LOCATION BLEIBLERVILLE TXEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine, smectitic, thermic Udic Haplusterts
TYPICAL PEDON: Bleiblerville clay, on a 1 percent convex slope in grass. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise stated. Pedon is midway between microknoll and microdepression.)
A--0 to 8 inches; very dark gray (10YR 3/1) clay, very dark gray (10YR 3/1) moist; moderate medium angular blocky structure; extremely hard, very firm, very sticky and plastic; many fine roots; common fine pores; 1/2 inch granular mulch on surface; cracks 2 inches wide at the surface extend through the horizon; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline; gradual wavy boundary. (4 to 12 inches thick)
Bss1--8 to 33 inches; very dark gray (10YR 3/1) clay, very dark gray (10YR 3/1) moist; moderate medium and coarse angular blocky structure; extremely hard, very firm, very sticky and very plastic; common fine roots; common fine pores; common prominent slickensides tilted 45 degrees from horizontal and are 3 feet wide and 7 feet long; cracks 2 inches wide through horizon; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline. (15 to 44 inches thick)
Bss2--33 to 63 inches; dark gray (10YR 4/1) clay, dark gray (10YR 4/1) moist; moderate medium angular blocky structure; extremely hard, very firm, very sticky and plastic; few fine roots; few fine pores; many prominent slickensides tilted 45 degrees from horizontal; cracks extend to a depth of 50 inches; very dark gray (10YR 3/1) material in old cracks; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline; abrupt wavy boundary. (8 to 36 inches thick)
Bkss--63 to 80 inches; pale yellow (2.5Y 8/4) clay, pale yellow (2.5Y 7/4) moist; weak fine subangular blocky structure; extremely hard, very firm, sticky and plastic; few fine pores; common fine prominent dark gray (10YR 4/1) redox depletions; common distinct slickensides; dark gray coatings on faces of slickensides; few fine concretions of calcium carbonate; violently effervescent; moderately alkaline.
TYPE LOCATION: Washington County, Texas; from intersection of U.S. 290 and Farm Road 1155 in Chappell Hill go 1.1 miles east on U.S. 290, then south on Farm Road 1371 for 1.25 miles, 0.2 miles west of road in hay field. (Latitude: 30N, 06, 45; Longitude: 96W, 14, 15)
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Solum thickness is more than 80 inches. When dry, cracks up to 3 inches wide on the surface extend to about 50 inches. Cracks remain open for 90 to 150 cumulative days in most years. Cycles of microdepressions and microknolls are repeated each 5 to 10 feet. In native grass areas, microknolls are 4 to 16 inches higher than microdepressions. Intersecting slickensides begin at 8 to 15 inches below the surface. Slickensides are several feet across and are tilted 45 to 50 degrees from horizontal. Texture is mainly clay but may be silty clay. Weighted average clay content of the particle size control section ranges from 45 to 60 percent. Amplitude of waviness between the dark colors in the upper part and the light colors below range from 12 to on microknolls to more than 60 in microdepressions. Reaction is slightly or moderately alkaline.
The A horizon has hue of 10YR, 2.5Y or 5Y, value of 3 or 4, and chroma of 1. Reaction ranges from neutral to moderately alkaline.
The Bss horizons have hue of 10YR to 5Y, value of 3 to 5, and chroma of 1 or 2. Most pedons have vertical streaks of darker material that are old filled cracks. Masses of iron accumulation range from none to common. Reaction is slightly or moderately alkaline.
The Bkss horizons have hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 5 to 8, and chroma of 2 to 6. Prominent redox features in shades of gray, yellow, and brown range from none to common. Few to common medium masses or concretions of calcium carbonate are present in the lower portion. Iron-manganese concretions range from none to few. Reaction is slightly or moderately alkaline.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Branyon (TX), Burleson (TX), Clarita (OK), Dimebox (TX), Ellis (TX), Fairlie (TX), Heiden (TX), Houston Black (TX), Leson (TX), Luling (TX), McLean (T TX), Ovan (TX), Sanger (TX), Slidell (TX), Southplains (T TX), and Watonga (OK) series. Branyon soils do not have amplitude of waviness. Burleson, Dimebox, and Leson soils are not calcareous in the upper part. Clarita soils have hue of 7.5YR or redder in the subsoil. Fairlie soils have a paralithic contact with chalk at a depth of 40 to 60 inches. Ellis soils have sola 20 to 40 inches. Heiden, Luling, Ovan, and Sanger soils have a matrix with chroma of 2 or more throughout. Houston Black soils formed in Cretaceous age materials. McLean and Southplains soils are somewhat poorly drained, developed in holocene age materials, occur in significantly drier climates, and are subject to ponding. Slidell soils contain fragments of limestone, mainly in the lower part. Watonga soils have sola less than 60 inches and are in slightly cooler climates.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Bleiblerville soils are on nearly level to gently sloping convex uplands. Slopes range from 0 to 5 percent, but are dominantly 1 to 5 percent. They formed from weakly cemented calcareous clays and marls of Tertiary age, mainly of the Fleming formation. Mean annual temperature ranges from 65 to 70 degrees F., and mean annual precipitation ranges from 35 to 45 inches. Frost free days range from 260 to 290 days, and elevation ranges from 200 to 550 feet. Thornthwaite P-E indices from 50 to 66.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Brenham, Carbengle, Frelsburg, and Latium series. Brenham and Carbengle soils are on nearby similar landscapes, contain large amounts of calcium carbonate, contain less clay, and do not have slickensides. Frelsburg and Latium soils have dry color values of 5.5 or more within 12 inches of the surface in 50 percent of each pedon and are on adjacent steeper slopes.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Moderately well drained. Permeability is very slow. Runoff is low on slopes less than 1 percent, medium on 1 to 3 percent slopes, and high on 3 to 5 percent slopes.
USE AND VEGETATION: Used mainly for rangeland with small areas being cultivated to corn and grain sorghum. Most areas have been cultivated in the past. Native vegetation was mid and tall prairie grasses with a few scattered trees.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Blackland Prairie of Texas (MLRA 86B). The series is of moderate extent.
MLRA OFFICE RESPONSIBLE: Temple, Texas
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Washington County, Texas; 1978.
REMARKS: Classification change from Udic Pellusterts to Udic Haplusterts based on Amendment 16, SOIL TAXONOMY (294). Properties of this soil appear to overlap those of the Houston Black series, but the two soils are on different kinds of landscapes.
Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Mollic epipedon - 0 to 33 inches. (A and Bss1 horizons)
Vertic properties - Slickensides, 8 to 80 inches. (Bss and Bkss horizons)
Cambic horizon - 33 to 80 inches. (Bss2 and Bkss horizons)
Slickensides - 8 to 75 inches. (Bss1, Bss2 and Bkss horizons)
Cracks that remain open 90 to 150 cumulative days in most years.
ADDITIONAL DATA: Soil was described and sampled from a 32 feet long pit. National Soil Survey Laboratory: S77TX477-4 (78P0099-78P0100). Texas A&M University Data on mineralogy verifies smectitic mineralogy.
Soil Interpretation Record: TX0803