Soils of the - Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

GREVELL SOILS (G)
Location and Extent : Grevell soils are found on the Fraser River floodplain east from its confluence with th e
Pitt River. They are mainly located near the river margins and on islands in the river . About 300 ha of pure unit s
and 670 ha of soil complexes dominated by Grevell soils occur. The complexes are mainly with Seabird ,
Dewdney and Matsqui soils .
Topography and Elevation : The topography of Grevell soils is mainly gently undulating to gently rolling wit h
slopes less than 8 percent . The soils generally occupy the tops and upper slopes of the ridges and undulations .
Elevations range between 4 and 12 m above sea level .
Parent Material and Texture : Coarse-textured (sandy), stone-free Fraser River floodplain deposits form th e
parent material of Grevell soils . Surface textures are usually loamy sand, sometimes varying to sandy loam o r
sand while subsurface and subsoil textures are medium to coarse sand, sometimes changing to gravelly san d
at depth. Thin, finer textured lenses occasionally occur in the subsoil as do thin, buried, old surface layers .
Soil Moisture Characteristics : Grevell soils are well to moderately well drained . They are rapidly perviou s
and have slow surface runoff and low water holding capacity. A very temporary watertable may develop in th e
subsoil during the freshet stage of the Fraser River and during this time, temporary flooding may also occur i n
areas that are not protected by dykes .
General Soil Description : In uncultivated areas, Grevell soils generally have a very thin organic surfac e
layer (less than 2 cm thick) consisting mostly of deciduous leaves and twigs . This is underlain by a thin (les s
than 5 cm), discontinuous, grayish-brown, sandy layer slightly enriched with organic matter which grades to 1
m or more of loose, grayish sand sometimes containing a few, weak, reddish or brownish mottles in the lowe r
part . Soil reactions are usually slightly acid or neutral in the upper part and neutral or mildly alkaline at depth (1 : 1
H 20) . Soil classification is Orthic Regosol.
Commonly Associated Soils : Matsqui, Seabird, Monroe, Dewdney and Fairfield soils commonly occur i n
close association with Grevell soils . Seabird soils have textures similar to Grevell soils, however they ar e
imperfectly drained . Matsqui and Dewdney soils differ from Grevell soils by having between 20 and 50 cm of
silty material overlying sand while Monroe and Fairfield soils have more than 50 cm of silty material over sand .
Additionally, Dewdney and Fairfield soils are imperfectly drained .
Vegetation : In uncleared areas the vegetation on Grevell soils is mainly deciduous and includes blac k
cottonwood, red alder, willow, vine maple as well as a variable shrub cover . Some coast Douglas-fir, western re d
cedar and occasional Sitka spruce may also be present . Rooting depth is essentially unrestricted .
General Land Use Comments : (1) Because of low water storage capacity, irrigation is required fo r
satisfactory production of most crops . However with irrigation and adequate fertilization most crops can b e
grown productively. Flooding by the Fraser River during freshet periods in undyked areas will limit production i n
some years . (2) Where dyked, Grevell soils probably provide the best sites for farmsteads and simila r
construction on the Fraser River floodplain . They generally occur on the highest parts of the floodplain, are wel l
drained and have moderate soil bearing strength . (3) Forest growth of cottonwood is good . Limited plot data
indicates potential wood production by this species of 12 to 15 m 3/ha/yr.
88