LOCATION BELPRE OHEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine, mixed, active, mesic Mollic Hapludalfs
TYPICAL PEDON: Belpre clay - on a 15 percent convex, northeast-facing slope in a cultivated field. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)
Ap--0 to 8 inches; dark reddish brown (5YR 3/2) clay, dark reddish gray (5YR 4/2) dry; moderate fine granular and very fine angular blocky structure; firm; many roots; neutral; abrupt smooth boundary. (6 to 10 inches thick)
Bt1--8 to 22 inches; dark reddish brown (2.5YR 3/4) clay; moderate medium angular blocky structure parting to strong fine angular blocky; firm; slightly sticky, slightly plastic; common roots; many faint dark reddish brown (5YR 3/4) clay films on faces of fine peds; neutral; gradual smooth boundary.
Bt2--22 to 26 inches; dark reddish brown (2.5YR 3/4) clay; weak coarse angular blocky structure parting to weak very fine angular blocky; firm; slightly sticky, slightly plastic; few roots; common distinct reddish brown (5YR 4/3) clay films on faces of fine peds; slightly alkaline; clear smooth boundary. (Combined thickness of the Bt horizons is 7 to 40 inches.)
BC--26 to 44 inches; dusky red (10R 3/4) silty clay loam; few fine distinct reddish gray (10R 5/1), olive yellow (2.5Y 6/6), and pinkish gray (5YR 7/2) mottles inherited from parent material; very weak very fine angular and subangular blocky structure; friable; few faint clay films on faces of peds; strong effervescence; moderately alkaline; clear wavy boundary. (0 to 25 inches thick)
C--44 to 63 inches; dusky red (10R 3/3) very shaly silty clay loam; common fine distinct reddish gray (10R 5/1), olive yellow (5Y 6/6), and pinkish gray (5YR 7/2) mottles; conchoidal fracture inherited from parent material; friable; reddish gray (10R 5/1) and dusky red (10R 3/2) stains on faces of fractures; 40 percent soft shale fragments; strong effervescence; moderately alkaline.
Cr--63 to 70 inches; reddish gray (10R 5/1) soft calcareous shale; massively bedded with conchoidal fractures.
TYPE LOCATION: Washington County, Ohio; Warren Township; about 4 miles west of Marietta; about 1 mile north of U.S. Highway Alternate 50, 300 feet east of pond located 1/4 mile northeast of farmhouse; 900 feet south and 400 feet west of the northeast corner of sec. 22, T. 2 N., R. 9 W.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Thickness of the solum ranges from 25 to 50 inches. Depth to free carbonates is less than 30 inches. Depth to a paralithic contact is 40 to 72 inches. Rock fragments, mainly channers of limestone, range from 0 to 10 percent by volume in the A horizon and B horizon. Fragments of soft shale and some hard limestone range from 15 to 60 percent in the C horizon.
The Ap horizon or A horizon has hue of 7.5YR, 5YR, or 2.5YR; value of 2 or 3 (4 or 5 dry); and chroma of 2 or 3. It is silty clay loam, silty clay, or clay. It is slightly acid to mildly alkaline.
The Bt horizon has hue of 5YR, 2.5YR, or 10R; value of 3 to 5; and chroma of 3 or 4. It is clay or silty clay. It is slightly acid to moderately alkaline.
The BC horizon has similar color range as the Bt horizon but may be variegated or have mottles inherited from parent bedrock. It is silty clay loam, silty clay, or clay. It is slightly acid to moderately alkaline.
The C horizon has hue of 10R to 5Y, value of 3 to 6, chroma of 1 to 8, and typically is variegated or has mottles inherited from bedrock. It is silty clay loam, silty clay, or clay and their shaly or very shaly analogues. It is mildly alkaline or moderately alkaline.
The Cr horizon is olive to dusky red and reddish gray calcareous shale with some thin strata of limestone.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Basco, Brooke, Caleast, Fleming, McAfee, and Salvisa series in the same family and the Upshur and Woodsfield series. Basco soils have a thin loess mantle, have hues yellower than 5YR in the upper part of the solum, and do not have free carbonates within a depth of 30 inches. Brooke and Salvisa soils have Bt horizons with hues yellower than 5YR and have a lithic contact at depths of 20 to 40 inches. Caleast soils have Bt horizons with hues yellower than 5YR and have free carbonates at depths of more than 30 inches. Fleming soils are medium acid to strongly acid in the solum and do not have free carbonates within a depth of 30 inches. McAfee soils have a lithic contact at depths of 20 to 40 inches. Upshur soils are very strongly acid to medium acid in the upper part of the solum and do not have the dark surface horizon. Woodsfield soils have silty A horizon and Bt horizons, are strongly acid or very strongly acid in the upper part of the solum, and do not have the dark surface horizon.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Belpre soils are on summits, back slopes, and on benches. Slope gradients range from 6 to 35 percent. The soils formed in residuum weathered from calcareous olive to dusky red and reddish gray shale and some thin strata of limestone. Mean annual precipitation ranges from about 38 to 43 inches, and mean annual temperature ranges from about 53 to 55 degress F.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the competing Upshur soils and the Elba, Gilpin, Summitville, and Vandalia soils. None of these soils have a dark colored surface layer. Upshur soils are on similar topographic positions. Elba soils are not as red as Belpre soils but are on similar topographic positions. Gilpin and Summitville soils are fine-loamy, but Gilpin soils have bedrock at a depth of 20 to 40 inches and are on upper shoulder and back slope positions. Summitville soils are on benches, back slopes, and in narrow bands on foot slopes. Vandalia soils formed in colluvium and are on foot slopes below areas of Belpre soils.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained. Runoff is moderate to rapid depending upon slope. Permeability is slow.
USE AND VEGETATION: Most areas of Belpre soils are cultivated. Principal crops are grain crops, hay, and pasture. Some areas are in woodland or pasture. Original vegetation was deciduous hardwood forest. Black walnut is prominent in woodland on Belpre soils.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Southeastern Ohio. The series is of small extent, approximately 6000 acres.
MLRA OFFICE RESPONSIBLE: Morgantown, West Virginia
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Washington County, Ohio, 1973.
REMARKS: The 01/2006 revision updates this soil to the 9th Edition of the Keys to Soil Taxonomy (2003). The CEC activity class placement is based on associated soils and not on laboratory data. Class placement may be revised in the future when laboratory data are reviewed or become available.
Competing series, pedon description (including horizon nomenclature and/or descriptive terms), and other sections on the OSD were not revised.
Diagnostic horizons and features in this pedon are:
a. Ochric epipedon (mollic colors)--the zone from 0 to 8 inches (Ap horizon)
b. Argillic horizon--the zone from 8 to 44 inches (Bt and BC horizons)
c Paralithic contact at 63 inches (top of Cr horizon)
Previous revision dates: 05/86-DRM