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

General Soil CharacteristicsThe Ap, Bm, Bt, and Ck horizons which occurusually have silt loam, loam or very fine sandyloam textures. The calcareous Ck horizons oftenoccur close to the surface, with the mean depthbeing 51 cm . The clay enriched Bt horizons,which occur above the calcareous Ck horizons, areusually well developed and easy to identify due totheir reddish brown to brown colours .Soil reaction ranges from slightly acid toneutral in the Ap horizons, to mildly alkaline inthe Ck horizons . Soil classification is typicallyBrunisolic Gray Brown Luvisol .Soil VariabilityLayers of clayey materials frequently occurwithin the profile. The layers are variable inthickness and usually have silty clay loam or siltyclay textures. Occasionally, layers of silt or sandymaterials occur. . When they occur, the sandymaterials frequently have sandy loam or finesandy loam textures . Due to surface erosionwhich has taken place, the calcareous Ck horizonsoccur at the surface in portions of some landscapeswhere Brant soils were mapped . Brant soils weremost often mapped in combination with Tuscola(TU) and Tavistock till phase (TAX) soils .Land Use/Management CommentsWhen topography is not a limitation, Brantsoils are rated Class 1 for common field crops.They are highly suitable for most special cropswhen the surface slopes are not too steep.Suitability ratings for selected special crops aregiven in Tables 6, 7, and 8.Due to the highly erodible nature of theirsurface materials, Brant soils are susceptible towater erosion. Management practices whichreduce the risk of erosion should therefore becarried out on these soils. A crop rotation whichincludes a forage crop, planting cover crops, andmaintaining high crop residue levels will aid inthis regard. Conservation tillage practices shouldbe considered for these soils .Brantford Soils (BF)Landform and TopographyBrantford soils have developed on blankets offine to very fine textured lacustrine materials .They usually occur on upper and crest slopepositions in landscapes which have undulating orhummocky topography. Slopes generally rangefrom 5 to 15%.Soil Moisture CharacteristicsBrantford soils are moderately well drained,and moderately to slowly permeable . Waterholding capacities are high if there are nocompacted layers which restrict water movementdownward . Surface runoff is usually rapid due tothe steepness of the surface slopes .General Soil CharacteristicsBrantford soil materials contain 27% or moreclay. The Ap horizons - usually have silty clayloam, clay loam, or silty clay textures . The subsoilB and Ck horizons tend to have higher claycontents and silty clay, clay, or silty clay loamtextures. Clay enriched Bt horizons usually occurabove the calcareous Ck horizons.Distinct mottles occur at a depth of 50 . to 100cm. Soil reaction ranges from medium acid toneutral in the Ap horizons, to mildly alkaline inthe Ck horizons. Soil classification is typicallyBrunisolic Gray Brown Luvisol.Soil VariabilityOccasionally layers of medium or coarsetextured materials occur within the profile. Thelayers are variable in thickness and usually havesilt loam, loam, or fine sandy loam textures .Brantford soils were mapped where thin capsof medium or coarse textured materials overly thefine to very fine textured materials . Brantfordcoarse phase (BF.C) soils were mapped where 15to 40 cm of coarse textured materials were presentat the surface. The coarse textured materialscommonly have fine sandy loam or sandy loamtextures. Brantford loamy phase (BF.L) soils weremapped where 15 to 40 cm of medium texturedmaterials were present at the surface . Themedium textured materials commonly have siltloam or loam textures . Severely eroded Brantfordsoils occupy significant portions of somelandscapes .Brantford soils were most often mapped incombination with Beverly (BV) soils. Brantfordcoarse phase (BF.C) soils were most often mappedin combination with Beverly coarse phase (BV.C)soils, and Brantford loamy phase (BF.L) soils weremost often mapped in combination with Beverlyloamy phase (BV.L) soils.Land Use/Management CommentsIf topography is not a limitation, Brantfordsoils are rated Class 2D for common field crops .When the surface slopes are not too steep, they aresuitable for a fairly wide range of special cropsincluding most horticultural crops. Suitability