Part 2: A Knowledge of Soils Can Help the Beekeeper to Choose Good Bee Locations
By: Michael Johnston
It is important for all beekeepers to understand the effect that soils will have on honey production. The small hobbyist beekeeper will probably keep their bees at their home regardless of whether or not it is an ideal location. The small beekeeper can benefit by knowing what plants can thrive in their area and what yields can be realistically expected. The commercial or sideline beekeeper can use a knowledge of soils to decide where to begin looking for new locations.
In his book Honey Plants of North America, John Lovell quotes W.Z. Hutchinson as saying “The foundation of success in beekeeping is the location. Unless a man has a proper location, he had better relinquish beekeeping as a specialty, or else seek the right location.” Lovell himself states “There is a small number of states in which commercial beekeeping is profitable throughout their entire extent; but in most cases there are only a few sections well adapted to this industry, while the remainder of this territory will support a small number of colonies.”
In the Preface to Honey Plants of North America written in 1926, Lovell states “A beekeeper should be familiar with the soils of his state and should obtain and study the maps prepared by the Bureau of Soils in Washington.” A lot has happened since 1926. In the late 1920’s, we had the beginning of the dust bowl that lasted almost to the end of the 1930’s. That event led to the creation of the Soil Conservation Service (originally the Soil Erosion Service and now the Natural Resource Conservation Service) under Hugh Hammond Bennet. Individual counties created Soil Conservation Districts and federal staff were assigned to these counties. An effort was begun to map the soils on a county by county basis that still continues. By sending out soil scientists to walk across the landscape, our country has assembled the maps of what soil lies where for most of our country.
In a system similar to the way in which plants are classified, USDA Soil Taxonomy has also been developed. We can demonstrate the similarity of the two systems as follows by comparing the classification of the plant white clover and the soil Honeoye:
So the largest group in the soil classification system is the order. Soils are grouped into orders based on the manner in which they were formed. The factors that influence the formation of soils are:
Climate (temperature and precipitation)
Living organisms (especially native vegetation)
Parent Material (bedrock or materials transported to the site)
Topography
Time (Some soils are relatively young; others are worn and old)
For the beekeeper, knowing the orders and suborders of the soils in your region and actually, all across the United States can be very useful.
There are twelve orders of soils. Seven of these orders cover relatively large areas in the United States. These are the Mollisols, Alfisols, Inceptisols, Ultisols, Entisols, Aridisols and Spodisols. The remaining five soil orders cover smaller geographic areas and are the Andisols, Gellisols, Histosols, Oxisols and Vertisols. All twelve soil orders are important to the beekeepers that happen to live near where these soils occur. Here is a brief description of each soil.
Mollisols
Mollisols occupy 22% of the ice-free land area of the United States, more than any other order. The Mollisols are the most important agriculturally productive soils in North America as well as on a world wide basis. They are located in the temperate regions of the world. The mollisols are a relatively young soil and formed under grasslands in a semi-arid to semi-humid climate. They have a very deep surface layer and are very high in organic matter. The soil is very fertile. The parent material is either limestone bedrock, glacial till or wind blown silt or sand. The topography can be either relatively flat to moderately sloping to steeply sloping. North Dakota is dominated by mollisols and is the top honey producing state in the U.S. according to USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service in 2020. 38.61 million pounds of honey was produced there, 26% of the total reported U.S. production. In 2021, another 28.325 million pounds were produced, 22% of the U.S. production. According to USDA NASS, South Dakota has a higher average per colony honey production. Both states have registration of bee locations. Most of this honey comes from the calciphile plants sweet clover, alfalfa, white clover and crimson clover. Oilseed crops such as rape and sunflower can also be important sources of honey.
The Mollisols are further divided into Sub-orders based on climate and topography. The best Sub-order of the Mollisols would be the Udolls, described as being formed in a humid climate. These are located in eastern sections of North Dakota, South Dakota, Kansas, and large parts of Iowa and Illinois. The Sub-order Ustoll is said to be formed in semi-arid to sub-humid climates. Most of the Ustolls are located west of the Udolls. When driving from east to west across states such as North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska and Kansas, it is striking to notice the increase in irrigation equipment as you proceed west. Xerols are freely draining soils that formed in Mediterranean climates of the western states and are often used as irrigated cropland.
Alfiols
Alfisols occupy 14% of the ice-free land area of the United States and is another important soil order for beekeeping. I live close to the boundary between these high lime soils and the more acidic Inceptisols of the Appalachian highlands.
Alfisols get their name from the presence of aluminum (Al) and iron (Fe) in much of the clay particles of these soils. In North America, these soils most often formed under deciduous forest areas under temperate humid or subhumid conditions. Parent material is either glacial till or limestone bedrock with a high pH. Alfisols have relatively high fertility and are very productive. Calcium, Magnesium and Potassium are naturally, relatively abundant. These soils are not as fertile as the Mollisols but are more fertile than Ultisols. In Honey Plants of North America, John Lovell describes a white clover belt that includes Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa. This clover belt would correspond with areas with the presence of Alfisols.
