Soils of the - Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

LANGLEY SOILS (LA)
Location and Extent : Langley soils occur mainly in the vicinity of Milner where about 320 ha of pure ma p
units are mapped .
Topography and Elevation : The topography of Langley soils varies from level to very gently sloping o r
gently undulating with slopes less than 2 percent . Elevations range from 15 to 20 m above sea level .
Parent Material and Texture : Langley soils have developed from deep, fine-textured, stone-free, marin e
sediments . The surface texture is usually silty clay loam, sometimes varying to silt loam or clay loam, an d
contains between 20 and 30 percent organic matter. The sub-surfaces are silty clay or clay while the subsoil i s
heavy clay or clay .
Soil Moisture Characteristics : Langley soils are moderately poorly to poorly drained . They are slowl y
pervious and have high water holding capacity and slow surface runoff . During the winter and other periods o f
heavy rain, perched watertables develop above the very slowly permeable subsoil and surface pondin g
sometimes occurs .
General Soil Description : Langley soils have a surface layer about 35 cm thick which is black to very dar k
brown, friable, granular and silty to clayey in texture . The upper 20 cm is cultivated and contains between 20 an d
30 percent organic matter. Underlying the surface layer is about 10 cm of grayish, silty, leached materia l
containing a few reddish mottles . This, in turn, is underlain by about 40 cm of gray or dark gray, dense, verticall y
cracked, very firm and plastic, clayey material containing common yellowish-brown mottles and well-define d
clay flows on ped surfaces. This then grades to gray, dense, extremely firm, clayey soil parent materia l
containing common, brownish mottles and dark brown coatings and stains on clod surfaces . Soil reactio n
varies from strongly or medium acid in the upper 50 cm to neutral in the subsoil (1 :1 H 2 O). Soil classification i s
Humic Luvic Gleysol. (See Plate 15, page 55 . )
Commonly Associated Soils : Cloverdale and Livingstone soils often occupy map polygons adjacent t o
Langley soils . Cloverdale soils differ from Langley soils by having a surface layer which is only 10 to 20 cm thic k
while Livingstone soils differ by having sandy surface and subsurface textures .
Vegetation : Essentially all areas of Langley soils are cleared and cultivated . A few, small, relatively un -
disturbed areas, such as along fences, support a few Sitka spruce and western red cedar as well as a variety o f
shrubs, grass and sedges . Rooting is mainly restricted to the upper 60 cm by the dense subsoil and perche d
watertable .
General Land Use Comments : (1) Langley soils are limited for agricultural use mainly by the hig h
perched, winter watertables that affect perennial crops . Annual crops generally do well although cultivation an d
planting in the spring is delayed by wet soil conditions . Artificial drainage is beneficial-tile lines require clos e
spacing due to slow soil permeability. (2) Urban uses are limited by high periodic watertables which affec t
basements and other excavations. Septic tank effluent disposal is severely impaired by very slow soil permeability
and high watertables . (3) Langley soils are only moderately suited for tree growth . Potential annua l
wood production by western red cedar is estimated to be between 5 and 6 .5 m 3/ha . Growth is limited by the
dense subsoils and wet conditions .
115