Soil Profiles
Easy as ABC
Soil Profile
Organic layer (absent
in farmed soils
Topsoil
Subsoil
Parent
material
Usually darker
because of
organic matter
(humus)
Redder color,
distinctly different
structure than “A”
Weathered
material usually
related to the
above layers
The Demopolis series consists of shallow, well drained, very slowly permeable soils that
formed in materials weathered from chalk and soft limestone. These soils are on
ridgetops and side slopes in uplands
The Hannon series consists of very deep, moderately well drained, very slowly permeable soils that formed in clayey
sediments overlying stratified loamy and clayey materials and chalk. These soils are on ridgetops and side slopes on
uplands of the Alabama, Mississippi, and Arkansas Blackland Prairie and Southern Coast.
The Houlka series consists of deep, somewhat poorly drained, very slowly permeable
soils formed in clayey alluvium. These are nearly level soils on flood plains
.
The Houston series consists of moderately well drained, slowly permeable, cyclic soils
that formed in alkaline clays and chalk of the Blackland Prairies.
The Ailey series consists of soils that are deep or very deep to a dense layer. These well
drained, slowly permeable soils formed in sandy and loamy marine sediments on
uplands, mostly in the upper Coastal Plain
The Cecil series consists of very deep, well drained moderately permeable soils on
ridges and side slopes of the Piedmont uplands. These soils are deep to saprolite and
very deep to bedrock.
The Hartsells series consists of moderately deep, well
drained, moderately permeable soils
The Kureb series consists of very deep, excessively drained, gently sloping to moderately
steep soils on Coastal Plain uplands and on side slopes along streams and bays
Soil Depth
Depth refers to how deep plant roots can extend into the soil
until they are stopped by barriers such as rock, sand, gravel,
compacted clay, or cement.
In other words the “A” and “B” Horizons added together make
up depth
If you encounter a barrier within a few inches of the surface
layer, then the soil is very shallow.
12 inches are shallow
Soils from 12-24 are moderately deep
Deep soils range from 36-60 inches.
Very deep soils are more than 60 inches (5 feet)
Moderately Deep
Deep
Very Deep
Very Deep
Shallow
Other questions they may ask
Average depth in inches of a
particular layer
Color of a layer and what that color
means
Soil forming
processes
Gains aka additions
Solids transported by wind or water
Plant or animal remains
bacterias
Removal aka. Losses or deletions
Removal includes losses by:
Wind erosion
Water erosion
Uptake of nutrients by plants
Mixing aka transactions
Mixing can be by:
Soil animals
Gravity
Shrinking/swelling due to water content
Freezing and thawing
Translocation
Movement up or down through the horizons by
nutrients, and compounds catching a ride on water
Transformations
Soil components are transformed by chemical and
biological reactions
Decomposition of organic compounds
Soils with a different color than their parent material
show that the surface layer was formed through
transformations.