Soil Associations

0571h ARDINGTON

Soil and site characteristics

Deep well drained fine and coarse loamy glauconitic soils. Some valley bottom soils affected by groundwater. Locally perennially wet.

Geology

Cretaceous glauconitic sand. loam and clay

Cropping and Land Use

Cereals and dairying on short term grassland some potatoes.

Component soil series

Subgroup	Series name	Percentage	WRB 2006 link
5.71	ARDINGTON	55%	Haplic Luvisols
5.41	URCHFONT	20%	Eutric Cambisols
8.41	COATE	10%	Luvic Eutric Gleysols

Covers 175 km² in England and Wales

Soilscapes Classification

6	Freely draining slightly acid loamy soils

0571h ARDINGTON

Detailed Description

This association consists of well drained loamy soils and some wetter soils on glauconitic Upper Greensand in Wiltshire and Dorset. The principal soil, the Ardington series is a typical argillic brown earth with an olive sandy clay loam subsoil which passes to green glauconitic sandy loam or sandstone. Associated Urchfont soils are coarse loamy typical brown earths passing to glauconitic sand and sandstone. Slowly permeable fine loamy Coate and coarse loamy Puckshipton soils occupy valley bottoms and concave footslopes below springlines.

The association is found in the Vale of Pewsey where well drained Ardington and Urchfont soils are extensive. The Ardington series mainly occupies a shallow depression marking the outcrop of the Chloritic Marl, whereas Urchfont soils are generally found on sandstone beds forming a broad bench. On ridge tops and footslopes around Pewsey Maplestead soils are included. Near Westbury and south of Shaftesbury there are loamy brown calcareous earths on calcareous glauconitic sandstone below the Lower Chalk. Around Shillingstone on the gently sloping Upper Greensand bench there are some wet Coate soils below springs. In Dorset the Upper Greensand forms a narrow strip at the base of the Chalk scarp. Ardington soils are usually dominant but the Greensand is variably glauconitic and Luppitt or Bearsted soils are locally common. Coate soils occur around springs which rise at the base of the Chalk. Well drained Maplestead soils in brown flinty coarse loamy drift are present in wide embayments into the chalk. Some well drained loamy brown calcareous earths are also found on low hills formed by hard sandstone bands. South of Crewkerne, Ardington soils form sloping ground whilst Coate and similar soils are developed in glauconitic drift on footslopes.

Soil Water Regime

Ardington and Urchfont soils are permeable and naturally well drained (Wetness Class I) and surplus winter rainfall passes readily downwards through the profile. Coate and Puckshipton soils are affected by the lateral flow of springwater and are seasonally waterlogged (Wetness Class II and III). Field drainage measures are often very effective though some systems have become blocked by deposits of iron ochre. Because of their large fine sand content most component soils have good reserves of water for plant growth, but in soils mismanaged by untimely cultivations or overstocking, a compact platy structure can reduce the depth of rooting.

Cropping and Land Use

These soils are mainly well drained and provide good, easy-working farmland on which cereals, potatoes and some horticultural crops are grown. Most of the soils resist poachingand can support good grassland. Surface structure is easily compacted however and ill timed cultivations cause surface capping, cultivation pans and erosion, especially in spring. Coate and Puckshipton soils are not suited to cropping and the sandy well-drained soils around Eastington require careful management to obtain good yields. Potassium status is good as a result of the large content of glauconite, a green potassium-iron silicate.

0571h ARDINGTON

Distribution Map

Note that the yellow shading represents a buffer to highlight the location of very small areas of the association.

Keys to component soil series

South Western Region

Typical Landscapes

South Western Region

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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 09/12/2024