Soil Survey of Livingston Parish, Louisiana
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United States In cooperation with Department of Louisiana Agricultural Agriculture Experiment Station Soil Conservation Service Parish, Louisiana Summary of Tables Temperature and precipitation (table 1) ..................................110 Freeze dates in spring and fall (table 2). .................................11 1 Probability. Temperature. Growing season (table 3). ..............................................11 1 Suitability and limitations of map units on the general soil map for major land uses (table 4) ..................................................1 12 Percent of area. Cultivated crops. Pasture. Woodland. Urban uses. Intensive recreation uses. Acreage and proportionate extent of the soils (table 5) .................... 116 Acres. Percent. Prime farmland (table 6). ............................................... 117 Land capability classes and yields per acre of crops and pasture (table 7). .. 118 Land capability. Corn. Soybeans. Common bermudagrass. Improved bermudagrass. Bahiagrass. Woodland management and productivity (table 8). ........................ 120 Ordination symbol. Management concerns. Potential productivity. Trees to plant. Recreational development (table 9). .....................................124 Camp areas. Picnic areas. Playgrounds. Paths and trails. Golf fairways. Wildlife habitat (table 10) ...............................................127 Potential for habitat elements. Potential as habitat for- Openland wildlife, Woodland wildlife, Wetland wildlife. Building site development (table 11) .....................................129 Shallow excavations. Dwellings without basements. Small commercial buildings. Local roads and streets. Lawns and landscaping. Sanitary facilities (table 12) .............................................132 Septic tank absorption fields. Sewage lagoon areas. Trench sanitary landfill. Area sanitary landfill. Daily cover for landfill. Construction materials (table 13) ........................................135 Roadfill. Sand. Gravel. Topsoil. Water management (table 14). ..........................................137 Limitations for-Embankments, dikes, and levees; Aquifer- fed excavated ponds. Features affecting-Drainage, Irrigation, Terraces and diversions, Grassed waterways. Engineering index properties (table 15) ..................................140 Depth. USDA texture. Classification-Unified, AASHTO. Percentage passing sieve number-4, 10, 40, 200. Liquid limit. Plasticity index. Physical and chemical properties of the soils (table 16). ................... 144 Depth. Clay. Moist bulk density. Permeability. Available water capacity. Soil reaction. Shrink-swell potential. Erosion factors. Organic matter. Soil and water features (table 17) .......................................147 Hydrologic group. Flooding. High water table. Subsidence. Risk of corrosion. Fertility test data for selected soils (table 18) ............................. 149 Depth. Horizon. pH. Organic matter content. Extractable phosphorus. Exchangeable cations. Total acidity. Effective cation-exchange capacity. Cation-exchange capacity. Base saturation. Saturation. Physical test data for selected soils (table 19) ............................154 Horizon. Depth. Particle-size distribution. Water content. Bulk density. Chemical test data for selected soils (table 20) ...........................156 Horizon. Depth. Extractable cations. Extractable acidity. Cation-exchange capacity. Base saturation. Organic matter. pH. Extractable iron. Extractable aluminum. Extractable hydrogen. Extractable phosphorus. Classification of the soils (table 21). .....................................159 Family or higher taxonomic class. Foreword This soil survey contains information that can be used in land-planning programs in Livingston Parish. It contains predictions of soil behavior for selected land uses. The survey also highlights limitations and hazards inherent in the soil,. improvements needed to overcome the limitations, and the impact of selected land uses on the environment. This soil survey is designed for many different users. Farmers, foresters, and agronomists can use it to evaluate the potential of the soil and the management needed for maximum food and fiber production. Planners, community officials, engineers, developers, builders, and home buyers can use the survey to plan land use, select sites for construction, and identify special practices needed to ensure proper performance. Conservationists, teachers, students, and specialists in recreation, wildlife management, waste disposal, and pollution control can use the survey to help them understand, protect, and enhance the environment. Great differences in soil properties can occur within short distances. Some