Soils of the - Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

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Plate 5 Abbotsford soil profile (Orthic Humo-Ferric Podzol). Abbotsford
soils are well drained soils developed in 20 to 50 cm of sri! y
eolian material overlying gravelly glaciofluvial deposits ,
. t
Commonly Associated Soils : Marble Hill . Columbia, Calkins and Laxton soils are often associated wit h
Abbotsford soils. either in soil complexes or in adjacent map polygons . These soils are different fro m
Abbotsford soils in that Marble Hill soils have silty . eolian cappings deeper than 50 cm over gravel whil e
Columbia soils have less than 20 cm of silty capping and are usually gravelly and stony to the surface Calkin s
soils are poorly drained while Laxton soils onsist of shallow . silty, eci : cappings over medium to fine san d
(mainly duned )
Vegetation : Most areas are . . a ., .sr ; . r •cuitur ._u or urban purposes . The ieii all :1r g forested
areas support mostly coast Dougias-fir, lodgepoie tine and red aider . Rooting depth is generally unrestricte d
-General Land Use Comments : (t) Abbotsford soils are well suited for most agricultural crops (root crop s
may be unsuited in areas where the silty capping is shallow) . However. they tend to be droughty and irrigation i s
usually required for good production in most yearn (2) Abbotsford soils are also well suited for urban o r
industrial use because of good drainage . high bearing strength and rather gentle topography . There is ,
however, potential for ground water contamination from septic tank effluent due to low filtration capacity of th e
.iubsoil gravel and coarse sand . The gravelly subsoil is usually a good source of aggregate . (3) , Fc rmo. arowth i s
moderate, limited mainly by soil moisture deficiencies during the latter parts of the growing s '• : • .. a
limited number of plots indicates growth of coast Douglas-fir to be between 8 and 9 m a: