The Soils of Elgin County - Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

clay. The Ap horizons commonly have silty clayor clay textures . The Btgj and calcareous Ckgjhorizons frequently have silty clay, clay, or heavyclay textures .Distinct to prominent, dark yellowishbrown toyellowish brown mottles occur within the profile .Soil reaction ranges from slightly acid to neutral inthe Ap horizons, to mildly alkaline in the Ckgjhorizons. Soil classification is typically GleyedBrunisolic Gray Brown Luvisol .Soil VariabilityEkfrid soils occur mainly in the northernportions of Dunwich and Aldborough Townships .They are associated with the lacustrine clay plainwhich occurs north-west of the TillsonburgMoraine, and extends into Middlesex County. Thethickness of the heavy clay textured layers rangesfrom approximately 10 cm to more than 85 cm.Ekfrid soils were mapped where thin caps ofmedium or coarse textured materials overly thefine to very fine textured materials . Ekfrid loamyphase (EK.L) soils were mapped where 15 to 40cm of loamy materials were present at the surface .Ekfrid coarse phase (EK.C) soils were mappedwhere 15 to 40 cm of sandy materials were presentat the surface . Ekfrid soils were most oftenmapped in combination with Strathburn (ST) soils .Land Use/Management CommentsEkfrid soils are rated Class 3D for commonfield crops . They are capable of producingacceptable yields of crops such as corn or wheat,but good management practices are necessary .Ekfrid soils are not suitable for growing somevegetable and special field crops. They are,however, suitable for growing field crops such assoybeans, white beans, and spring canola .Suitability ratings for selected special crops aregiven in Tables 6, 7, and 8.Ekfrid soils are susceptible to compaction, andcare should be taken not to use heavy machinerywhen they are too wet. A crop rotation whichincludes a forage crop will aid in maintaining soilstructure. Conventional fall tillage should becarried out on these soils to improve surfacestructure and enhance drainage.Fox Soils (F0Landform and TopographyFox soils have developed on blankets of coarsetextured lacustrine materials which frequentlyhave been wind modified . They occur mainly inlandscapes which have nearly level or very gentlyundulating topography. Occasionally they occurin duned landscapes which have gentlyundulating topography . When they occur in thesame landscape with imperfectly or poorlydrained soils, they usually occur on upper andcrest slope positions. Slopes generally range from1 to 9%, but slopes of 5% or less are mostcommon .Soil Moisture CharacteristicsFox soils are rapidly drained and rapidlypermeable. They have low water holdingcapacities which frequently results in droughtinessconditions . Surface runoff is slow, but increaseson steeper slopes if the soils are saturated.General Soil CharacteristicsThe Ap horizons usually have sandy loam orloamy sand textures . The Bm horizons tend tohave higher sand contents, and sand or fine sandtextures . Clay enriched Bt horizons, which usuallyhave fine sandy loam or sandy loam textures,commonly occur above the calcareous Ckhorizons. Texture of the Ck horizons is usuallyloamy sand, sand, or fine sand .Soil reaction ranges from strongly acid toneutral in the Ap horizons, to mildly alkaline inthe Ck horizons. Soil classification is typicallyBrunisolic Gray Brown Luvisol .Soil VariabilityFox soil materials generally have high mediumor fine sand contents . Those materials which havehigh fine sand contents usually occur in the upperhorizons and tend to be wind modified . The Bthorizons occurring in Fox soils are wavy andvariable in thickness and clay content. As a result,the Bt horizons in some Fox soils may bediscontinuous, completely absent, or occur at adepth greater than 100 cm from the surface . Inother Fox soils the Bt horizons may be so weaklydeveloped that the increase in clay content is noteasily recognizable . Fox soils were most oftenmapped in combination with Brady (BY), Berrien(BE), and Berrien till phase (BE.T) soils.Land Use/Management CommentsFox soils are rated Class 2FM forcommon fieldcrops when topography is not a limitation. Theyare suitable for a wide range of special crops whenthe surface slopes are not too steep . Theirsuitability increases for many special crops ifsupplemental irrigation is carried out. Suitabilityratings for selected special crops are given inTables 6, 7, and 8.35