Udalfs are the most extensive suborder of the Alfisols and formed under forest conditions. Ustalfs have a more pronounced dry season and are found further west. Xeralfs are found in the far western states.
Entisols
Entisols occupy 12% of the ice-free land area of the United States. Entisols are a very widely distributed soil order on the planet. Their main distinguishing feature is a lack of a strong development of horizons in profile but they can be very diverse in other properties. Entisols are soils that have been eroded by wind or water from other areas and deposited in their present location. They can also be old soils where the parent materials were not exposed to soil forming factors. The great deserts of the world such as the Sahara are Entisols. Our river valley bottomlands are also Entisols and can be very important to the beekeeper. Great bee locations can be found on the boundary between valley bottoms and uplands where bees can reach honey plants located on two different soil orders.
Inceptisols
Inceptisols occupy 10% of the ice-free land area of the United States. Inceptisols get their name from the latin word inceptum meaning beginning. They are relatively young soils that do not show significant horizon development from leaching. They are common on resistant bedrock parent materials. This soil order seems to be a bit of a catch-all. They are not formed on volcanic ash but do on lava. They do not form in dry conditions or on permafrost and their clay particles do not shrink or swell depending upon moisture. A typical soil series of the Udept suborder would be Mardin. The pH can be strongly acid to slightly acid in the upper soil layers where plant roots are present. These soils typically have a fragipan (compaction layer) at a depth of 14 to 25 inches that will limit plant root growth and lead to temporary wetness in the Spring. A good honey flow can be expected from early Spring until early July starting with sugar maple, followed by black locust and ending with basswood. A dearth in mid-Summer is then experienced lasting from mid-July until mid-August. Good Fall crops are usually obtained from goldenrod and aster. The Xerepts suborder occurs in the far western United States and is found in areas with very dry Summers and wet Winters. Yellow star thistle is the best source of honey in the foothill surrounding the northern Sacramento Valley but rain is needed in May and June for this plant to produce.
Ultisols
Ultisols occupy 9% of the ice-free land area of the United States. The Ultisols are acidic soils formed from weathered bedrock parent materials. They are located mainly in the southeastern United States. Because of leaching of nutrients, these soils are low in natural fertility. Aluminum and iron oxides remain and the iron is the cause of the color of the red clay in Georgia. They have a good capacity to retain nutrients because of their high clay content. Ultisols can be agriculturally productive with the addition of lime and fertilizers. Common honey plants would be tulip poplar and black locust in the uplands and gallberry and tupelo in the lowlands. Cotton, peanuts and soybeans would be agricultural crops yielding surplus honey.
Aridisols
Aridisols occupy 8% of the ice-free land area of the United States. Aridisols are soils that have formed in dry climates. They differ from desert entisols in that they were formed in place from parent materials on site. The soils are typically low in organic matter and can accumulate salts due to a lack of leaching. USDA NASS lists 26.00 honey producing colonies in Arizona in 2021 with a 36 pound yield of honey per colony. Beekeeping is concentrated in the lower elevations in the southern part of the state. In both Arizona and Texas, surplus honey can be obtained from irrigated crops such as alfalfa and cotton. Native plants such as mesquite (Legume family) and catsclaw (legume) can yield good honey crops. The range of mesquite extends beyond the aridisols and covers almost all of Texas, parts of New Mexico and half of Oklahoma. Some minor honey plants on aridisols can include prickly pear (Cactus family), yucca (aperagacea) and rabbit brush (composite family).
Spodosols
Spodosols occupy 4% of the ice-free land area of the United States. Spodosols are generally soils that formed under coniferous forests. They are acid soils and are considered to be naturally infertile. The Adirondack Mountains of New York are dominated by Spodosols. Bees there can get a decent honey flow from raspberry and possibly wild blueberry but little else. Spodosols are present in the higher elevations of Vermont and New Hampshire. Most of the beekeeping in those states occurs in areas with other soil orders.
Andisols
Andisols are the least widely distributed order; they comprise 1% of soils worldwide and 1.7% of soils in the United States. The presence of volcanic glass is a defining characteristic of these soils, found in the Cascade Mountains of California, Oregon, Washington and Idaho as well as the Aleutians in Alaska. It is the most common order in Hawaii. These young soils are typically fertile and have good water holding capacity but also good drainage. In most places in North America, they support productive coniferous forests. Good honey crops can be obtained from fireweed in the Northwest and manzanita in northeast California.
Vertisols
Vertisols occupy 2% of the ice-free land area of the United States. These are soils with clay particles that shrink and swell with changes in moisture. These soils form cracks that lead to mixing of the upper soil layers with the lower soil layers. They are common in Texas, the Upper Midwest and some other areas. Vertisols are slippery when wet and very hard and dense when dry. These soils can require a higher level of management but are actually very fertile. The pH can vary between neutral and alkaline as high as 7.9. Plants listed for East Texas that would do well in this relatively high pH are bluebonnets (Fabaceae), Texas betany (Lamiaceae), various clovers, mesquite (Fabaceae), Russian sage (Lamiaceae) and others.
