The Soils of Brant County - Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

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Soil Moisture Characteristics Gobles soils are imperfectlydrained . They are moderately to slowly permeable.Groundwater rises within the B horizons of Gobles soils fortemporary periods each year . They have high water-holdingcapacities and surface runoff is also relatively high .Commonly Associated Soils Muriel (MUI), Kelvin(KVN) and Colwood (CWO) soils . are commonly associatedwith Gobles soils as subdominant components in map unitsGOB 4, GOB 3 and GOB 13, respectively. Muriel and Kelvinsoils are moderately well and poorly drained, respectively, withsoil materials similar to Gobles . Colwood soils are poorlydrained, but occur on deep silt loam materials.Land Use and Management Gobles soils are good agriculturalsoils for general field crops . Grain corn, hay andspring grains are the most common crops on these soils . Theiruse and productivity is usually enhanced with tile drainage. Ofthe specialty crops, soybeans are occasionally produced onGobles soils, and they are fairly well-suited to this use .Granby Soils (GNY)General Soil Description Granby soils have developedon glaciolacustrine materials with textures of sand and loamysand . They are poorly drained .Surface Ap horizons ofGranby soils are about 20 cm thickconsisting of sandy loam or loamy sand textures . They are normallyquite high in organic matter content, and peaty surfacehorizons are not uncommon . This is the usual situation inwooded sites . Thin A or B horizons with prominent mottlesand gleyed colours usually occur between 20-25 cm depth . Thisoverlies prominently mottled Btg horizons extending fromabout 25 to 60 cm . They have a slight increase in clay content,and textures ofsandy loam . Granby Ck horizons occur at variabledepths ranging from 50 to more than 100 cm . Their carbonatecontents also tend to be variable and calcareousnessranges from weakly to strongly calcareous, the latter conditionusually occurring with increasing depth. Soil reaction ofGranby soils ranges from strongly acidic or neutral in the surfacehorizons to mildly alkaline in the subsoil . Soil classificationis usually Humic Luvic Gleysol in Brant County.Elsewhere, it is usually Orthic Humic Gleysol .Soil Moisture Characteristics Most Granby soils arepoorly drained, except for some peaty phase Granby soilswhich are very poorly drained . They usually are rapidly permeable . Most horizons are saturated by groundwater for long periodseach year unless artificially drained . Granby soils havelow water-holding capacities and slow surface runoff.Commonly Associated Soils Brady (BAY) and Stayner(STN) soils are commonly associated with Granby soils as subdominantcomponents in map units GNY 4 and GNY 10,respectively. Brady soils are imperfectly drained, with soilmaterials similar to Granby. Stayner soils are very poorlydrained and occur in depressional areas where 40 to 100 cm oforganic materials have accumulated over the sand .Land Use andManagement Granby soils in their naturalcondition are relatively poor soils for agricultural use becauseof wetness limitations . A large portion of them still occur inundrained forested swamps in Brant County. On cleared areas,undrained Granby soils can be used for pasture. Where artificialdrainage has been established, Granby soils are well-suitedfor grain corn, soybeans, tobacco and some commercial vegetablecrops .Guelph Soils (GUP)General Soil Description Guelph soils have developedon glacial till, mainly of loam texture . They are well-drained .Surface Ap horizons of Guelph soils are about 20 cm thickand are low to medium in organic matter content . They areusually loam or silt loam in texture . Brownish-coloured Bmhorizons underlie the surface horizon to a depth of 35 to 45 cm .They also are loam or silt loam in texture. These horizons maybe absent on slopes where surface erosion has occurred, as theyhave been incorporated by plowing into the Ap horizon . Distinctivedark-brown Bt horizons usually occur at a depth rangingfrom 35 to 70 cm . They have a pronounced increase in claycontent and are usually loam to clay loam in texture . Thesehorizons often have awavy, tongueing boundary with underlyingCk horizons . Ck horizons occur at variable depths, withthe mean depth being 60 to 70 cm . They are generally loam intexture and are strongly calcareous . Soil reaction of Guelphsoils ranges from near neutral in the surface horizons to moderatelyalkaline in the subsoil . Soil classification is BrunisolicGray Brown Luvisol .Soil Moisture Characteristics Guelph soils are welldrained. They are moderately permeable and have mediumwater-holding capacities . Surface runoff can be moderatelyhigh and it increases markedly as slope increases, and as theorganic matter content of the surface horizon decreases .Commonly Associated Soils London (LOD), Woolwich(WOW), Colwood (CWO) and Scotland (STD) soils are commonlyassociated with Guelph soils as