Soils of the - Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

MILNER SOILS (ML)
Location and Extent : Milner soils occupy substantial areas in the Langley Valley and near Cloverdale an d
Hazelmere . Although only about 95 ha of pure map units are classified, a further 1500 ha of soil complexe s
dominated by Milner soils also occur. The complexes are mainly with Cloverdale, Berry, Carvolth and Sunshin e
soils .
Topography and Elevation : Most areas of Milner soils are gently undulating to gently rolling with slopes to 9
percent . A few areas along gullies and stream banks are steeply sloping or strongly rolling with slopes to 3 0
percent . In soil complexes with more poorly drained soils, Milner soils occur in the topographically highes t
landscape positions . Elevations range from 5 to 30 m above sea level .
Parent Material and Texture : Milner soils have developed from deep, fine to moderately fine textured ,
stone-free marine deposits . Surface textures are usually silt loam, varying occasionally to loam or silty clay loam .
Subsurface textures vary from silty clay loam to clay loam while the compact subsoil ranges from clay to silt y
clay.
Soil Moisture Characteristics : Milner soils are moderately well drained . They are moderately pervious i n
the surface and subsurface but this decreases to slowly pervious in the subsoil . They have high water holdin g
capacity and slow to moderate surface runoff . During heavy rains a temporary, perched watertable develop s
above the slowly permeable subsoil .
General Soil Description : Milner soils, in uncleared areas, have up to 5 cm of raw to well-decomposed ,
organic forest litter on the soil surface . The surface mineral soil consists of about 20 cm of dark reddish brown t o
yellowish-red, friable, weakly structured, silty material usually containing numerous, hard, spherical concretions
. This is underlain by a dark yellowish brown to yellowish-brown, silty zone about 30 cm thick which i s
friable to firm, moderately subangular blocky in structure and contains occasional concretions . In turn, this i s
underlain by about 15 cm of olive to olive-gray, firm, moderately structured, partially leached, silty materia l
which grades to about 50 cm of grayish-brown to olive-gray, very firm, prismatic structured clayey materia l
enriched with eluviated clay. The clay enriched layer then grades below 1 m to massive, grayish-brown, clayey,
marine sediments that are very firm . These sediments fracture conchoidally and have dark brown or blac k
coatings along fracture faces and contain common, yellowish-brown mottles . Soil reaction in the upper 70 c m
varies from very strongly to extremely acid, then gradually increases to slightly acid below about 200 cm . Soi l
classification is Luvisolic Humo-Ferric Podzol.
Commonly Associated Soils : Berry, Cloverdale and Sunshine soils are commonly associated with Milne r
soils . Berry soils have textures similar to Milner soils but are imperfectly drained and usually lie at slightly lowe r
landscape positions . Cloverdale soils differ by being poorly drained and having dark gray or black surfaces .
Sunshine soils differ by being sandy in the upper 50 to 150 cm .
Vegetation : Substantial areas of Milner soils are cleared and cultivated . Uncleared areas support a variabl e
forest which includes coast Douglas-fir, western red cedar, some western hemlock, grand fir and Sitka spruce ,
red alder and vine maple . The understory includes blackberry, thimbleberry, elderberry, salmonberry, bracken ,
salai, and various ferns and grasses . Rooting depth is mainly limited to about 70 cm by dense, clayey subsoi l
layers .
General Land Use Comments : (1) Milner soils are generally well suited for most agricultural crop s
although temporary perched watertables may inhibit growth of those crops strongly susceptible to thes e
conditions . Adverse topography may also be limiting in some locations . (2) Urban or related uses are onl y
moderately suited for Milner soils . Variable soil bearing strengths and high shrink-swell conditions in the subsoi l
may require special foundation considerations while excavations, due to slow permeability, will probabl y
contain water during periods of heavy rainfall . Septic tank disposal fields generally function poorly because of
slow subsoil permeability. (3) Forest growth on Milner soils appears to be moderately good . Estimated potentia l
annual wood production of coast Douglas-fir is about 9 to 12 m 3/ha .
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