Gellisols
Gellisols occupy 9% of the ice-free land area of the United States. To be considered a Gellisol, permafrost is present within two meters of the surface. Typically, the upper surface (O Horizon) will be organic matter and can vary in depth between one inch and 20 inches. Plant life is lichens, mosses, sedges, shrubs and spruce trees. The frozen mineral portion consists of sand, silt and gravel. The pH can vary between 3.5 and 7.5 depending upon the composition of the mineral portion. Gellisols are usually infertile since many nutrients are locked in the frozen mineral portion and dissolved nutrients are easily leached. Plants on these soils do have the benefit of long daylength. In his North of 60 Beekeeping project, Etienne Tardif has worked to identify the source of honey produced in the Yukon Territory. Nectar producing plants such as lingonberry (low bush cranberry), labrador tea and various willows do occur on permafrost soils but also grow on other soil types; it is difficult to gauge how much of a honey flow is coming from plants growing on Gellisols.
According to Alaska Fish and Game, 85% of the soils in Alaska are underlain by permafrost. With Alaska’s area being 665,400 square miles, that leaves approximately 100,000 square miles to be occupied by the other six soil orders present in Alaska. Most of the beekeeping in Alaska is located in river valleys such as the Matanuska (Anchorage area), Tanana (Fairbanks) and Kuskokwim (Bethel) where Entisols and other soil orders predominate.
Histosols
Histosols occupy 2% of the ice-free land area of the United States. Located in much of the Great Lake states, along the mid-Atlantic coast and in the gulf coast states from Florida to Louisiana. Histosols have more than 50% organic matter in the surface horizons and are formed from decayed woody and herbaceous plant materials. They are often called muck soils. These soils are nearly level and form in low depressions on the landscape. These soils are often drained for agriculture using a combination of open ditches and drain tile. In an undrained condition, the water table will be near the surface during much of the year. The pH can vary anywhere between acidic and alkaline depending upon underlying mineral material. In Madison County, NY the depth of organic material on muck soils can vary between eight inches and 60 inches.
Oxisols
Oxisols occupy 0.02% of the ice-free land area of the United States. These are soils of tropical and subtropical regions. On a worldwide basis, Oxisils occupy 8% of the land area. They can be found in Hawaii, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. There are very extensive areas of Oxisols in South America and Africa. Oxisols are older soils subject to weathering that has removed much of the clay particles. They are low in fertility, most nutrients are tied up in standing vegetation. In Hawaii, Oxisols are not found on the more recently formed big island of Hawaii. Progressively larger amounts of Oxisols are found as the age of the islands increase.
These soils can be productive with the addition of lime and fertilizer because they do have some good physical characteristics. There are 10 soil orders in Hawaii; it can be expected that most honey production comes from the other soil orders.
By searching the internet, the beekeeper can obtain general soils maps of many, but not all, of the states in the U.S. Below are two generalized soils maps of New York State. The first map by the Bureau of the Census is much less detailed than the second map compiled by the USDA Soil Conservation Service (now Natural Resource Conservation Service). The Bureau of Census map is still very helpful in showing locations of the sweet soils of the Alfisols, the acid soils of the Inceptisols and the valleys of the Entisols. The soils of the Adirondacks, Catskills, Tug Hill Plateau and the Allegany area are put in one group described as shallow acid soils on glacial till.
The General Soil Map of New York State by SCS is much more detailed and goes beyond the Suborder classification and groups soils together at the Great Group level. It also identifies the most common soil series (Honeoye, Mardin, Chenango, etc.) in locations throughout the state. Many County Soil Surveys have tables that identify yields per acre of crops and pasture by soil type. While the soil survey will not project honey production, fertile soils that produce good crops could also be good to the beekeeper.
By using a generalized world soils map combined with our now cursory knowledge of soil orders, it is possible to identify the location of good honey production areas in the temperate regions of the world. Areas with large amounts of Mollisols and Alfisols should be good honey producers. Countries such as Canada and Ukraine are located at higher latitudes and should benefit from longer daylengths. Other good honey producers would be Germany, parts of Russia, some former Soviet republics, China, Argentina, and some areas of Australia and India. Honey production from tropical and sub-tropical areas with Oxisol soils is deserving of a separate article.
I hope this article does not offend the many soil scientists who have done great work mapping the soils of our country and who know far more about soils than the author. Sections on soil orders are incomplete and could contain far more information. Separate articles could be written on each order or each individual U.S. state, Canadian province or foreign country. The bottom line is that soils are very important to honey production and a knowledge of soils can be very helpful to the beekeeper. Almost always when introducing this subject to fellow beekeepers, it comes as a revelation. When researching this article quite often contacts are not aware of the soils in their area. It behooves all of us to become more aware of the soils in our area and how these soils can affect honey production.
*Soil order maps are provided by USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service.
