Soils of the - Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

PEARDONVILLE SOILS .
(PD)
Location and Extent : Peardonville soils occur mainly in the vicinity of Peardonville and on the uplands wes t
of Matsqui Valley where 600 ha of pure map units and 160 ha of soil complexes dominated by Peardonville soil s
are mapped . The complexes are usually with Columbia and Calkins soils .
Topography and Elevation : The topography of Peardonville soils is mostly gently to moderately rolling wit h
slopes between 6 and 15 percent . A few areas range to very steeply sloping or hilly with gradients to 60 percent .
Elevations range between 50 and 100 m above sea level .
Parent Material and Texture : Peardonville soils have developed in 50 to 100 cm of medium-textured eolia n
deposits that overlie moderately coarse to coarse-textured, heterogeneous ice-contact deposits . Surface an d
subsurface textures are silt loam or loam and become moderately stony where the silty capping is shallow . Th e
subsoils vary from loamy sand to gravel where glaciofluvial materials are dominant, to gravelly sandy loam o r
loam where lenses and pockets of glacial till occur .
Soil Moisture Characteristics : Peardonville soils are well drained . They are moderately pervious and have
moderate to high waterholding capacity. Surface runoff is slow to moderate, depending on the steepness of th e
slopes .
General Soil Description : Peardonville soils, when under forest, have up to 10 cm of brownish to black ,
variably decomposed, organic litter on the mineral soil surface . This is underlain by about 60 cm of dark reddis h
brown to dark yellowish brown, weakly structured, friable, silty material which contains scattered, hard, reddish ,
spherical concretions . Under this is about 15 cm of friable, yellowish-brown, sandy material which contain s
some stones . Under this is loose, gravelly and sandy material containing pieces and lenses of compact loam y
till . Soil reaction grades from very strongly acid in the surface organic layer through strongly or medium acid i n
the upper 50 cm of the mineral soil to slightly acid in the subsoil (1 :1 H20) . Soil classification is Orthic Humo -
Ferric Podzol. A shallow variant of Peardonville soils is mapped in a few areas . It is similar to the usua l
Peardonville soils except that the silty surface capping is 20 to 50 cm thick rather than the usual 50 cm or mor e
thick .
Commonly Associated Soils : Columbia, Abbotsford, Marble Hill, Calkins, Ryder and Lonzo Creek soil s
are closely associated with Peardonville soils . All except Columbia soils are similar to Peardonville soils in tha t
they have silty, eolian surfaces . They vary, however, in subsoil materials or drainage . Ryder and Lonzo Creek
soils differ by being respectively underlain with glacial till at depths greater than 50 cm and between 20 and 5 0
cm . Marble Hill and Abbotsford soils differ by being respectively underlain by gravelly glaciofluvial materials a t
depths of greater than 50 cm and between 20 and 50 cm of the surface . Columbia soils are gravelly to the
surface while Calkins soils are poorly drained .
Vegetation : Most of the topographically suited areas of Peardonville soils are cleared and cultivated fo r
agricultural crops . Uncleared areas support a mixed, second-growth forest, dominantly coast Douglas-fir, re d
alder and vine maple with undergrowth that includes salmonberry, thimbleberry, bracken, and cascara .
Rooting depth is usually unrestricted although in locations where glacial till is dominant in the subsoil, som e
impediment occurs due to its compact nature .
General Land Use Comments : (1) Where not topographically limited, Peardonville soils are suited fo r
most crops if irrigation is available . Otherwise, and especially where the silty surface capping is thin, drought y
conditions develop during the latter part of most growing seasons . (2) Peardonville soils are variably suited fo r
urban and similar development . Steeply sloping areas are unsuited while the more level areas are well suited .
The soils are well drained and high watertables are not a problem . Septic tank effluent disposal fields generall y
work well although groundwater contamination is a possibility due to inefficient filtration by the coarse-texture d
subsoil if numerous systems are installed . Surface erosion is probable during heavy, prolonged rain in steepl y
sloping, vegetation-free areas . (3) Peardonville soils are moderately well suited for forest production . Potentia l
annual wood production by coast Douglas-fir is estimated to be between 7 .5 and 9 m3/ha .
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