subdominant components in map units GUP 2, GUP 4, GUP 6 and GUP 7,respectively. London soils are imperfectly drained with soilmaterials similar to Guelph soils . Woolwich soils are welldrained,and have a surficial veneer of silt overlying the loamtill of the Guelph soils . Colwood soils are poorly drained andconsist of silty deposits in excess of 100 cm in depth . Scotlandsoils are rapidly drained, and are characterized by sandy texturesoverlying gravelly loam glacial till . .Land Use and Management Guelph soils are good soilsfor agricultural use. They are commonly used for field cropssuch as grain corn, hay, winter wheat and spring grains .Recently, specialty crops such as soybeans have appeared onGuelph soils . The only limitations of significance affecting theuse of Guelph soils for field crops are topography and past erosion. Complex slopes exceeding 3 °Io have a slight topographiclimitation . This limitation becomes more severe as slopeincreases . Hummocky or rolling topography may also havemoderate to severe erosion limitations due to loss of topsoil bywater erosion .Haldimand Soils (HIM)General Soil Description Haldimand soils have developedon glaciolacustrine sediments of clay or heavy clay textures. They are imperfectly drained .Surface Ap horizons of Haldimand soils are about 20 cmthick and silty clay loam or silty clay in texture . They are moderatelyhigh in organic matter, ranging from 4 to 6 016 . The Bmhorizons underlying the surface horizon are prominently mottledand generally silty clay in texture . They extend to an averagedepth of about 40 cm . The Bt horizons normally havedistinctive prismatic and angular blocky structure. In cultivatedfields, they often have compacted and amorphous structure. Soil texture usually is silty clay or clay. The Ck horizons
usually begin at about 50 cm . They have similar prismatic andangular blocky structure as the Bt horizons, and are clay orheavy clay in texture . They are strongly calcareous . Soil reactionofHaldimand soils ranges from slightly acidic to neutral inthe surface horizons to moderately alkaline in the subsoil . Soilclassification is Gleyed Brunisolic Gray Brown Luvisol .Soil Moisture Characteristics Haldimand soils areimperfectly drained and slowly permeable . Groundwater riseswithin the B horizons of Haldimand soils for temporary periods each year. Perching of surface water in the upper horizonsalso is common following periods of heavy rainfall . Haldimandsoils have medium to high water-holding capacities, butcan be droughty during prolonged dry periods due to slowrelease ofwater from the clay textures . They have rapid surfacerunoff.Commonly Associated Soils Smithville (SHV), Lincoln(LIC) and Berrien (BRR) soils are commonly associated withHaldimand soils as subdominant components in map unitsHIM 5, HIM 3 and HIM 13, respectively. Smithville soils aremoderately well-drained and Lincoln soils are poorly drainedon similar parent materials to Haldimand soils. Berrien soilsare imperfectly drained and have a sandy surficial layer 40-100cm in depth over clayey-textured subsoil .Land Use and Management Haldimand soils are fairsoils for agricultural use with moderately severe limitationsdue to soil structure. Their high clay content causes difficultiesin tillage, seed bed preparation, plant emergence and root penetration. Excess soil moisture also can be a problem, and sometile drainage may be necessary . Grain and silage corn, springgrain, winter wheat and forages are the most common crops onthese soils .Harrisburg Soils (HBG)General Soil Description Harrisburg soils have developedon silt loam textures 40 to 100 cm in depth overlyinglacustrine silty clay loam material . They are well-drained .Surface Ap horizons of Harrisburg soils are about 15 cmthick and are silt loam in texture . They are moderately high inorganic matter, averaging around 4-5% . The underlyingbrownish-coloured Bm horizons are quite thick, extending to adepth of approximately 50 cm . They too are silt loam in texture. Distinctive dark-brown Bt horizons of silt loam texture,but with a significantly higher clay content than overlyinghorizons, occur from about 50 to 80 cm . Theyare underlain byCk horizons which are silty clay loam in texture and stronglycalcareous . Soil reaction of Harrisburg soils ranges from acidicin the surface horizons to moderately alkaline in the subsoil .Soil classification is Brunisolic Gray Brown Luvisol .Soil Moisture Characteristics Harrisburg soils are welldrainedand moderately to slowly permeable. Perching of surfacewater may occur for short periods in the zone immediatelyon top of the Bt horizon during periods of heavy rainfall . Harrisburgsoils have medium water-holding capacity, and may bedroughty during prolonged dry periods . Surface runoff can behigh and increases significantly with slope.Commonly Associated Soils Osborne (OBO), Ohsweken(OSE) and Brant (BRT) soils are commonly associatedwith Harrisburg soils as subdominant components in mapunits HBG 2, HBG 3 and HBO 