LOCATION BUTLERTOWN MD+DE PAEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-silty, mixed, semiactive, mesic Typic Fragiudults
TYPICAL PEDON: Butlertown silt loam, on a two percent slope, in a forested area. (Colors are for moist soil.)
Oi--0 to 2 inches. Partially decomposed leaves and twigs.
A--2 to 4 inches; dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) silt loam; weak fine granular structure; very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; many fine and medium roots, and few coarse roots throughout; common very fine and fine interstitial pores; extremely acid; clear wavy boundary. (2 to 5 inches thick)
E--4 to 10 inches; light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) silt loam; weak fine subangular blocky structure; very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common fine, many medium, and few coarse roots throughout; common very fine and fine tubular pores; very strongly acid; clear smooth boundary. (0 to 12 inches thick)
BE--10 to 16 inches; light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) silt loam; weak medium subangular blocky structure; friable, slightly sticky and plastic; common fine and medium roots and few coarse roots throughout; common fine and medium tubular pores; very strongly acid; clear smooth boundary. (0 to 12 inches thick)
Bt1--16 to 21 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) silt loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; friable, slightly sticky and plastic; common fine and medium roots throughout; common very fine and fine tubular pores; very few distinct strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) clay films on faces of peds; common medium distinct yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) soft masses of iron accumulation and few medium distinct pale brown (10YR 6/3) zones of iron depletion; very strongly acid; clear wavy boundary.
Bt2--21 to 29 inches; brown (10YR 5/3) silt loam; weak coarse prismatic structure parting to moderate medium platy; firm, slightly sticky and plastic; few fine and medium roots in cracks; common very fine and fine tubular pores; few prominent brown (7.5YR 5/4) clay films on faces of peds and in pores; common medium faint yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) and few medium distinct strong brown (7.5YR 4/6) soft masses of iron accumulation and few
medium distinct light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) zones of iron depletion; very strongly acid; clear wavy boundary. (8 to 28 inches thick)
Bx--29 to 33 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) silt loam; weak coarse prismatic structure parting to moderate medium platy; very firm, slightly sticky and plastic; few fine and medium roots in cracks; few very fine and fine tubular pores; few distinct strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) clay films on faces of peds; common medium distinct strong brown (7.5YR 5/8) soft masses of iron accumulation and common medium distinct light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) zones of iron depletion; very strongly acid; clear wavy boundary. (8 to 26 inches thick)
BCx--33 to 48 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) loam; weak coarse prismatic structure parting to weak medium platy; very firm, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; few fine and medium roots in cracks; common very fine and fine vesicular pores; vertical lenses of very pale brown (10YR 7/3) loamy fine sand on prism faces; common fine distinct dark brown (7.5YR 3/2) soft masses of iron-manganese accumulation at top of horizon; common fine and medium distinct strong brown (7.5YR 5/8) soft masses of iron accumulation and common fine and medium distinct light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) zones of iron depletion; strongly acid; clear wavy boundary.
2C--48 to 58 inches; brownish yellow (10YR 6/6) loamy fine sand; massive; firm, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; few fine roots; few very fine and fine tubular pores; few medium distinct light gray (10YR 7/2) zones of iron depletion; strongly acid; clear smooth boundary.
2C2--58 to 64 inches; strong brown (7.5YR 4/6) loamy fine sand; massive; very friable; few medium distinct brownish yellow (10YR 6/6) zones of iron depletion; very strongly acid; abrupt wavy boundary.
2C3--64 to 74 inches; stratified 40 percent light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) and 40 percent strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) fine sand; single grain; loose; few medium prominent yellowish red (5YR 4/6) soft masses of iron accumulation and common medium distinct very pale brown (10YR 7/3) zones of iron depletion; strongly acid.
TYPE LOCATION: Queen Anne's county, Maryland; near Chester, on National Security Administration property, about 2200 feet south along Cox Neck Rd. from Route 50, about 2000 feet east of Cox Neck Road. USGS Kent Island, MD topographic quadrangle;
38 degrees, 58 minutes, 9 seconds North latitude; 76 degrees,
17 minutes, 11 seconds West longitude, NAD 83.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: The thickness of the solum ranges from 40 to 66 inches. Depth to the fragipan ranges from 25 to 40 inches. Reaction ranges from extremely acid to strongly acid in unlimed areas, and moderately acid to neutral in limed areas. Coarse fragment content ranges from 0 to 3 percent in the solum and 0 to 10 percent in the C horizon.
The A and Ap horizons have hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 3 through 5, and chroma of 2 through 4. They are silt loam, loam, or very fine sandy loam.
