Soils of the - Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

WIDGEON SOILS (WG )
Location and Extent : Widgeon soils occur only in the northern part of Pitt Meadows Municipality, in the Pit t
Polder area and near the mouth of Widgeon Creek . About 350 ha of pure map units and 480 ha of soil complexe s
dominated by Widgeon soils are classified . Most complexes are with Sturgeon, Glen Valley, Addington an d
Alouette soils .
Topography and Elevation : Widgeon soils, with slopes less than 2 percent, are nearly level or slightl y
depressional to gently undulating . Elevations all lie below 3 m above sea level .
Parent Material and Texture : Widgeon soils have developed from shallow organic deposits, between 4 0
and 160 cm thick and derived mainly from reeds and sedges, which overlie mixed, medium-textured, floodplai n
deposits of the Pitt, Fraser and Alouette Rivers . Some sedimentary organic material is also present . The surfac e
10 cm or so is mainly undecomposed (fibric) moss remains ; the underlying organic material is well-decomposed
(humic) and contains varying amounts of silt . The mineral subsoil is generally silt loam .
Soil Moisture Characteristics : Widgeon soils are very poorly drained . They are moderately pervious and
have very high water holding capacity and slow surface runoff . Groundwater tables are near the surface for most
of the year and surface flooding is common during heavy, prolonged rains or during the freshet (high water )
season on the adjacent rivers .
General Soil Description : Widgeon soils have a surface layer about 10 cm thick which is dark reddis h
brown to yellowish-brown and consists mainly of undecomposed moss . Under this is about 60 cm of well -
decomposed organic material which is massive, slippery when wet, contains varying amounts of silt, ranges i n
colour from dark reddish brown in the upper part through dark yellowish brown to very dark grayish brown nea r
the bottom and is usually saturated with water . The underlying silty soil is massive and changes from dar k
grayish brown in the upper part to dark gray with increasing depth . Soil reaction is extremely acid in the organi c
material and very strongly acid in the silty subsoil . Soil classification is Terric Humisol.
Commonly Associated Soils : Sturgeon, Glen Valley and Addington soils usually occur in close associa -
tion with Widgeon soils . Sturgeon and Addington soils differ from Widgeon soils by having organic surfac e
deposits between 15 and 40 cm deep, rather than between 40 and 160 cm thick . Also, the underlying minera l
soil in Addington soils is loamy to sandy, rather than silty . Glen Valley soils differ by consisting of mainl y
undecomposed peat 160 cm or more deep .
Vegetation : Only a few, small areas are cleared ; these are mostly used to produce reed canary grass .
Uncleared areas have vegetation that includes hardhack, sweetgale, sedges, reeds, grass, bog birch ,
occasional western red cedar and lodgepole pine with a mixed moss ground cover . Rooting is restricted mainl y
to the upper 30 cm by the high watertables .
General Land Use Comments : (1) Most areas of Widgeon soils are presently suited only for permanen t
pasture uses . With adequate water control through ditching, subsurface drains and dyking, they could b e
reclained for a variety of agricultural crops . (2) Urban and related uses are not suited for Widgeon soils due to
permanently high watertables, surface flooding and very low soil bearing strengths .
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