George Martin Soil Data Quality Specialist USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service Auburn, AL
Alabama - a Rich and Beautiful State
Lake Martin -- Tallapoosa County
Little River -- DeKalb County
Ridge and Valley Cherokee County
Needle Eye Rock -- Little River Area, DeKalb County
Baldwin County
Blackland Prairie -- Dallas County
Loblolly pine -- Crenshaw County
Corn and Pine -- Dothan soils, Covington County
Alabama -- A State of Diversity Alabama has a very diverse and varied geologic history resulting in a variety of physiographic regions scattered throughout the state.
The Soil Areas of Alabama
Soil Survey §INVENTORY OF SOILS l Characteristics l Map §PREDICTION OF BEHAVIOR l Cropland l Woodland l Building Sites l Waste Disposal
Alabama Cooperative Soil Survey §Landgrant Universities and Agricultural Experiment Stations §Cooperative Extension System §S&W Conservation Committee §USDA-NRCS, Forest Service, RD §State Health and Highway Departments §Local SWCD, County Commissions
Estimated Acreage by Soil Taxonomic Order * 8 of 12 Soil Orders mapped in Alabama ~375 Soil Series ~4,500 Mapping Units
The Soil Survey Program
And, we’re still mapping soils.
Our tools and methods have changed.
Status of Soil Survey 36 Modern Reports 3 Awaiting Publication 4 Mapping complete 5 In progress
Status of Digitized Soil Surveys 20 counties completed 4 counties in progress
Limestone valleys and uplands Limestone valleys and uplands
Limestone Valleys and Uplands Thick beds of limestone and dolomite, Conasauga Formation
Decatur Series A very deep, moderately slowly permeable, clayey soil; Tennessee Valley.
Bodine Series
Barfield Series A shallow, clayey soil over hard limestone bedrock; Valley and Ridge Province
Appalachian Plateau
Fractured sandstone, Pottsville Formation
Hartsells Series A loamy, well drained, moderately deep (20-40”) over sandstone bedrock.
Townley Series
Piedmont Plateau
Tilted, thinly stratified metamorphic and igneous bedrock Piedmont Plateau
Cecil SeriesLloyd Series
Tallapoosa Series
Coastal Plain
Sandy Geological Strata Troup and Alaga soils
Lucy SeriesOrangeburg-Lucy Soil Landscape
Coastal Plain Thinly stratified clays and shales Luverne and Boswell soils
Coastal Plain Thick bed of siltstone (buhrstone), Tallahatta Formation Arundel, Cantuche, and Lauderdale soils
Blackland Prairie
Blackland Prairie Thick beds of Demopolis Chalk
Okolona Series Sumter Series
Demopolis Series A shallow (10-20 in.), loamy soil over chalk bedrock. Generally has common or many concretions of CaCO3.
Hannon Series
Blackland Prairie Soil Landscape Relationships
Major floodplains and terraces
Riverview Series
Bama SeriesSavannah Series
Coastal marshes and beaches
Coastal Marsh
Newhan Series Leon Series
Land use map developed from LandSat TM imagery
Soil Properties Important to Agriculture §Texture §Available water capacity §Rooting depth §Natural fertility §pH & Aluminum toxicity §Organic matter content §Natural drainage
Cropland Capability Classification
Percentage of Land in Land Capability Classes I - IV in the United States, Alabama, and Iowa