Soils of the - Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

SCAT SOILS
Location and Extent : Scat soils are scattered throughout the uplands of the map area . The largest area s
occur on the Matsqui-Langley-Surrey uplands and east of Haney . About 460 ha of pure map units and 1470 ha of
soil complexes dominated by Scat soils are mapped . The complexes are mainly with Whatcom, Heron ,
Nicholson, Albion and Boosey soils .
Topography and Elevation : Scat soils are level to gently sloping with slope gradients less than 5 percent .
Usually they are depressional in relation to adjacent soils . Elevations vary from 10 to 150 m above sea level .
Parent Material and Texture : Scat soils have developed from moderately fine and fine-textured, compac t
glaciomarine deposits . In the eastern part of the map area a shallow capping of medium-textured eolia n
deposits commonly occurs on or is mixed into the surface . Surface textures are dominantly silt loam or silty cla y
loam with occasional variation to loam ; subsurface and subsoil textures are silty clay loam or silty clay. Widel y
scattered stones may be present in some areas .
Soil Moisture Relationships : Scat soils are poorly drained . They are slowly pervious and have high wate r
holding capacity and slow surface runoff. Seepage and runoff from adjacent areas accumulates in Scat soil s
resulting in perched watertables above the slowly permeable subsoil . Surface ponding is common during an d
after heavy, prolonged rains . During prolonged, dry periods, the perched watertables dissipate .
General Soil Description : In uncleared areas the soil surface usually consists of up to 10 cm of mostly well -
decomposed, black to reddish-brown organic forest litter of dominantly deciduous origin . This organic materia l
is underlain by 10 to 15 cm of black to brownish-black, friable, silty material . In cultivated areas, the soil surfac e
consists of a layer about 20 cm thick that is black to grayish-black, friable, weakly granular and silty . Underlyin g
the surface mineral soil layer is about 15 cm of grayish-brown, blocky, firm, silty to clayey material containin g
many, prominent, strong brown to reddish-brown mottles . This then grades to about 40 cm of grayish-brown ,
massive, firm to very firm, clayey material containing few to common, reddish-brown or yellowish-brown mottles .
Below this are extremely firm, grayish-brown, compact, weakly stratified to massive, unweathered glaciomarin e
deposits which contain common, very dark brown coatings along cleavage planes and a few yellowish mottles .
Soil reaction is very strongly or strongly acid in the upper soil and grades to neutral or slightly acid in the subsoi l
(1 :1 H 20) . Soil classification is Orthic Humic Gleysol .
Commonly Associated Soils : Whatcom, Nicholson, Albion, Durieu, Heron and Boosey soils all frequentl y
occur in close association with Scat soils . Whatcom, Nicholson and Durieu soils differ from Scat soils b y
occupying higher landscape positions and are well or moderately well drained . The upper soil layers are als o
reddish to brownish in colour. Albion, Heron and Boosey soils are poorly drained and are similar to Scat soils i n
that respect . Albion soils, however, differ by having a well defined clay accumulation layer in the subsurface .
Heron and Boosey soils respectively differ by having sandy and gravelly surface and subsurface textures .
Vegetation : Many areas of Scat soils are cleared and cultivated and used for mostly pasture and forag e
production . Uncleared areas are variably forested and support mostly deciduous species ; red alder, birch, vin e
maple, black cottonwood as well as western red cedar and western hemlock are the most common . Th e
undergrowth includes salmonberry, blackberry, sword fern, hardhack, skunk cabbage, sedges, grass an d
moss, among others . Rooting is mainly restricted to the upper 50 cm of soil by high watertables and the dense ,
compact subsoil .
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