SOIL-EROSION CLASS AND LANDSCAPE POSITION IN THE NORTH-CAROLINA PIEDMONT

Soil map units in the North Carolina Piedmont are a complex of interfluves, valley slopes and foot slopes. Specific landscape positions are commonly too small to delineate on 1:15 480 or larger scale maps and most contain areas with varying degrees of erosion that cannot be separated at common map scales. Munsell color hues are a good indicator of clay content of the Ap horizon and can be used as a guide to erosion class. Within Cecil map units the clay content of the Ap horizons increases from about 10 to 30% as the Munsell hue shifts from 10YR to 5YR. Within Georgeville map units the clay content of the Ap horizons increase from about 30 to greater than 40% as the Munsell hues change from 7. 5YR to 2. 5YR. The distribution of erosion classes within a soil map unit delineation varies with landscape position.