LOCATION HOLTON IN, IL+OHEstablished Series
The Holton Series consists of very deep, somewhat poorly drained soils formed in loamy alluvium. These soils are on flood plains and have slopes ranging from 0 to 2 percent. The mean annual precipitation is about 1067 mm (42 inches), and the mean annual temperature is about 11 degrees C (52 degrees F).
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Coarse-loamy, mixed, active, nonacid, mesic Aeric Endoaquepts
TYPICAL PEDON: Holton silt loam on a nearly level slope in an idle field at an elevation of 280 meters (920 feet) above MSL. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)
Ap--0 to 18 cm (0 to 7 inches); brown (10YR 5/3) silt loam, very pale brown (10YR 7/3) dry; weak very fine granular structure; friable; many very fine roots; slightly acid; gradual smooth boundary. [15 to 30 cm (6 to 12 inches) thick]
BA--18 to 36 cm (7 to 14 inches); brown (10YR 5/3) loam; weak medium subangular blocky structure; friable; many fine roots; few fine faint dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) masses of iron accumulation in the matrix; slightly acid; abrupt smooth boundary. [0 to 20 cm or 0 to 8 inches thick]
Bg1--36 to 51 cm (14 to 20 inches); grayish brown (10YR 5/2) fine sandy loam; weak medium prismatic structure parting to weak medium subangular blocky; friable; common fine roots; many coarse distinct yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) and few fine distinct dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) masses of iron accumulation in the matrix; moderately acid; gradual smooth boundary.
Bg2--51 to 79 cm (20 to 31 inches); grayish brown (10YR 5/2) fine sandy loam; weak medium prismatic structure parting to weak medium subangular blocky; friable; few fine roots; many medium distinct yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) and few fine distinct dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) masses of iron accumulation in the matrix; strongly acid; gradual smooth boundary.
Bg3--79 to 104 cm (31 to 41 inches); grayish brown (10YR 5/2) fine sandy loam; weak medium prismatic structure parting to weak fine subangular blocky; friable; few fine roots; common medium distinct yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) masses of iron accumulation in the matrix; strongly acid; gradual smooth boundary. (Combined thickness of the Bg horizons is 41 to 76 cm or 16 to 30 inches.)
Cg--104 to 152 cm (41 to 60 inches); grayish brown (10YR 5/2) fine sandy loam; massive; very friable; many coarse distinct dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) masses of iron accumulation in the matrix; slightly acid.
TYPE LOCATION: Ripley County, Indiana, about 3 miles north of Spades; 1,050 feet east and 200 feet south of the northwest corner of sec. 29, T. 10 N., R. 13 E.; USGS Spades, IN 7.5 minute quadrangle; lat. 39 degrees 17 minutes 40 seconds N. and long. 85 degrees 06 minutes 29 seconds W., NAD 27, UTM Zone 16, 663153 easting and 4351164 northing, NAD 83.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Depth to the base of the cambic horizon: 56 to 122 cm (22 to 48 inches)
Particle-size control section: 6 to 18 percent clay
Reaction in the control section: strongly acid to neutral, but at least one layer is above 5.0 by .01M CaCl2.
A or Ap horizon:
Hue: 10YR
Value: 4 or 5
Chroma: 2 or 3
Texture: silt loam or loam
Reaction: moderately acid to neutral
BA, Bw, or Bg horizon:
Hue: 10YR
Value: 4 to 6
Chroma: 1 to 6
Texture: silt loam, loam, fine sandy loam, or sandy loam, and includes layers 1 to 3 inches thick of loamy sand
Clay content: 6 to 18 percent
Sand content: 25 to 70 percent
Reaction: strongly acid to neutral
Rock fragment content: 0 to 10 percent gravel
C or Cg horizon:
Hue: 10YR
Value: 4 to 6
Chroma: 1 to 4
Texture: fine sandy loam, sandy loam, loam, or sandy clay loam, or is stratified with these textures, and includes strata of loamy sand or loamy fine sand
Clay content: 6 to 27 percent
Sand content: 25 to 70 percent
Reaction: strongly acid to neutral
Rock fragment content: 0 to 14 percent gravel
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Lamson, Nassena, and Newstead series. Lamson and Nassena soils have carbonates above a depth of 152 cm (60 inches). Newstead soils have bedrock between a depth of 51 to 102 cm (20 to 40 inches).
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: The Holton soils are on flood plains along streams in areas considered to be of Illinoian-aged glaciation. Slopes are 0 to 2 percent. They formed in loamy alluvium. Mean annual air temperature ranges from 10 to 14 degrees C (51 to 57 degrees F), mean annual precipitation ranges from 889 to 1168 mm (35 to 46 inches), frost free period ranges from 150 to 190 days, and elevation ranges from 122 to 274 meters (400 to 900 feet) above mean sea level.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: The Holton soils are commonly associated with the Oldenburg and Wirt soils on flood plains, and the Cincinnati and Hickory soils on adjacent dissected till plains. Oldenburg soils do not have a layer above a depth of 51 cm (20 inches) that has a dominant chroma of 2 or less. They are on slightly higher steps on the flood plain. Wirt soils do not have iron depletions with a chroma of 2 or less in the control section. They are on natural levees adjacent to stream channels and slightly higher steps. Cincinnati soils have a fragipan in the control section, and are on shoulders and backslopes of dissected till plains. Hickory soils have an argillic horizon in the control section, and are on backslopes of dissected till plains.
DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY: Somewhat poorly drained. Saturated hydraulic conductivity is moderately high or high (4.23 to 14.11 micrometers/s) in the subsoil and moderately high or high (4.23 to 42.34 micrometers/s) in the underlying material. Permeability is moderate in the subsoil and moderate or moderately rapid in the underlying material. The potential for surface water runoff is negligible to low. In undrained areas, depth to an intermittent apparent high water table ranges from 0.15 to 0.5 meters (0.5 to 1.5 feet) in most years.
USE AND VEGETATION: Most of this soil is used to grow corn and soybeans, hay and pasture. Native vegetation is mixed deciduous trees including ash, maple, oak, and willow.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Southern Indiana, south-central Illinois, and western Ohio. The series is of moderate extent, mainly in MLRA 114 in Indiana, MLRA 113 in Illinois, and MLRA 124 in Ohio.
MLRA OFFICE RESPONSIBLE: Indianapolis, Indiana
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Jefferson County, Indiana, 1982.
REMARKS: The classification of the Holton series was changed from coarse-loamy, mixed, mesic Aeric Fluvaquents to coarse-loamy, mixed, mesic Aeric Endoaquepts in 1995. A cambic horizon is present in the majority of the pedons with lab data as of May 1995. Where Orrville series have been correlated in soil surveys in Indiana in MLRA 114, they will likely be re-correlated to the Holton series when these soil surveys are updated. The CEC activity class assigned is active, but lab data from the typical pedon borders the superactive class. Lab data indicates a regular decrease in organic-carbon content between 25 and 125 cm.
Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
1) Ochric epipedon: the zone from 0 to 36 cm or 14 inches (Ap and BA horizons);
2) Cambic horizon: the zone from 36 to 104 cm or 14 to 41 inches (Bg1, Bg2, Bg3 horizons);
3) Redoximorphic depletions from 18 to 152 cm or 7 to 60 inches.
ADDITIONAL DATA: Lab data available for this series: Agricultural Experiment Station, Purdue University, Station Bulletin No. 323, File No. JF7701; Station Bulletin No. 360, File No. R17815 (typical pedon); and pedon S89IN-143-009 at the National Soil Survey Lab, Lincoln, NE.