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

Conservation tillage practices, particularly no-tillpractices, should be be considered for these soils.Camilla Soils (CM)Landform and TopographyCamilla soils have developed on 40 to 100 cmthick veneers of coarse textured lacustrinematerials which are underlain by gravelly coarsetextured fluvial outwash materials. They usuallyoccur in landscapes which have nearly level orvery gently undulating topography. Slopesgenerally range from 1 to 5% .Soil Moisture CharacteristicsCamilla soils are imperfectly drained andrapidly permeable . The imperfect drainageconditions associated with these soils are due tohigh water table levels which occur mainly in thewinter and early spring. Camilla soils have lowwater holding capacities and slow surface runoff.General Soil CharacteristicsThe Ap horizons usually have sandy loam orloamy sand textures. The textures of the Bmgjhorizons are usually loamy sand or sand . Clayenriched Btgj or IIBtgj horizons, which usuallyhave sandy loam textures, commonly occur abovethe calcareous IICkgj horizons. The HCkgjhorizons commonly have gravelly coarse sand orgravelly sand textures .Distinct to prominent, strong brown to darkyellowish brown mottles occur within the profile .Soil reaction ranges from slightly acid to neutral inthe Ap horizons, to mildly alkaline in the IICkgjhorizons. Soil classification is typically GleyedBrunisolic Gray Brown Luvisol.Soil VariabilityCamilla soils mainly occur in areas which arenear or adjacent to the Thames River and largecreeks which run through the County. Frequentlythe upper sandy materials are wind modified andcontain gravel . Occasionally the underlying IICkgjmaterials consist of alternating layers of sandy andgravelly material . Loamy phase Camilla soils(CMI) were mapped where 15 to 40 cm of siltloam or loam textured material overlies thegravelly materials . Most often Camilla soils weremapped in combination with Caledon (CA) soils .Land Use/Management CommentsCamilla soils are rated Class 2F for commonfield crops when topography is not a limitation .They are suitable for a wide range of specialcrops, but generally require tile drainage orsupplemental irrigation in order to reach theirhighest potential for those crops . Suitabilityratings for selected special crops are given inTables 6, 7, and 8.Camilla soils are susceptible to wind erosion .Planting cover crops, establishing windbreaks, andcarrying out management practices whichmaintain organic matter levels, will aid inreducing the risk of erosion by wind . Camillaloamy phase (CMI) soils are susceptible to watererosion due to the highly erodible nature of theirsurface materials . Planting cover crops andmaintaining high crop residue levels would benefitthose soils. Conservation tillage practices,particularly no-till practices, should be consideredfor Camilla and Camilla loamy phase soils.Churchville Soils (CH)Landform and TopographyChurchville soils have developed on blanketsof medium to coarse textured lacustrine materials .They have nearly level topography and occur indepressional positions in the landscape . Slopesare less than 2% .Soil Moisture CharacteristicsChurchville soils are very poorly drained andmoderately permeable. The water table occurs ator near the surface for long periods each year .They have moderate water holding capacities andsurface runoff is slow .General Soil CharacteristicsThe Ah horizons usually have very fine sandyloam, fine sandy loam, or loamy fine sandtextures. The Bg and calcareous Ckg horizons areusually coarser textured and have fine sand orloamy fine sand textures.Bluish gray or gray gley colours are dominantwithin the profile. Soil reaction ranges fromneutral in the surface horizons to mildly alkalinein the Ckg horizons . Soil classification is typicallyOrthic Humic Gleysol.Soil VariabilityThe aerial extent of Churchville soils in theCounty is limited . Churchville peaty phase(CH.P)soils were mapped where 15 to 40 cm of organicmaterial occurred at the surface . The extent ofChurchville peaty phase soils in the County is alsolimited .33