LOCATION FRANCESVILLE       IN

FRANCESVILLE SERIES

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, mixed, superactive, mesic Aquic Argiudolls

TYPICAL PEDON: Francesville fine sandy loam, on a less than 1 percent slope in a cultivated field at an elevation of 680 feet. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)

Ap--0 to 12 inches; very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) fine sandy loam, dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) dry; weak medium granular structure; friable; few fine and very fine roots throughout; 2 percent gravel; moderately acid; abrupt smooth boundary. (10 to 16 inches thick)

Bt1--12 to 20 inches; brown (10YR 4/3) sandy clay loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; friable; many distinct dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) clay films on faces of peds; distinct very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) organic coatings; common fine distinct yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) masses of iron oxide accumulation in the matrix; few fine faint grayish brown (10YR 5/2) iron depletions in the matrix; 5 percent gravel; moderately acid; clear wavy boundary.

Bt2--20 to 27 inches; brown (10YR 5/3) fine sandy loam; weak medium subangular blocky structure; friable; few distinct dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) clay films on faces of peds; common fine prominent yellowish brown (10YR 5/8) masses of iron oxide accumulation in the matrix; common fine faint grayish brown (10YR 5/2) iron depletions in the matrix; 5 percent gravel; neutral; clear wavy boundary. (Combined thickness of the Bt horizon is 10 to 30 inches.)

Cd1--27 to 43 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) fine sandy loam; weak coarse and very coarse prismatic structure; very firm; many distinct light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) carbonate coatings on upper surfaces of peds or rocks; common fine prominent yellowish brown (10YR 5/8) rounded masses of iron oxide accumulation in the matrix; 5 percent gravel; strongly effervescent; slightly alkaline; clear wavy boundary.

Cd2--43 to 56 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) fine sandy loam; weak very coarse prismatic structure; very firm; very few distinct light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) carbonate coatings on upper surfaces of peds or rocks; common fine prominent yellowish brown (10YR 5/8) rounded masses of iron oxide accumulation in the matrix; 5 percent gravel; strongly effervescent; slightly alkaline; abrupt wavy boundary. (Combined thickness of the Cd horizon is 4 to 36 inches.)

2R--56 inches; white (10YR 8/1) unweathered limestone bedrock; indurated; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline.

TYPE LOCATION: Pulaski County, Indiana; about 1 miles south of Francesville; 615 feet west and 522 feet north of the southeast corner of sec. 9, T. 29 N., R. 4 W.; U.S.G.S. Monon NE topographic quadrangle; lat. 40 degrees 58 minutes 17.68 seconds N. and long. 86 degrees 52 minutes 29.49 seconds W., NAD 27; UTM Zone 16, 510528 easting and 4535613 northing, NAD 83.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Depth to the base of the argillic horizon: 24 to 40 inches
Depth to densic contact: 24 to 40 inches
Depth to lithic contact: commonly 40 to 60 inches, but ranges from 40 to 80 inches
Particle-size control section: 20 to 35 percent clay

Ap or A horizon:
Hue: 10YR
Value: 2 or 3
Chroma: 1 to 3
Texture: fine sandy loam, sandy loam, loam, or silt loam
Reaction: moderately acid to neutral

Bt horizon:
Hue: 10YR
Value: 4 or 5
Chroma: 3 or 4
Texture: sandy clay loam, clay loam, fine sandy loam, or loam
Reaction: moderately acid to neutral

Cd horizon:
Hue: 10YR
Value: 4 or 5
Chroma: 3 or 4
Texture: loam or fine sandy loam
Clay content: 10 to 20 percent clay
Sand content: less than 60 percent sand
Reaction: slightly alkaline or moderately alkaline

2R horizon:
Hue: 10YR
Value: 7 or 8
Chroma: 1 or 2
Bedrock: very strongly cemented or indurated limestone

COMPETING SERIES: These are the Andres, Aztalan, Darroch, Gilboa, Houstenader, La Hogue, Lahoguess, Le Sueur, Marcellon, Nachusa, Nenno, Newhaven, Odell, Protivin, and Vigar soils All of these soils except Odell soils do not have a densic contact within the series control section. Odell soils do not have bedrock within 60 inches.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Francesville soils formed in loamy till on till plains and moraines overlying limestone bedrock. Slope gradients range from 0 to 1 percent. Mean annual temperature ranges from 48 to 53 degrees F., mean annual precipitation ranges from 32 to 42 inches, frost-free period ranges from 150 to 180 days, and elevation ranges from 600 to 1,530 feet above sea level.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Brookston, Corwin, Navunon, Odell, and Sumava soils. The poorly drained Brookston and Navunon soils are in depressions. The somewhat poorly drained Odell and Sumava soils are on similar landscapes but are not underlain by limestone bedrock. The moderately well drained Corwin soils are on slightly higher lying landform positions.

DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Somewhat poorly drained. The potential for surface runoff is low. Permeability is moderate in the subsoil, slow or very slow in the loamy substratum, and very slow or impermeable in the limestone bedrock. The depth to the top of a perched seasonal high water table ranges from 0.5 to 1.5 feet from November to April in normal years.

USE AND VEGETATION: Soils are mostly cropped to corn and soybeans. Small grain and hay are also grown. Native vegetation is prairie grass.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: MLRA 111 in northern Indiana. The soils are of small extent.

MLRA OFFICE RESPONSIBLE: Indianapolis, Indiana.

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Pulaski County, Indiana, 2001.

REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Mollic epipedon: from the surface to 12 inches (Ap horizon)
Argillic horizon: from 12 to 27 inches (Bt1, Bt2 horizons)
Aquic conditions: redoximorphic features present in all horizons between 12 and 56 inches
Densic contact: at 27 inches (Cd1 horizon)
Lithic contact: at 56 inches (2R horizon)

The Francesville series was proposed for the Odell soils with limestone in the lower part of the series control section mapped in the Pulaski County, Indiana soil survey update.

NASIS Data Mapunit ID 154999 represents the typical pedon in complex with Odell.

ADDITIONAL DATA: Lab characterization data is available for the typical pedon (S98IN-131-008) from the National Soil Survey Laboratory, Lincoln, NE. Transect data (T97IN-131-093) is on file in the MLRA project office in Plymouth, Indiana. Transect in a Odell-Francesville complex shows 80 percent Francesville soils, 10 percent Odell soils, and 10 percent Navunon soils.