The E and BE horizons have hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 5 or 6, and chroma of 3 or 4. They are silt loam, loam, or very fine sandy loam.
The Bt horizon has hue of 7.5YR, 10YR, or 2.5Y, value of 5 or 6, and chroma of 3 through 8. Redoximorphic features may be present. It is silt loam or silty clay loam, and may include fine sandy loam or loam in the lower part.
The Bx horizon has hue of 7.5YR to 2.5Y, value of 5 or 6, and chroma of 3 through 8. It is mottled with chroma of 1 through 8. Texture is silt loam, loam, fine sandy loam, or very fine sandy loam.
The C horizon has hue of 5YR through 2.5Y, value of 4 through 7, and chroma of 2 through 8. Texture is silt loam, loam, or very fine sandy loam. 2C horizons have textures ranging from fine sand to clay loam.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Bedford, Captina, Jennings, Medora, and Tilsit series in the same family; and Aldino, Lawrenceville and Zanesville series in closely related families. Bedford soils have 2Bt horizons below the fragipan. Captina soils are less than 30 inches to the top of the fragipan. Jennings and Tilsit soils have fragipans thicker than 20 inches. Aldino, Lawrenceville, and Zanesville soils have base saturation of more than 35 percent.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Butlertown soils are on broad uplands, usually on slightly higher parts of the landscape on the mid-Atlantic Coastal Plain. Slopes are smooth and simple, dominantly less than 5 percent, but range from 0 to 15 percent. The soils formed in thick loess deposits that overly coarser textured marine, fluvial, or outwash Coastal Plain sediments. Climate is humid temperate with a mean annual temperature of 55 degrees F., and mean annual precipitation of 43 inches.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Matapeake, Mattapex, Othello, Pineyneck, Sassafras, Unicorn, Whitemarsh, and Woodstown soils. Matapeake, Mattapex, Othello, and Whitemarsh soils do not have a fragipan. Pineyneck, Sassafras, Unicorn, and Woodstown soils have more than 15 percent coarser than very fine sand in the particle size control section and do not have a fragipan.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Butlertown soils are moderately well drained. Runoff is moderate; permeability is moderate in the upper solum and slow in the fragipan.
USE AND VEGETATION: Most areas of Butlertown soils are cultivated and used for corn, soybeans, and small grains. Areas of second growth forest contain pignut hickory (Carya glabra), white oak (Quercus alba), sweet gum (Liquidambar styraciflua), and black cherry (Prunus serotina), in the canopy; and serviceberry (Amelanchier obovalis), sweet pepperbush (Clethra alnifolia), and southern arrowwood (Viburnum dentatum) in the understory.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Coastal plain of Maryland, Delaware, and New Jersey. This series is moderately extensive.
MLRA OFFICE RESPONSIBLE: Morgantown, West Virginia
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Kent County, Maryland, 1939.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
a) Ochric epipedon -- The zone from the surface to 10 inches.
b) Argillic horizon -- The zone from 16 to 29 inches. (Bt1 and Bt2 horizons).
c) Fragipan -- The zone from 29 to 48 inches (Bx, Btx, and BCx horizons) which is firm and brittle when moist.
d) Udult feature -- no part of the moisture control section is dry for 90 consecutive days, and the base saturation is less than 35 percent at 75 cm below the top of the fragipan.
TABULAR SERIES DATA:
SOI-5 Soil Name Slope Airtemp FrFr/Seas Precip Elevation MD0038 BUTLERTOWN 0- 15 - - - -SOI-5 FloodL FloodH Watertable Kind Months Bedrock Hardness MD0038 NONE 2.0-4.0 PERCHED FEB-MAR 60-60
SOI-5 Depth Texture 3-Inch No-10 Clay% -CEC- MD0038 0-16 SIL L VFSL 0- 0 95-100 11-16 - MD0038 16-34 SIL SICL VFSL 0- 0 95-100 18-25 - MD0038 34-49 SIL VFSL 0- 0 95-100 18-25 - MD0038 49-60 SIL VFS L 0- 0 85-100 5-18 -
SOI-5 Depth -pH- O.M. Salin Permeab Shnk-Swll MD0038 0-16 4.5- 6.0 1.-4. 0- 0 0.6- 2.0 LOW MD0038 16-34 4.5- 6.0 - 0- 0 0.6- 2.0 LOW MD0038 34-49 4.5- 6.0 - 0- 0 0.06- 0.2 LOW MD0038 49-60 4.5- 5.5 - 0- 0 0.6- 2.0 LOW