Orange County NC Website
Browse       Search
Custom Soil Resource Report <br />Taxonomy" (Soil Survey Staff, 1999) and "Keys to Soil Taxonomy" (Soil Survey Staff, <br />2006) and in the "Soil Survey Manual" (Soil Survey Division Staff, 1993). <br />If soils are wet enough for a long enough period of time to be considered hydric, they <br />should exhibit certain properties that can be easily observed in the field. These visible <br />properties are indicators of hydric soils. The indicators used to make onsite <br />determinations of hydric soils are specified in "Field Indicators of Hydric Soils in the <br />United States" (Hurt and Vasilas, 2006). <br />Hydric soils are identified by examining and describing the soil to a depth of about 20 <br />inches. This depth may be greater if determination of an appropriate indicator so <br />requires. It is always recommended that soils be excavated and described to the depth <br />necessary for an understanding of the redoximorphic processes. Then, using the <br />completed soil descriptions, soil scientists can compare the soil features required by <br />each indicator and specify which indicators have been matched with the conditions <br />observed in the soil. The soil can be identified as a hydric soil if at least one of the <br />approved indicators is present. <br />Map units that are dominantly made up of hydric soils may have small areas, or <br />inclusions, of nonhydric soils in the higher positions on the landform, and map units <br />dominantly made up of nonhydric soils may have inclusions of hydric soils in the lower <br />positions on the landform. <br />The criteria for hydric soils are represented by codes in the table (for example, 2B3). <br />Definitions for the codes are as follows: <br />1. All Histels except for Folistels, and Histosols except for <br />Folists. <br />-° Z: Soils in Aquic suborders, great groups; orsubgroups, •- •~ <br />,,, <br />. Albolls suborder,- Historthels great group; Histoturbels.... •• ~ .: - - - - <br />great group, Pachic subgroups, or Cumulic subgroups <br />that: <br />A. are somewhat poorly <br />drained and have a water <br />table at the surface (0.0 <br />feet) during the growing <br />season, or <br />B. are poorly drained or very <br />poorly drained and have <br />either: <br />w <br />a <br />t <br />e <br />a <br />t <br />t <br />h <br />23 <br />