range from 2 to 35 percent. The soil formed in marine deposits of acid clays overlying horizontally bedded sandstone, buhrstone, and siltstone of the Tallahatta formation. The climate is warm and humid. Near the type location the mean annual temperature is 64 degrees F, and the mean annual precipitation is 52 inches.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are Beatrice, Boswell, Cantuche, Lauderdale, Ruston, Smithdale, and Susquehanna series and the competing Sweatman and Williamsville series. None of the associated soils except Cantuche and Lauderdale soils are underlain by horizontally bedded sandstone, buhrstone, and siltstone. Beatrice, Boswell, Ruston, Smithdale, and Susquehanna soils have a thicker Bt horizon. Cantuche soils do not have a B2t horizon. Lauderdale soils have a thinner Bt horizon with 20 to 35 percent clay. Beatrice, Boswell, Cantuche, Lauderdale, Susquehanna, Sweatman, and Williamsville soils are on similar positions in the landscape. Ruston and Smithdale soils, which formed in thick loamy and sandy marine sediments, commonly are in higher positions on ridges and side slopes.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; medium to rapid runoff; very slow permeability.
USE AND VEGETATION: Most areas of this soil are used for pine forest, hayland, or pasture land.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Southern Coastal Plain of Alabama and Mississippi. The series is of moderate extent.
MLRA OFFICE RESPONSIBLE: Auburn, Alabama
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Neshoba County, Mississippi, 1979.
ADDITIONAL DATA: Characterization data were determined by the National Soil Survey Laboratory for 4 pedons from Alabama. Three pedons from Mississippi were sampled for chemical and physical data by Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station.