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

Ayr Soils (AY)Landform and TopographyAyr soils have developed on 40 to 100 anthick veneers of coarse textured lacustrinematerials which are underlain by gravelly coarsetextured fluvial outwash materials . They usuallyoccur on lower slope positions in landscapeswhich have nearly level or very gently undulatingtopography. Slopes are less than 2% .Soil Moisture CharacteristicsAyr soils are poorly drained and rapidlypermeable . The poor drainage conditionsassociated with these soils are caused by highwater table levels which are near the surface forprolonged periods during the year. Ayr soils havelow water holding capacities and slow surfacerunoff .General Soil CharacteristicsThe Ap and Bg horizons usually occur in theupper sandy materials and have sandy loam,loamy sand, or sand textures . The calcareousIICkg horizons generally occur in lower gravellymaterials commonly have gravelly coarse sand,gravelly loamy coarse sand, gravelly sand, orgravelly loamy sand textures .Gray gley colours are dominant in the profile,and prominent dark brown to dark yellowishbrown mottles are also present. Soil reactionranges from neutral in the Ap horizons, to mildlyalkaline in the IICkg horizons . Soil classificationis typically Orthic Humic Gleysol.Soil VariabilityThe aerial extent of Ayr soils in the County islimited. Ayr fine phase soils (AY.F) were mappedwhere 15 to 40 cm of clay loam textured materialsoverly the sandy and gravelly materials . Ayrloamy phase soils (AY.L) were mapped where 15to 40 cm of silt loam and loam textured materialsoverly the sandy and gravelly materials. Ayr soilswere mapped in combination with Camilla soils(CM).Land Use/Management CommentsAyr soils require file drainage in order to reachtheir potential capability for common field cropproduction . They are rated Class 2W or 2WT. Ifthey are the drained, Ayr soils are suitable forgrowing a wide range of special crops . Suitabilityratings for selected special crops are given inTables 6, 7, and 8.Conservation tillage practices should beconsidered for Ayr soils. Ayr fine phase (AY.F)soils, however, are better suited for conventionaltillage practices .Bennington Soils (BN)Landform and TopographyBennington soils have developed on 40 to 100cm thick veneers of medium textured lacustrinematerials which are underlain by fine to very finetextured lacustrine materials . They occur inlandscapes which usually have gently undulatingtopography, and they commonly occur on mid toupper slope positions. Slopes commonly rangefrom 5 to 9% .Soil Moisture CharacteristicsBennington soils are well drained . They areusually moderately permeable through the uppermedium textured materials, and slowly permeablein the lower fine to very fine textured materials .The water holding capacities of Bennington soilsare high. Surface runoff is moderate on verygentle slopes, but can be rapid on steeper slopes .General Soil CharacteristicsThe Ap and Bm horizons usually occur in theupper medium textured materials . They typicallyhave silt loam or loam textures. Clay enriched Btor IIBt horizons commonly occur where themedium textured materials contact the underlyingfine textured materials . Textures of those horizonsfrequently are silt loam, loam, silty clay loam, orsilty clay . The calcareous IICk horizons usuallyhave silty clay loam or silty clay textures . Soilreaction ranges from slightly acid to neutral in theAp horizons, to mildly alkaline in the IICkhorizons. Soil classification is typically BrunisolicGray Brown Luvisol .Soil VariabilityOccasionally very fine sandy loam or finesandy loam textures occur in the upper materials .Layers of medium textured materials also occuroccasionally in the lower fine textured materials .Bennington till phase 03N T) soils were mappedwhere 40 to 100cm of medium textured lacustrinematerials were underlain by fine to very finetextured Port Stanley till. The aerial extents ofBennington (BN) and Bennington till phase(BN.T)soils in the County are limited .Bennington soils were mapped in combinationwith Tavistock (TA) soils, -and Bennington till