LOCATION DUNNING KY+IN MD MO PA TN VA WVEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine, mixed, active, mesic Fluvaquentic Endoaquolls
TYPICAL PEDON: Dunning silty clay loam--cultivated. (Colors are for moist soil.)
Ap--0 to 7 inches; very dark gray (10YR 3/1) silty clay loam, dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) dry; moderate fine and medium angular blocky structure; many fine roots; few fine prominent light olive brown (2.5Y 5/4) and dark reddish brown (5YR 3/2) masses of iron accumulation neutral; gradual smooth boundary.
Ag--7 to 15 inches; very dark gray (10YR 3/1) silty clay loam, dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) dry; moderate fine and medium angular blocky structure; common fine roots; few fine prominent light olive brown (2.5Y 5/4) and dark reddish brown (5YR 3/2) masses of iron accumulation; neutral; gradual smooth boundary. (Combined thickness of the A horizon ranges from 5 to 23 inches thick)
Bg--15 to 40 inches; dark gray (5Y 4/1) silty clay; moderate coarse prismatic structure parting to moderate medium angular blocky; firm, sticky and plastic; common fine roots; common medium prominent olive brown (2.5Y 4/4), pale olive (5Y 6/3), and strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) masses of iron accumulation; 3 percent dark reddish brown (5YR 3/2) iron and manganese concretions; neutral; gradual smooth boundary. (10 to 30 inches thick)
Cg--40 to 72 inches; gray (N 5/0) silty clay with thin (1/8 inch to 1 inch) strata of less clayey, darker material; massive; firm, sticky and plastic; few fine roots; common medium prominent light olive brown (2.5Y 5/4), pale olive (5Y 6/3), and strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) masses of iron accumulation; 2 percent dark reddish brown (5YR 3/2) iron and manganese concretions, neutral.
TYPE LOCATION: Jefferson County, Kentucky; on Goldsmith Land at Beargrass Creek. On edge of Seneca High School grounds, about 0.8 mile north of Buechel. USGS Quad: (unknown); latitude: (unknown); longitude: (unknown)
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Depth to bedrock is 60 to more than 100 inches. The thickness of the mollic epipedon ranges from 10 to 24 inches. Reaction ranges from moderately acid to slightly alkaline throughout.
The A horizon is neutral or has hue of 10YR to 5Y, value of 2 or 3, moist (5 or less dry), and chroma of 3 or less. Redoximorphic features are in shades of red, brown, olive, or gray. Texture is silt loam, silty clay loam, or silty clay.
The Bg horizon is neutral or has hue of 10YR to 5GY, value of 3 to 6, and chroma of 0 to 2. Redoximorphic features are in shades of red, brown, olive, or gray. Texture is silty clay, clay, or silty clay loam.
The Cg horizon has colors and textures similar to the Bg horizon. Some pedons have stratified layers of silt loam, loam, or sandy loam below a depth of 40 inches, and the range allows 0 to 30 percent gravel.
COMPETING SERIES: Currently listed in the same family is the Saranac series. Competing soils in other closely related families are Dekoven, Kings, Montgomery, and Titus series. Saranac soils have less clay in the control section. Dekoven soils have less than 35 percent clay in the control section. Kings and Titus soils have smetitic mineralogy. Montgomery soils have organic matter content that decreases regularly with depth and are calcareous below a depth of 26 and 48 inches.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Dunning soils formed in slack water, fine textured alluvium washed from hillsides underlain by limestone. The soils are in level or depressed areas on flood plains, at heads of drainageways, and in ponded areas. Slopes range from 0 to 3 percent. Near the type location the average annual precipitation is about 42 inches and average annual air temperature is about 56 degrees F.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Melvin, Newark, and Nolin series on flood plains, and Ashton, Elk, Lawrence, and Robertsville series on higher lying areas. Melvin, Newark, and Nolin soils have less than 35 percent clay in the control section and lack a mollic epipedon. Ashton and Elk soils are well drained, have argillic horizons with less than 35 percent clay, and the Elk soils lack the thick dark colored A horizons. Lawrence and Robertsville soils have a fragipan, lack the thick dark colored A horizon, and have less than 35 percent clay in the control section.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Very poorly to poorly drained. Runoff is negligible to very low. Permeability is slow or very slow. Many areas are subject to ponding.
USE AND VEGETATION: Most areas are cleared and, where drained, produce hay, pasture, grain sorghum, corn, and soybeans. Native forest is water-tolerant hardwoods such as red maple, sycamore, gums, boxelder, willow, pin oak, water oak, swamp white oak, and cottonwood as the dominant species, liberally interspersed with glades of cane, grass, and sedge.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Limestone areas in Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, West Virginia, Maryland, southern Missouri, and Pennsylvania, the upper valley of East Tennessee and possibly Ohio. The series is of moderate extent.
MLRA OFFICE RESPONSIBLE: Lexington, Kentucky
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Redford County, Pennsylvania; 1911.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons recognized in this pedon:
Mollic epipedon: 0 to 15 inches (Ap & Ag)
Redoximorphic features - The zone from 0 to 72 inches.