Soils of the - Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

GLEN VALLEY SOIL S
Location and Extent : Glen Valley soils occur on both the lowlands and uplands of the map area east fro m
Delta Municipality. The main areas are located on the floodplains of the Fraser and Pitt Rivers . There are abou t
330 ha of pure map units and 720 ha of soil complexes dominated by Glen Valley soils . The complexes are
mainly with Gibson . Lumbum . Judson, Triggs and Widgeon soils .
Topography and Elevation :
The topography of Glen Valley soils varies from sngr ty uepresswna to revel o r
gently sloping . Slope gradients are less than 2 percent . Most areas lie between 3 and 10 m above sea level r. r r
a few. scattered areas on the uplands ranging to 100 m above sea leve l
Parent Material and Texture : Deep (more than 120 cm). undecomposed to weakly decomposed o r !j .i ~ c
deposits composed mainly of reeds, sedges, grasses and other deciduous material form the parent material o f
Glen Valley soils Scattered . old tree roots are found in the organic material as well . Surfaces vary from poorl y
decomposed (fibric) in uncleared areas to partly decomposed (mesic) In some cultivated fields The subsurface
and subsoil organic material is mostly fibric with, sometimes . a few, thin bands of mesic material . The
underlying mineral material . usually encountered at depths greater than 2 m, is silty clay loam or silty cla y
Soil Moisture Characteristics : Glen Valley soils are very poorly drained . They are moderately pervious anu
have slow surface runoff and very high water holding capacity . The watertable is at or near the surface for mos t
of the winter months and retreats slightly in the latter parts of the growing season Glen Valley soils often act a s
accumulation areas for seepage and runoff from higher, adjacent lands .
General Soil Description : The surface of Glen Valley soils usually consists of partially-decomposed reeds .
sedge and some moss remains . It is about 15 cm thick and is very dusky red to dark reddish brown in color .
Underlying the surface layer for at least 100 cm is dark reddish brown . yellowish-brown or yellowish-red .
r • undecomposed organic material that is weakly stratified and consists mainly of undecomposed sedge an d
reed remains . Occasional mossy lenses and old tree roots are also present . The underlying mineral material .
usually occurring at depths greater than 2 m, is clayey . massive and gray to greenish-gray or olive-gray in colo r
Soil reaction of the organic material varies from extremely to very strongly acid while the mineral underlay i s
moderately to strongly acid . Soil classification is Typic Fibrisol.
Plate 22 Vegetation on an unclearel
area of Glen Valley soils . The vegetation on
these deep. organic soils is mainl y
deciduous.
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