LOCATION BOSWELL MS+AL AR FL GA LA TNEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine, mixed, active, thermic Vertic Paleudalfs
TYPICAL PEDON: Boswell fine sandy loam--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; very friable; many medium and fine roots; strongly acid; abrupt wavy boundary. (1 to 5 inches thick; Ap is 4 to 8 inches thick)
E--2 to 5 inches, yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) fine sandy loam; weak fine granular structure; very friable; many medium and fine roots; strongly acid; abrupt wavy boundary. (0 to 5 inches thick)
Bt1--5 to 12 inches, red (2.5YR 4/6) clay; strong fine and medium angular and subangular blocky structure; firm, plastic and sticky; few medium roots; some cracks and root channels filled with brownish material; shiny faces on peds; strongly acid; clear wavy boundary.
Bt2--12 to 18 inches, red (2.5YR 4/6) clay; many medium prominent yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) mottles; strong fine and medium angular blocky structure; firm, plastic and sticky; few fine roots; some cracks and root channels filled with brownish material; shiny faces on peds; strongly acid; clear wavy boundary. (Combined thickness of the upper part of the Bt horizon is 10 to 20 inches thick.)
Bt3--18 to 23 inches, mottled red (10YR 4/6), light brownish gray (10YR 6/2), and yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) clay; strong fine and medium angular blocky structure; firm, very plastic and sticky; few fine roots; some cracks and root channels filled with brownish material; shiny faces on peds; strongly acid; gradual wavy boundary.
Bt4--23 to 40 inches, mottled red (10YR 4/6), and light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) clay; strong fine and medium angular blocky structure; firm, very plastic and sticky; few slickensides that do not intersect; shiny faces on peds; strongly acid; gradual wavy boundary.
Bt5--40 to 52 inches, mottled light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) and strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) clay; strong fine and medium angular blocky structure; firm, very plastic and sticky; few slickensides that do not intersect; shiny faces on peds; strongly acid; gradual smooth boundary.
Bt6--52 to 70 inches, gray (10YR 6/1) clay; many medium prominent strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) and red (10YR 4/6) mottles; strong medium angular blocky structure; firm, very plastic and sticky; few slickensides that do not intersect; shiny faces on peds; few shale fragments; strongly acid. (Combined thickness of the lower part of the Bt horizon is more than 45 inches.)
TYPE LOCATION: Jasper County, Mississippi; 0.5 mile northeast of Catholic Monastery, on State Highway 18 and 120 feet north in
wooded area. NE1/4SE1/4 sec. 36, T. 3 N., R. 11 E.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: The solum is more than 60 inches thick. The soil is very strongly acid or strongly acid throughout, except the surface layer in areas that have been limed.
The A horizon has hue of 10YR, value of 3 to 5, and chroma of
1 to 3. The Ap horizon commonly has hue of 10YR or 7.5YR, value
of 4 or 5, and chroma of 2 to 6. Also, in severely eroded pedons
the Ap horizon has mixed colors that include shades of red.
Texture is sandy loam, fine sandy loam, silt loam or loam. In severely eroded pedons, texture includes clay loam or silty clay loam.
The E horizon, if present, has hue of 10YR, value of 5 or 6,
and chroma of 3 or 4. It has the same texture range as the A horizon.
The upper part of the Bt subhorizon has hue of 10R, 2.5YR, or 5YR value of 4 or 5, and chroma of 4 to 6; mottles; if present, are in shades of brown or yellow. Mottles having chroma of 2 or less are within 30 inches of the soil surface but are not in the upper 10 inches of the Bt horizon. The lower Bt subhorizons commonly are mottled in shades of red, gray, brown, or yellow, and the red and gray colors are dominant. Some pedons have a matrix in hue of 10Y, 2.5YR, or 5YR value of 4 or 5, and chroma of 4 to 6, with mottles in shades of gray and, also, commonly brown or yellow. In most pedons the basal Bt subhorizon has a gray matrix with mottles in shades of red, brown, or yellow. The Bt horizon is silty clay loam, clay loam, silty clay, or clay.
COMPETING SERIES:
Gore is the only competing series. Closely related series are the
Angie,
Kipling,
Millwood,
Oktibbeha,
Sacul,
Sawyer,
Shubuta,
Stigler,
Susquehanna,
Sweatman,
Tiak, White
Store, and
Wilcox. Gore soils have a solum that ranges from 40 to
60 inches thick. Angie, Sacul, Sawyer, Shubuta, Sweatman, and
Tiak have less than 35 percent base saturation. Millwood soils
have montmorillonitic mineralogy. Kipling, Oktibbeha, and
White Store soils have a Bt horizon that is less than 50 inches thick; also, Kipling soils have a yellowish brown Bt horizon; Oktibbeha soils are underlain by calcereous clay. Stigler soils have a yellowish brown Bt horizon and do not have high shrink-swell properties. Susquehanna and Wilcox soils have gray mottles in the upper 10 inches of the Bt horizon and montmorillonitic mineralogy.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: The Boswell soils are on uplands of the Southern Coastal Plain Major Land Resource Area. These soils formed in marine or fluviatile deposits of acid clayey sediments. Slopes are nearly level to steep. The slope range is 1 to 17 percent. The climate is warm and humid. Near the type location, the mean annual temperature is 66 degrees Fahrenheit, and the average annual precipitation is 53 inches.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the closely related Angie, Sawyer, Shubuta, Susquehanna, and Wilcox soils listed among the competing series and the Cahaba, Lucy, Ora, Rumford, Ruston, and Smithdale series. Cahaba, Ruston, and Smithdale soils are fine-loamy in the particle-size control section. Lucy soils have a sandy epipedon that is 20 to 40 inches thick. Ora soils have a fragipan. Rumford soils are a coarse-loamy in the particle-size control section. All of these soils are in similar positions as the Boswell soils across dissected uplands.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Moderately well drained; very slow permeability; moderate to very rapid runoff.
USE AND VEGETATION: Most areas of the Boswell soils are used for woodland. Some areas of the soils are used for pasture. Principal vegetation of wooded areas is loblolly pine and shortleaf pine.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Texas. The series is of
large extent.
MLRA OFFICE RESPONSIBLE: Auburn, Alabama
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Choctaw County, Oklahoma; 1938.
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 horizons).
Argillic horizon - the zone from approximately 5 to 70 inches (Bt1, Bt2, Bt3, Bt4, Bt5, Bt6 horizons).
Vertic Paleudalfs features - more than 35 percent clay throughout the Bt horizon and slickensides that do not intersect in the zone from approximately 23 to 70 inches (Bt4, Bt5, Bt6 horizons.