Maryland features an incredibly diverse agriculture landscape, stretching from the massive poultry farms of the Eastern Shore, to the expansive row crops of the Piedmont region, and the historic horse farms of the Western Shore. While Maryland’s agricultural economy is the smallest among the Chesapeake Bay watershed states, it is a vital powerhouse that employs over 350,000 people and generates over $8 billion annually. The Old Line State’s varied geography yields a vast range of soil types, directly shaping the rich variety of land uses we see across Maryland today.

Among these diverse soils is the Maryland State Soil–Sassafras. First established in 1901, it is one of the oldest documented soil series in the United States. In 1999, it was proclaimed the official state soil of Maryland. It was first discovered and mapped in Cecil County, taking its name after the local Sassafras River and Sassafras Peninsula on the Chesapeake Bay. Sassafras was chosen to represent Maryland because of its massive footprint and high agricultural productivity, presenting few limitations for most land uses. It is the most extensive soil series in the state, covering more than 500,000 acres, roughly 7% of the state’s land area. While it is most prominent here, this versatile soil also stretches into neighboring Delaware and New Jersey.

Soil description

Maryland state soil: Sassafras

A soil monolith from the Smithsonian Institution’s ‘Dig It! The Secrets of Soil’ exhibit of Maryland’s State Soil, Sassafras. Credit: United States Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service. 2006. Photo by Chip Clark, Smithsonian.

In the world of soil taxonomy, a ‘series’ is the most specific tier of classification. The USDA’s National Cooperative Soil Survey provides an Official Series Description (OSD) for each one. The Sassafras OSD describes it as a ‘Fine-loamy, siliceous, semiactive, mesic Typic Hapludults’. This short description tells an in-depth story:

  • Fine-loamy (Particle-size class): This refers to the soil’s texture and rockiness. It is 18 to 35% clay, at least 15% sand, and less than 35% rock fragments.
  • Siliceous (Mineralogy class): The soil chemistry is dominated by silica and other highly durable, weathering-resistant materials. These minerals are characterized by high acidity and naturally low nutrient retention.
  • Semiactive (Cation-exchange activity class): The clay and organic matter within this soil maintain a moderately low capacity to hold and exchange important plant nutrients.
  • Mesic (Temperature regime): This defines the climate zone. At a depth of 50 centimeters, the mean annual soil temperature stays between 47°F and 59°F, with a seasonal swing of at least 41°F between summer and winter.
  • Typic (Subgroup): This indicates that the soil is a ‘typical’ example of its broader classification group, exhibiting no extreme or unusual outlying features.
  • Hapludults (Great group and suborder): This tells us the soil is likely intensely weathered, acidic, and clay-rich (‘ults’), with minimum horizon development (‘Hapl’), and typically remains moist throughout the year (‘ud’).

In summary, this description tells us that Sassafras is a well-drained, acidic, weathered upland forest soil common in mid-latitude environments.

 

Relevance

Official state soil: Sassafras. Where is it?

Sassafras is most prominent along the Coastal Plain of Maryland.

While Sassafras is a highly versatile soil suitable for many land uses, it is classified as Prime Farmland Soil, making it desirable for Maryland farmers. Soils must meet strict criteria set by the USDA to earn this prestigious standard. Sassafras’ physical, chemical, and biological properties, along with its reliable moisture supply, make it a highly fertile foundation for Maryland’s agriculture. Most notably, it is very deep, well-drained, and permeable– optimal traits to promote air flow and water movement.

When farmers are working with a soil as valuable as Sassafras, managing the land with soil conservation in mind is vital. Best management practices include maximizing soil cover (such as retaining crop residue), minimizing disturbance (such as reduced tillage), maintaining living roots (such as cover cropping), and maximizing biodiversity (such as crop rotations). At the Alliance, we not only value improving soil health, but also protecting the naturally fertile ground that many farmers inherited. Our mission is to support these farmers, providing them with the management tools they need to maximize productivity without sacrificing our shared natural resources.

hands put small plants into soil

Native perennials being planted by Alliance staff in a pollinator garden in Annapolis, Maryland. Soils are a finite resource which needs to be protected across farms, forests, developments, and our own backyards.

Understanding soil is the first step to understanding our environment. It dictates what we can farm, where we can build, and how we manage our natural resources. As we move through this series, we will see how these principles manifest in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Stay tuned for the final installation on Pamunkey, the official state soil of Virginia.

Want to learn more about the soils in your backyard? Check out Web Soil Survey, a free online tool operated by USDA NRCS. Simply enter your address and draw a box around your area of interest. You can learn what the dominant soil series is in your backyard along with the suitabilities and limitations for use, and soil properties and qualities. This information can help you improve your backyard garden productivity!

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