Soils of the - Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

PAGE SOILS (PE)
Location and Extent : Page soils occupy substantial areas of the Fraser River floodplain, particularly o n
Nicomen Island and in Matsqui Valley . About 580 ha of pure map units and 1600 ha of soil complexe s
dominated by Page soils are mapped . The complexes are mostly with Fairfield, Hjorth, Prest, and Dewdne y
soils .
Topography and Elevation : The topography of Page soils varies from nearly level to very gently sloping an d
undulating . Slope gradients are less than 4 percent . The soils usually occupy landscape positions which ar e
slightly lower or depressional in relation to adjacent soils and elevations generally are less than 10 m above se a
level .
Parent Material and Texture : Page soils have developed from medium to moderately fine textured Frase r
River floodplain deposits, at least 50 cm thick, which overlie medium to fine sand . Surface and subsurfac e
textures are silt loam or silty clay loam ; the upper subsoil has similar textures but changes to sand or loamy san d
below depths of 50 cm or more . A few areas where the underlying sand is encountered between 20 and 50 c m
below the surface are also included .
Soil Moisture Characteristics : Page soils are poorly to moderately poorly drained . They are moderately t o
slowly pervious and have high water holding capacity and slow surface runoff . Watertables are near the soi l
surface for most of the winter and during the freshet period of the Fraser River but gradually recede after that .
Surface ponding is common during heavy rains due to relatively slow infiltration and percolation rates and runof f
accumulation from adjacent, higher areas .
General Soil Description : Page soils have a dark gray, firm, subangular blocky, silty, cultivated surfac e
about 15 cm thick . The surface is underlain by a silty to clayey zone about 40 cm thick which is firm, block y
structured and contains many, prominent, strong brown to reddish mottles . This zone then grades to a massive ,
gray, silty layer about 30 cm thick containing common, reddish or brownish mottles . Underlying this ar e
alternating sandy and silty lenses or loose sand . Soil reactions usually range from strongly acid in the surface t o
medium acid in the subsoil . Soil classification is Orthic Gleysol. A few, small areas of Page:shallow variant soils
are also mapped . These soils are similar to the usual Page soils except that the underlying sand occurs withi n
20 to 50 cm of the surface rather than below 50 cm as is the usual case .
Commonly Associated Soils : Fairfield, Monroe, Hjorth and Dewdney soils are closely associated wit h
Page soils . Hjorth soils differ from Page soils by having a black surface but are poorly drained similar to Pag e
soils . Fairfield and Dewdney soils usually lie topographically higher than Page soils and are imperfectl y
drained . Monroe soils are also topographically higher and are well drained .
Vegetation : Most areas are cleared and cultivated . Remaining natural vegetation is mostly deciduous and
includes, among others, willow, birch, black cottonwood, red alder, sedges and reeds . Rooting depth i s
restricted mainly to the upper 60 cm by the high groundwater tables .
General Land Use Comments : (1) Agriculturally, Page soils are limited by high watertables and poo r
drainage . Most perennial crops,suffer substantially during the winter months while high watertables interfere
with cultivation and crop growth during the spring freshet period . Artificial drainage should be installed to
achieve the soils' production potential . Because of Page soils' usual depressional landscape position, adequate
drainage outlets-are sometimes difficult to locate . Page soils are usually intimately intermixed with other soil s
and therefore are often difficult to manage on an individual basis . (2) Page soils are poorly suited for urban o r
simmer-es . They have variable, usually low, bearing strengths ; basements and similar excavations are likely t o
contain water for at least part of the year and surface flooding is likely in some areas . Effluent disposal fro m
septic tanks is severely impaired by high groundwater tables . (3) Trees such as cottonwood appear well suite d
for growth on Page soils . Data from a limited number of plots indicates annual potential wood production by thi s
species to be between 12 and 15 m3/ha.
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