Bama is the officialstate soil ofAlabama.
The Professional Soil Classifiers Association of Alabama adopted a resolution at its 1996 annual meeting recommending the Bama Soil Series as the state soil. The association is of a group ofsoil classifiers representing the Alabama Cooperative Extension System, the Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station, the USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service, theAlabama A&M University, private soil consultants, the Board of Registration for Professional Soil Classifiers, and the Alabama Department of Public Health. The Alabama Soil and Water Conservation Committee and the Alabama Association ofConservation Districts also joined in recommending the Bama Soil Series as the official State Soil.[1] The Bama series was designated the official state soil by theAlabama Legislature on April 22, 1997.[2]
Bama soils are mainly in level to gently sloping areas on highstream terraces paralleling major river systems and on broadmarine terraces. These very deep, well-drained, moderatelypermeable soils formed in thick deposits of loamyfluvial ormarine sediments. These soils make up more than 360,000 acres (1,500 km2), mainly in the western and central parts of Alabama. They occur in 26 counties. These soils are well suited to cultivatedcrops,pasture,hay,woodland, and mosturban land uses.Cotton andcorn are the main cultivated crops.
Bama soils areclassified inUSDA soil taxonomy as fine-loamy, siliceous, subactive, thermic Typic Paleudults.[3]