Pedologist’s report – Soil characteristics for "Claude"

Name:

Noncalcareous gley

Age:

Up to 10000 years

Address:

Primarily in west Central Scotland

Preferred soil functions:

sustaining improved pasture swards

Height/Weight:

Usually quite deep. Very dense (heavy) at depth

Colour:

Greyish colours throughout

Characteristics:

Exhibits poor natural drainage as a result of the presence of an impermeable subsoil often immediately below the plough layer.

Notes:

Have mottled horizons indicative of waterlogged conditions and have coarse structured subsoils. Very prone to damage by trampling by large grazing animals or compaction by farm machinery if accessed when the soil is wet. A difficult soil that poses numerous management problems.

Health advice:

Do not use when the soil is wet and although drainage problems can be rectified by draining it is very expensive and no longer available for grant aid. Crop or grass yield is high in dry summers but high risk of crop failure in wet years.