LOCATION QUITMAN MS+ALEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, siliceous, semiactive, thermic Aquic Paleudults
TYPICAL PEDON: Quitman fine sandy loam, on a nearly level slope under pasture grass. (Colors are for moist soil.)
A--0 to 4 inches; very dark gray (10YR 3/1) fine sandy loam; weak fine and medium granular structure; very friable; common fine roots; few fine black and brown concretions; strongly acid; clear smooth boundary. (1 to 7 inches thick) (Ap 3 to 9 inches)
E--4 to 11 inches; pale olive (5Y 6/3) fine sandy loam; weak fine and medium granular structure; very friable; few fine roots; few fine black and brown concretions; strongly acid; clear smooth boundary. (4 to 8 inches thick)
Bt--11 to 18 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) fine sandy loam; common fine and medium faint strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) and distinct light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) mottles; weak medium subangular blocky structure; friable; few fine roots; few patchy clay films on faces of peds; few fine and medium brown and black concretions; strongly acid; clear wavy boundary. (6 to 14 inches thick)
Btx1--18 to 32 inches; mottled pale brown (10YR 6/3), light brownish gray (10YR 6/2), strong brown (7.5YR 5/6), and yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) sandy clay loam; moderate coarse prismatic structure parting to moderate medium angular blocky; firm; slightly brittle and compact in the strong brown portion, which is about 15 percent of the matrix; few fine roots; nearly continuous clay films of pale brown and light brownish gray on faces of peds; prism faces coated with pale brown sandy loam; common fine and medium brown and black concretions; strongly acid; gradual wavy boundary.
Btx2--32 to 45 inches; mottled pale brown (10YR 6/3), light brownish gray (10YR 6/2), and strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) sandy clay loam; moderate coarse prismatic structure parting to strong medium angular blocky; firm; slightly brittle and compact in the strong brown portion, which is about 10 percent of the matrix; few fine roots; nearly continuous clay films of pale brown and light brownish gray on faces of peds; patchy coatings of pale brown sandy loam between few prisms and on few ped faces; common fine and medium black and brown concretions; strongly acid; gradual smooth boundary.
Btx3--45 to 65 inches; mottled yellowish brown (10YR 5/6), light brownish gray (10YR 6/2), and strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) sandy clay loam; moderate coarse prismatic structure parting to strong medium angular blocky; firm; slightly brittle and compact in the strong brown portion, which is about 10 percent of the matrix; nearly continuous light brownish gray clay films on faces of peds; patchy coatings of pale brown sandy loam on faces of peds; common fine and medium brown, black and red concretions; strongly acid. (Combined thickness of the Btx horizons is from 40 to more than 60 inches)
TYPE LOCATION: Clarke County, Mississippi; 1.0 mile west and 0.5 mile northwest of Shubuta, Mississippi, 300 feet east and 300 feet south of NW corner of SW1/4SW1/4 sec. 5, T. 10 N., R. 7 W.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Solum thickness exceeds 60 inches. The soil is very strongly acid or strongly acid, except the surface layers in areas that have been limed.
The A horizon has hue of 10YR, value of 3 or 4, and chroma of 1 or 2. The Ap horizon has hue of 10YR, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 2 to 4; hue of 2.5Y or 5Y, value of 5 or 6, and chroma of 3 or 4. In some pedons, the Ap horizon is a blend of the A and E horizons material. The A or Ap horizon is fine sandy loam, loam, loamy fine sand, or silt loam.
The E horizon, if not blended with the Ap horizon by plowing, has hue of 10YR, 2.5Y, or 5Y, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 2 to 4. It is fine sandy loam, loam, loamy fine sand, or silt loam.
The Bt horizon has hue of 7.5YR, 10YR, or 2.5Y, value of 5 or 6, and chroma of 4 to 8; mottles having chroma of 2 or less and mottles in shades of brown are few to common. Some pedons have a thin Bt1 horizon without gray mottles. It is fine sandy loam, loam, or sandy clay loam.
The Btx horizon has hue of 10YR, 2.5Y, or 5Y, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 2 to 4 with common or many mottles in shades of gray and brown; or it is mottled in shades of brown, gray, red, or yellow. It is loam, sandy clay loam, or clay loam. In some pedons the lower part is silty clay loam. About 10 to 20 percent of the mass of the Btx horizon is brittle and compact and restricts roots in the browner portion. Brown, black, or red concretions are few to common. The upper 20 inches of the Bt and Btx horizons, have 18 to 35 percent clay and 25 to 50 percent silt.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Goldsboro, Izagora, Kullit, and Wrightsboro series in the same family, and the closely related Angie, Exum, Felker, Harleston, Lynchburg, Sawyer, and Stough series. Goldsboro soils have less than 25 percent silt, weaker structure, and do not have concretions. Izagora soils have more than 35 percent clay in the lower part of the Bt horizon. Kullit soils have a Bt horizon in hue of 5YR or redder. Wrightsboro soils have a clayey 2B horizon. Angie soils are clayey in the control section. Exum and Felker soils are fine-silty in the control section. Harleston soils are coarse-loamy in the control section. Lynchburg soils have a grayish matrix in the lower part of the Bt horizon. Sawyer soils are fine-silty in the control section. Stough soils are coarse-loamy in the control section and are brittle and compact in 40 to 55 percent of the volume of the lower part of the Bt horizon.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Quitman soils are on terraces and uplands of the Southern Coastal Plain. These nearly level to gently sloping soils formed in marine or fluvial loamy material. Slopes range from 0 to 5 percent. The climate is warm and humid. Near the type location, the mean annual temperature is about 66 degrees F and mean annual precipitation is 54.0 inches.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These include the Harleston and Stough soils of the competing series and the Cahaba, Daleville, Myatt, Prentiss, and Savannah series. Moderately well drained Harleston soils and the somewhat poorly drained Stough soils are in similar positions as Quitman soils. Well drained Cahaba soils, which are in higher positions on terraces, have a Bt horizon with a hue redder than 7.5YR and have thinner sola. Poorly drained Daleville and Myatt soils, which are in lower positions on stream terraces and upland flats, are dominantly gray between the A horizon and a depth of 30 inches. Moderately, well drained Prentiss and Savannah soils, which commonly are at slightly higher positions, have a fragipan.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Quitman soils are somewhat poorly drained. Runoff is slow and permeability is moderately slow. A water table is at a depth of 1.5 to 2.0 feet during winter and early in spring. Some areas of this soil on low terraces are subject to occasional flooding.
USE AND VEGETATION: Most areas of the Quitman soils are used for pasture and forests. Some areas have been cleared and are used for growing cotton, corn, and soybeans. Forested areas are mainly mixed hardwoods and pines; common trees are sweetgum, American sycamore, loblolly pine, and slash pine.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Coastal Plain sections of Alabama, Mississippi, and South Carolina.
MLRA OFFICE RESPONSIBLE: Auburn, Alabama
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Clarke County, Mississippi; 1975.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon - the zone from the surface to a depth of approximately 11 inches (A and E horizons)
Argillic horizon - the zone from approximately 11 to 65 inches (Bt, Btx1, Btx2, Btx3 horizons)
Aquic feature - mottles having low chroma with 30 inches of soil surface (Bt, Btx1 horizons)
ADDITIONAL DATA: Data for the typifying pedon are in Soil Survey Investigations Report No. 13. Chemical analyses and particle-size distribution for one pedon are published in Soil Survey of Lauderdale County, Mississippi (issued July 1983) pp. 135-136; and, one pedon published in Soil Survey of Tishomingo County, Mississippi (issued October 1983) pp. 91-92.