Subgroup | Series name | Percentage | WRB 2006 link |
---|---|---|---|
3.42 | WANTAGE | 70% | Rendzic Leptosols |
3.44 | GORE | 10% | Calcaric Colluvic Regosols |
3.42 | UPTON | 10% | Rendzic Leptosols |
3 |
Shallow lime-rich soils over chalk or limestone |
This association consists of greyish, well drained silty soils on the Lower Chalk mainly in south Oxfordshire, north Wiltshire, Kent and Buckinghamshire. In Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, and Cambridgeshire the association occurs in small patches. North of Luton it forms a narrow strip of gently sloping land at the foot of the chalk escarpment. Near Luton the soils form the side of a ridge and the association continues sporadically to the south-west, fronting the Chiltern Hills. The principal soil is Wantage series, loamy grey rendzinas with an extremely calcareous silty clay loam subsoil and chalk at moderate depth. The land is affected locally by springs and winterbournes so Burwell soils are found on valley floors and on gentle slopes. Shallow Upton soils, grey rendzinas, are confined to convex valley sides below the main Chalk scarp.
These soils are mapped on the gently to moderately sloping Lower Chalk overlooking the Vale of White Horse in south Oxfordshire. Although Wantage soils are dominant here, Upton and Gore soils are common on upper slopes. Panholes, Coombe and Charity soils are found on some valley floors and footslopes in drift from higher land nearby. In the Vale of Aylesbury, the land has been mapped in detail. In east Kent, where the soils occur on the North Downs scarp, they were included in the Andover association.
The soils of the association are predominantly well drained (Wetness Class I), but there are patches of less permeable Burwell soils on some valley floors and flat valley sides which when field drainage is effected are largely well drained (Wetness Class I).
The main crops are cereals, grown continuously or in rotation. Yields of winter wheat are consistently high and those of spring barley about average. The soils are easy to work and any surface capping usually breaks up as the soil dries. There is adequate time for autumn and spring landwork. There is little risk of poaching in grassland but there is some drought limitation on the shallowest soils.
Note that the yellow shading represents a buffer to highlight the location of very small areas of the association.
South Eastern Region
South Eastern Region
All information Copyright, Cranfield University © 2024
Citation: To use information from this web resource in your work, please cite this as follows:
Cranfield University 2024. The Soils Guide. Available: www.landis.org.uk. Cranfield University, UK. Last accessed 13/11/2024
LandIS, or the Land Information System is one of the offerings of the Cranfield Environment Centre (CEC). Incorporating the National Soil Resources Institute, we are the largest UK national and international centre for research and development, consultancy and training in soils and their interaction with the atmosphere, land use, geology and water resources.
Cranfield Environment Centre
Cranfield University
Bullock Building (B53)
Cranfield campus
Cranfield
MK43 0AL
(01234) 752992
Cookies: This site uses cookie. No personal information is gathered or held. You will need to enable cookies for this site to operate correctly.