LOCATION STOUGH MS+AL AR LA NC VAEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Coarse-loamy, siliceous, semiactive, thermic Fragiaquic Paleudults
TYPICAL PEDON: Stough fine sandy loam--cultivated.
(Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)
Ap--0 to 4 inches; dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) fine sandy loam; weak fine and medium granular structure; friable; common fine roots; few fine and medium black and brown concretions; strongly acid; abrupt smooth boundary. (3 to 6 inches thick)
B/E--4 to 10 inches; mottled yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) (B), pale brown (10YR 6/3), and grayish brown (10YR 5/2) (E) fine sandy loam; weak fine and medium granular structure; friable; common fine roots; few fine and medium black and brown concretions; strongly acid; clear irregular boundary. (0 to 8 inches thick)
Bt--10 to 20 inches; light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) fine sandy loam; many medium faint yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) and many medium distinct light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) mottles; weak fine and medium subangular blocky structure; friable; few fine roots; few patchy clay films on faces of peds; clay bridging between sand grains; seams of light brownish gray sandy loam 1/2 to 3/4 inch wide at intervals of 3 inches extend through the horizon; common fine and medium brown and black concretions; strongly acid; clear wavy boundary. (6 to 12 inches thick)
Btx1--20 to 26 inches; mottled yellowish brown (10YR 5/6), light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4), and light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) loam; moderate coarse prismatic structure parting to moderate medium platy; brown portion, about 50 percent of volume, is brittle and compact; nearly continuous clay films on faces of peds; few fine roots on horizontal faces and in grayer areas; seams of light brownish gray sandy loam 1/2 to 3/4 inch wide at intervals of 3 inches extend through the horizon; common fine and medium black and brown concretions; strongly acid; clear wavy boundary.
Btx2--26 to 38 inches; mottled yellowish brown (10YR 5/6), and light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) sandy loam; moderate medium and coarse prismatic structure parting to weak medium subangular blocky; brown portion, about 50 percent of the volume, is slightly brittle and compact; nearly continuous clay films on faces of peds; gray seams of sandy loam 1/2 inch wide between prisms; common fine and medium black and brown concretions; strongly acid; gradual wavy boundary.
Btx3--38 to 52 inches; mottled yellowish brown (10YR 5/4), gray (10YR 5/1), and strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) sandy clay loam; moderate medium and coarse prismatic structure parting to moderate medium angular blocky; firm, brown portion, about 50 percent of the volume, is slightly brittle and compact; nearly continuous clay films on faces of peds; gray seams of sandy clay loam 1/2 inch wide between prisms; few fine black and brown concretions; strongly acid; gradual wavy boundary.
Btx4--52 to 68 inches; mottled gray (10YR 5/1), yellowish brown (10YR 5/6), and strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) sandy clay loam; moderate coarse prismatic structure parting to moderate medium angular blocky; firm, brown portion about 50 percent of the volume, is slightly brittle and compact; nearly continuous clay films on faces of peds; gray seams of sandy clay loam 1/2 inch wide between prisms; strongly acid. (Combined thickness of the Btx subhorizons is 40 to 60 inches or more.)
TYPE LOCATION: Clarke County, Mississippi; 1/2 mile west of Enterprise, 300 feet west and 500 feet south of NW corner of SW1/4SW1/4 sec. 23, T. 4 N., R. 14 E.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Solum thickness exceeds 60 inches. The soil is very strongly acid or strongly acid throughout, except in areas where the surface layer has been limed.
The A horizon has hue of 10YR, value 3 or 4, and chroma of 1 or 2. The Ap horizon, where present, has hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 4 or 5, and chroma of 2, or it has hue of 10YR, value of 6, and chroma of 3 or 4. It is fine sandy loam, loam, or sandy loam.
Where present, the E/B or B/E horizon is mottled in shades of brown or gray. Some pedons have an E horizon with hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 6, and chroma of 2 to 4. Texture is fine sandy loam, loam, or sandy loam.
The Bt horizon has hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 4 to 6,and it has few to many mottles with chroma of 1 or less; in some pedons it is mottled in shades of brown and gray. It is fine sandy loam, loam, or sandy loam.
The Btx horizon has hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 4 to 6, and it has few to many mottels with chroma of 2 or less, or it is mottled in shades of brown, gray, or red. The browner part, which is about 40 to 55 percent of the volume, is brittle and compact, and it restricts root penetration. The Btx horizon is fine sandy loam, loam, sandy loam, or sandy clay loam.
The control section, the upper 20 inches of the B horizon has 8 to 18 percent clay, and it has more than 20 percent silt. Black and brown concretions are few to many and fine to medium in the Bt horizon and upper part of the Btx horizon.
COMPETING SERIES: These are Basin and Brewton series in the same family and the closely related Benndale, Goldsboro, Harleson, Kullit, Prentiss, and Quitman series. Basin soils have more than 5 percent plinthite in the Bt horizon. Brewton soils have a B/E or E horizon below the Bt horizon. Benndale and Harleston soils do not have mottles with chroma of 2 or less within the upper 10 inches of the Bt horizon. In addition, Harleston soils have a few plinthite nodules in the lower part of the Bt horizon. Goldsboro, Kullitt, and Quitman soils are fine-loamy in the control section. Prentiss soils have a fragipan.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Stough soils are on terraces and broad uplands in the Southern Coastal Plain. These soils formed in loamy marine or fluvatile deposits. These nearly level to gently sloping soils. Slopes range from 0 to 5 percent, but most areas of the soils have slopes between 1 and 3 percent.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the competing Quitman and Cahaba, McLaurin, and Savannah soils. Moderately well drained Quitman soils are in similar landscape positions as the Stough soils. Well drained Cahaba soils, which are on nearby stream terraces, have a Bt horizon redder than hue of 7.5YR, and have a fine-loamy control section. Well drained McLaurin soils, which are in nearby gently rolling to sloping uplands, have a Bt horizon redder than hue of 7.5YR. Moderately well drained Savannah soils, which have a fragipan, are mainly on ridge tops and broad terraces in slightly higher parts of the terrain.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Somewhat poorly drained; slow runoff; moderately slow permeability. Water is perched at a depth of 1.0 to 1.5 feet below the surface during wet seasons late in winter and early in spring. Some areas on low terraces are occasionally flooded for very brief duration during the winter and early spring.
USE AND VEGETATION: Used mainly for pasture and forest. Some areas, which have been cleared and drained, are used for cotton, corn, small grains, and truck crops. Forested areas are chiefly in mixed hardwoods and some pines.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Virginia.
MLRA OFFICE RESPONSIBLE: Auburn, Alabama
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Lower East Saline SCD, Drew County, Arkansas; 1939.
REMARKS: Stough soils were formerly classified as somewhat poorly drained Planosols with fragipans.