LOCATION FLORENCE           KS

FLORENCE SERIES

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Clayey-skeletal, smectitic, mesic Udic Argiustolls

TYPICAL PEDON: Florence gravelly silt loam - rangeland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise stated.)

A1--0 to 4 inches; dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) gravelly silt loam, very dark brown (10YR 2/2) moist; moderate medium granular structure; slightly hard, friable; many medium roots; 15 percent chert fragments 1/4 to 2 inches in diameter; neutral; clear smooth boundary.

A2--4 to 11 inches; dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) extremely gravelly silty clay loam, very dark brown (10YR 2/2) moist; moderate medium and fine granular structure; slightly hard, friable; many medium roots; 80 percent chert fragments 1/4 to 4 inches in diameter; slightly acid; gradual smooth boundary. (Combined thickness of the A horizons 9 to 16 inches.)

BA--11 to 15 inches; brown (7.5YR 4/2) extremely gravelly silty clay loam, dark brown (7.5YR 3/2) moist; strong fine and very fine subangular blocky structure; hard, firm; many fine roots; 80 percent chert fragments up to 4 inches in diameter; slightly acid; gradual smooth boundary. (0 to 8 inches thick)

Bt--15 to 44 inches; dark reddish brown (2.5YR 3/4) extremely cobbly clay, dark red (2.5YR 3/6) moist; strong medium and fine blocky structure; extremely hard, very firm; common fine roots; few faint discontinous clay films on faces of peds; common dark stains and fine black concretions; 80 percent chert fragments 4 to 8 inches in diameter; slightly acid; clear irregular boundary. (20 to 40 inches thick)

R--44 inches; cherty limestone that has a few vertical and lateral fractures.

TYPE LOCATION: Morris County, Kansas; about 4 miles west and 5 miles south of Council Grove; 2,200 feet north and 800 feet east of the center, section 7, T. 17 S., R. 8 E.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Mollic epipedon: 10 to 20 inches
Depth to bedrock: 40 to 60 inches. Bedrock is cherty limestone or limestone.

A horizon:
Hue: 10YR or 7.5YR
Value: 3 or 4 and 2 or 3 moist
Chroma: 1 or 2
Texture: silt loam or silty clay loam, or their gravelly and extremely gravelly counterparts. Coarse fragment content ranges from 0 to 80 percent.
Reaction: from moderately acid to neutral.

Bt horizon:
Hue: 7.5YR, 5YR, or 2.5YR
Value: 3 to 5 dry or moist
Chroma: 3 to 6
Texture: gravelly to extremely gravelly, or the cobbly or extremely cobbly counterparts of silty clay or clay. Coarse fragment content ranges from 35 to 80 percent. The fine earth fraction averages between 50 to 80 percent clay.
Reaction: slightly acid to slightly alkaline. Mottles with hues ranging from 5YR to 2.5Y, value of 4 or 5 moist, and chroma of 3 to 6 occur in some pedons. In some pedons, a few carbonate concretions or seams of calcium carbonate are below a depth of 30 inches.

COMPETING SERIES: Florence is the only series in the family.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Florence soils are on erosional uplands. Slopes are usually plane or convex and gradients are typically between 5 and 10 percent but range from 2 to 15 percent. Florence soils formed in residuum from cherty limestone. In some pedons, it has weathered partly from chert, free limestone, and thin strata of shale. Mean annual precipitation ranges from 28 to 34 inches, and mean annual temperature ranges from 52 degrees to 57 degrees F. The Thornthwaite annual PE index ranges from 50 to 58.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Benfield, Dwight, Irwin, Konza, Labette, Matfield and Tully soils. The Benfield, Dwight, Konza, Labette, and Irwin soils are on higher less sloping areas. Also, these soils have less than 35 percent coarse fragments in the sola. In addition, Dwight soils have a thin A horizon and a Bt horizon that are high in sodium. Matfield soils are in similar landscape positions as Florence soils. Also, Matfield soils have a thicker solum and mollic epipedon. The Tully soils are on slopes below Florence soils. Tully soils have a thicker mollic epipedon than Florence soils.

DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained. Runoff is medium to very high. Permeability is moderately slow.

USE AND VEGETATION: Used exclusively for rangeland and hayland. Native grasses are big and little bluestem, switchgrass, and Indiangrass.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Most of the Florence soils are in east-central Kansas, in the area known as the Bluestem Hills. They are extensive, about 300,000 acres.

MLRA OFFICE RESPONSIBLE: Salina, Kansas

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Marion County, Kansas, 1930.

REMARKS: Diagnostic horizon and features recognized in this pedon are:
Mollic epipedon: the zone from the surface of the soil to a depth of about 15 inches
Argillic horizon: the zone from about 15 to 44 inches.
Lithic contact: cherty limestone at 44 inches.
07/2003 WAW changed to semi-tabular format, updated terminology for runoff and reaction classes.

ADDITIONAL DATA: NSSL Laboratory samples 87P0451 (pedon 87KS161004); 40A1837 (pedon 63KS017004); 40A5192 (pedon 63KS017002).