Soils of the - Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

BERRY SOILS (BR)
Location and Extent : Berry soils occur mainly in the vicinities of Langley, Milner and Haney. There are abou t
180 ha of pure map units and a further 960 ha of soil complexes dominated by Berry soils . The complexes ar e
mostly with Cloverdale and Milner soils .
Topography and Elevation : Berry soils are usually very gently sloping to undulating with slopes between 2
to 5 percent . A few, small areas along gullies have slopes to 30 percent . In soil complexes, Berry soils usuall y
occupy intermediate landscape positions between the lower lying Cloverdale soils and the higher Milner soils .
Elevation of Berry soils ranges from 15 to 50 m above sea level .
Parent Material and Texture : Berry soils have developed from moderately fine to fine-textured, stone-free ,
marine sediments . Silt loam or silty clay loam surface textures are usual . These grade to clay or silty clay in th e
subsurface and subsoil .
Soil Moisture Characteristics : Berry soils are imperfectly drained . They are moderately pervious in th e
upper 75 cm or so but become slowly pervious at depths below about 75 cm . Water holding capacity is hig h
and surface runoff is slow to moderate . A temporary, perched watertable develops above the clayey subsoi l
layers during periods of heavy rain and lateral seepage occurs during these periods also .
General Soil Description : Berry soils have a brown to reddish-brown, friable, silty, cultivated surface abou t
20 cm thick which is underlain by friable, brown to yellowish-brown, silty material about 40 cm thick containin g
few to common, reddish-yellow to strong brown mottles . In turn, this is underlain by about 10 cm of light brownis h
gray, leached, silty material containing common, reddish-yellow mottles . The leached layer is abruptly under -
lain by an olive-gray, clay enriched layer about 40 cm thick which is very firm, strongly structured and contain s
some reddish, yellowish and brownish mottles . This grades gradually at about 1 m depth to dark grayish brown ,
dense, unweathered, clayey marine sediments which contain yellow-brown mottles in the upper part . Soi l
reaction varies from strongly to slightly acid in the upper 50 cm, then grades to mildly alkaline at depths below 1
m (1 :1 H 2 0). Soil classification is G/eyed Podzolic Gray Luvisol.
Commonly Associated Soils : Milner, Cloverdale, Carvolth, and Murrayville soils are often closely associated
with Berry soils . Cloverdale soils differ from Berry soils by being poorly drained and having dark gray t o
black surfaces . Milner soils differ by being moderately well drained and more reddish in colour. They also lac k
mottling in the upper 50 to 75 cm . Murrayville soils consist of a sandy veneer over clayey marine sediments whil e
Carvolth soils are poorly drained and occur on the floodplains of streams eroded into the marine sediments .
Vegetation : Most areas of Berry soils are cleared and used mainly for pasture and forage . Small, uncleare d
areas support coast Douglas-fir, western red cedar, western hemlock along with red alder, birch and biglea f
maple . Rooting is restricted mainly to the upper 80 cm of soil by the dense, clayey, subsoil textures .
General Land Use Comments : (1) Berry soils are utilized mainly for forages and pasture, however, the y
are suitable for a wide range of crops . Exceptions are those perennials that are susceptible to periodic hig h
watertables over the winter months . (2) Variable soil bearing strengths and relatively high shrink-swell characteristics
in the clayey subsoil may require special consideration when constructing building foundations .
Operation of septic tank disposal fields is severely impaired by the slow permeability of the subsoils . (3) Berry
soils appear to be well suited for the growth of forest crops . Productivity of coast Douglas-fir is estimated to b e
about 12 to 15 m 3/ha/yr.
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