4, respectively. Osborne soilsare imperfectly drained and Ohsweken soils poorly drained onsimilar parent materials to Harrisburg soils . Brant soils arewell-drained and are formed on deep lacustrine silt loammaterials .Land Use and Management Harrisburg soils are excellentsoils for agricultural use . They are predominantly used forgrain corn and forages ; however, they have good potential forspecialty crops such as apples, beans, peppers and tomatoes .There is some use of these soils for sod farming in BrantCounty. Their main limitation to use is susceptibility to watererosion on sloping topography.Heidelberg Soils (HIG)General Soil Description Heidelberg soils have developedon glaciolacustrine sediments of very fine sandy loamand loamy very fine sand textures . They are imperfectlydrained .Surface Ap horizons of Heidelberg soils are about 20 cmthick and are very fine sandyloam in texture . They have a moderateorganic matter content of about 3 to 4% . Brownishcoloured, mottled Bm horizons underlie the surface horizonextending to a depth of about 45 cm . They too are very finesandy loam in texture . The Bt horizons are rather weakly developedand are similar in texture to the horizons above . Theyextend to a depth of about 70 cm . Strongly calcareous Ck horizonsoccur below 70 cm of very fine loamy sand texture . Soilreaction of Heidelberg soils is near neutral throughout theupper solum and slightly alkaline in the subsoil . Soil classificationreflects transitional development representative of bothGleyed Brunisolic Gray Brown Luvisol and Gleyed OrthicMelanic Brunisol subgroups .Soil Moisture Characteristics Heidelberg soils areimperfectly drained and usually moderately permeable. Subsoilhorizons may be slowly permeable if they are compactedby heavy machinery. Heidelberg soils have a temporary highgroundwater table, but this usually recedes sufficiently early inthe growing season to avoid interfering with root development .They have moderate to good water-holding capacities . Surfacerunoff from these soils can be moderately high, especially onsloping topography.Commonly Associated Soils Granby (GNY) soils aremost commonly associated with Heidelberg soils as the subdominantcomponent in map unit HIG 2 . They are poorlydrained and developed onlacustrinesand or loamy sand parentmaterial .Land Use and Management Heidelberg soils are goodsoils for agricultural use . Grain corn, spring grain and foragesare the common field crops grown on these soils . They are fairto good soils for a range of specialty crops, although there is littlecurrent use of these soils for this purpose. Artificial drainageis seldom required on these soils, unless moisture-sensitivecrops are grown .Kelvin Soils (KVN)General Soil Description Kelvin soils have developed onglacial till of silty clay loam and silty clay textures . They arepoorly drained .Surface Ap horizons ofKelvin soils range from 20 to 25 cmthick and usually are silty clay loam in texture. They have highorganic matter contents of about 4 to 6% . Prominently mottled Bg horizons underlie the surface horizons to a depth of 50to 60 cm . They have slightly higher clay contents than the adjacenthorizons and are silty clay intexture . Development ofmassivestructure in this horizon isnot uncommon under cultivatedconditions . The Ck horizons also have prominent mottles andrange in texture from silty clay loam to silty clay. They usually
Page 1 and 2: The Soils ofBrant CountyVolume 1Ont
Page 3 and 4: ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS . . . . . . . . .
Page 5 and 6: The soil survey, data collection, a
Page 7 and 8: GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THEAREALocat
Page 10 and 11: DevonianBois Blanc Formation : grey
Page 12 and 13: DrumlinAbandoned shorelineMeltwater
Page 14 and 15: Fox SoilsIWilsonville and Scotland
Page 16 and 17: Figure 10 .Main streams and tributa
Page 18 and 19: Table 5 .Climatic data forBrantford
Page 20 and 21: Ah horizon(dark brown or black)- Bm
Page 22 and 23: Table6. Soil families ofBrant Count
Page 24 and 25: GENERAL DESCRIPTIONS OF THE SOILSSO
Page 26 and 27: Soil DescriptionsGeneralized descri
Page 28 and 29: Soil Moisture Characteristics Brady
Page 30 and 31: Soil Moisture Characteristics Camil
Page 34 and 35: are strongly calcareous . Soilreact
Page 36 and 37: Soil Moisture Characteristics Scotl
Page 38 and 39: Tuscola Soils (TUC)General Soil Des
Page 40 and 41: dark-brown colour . The Ck horizons
Page 42 and 43: Table7. Mean horizon values of Bran
Page 44 and 45: Table 7 . Mean horizon values of Br
Page 47 and 48: Procedure for Using Tables for Soil
Page 49 and 50: Table 10 . Agricultural suitability
Page 55 and 56: Table 11 . K-values, Erodbility cla
Page 57 and 58: Table 11 . K-values, erodibility cl
Page 59 and 60: Table 12.Guidelines for establishin
Page 61 and 62: 1 . Johnson, C .M.,1967 . Brant Cou

The Soils of Brant County - Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

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