LOCATION EMERY ILEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-silty, mixed, superactive, mesic Udollic Endoaqualfs
TYPICAL PEDON: Emery silt loam - on a northwest-facing slope in a cultivated field. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)
Ap--0 to 7 inches; very dark gray (10YR 3/1) silt loam, grayish brown (10YR 5/2) dry; weak fine granular structure; very friable; many fine and medium roots throughout; many fine and medium pores; common irregular prominent discontinuous light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) clay depletions on faces of peds; moderately acid; clear smooth boundary. (5 to 9 inches thick)
Bt1--7 to 18 inches; olive brown (2.5Y 4/3) silty clay loam; moderate fine subangular blocky structure; friable; common fine and medium roots throughout; common fine and medium continuous tubular pores; many discontinuous distinct dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) clay films on faces of peds; few patchy prominent gray (10YR 6/1) clay depletions on faces of peds; common fine and medium prominent irregular yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) masses of iron oxides throughout and common fine and medium irregular black (2.5Y 2/1) masses of iron and manganese oxides throughout and common fine distinct irregular gray (10YR 6/1) iron depletions throughout; slightly acid; clear smooth boundary.
Bt2--18 to 26 inches; olive brown (2.5Y 4/3) silty clay loam; moderate fine subangular blocky structure; friable; common fine and medium roots throughout; common fine and medium continuous tubular pores; few distinct discontinuous grayish brown (10YR 5/2) clay films on faces of peds; common fine and medium prominent irregular dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/6) masses of iron oxides throughout and common fine and medium irregular black (2.5Y 2/1) masses of iron and manganese oxides throughout and few fine prominent irregular gray (10YR 6/1) iron depletions throughout; slightly acid; clear smooth boundary.
Btg1--26 to 37 inches; grayish brown (2.5Y 5/2) silty clay loam; weak medium subangular blocky structure; friable; common fine and medium roots throughout; common fine and medium continuous tubular pores; very few distinct discontinuous gray (10YR 5/1) clay films on faces of peds; common fine and medium prominent irregular yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) masses of iron oxides throughout and common fine and medium irregular black (2.5Y 2/1) masses of iron and manganese oxides throughout; slightly acid; clear smooth boundary.
Btg2--37 to 45 inches; light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) silt loam; weak medium subangular blocky structure; friable; very few distinct discontinuous gray (10YR 5/1) clay films on faces of peds; common fine and medium distinct irregular yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) masses of iron oxides throughout and common fine and medium irregular black (2.5Y 2/1) masses of iron and manganese oxides throughout; slightly acid; clear smooth boundary. (Combined thickness of the Bt horizon is 20 to 40 inches)
2Btg3--45 to 55 inches; gray (10YR 6/1) silt loam; weak medium and coarse subangular blocky structure; friable; very few distinct patchy gray (10YR 5/1) clay films on faces of peds; common fine and medium prominent irregular brownish yellow (10YR 6/6) masses of iron oxides throughout; slightly acid; clear smooth boundary. (5 to 10 inches thick)
2BCtg--55 to 67 inches; gray (10YR 5/1) silty clay loam; weak coarse subangular blocky structure; friable; very few distinct discontinuous gray (10YR 5/1) clay films on faces of peds; common fine and medium distinct irregular light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) masses of iron oxides throughout; slightly acid; clear smooth boundary. (0 to 12 inches thick)
2Cg--67 to 87 inches; grayish brown (10YR 5/2) silty clay loam; massive; friable; common fine and medium distinct irregular yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) masses of iron oxides throughout and common fine and medium prominent irregular black (2.5Y 2/1) masses of iron and manganese oxides throughout; slightly acid.
TYPE LOCATION: Adams County, Illinois; about 1 mile southwest of Adams; 850 feet north and 250 feet east of the southwest corner of sec. 27, T. 2 S, R. 7 W.; USGS Payson, IL. topographic quadrangle: Latitude 39 degrees 51 minutes 49 seconds N., and Longitude 91 degrees 12 minutes 6 seconds W.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: The depth to the base of the argillic horizon ranges from 40 to 60 inches. Loess thickness ranges from 30 to 50 inches. The particle-size control section averages 20 to 35 percent clay. The lower part of the series control section averages 8 to 25 percent sand and less than 1 percent rock fragments.