soils are seasonally wet or subject to flooding. Some are shallow to bedrock. I Some are too unstable to be used as a foundation for buildings or roads. Clayey or wet soils are poorly suited to use as septic tank absorption fields. A high water table makes a soil poorly suited to basements or underground installations. These and many other soil properties that affect land use are described in this soil survey. Broad areas of soils are shown on the general soil map. The location of each soil is shown on the detailed soil maps. Each soil in the survey area is described. Information on specific uses is given for each soil. Help in using this publication and additional information are available at the local office of the Soil Conservation Service or the Cooperative Extension Service. State ~ogervationist Soil conservation Service Soil Survey of Livingston Parish, Louisiana By Donald McDaniel, Soil Conservation Service Fieldwork by Donald McDaniel, Dennis Daugereaux, Wilton Stephens, Cynthia Corkern, and Betty McQuaid, Soil Conservation Service United States Department of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service, in cooperation with Louisiana Agricultural Experiment Station LIVINGSTONPARISH is in the southeastern part of Louisiana (fig. 1). It has a total area of 458,204 acres, 32,604 acres of which consists of lakes, bayous, and rivers. St. Helena Parish borders this parish on the north, and Lake Maurepas, Ascension, and St. John Parishes are on the south. To the east is Tangipahoa Parish, and to the west is East Baton Rouge Parish. According to the 1980 census, the population of the parish was 58,806. About 79 percent of the population lives in rural areas. Land use is primarily woodland and pasture. About 81 percent of the land area in the parish is woodland, and 3 percent is pasture. Currently, rapid urban expansion, particularly in the central and western parts of the parish, is a trend. The parish consists of three Major Land Resource Areas (MLRA's). The Southern Mississippi Valley Silty Uplands MLRA is used mainly as woodland, as pasture, and for truck crops. This MLRA consists dominantly of poorly drained and somewhat poorly drained, loamy soils in the northern part and poorly drained and somewhat poorly drained, loamy over clayey soils in the southern part. The Eastern Gulf Coast Flatwoods MLRA Figure 1.-Location of Livingston Parish in Louisiana. is used mainly as woodland. The Southern Mississippi Valley Alluvium MLRA is used mainly as habitat for wetland wildlife and as a recreation area. This MLRA consists dominantly of poorly drained and somewhat swamps of the Southern Mississippi Valley Alluvium poorly drained, loamy soils. This MLRA consists mainly MLRA. of ponded, mucky soils in swamps. Elevation is about Descriptions and names of soils in this survey do not 100 feet above sea level in the Southern Mississippi fully agree with those on soil maps for adjacent Valley Silty Uplands MLRA and at sea level in the parishes. Differences are the result of better information Soil Survey on soils, modifications in series concepts, and variations The average relative humidity in midafternoon is in the intensity of mapping or the extent of soils within about 60 percent. Humidity is higher at night, and the the survey area. average at dawn is about 90 percent. The sun shines The first soil survey of Livingston Parish was 70 percent of the time possible in summer and 50 published in 1936 (4). This survey updates the earlier percent in winter. The prevailing wind is from the survey and provides additional information. southeast. Average windspeed is highest, 10 miles per hour, in spring. General Nature of the Parish Agriculture This section discusses climate, agriculture, history, In Livingston Parish, farming has been important transportation facilities, and water resources in the since the earliest settlers arrived in 1750. At first, survey area. products were grown strictly for home use. Later, some farm products were shipped by river to New Orleans. In Climate 1880, 561 farms were in the county and the average farm was 179 acres. About 21 acres on a farm was Prepared by the National Climatic Data Center, Asheville. North Carolina. improved for cultivation. Corn, cotton, sweet potatoes, rice, sugarcane, and oats were grown on the better Table 1 gives data on temperature and precipitation drained soils, especially those along the Amite River for the survey area as recorded at Amite, Louisiana, in and along the other rivers. the period 1951 to 1979. Table 2 shows probable dates In 1930, the county's 2,193 farms averaged about of the first freeze in fall and the last freeze in spring. 210 acres in size. About 13.5 acres on each farm was Table 3 provides data on length of the growing season. improved for use as cropland and pasture. The main In winter,