Composition and precision of classification of several mapping units of the Appling, Cecil and Lloyd series in Walton County, Georgia

Walton County comprises 330 square miles, or 211,200 acres, in the north central part of Georgia (Figure 1).

Because the county is located near several of the larger urban areas of Georgia, the soils will be considered in future years for many alternative uses. It is imperative that the people interpreting the soils for these many uses, have accurate information about the soils in order to avoid unnecessary expenditures of time and money. To provide this information a medium intensity standard soil survey was made for Walton County by the United States Department of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service in cooperation with the University of Georgia, College of Agriculture, Agricultural Experiment Stations. This soil survey was completed and correlated in 1962 and is expected to be published sometime in 1964.

According to the survey, soils of the Appling, Cecil and Lloyd series are mapped in all sections of the county and comprise about 80% of it. The Appling soils comprise 17%; Cecil, 51%; and Lloyd, 12%. The delineations range from small to large.

The purpose of this study was to determine the composition of the most extensive mapping units of the Appling, Cecil and Lloyd series in Walton County and to evaluate the precision of classifying them into series, types and phases.

The specific objectives were: (a) to study soil properties of the pedons along transects, (b) to determine actual composition of the most extensive correlated mapping units of the Appling, Cecil, and Lloyd series, (c) to compare variations within current series, types and phases to variations within the official soil series descriptions, and (d) to look for ways of improving the mapping.

The mapping in Walton County is considered typical of that being done by the Soil Conservation Service in Georgia.