LOCATION DOTHAN AL+FL GA NC SC VAEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, kaolinitic, thermic Plinthic Kandiudults
TYPICAL PEDON: Dothan sandy loam--cultivated field. (Colors are for moist soil.)
Ap--0 to 13 inches; brown (10YR 4/3) sandy loam; weak fine granular structure; very friable; about 2 percent, by volume, ironstone; many fine roots; strongly acid; abrupt smooth boundary. (6 to 12 inches thick)
Bt1--13 to 22 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/8) sandy clay loam; weak medium subangular blocky structure; friable; about 2 percent, by volume, ironstone; many fine roots; common faint clay films on ped faces; strongly acid; diffuse smooth boundary.
Bt2--22 to 36 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/8) sandy clay loam; weak medium subangular blocky structure; friable; common fine roots; common faint clay films on ped faces; about 1 percent, by volume, plinthite nodules; common medium distinct strong brown (7.5YR 5/8) masses of iron accumulation; strongly acid; clear wavy boundary. (Combined thickness of the Bt horizons ranges from 15 to 36 inches.)
Btv1--36 to 52 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/8) sandy clay loam; weak medium subangular blocky structure; friable; common fine roots; common faint clay films on ped faces; about 10 percent by volume, plinthite nodules; common medium distinct strong brown (7.5YR 5/8), red (2.5YR 4/8), yellow (10YR 7/8) masses of iron accumulation and common medium distinct light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) areas of iron depletions; very strongly acid.
Btv2--52 to 80 inches; 20 percent yellowish brown (10YR 5/8), 20 percent strong brown (7.5YR 5/8), 20 percent red (2.5YR 4/8), 20 percent yellow (10YR 7/8) and 20 percent very pale brown (10YR 8/2) sandy clay loam in a variegated pattern; weak medium subangular blocky structure; firm; compact in place; many fine roots; common faint clay films on ped faces; about 20 percent by volume, plinthite nodules; the areas of yellowish brown, strong brown, red, and yellow are iron accumulations; the areas of very pale brown are iron depletions; very strongly acid.
TYPE LOCATION: Henry County, Alabama; Wiregrass Agricultural Experiment Station; south side of Alabama Highway 134; NE 1/4, NW 1/4, Section 3, R. 27 E., T. 4 N.; latitude 31 degrees, 21 minutes, 17.2 seconds N; longitude 85 degrees, 19 minutes, 30.4 seconds W.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Solum thickness ranges from 60 to more than 80 inches. Depth to horizons that contain 5 percent or more plinthite ranges from 24 to 60 inches. Content of ironstone pebbles range from 0 to 5 percent, by volume in the A horizon and upper part of the B horizon. Content of quartzite pebbles range from 0 to 5 percent throughout the profile. Soil reaction ranges from very strongly acid to moderately acid throughout except where the surface has been limed.
The A or Ap horizon has hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 3 to 7, and chroma of 2 to 4. Texture is sand, loamy fine sand, loamy sand, fine sandy loam, or sandy loam.
The E horizon, where present, has hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 5 to 7, and chroma of 3 to 6. Textures are the same as the Ap horizon.
The BE or BA horizon, where present, has hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 5 or 6, and chroma of 3 to 8. Texture is fine sandy loam or sandy loam.
The Bt horizon has hue of 7.5YR to 2.5Y, value of 5 to 8, and chroma of 4 to 8. The upper 20 inches of the Bt horizon contains 18 to 35 percent clay and less than 20 percent silt. Redoximorphic features in shades of brown or red range from none to common. Content of nodular plinthite ranges from 0 to 3 percent, by volume. Texture is fine sandy loam, sandy loam, or sandy clay loam.
The Btc horizon, where present, has the same colors and textures as the Bt horizon.
The Btv horizon has hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 3 to 8, and chroma of 4 to 8; or it has no dominant matrix color and is variegated in shades of red, yellow, brown, and gray. A matrix hue of 2.5YR, 5YR, or 7.5YR is allowed below a depth of 40 inches. Content of nodular or platy plinthite ranges from 5 to 35 percent, by volume. Texture is commonly sandy clay loam or sandy clay but includes clay loam.
COMPETING SERIES: These include the Tifton series in the same family and the Baxterville, Malbis, and Notcher series in closely related families. Tifton soils are on similar positions but have more than 5 percent ironstone pebbles in the upper part of the solum. Baxterville, Malbis, and Notcher soils have more than 20 percent silt in the particle-size control section.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Dothan soils are on side slopes and ridge tops of uplands of the Southern Coastal Plain. Slopes range from 0 to 12 percent. They formed in thick beds of unconsolidated, medium to fine-textured marine sediments. The climate is humid subtropical. 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 include the competing Tifton series and the Ardilla, Clarendon, Cowarts, Fuquay, Norfolk, Orangeburg, Varina, and Wicksburg series. The somewhat poorly drained Ardilla soils are on slightly lower positions. The moderately well drained Clarendon soils are on similar to slightly lower positions. The moderately well to well drained Cowarts soils are on more sloping areas, have a thinner solum and do not have horizons with more than 5 percent plinthite. Fuquay and Wicksburg soils are on similar or lower side slope positions and have sandy surface and subsurface layers 20 to 40 inches thick. Norfolk and Orangeburg soils are on similar positions but have less than 5 percent plinthite within 60 inches of the surface. In addition, Orangeburg soils have a redder hue. Varina soils are on lower positions and have a clayey particle-size control section.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; moderate in the Bt horizons and moderately slow to slow in the Btv horizons.
USE AND VEGETATION: Most areas of Dothan soils have been cleared and are used for the production of corn, cotton, peanuts, vegetable crops, hay, and pasture. Forested areas are in longleaf pine, loblolly pine, sweetgum, southern red oak, and hickory.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Coastal Plain of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia. The series is of large extent.
MLRA OFFICE RESPONSIBLE: Auburn, Alabama.
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Houston County, Alabama; 1965.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon:
Ochric epipedon - the zone from 0 to 13 inches (Ap horizon).
Kandic horizon - the zone from 13 to 80 inches (Bt1, Bt2, Btv1 and Btv2 horizons).
Plinthic feature - the zone from 36 to 80 inches (Btv1 and Btv2 horizons).
ADDITIONAL DATA: The 1/89 revision changed the classification from Paleudults to Kandiudults in recognition of the low activity clay amendment.
The OSD is moved to this location due to disturbance and urbanization of the former OSD site.
Sampled by: Auburn University, Agronomy and Soils Department, Soil Characterization Laboratory and by NSSL, Lincoln, Nebraska. Sample number S07AL-067-001(1-5).