The upper part of the control section (A, Ap, BE, or EB horizon) has hue of 10YR, value of 2 or 3 moist, 4 to 6 dry and chroma of 1 to 3. Texture is silt loam. The BE or EB horizon, where present, has value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 1 or 2. Reaction is strongly acid to neutral.
The middle part of the control section (Bt, Btg, 2Btg, or 2BCg horizon) has hue of 10YR, 2.5Y, or 5Y, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 1 to 6. Redoximorphic iron depletions and concentrations have hue of 7.5YR, 10YR, or 2.5Y, value of 2 to 6 and chroma of 1 to 6. Texture is silty clay loam, silt loam, or clay loam. Clay content averages 20 to 35 percent in the upper part and averages 20 to 30 percent in the lower part. Reaction is strongly acid to slightly acid.
The lower part of the control section (2Cg horizon) has hue of 10YR, 2.5Y, or 5Y, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 1 to 6. Redoximorphic iron depletions and concentrations have hue of 7.5YR, 10YR, or 2.5Y, value of 2 to 6 and chroma of 1 to 6. Texture is silty clay loam, silt loam, loam or clay loam. Clay content averages 18 to 35 percent and sand content averages 8 to 25 percent. Reaction is slightly acid to moderately alkaline.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Atterberry, Bethalto, Millbrook, Mulvey, Virgil, and Wauconda series. Atterberry and Bethalto soils average less than 8 percent sand in the lower part of the control section. Millbrook and Virgil soils have some layer in the lower part of the control section that has more than 25 percent sand or more than 1 percent rock fragments. Mulvey soils have more than 14 percent rock fragments in the lower part of the control section. Wauconda soils have free carbonates above a depth of 40 inches.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Emery soils are on concave backslopes and side slopes on till plains. Slope ranges from 2 to 10 percent. Emery soils formed in 30 to 50 inches of loess and the underlying silty and loamy pedisediments. The loess is late-Wisconsinan Peoria loess, and the underlying silty or loamy water-worked sediments are early-Wisconsinan Roxana silt and Cretacious sediments. Emery soils are underlain at a depth of about 7 to 10 feet by a strongly weathered paleosol in the Pre-Illinoian till. They are formed in areas of transition between prairie grass and deciduous forest. Mean annual temperature ranges from 46 to 57 degrees F., mean annual precipitation ranges from 29 to 45 inches, frost free days ranges from 160 to 190 days, and elevation ranges from 680 feet to 1020 feet above sea level.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Atterberry, Blair, Clarksdale, Downs, El Dara, Fishhook, Ipava, Keller, Keomah, and Rozetta soils. The somewhat poorly drained Atterberry and Clarksdale soils are on similar nearby landform positions and average less than 8 percent sand in the series control section. Blair and El Dara soils are downslope. They have a thinner loess mantle and average more than 25 percent sand in the control section. Fishhook and Keller soils are on similar landform positions and contain more than 35 percent clay in the lower one-half of the control section, and formed partly in Sangamon paleosols. The moderately well drained Downs and Rozetta soils are on similar and more sloping landform positions. Ipava and Keomah soils are on nearby summits and form a biosequence with Emery soils.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Somewhat poorly drained. Surface runoff is medium. Permeability is moderate. The seasonal high water table is 0.5 foot to 1.5 feet below the surface in spring.
USE AND VEGETATION: Soils are used to grow corn, soybeans, small grain, and hay. Natural vegetation is grass and deciduous hardwood forest.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Central and western Illinois. Extent is small.
MLRA OFFICE RESPONSIBLE: Indianapolis, Indiana
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Adams County, Illinois, 1995.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are: Ochric epipedon - the zone from the surface to a depth of about 7 inches (Ap horizon); Argillic horizon - the zone from 7 inches to 67 inches (Bt1, Bt2, Btg1, Btg2, 2Btg3, and 2BCtg horizons); Aquic conditions- Watertable or redox features immediately below the surface horizon.