Sassafras (soil)

The Sassafras soil series is one of the oldest in the United States and has great historical significance to modern-day soil science. It was recognized as the state soil of Maryland in 1901 and is now identified as a Benchmark (a soil that has large extent in major resource areas) and Hall of Fame soil series, which is a recognition given to a soil series for having a critical role in the evolution of soil science. It has been mapped in over 500,000 acres around Maryland and is also found in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Virginia, and Washington DC.

History

The historical significance of the Sassafras soil goes back to how soil series are classified. In 1899, the Bureau of Soils was created and early soil scientists, such as J.A. Bonsteel, began mapping out soils to identify and collect data on the soils. Not only was the Sassafras soil series one of the first to be classified in the United States, but it also affected how future soil series would be classified and named.

Initially, soil series were supposed to be named after the texture of the soil; The names would be determined based on if the soil had more clay, silt, or sand. In 1899, the Sassafras soil series was first mapped out in two different areas in Cecil County, Maryland. However, the textures of the two regions were too vastly different. Soil scientists soon discovered the sandy loams in one area were too different from the sandy loams of the other area, so they began naming soils based on geographic landscapes around the area. As a result, the Sassafras soil series was named after a river and a peninsula in the Chesapeake Bay.