LOCATION HOULKA MS+AL MOEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine, smectitic, thermic Aeric Epiaquerts
TYPICAL PEDON: Houlka silty clay--cultivated field.
(Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)
Ap--0 to 8 inches; very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) silty clay; moderate medium granular structure; friable, sticky, plastic; many fine roots; strongly acid; abrupt smooth boundary. (5 to 9 inches thick)
B2--8 to 24 inches; dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) clay; common fine faint brown mottles; moderate fine and medium angular blocky and subangular blocky structure; firm, very sticky, very plastic; few fine roots; pressure faces on some peds; common fine brown concretions; some Ap horizon material in root channels and cracks; strongly acid; clear wavy boundary. (6 to 16 inches thick)
B2g--24 to 38 inches; light brownish gray (2.5Y 6/2) clay; many fine and medium distinct dark brown (10YR 4/3) and yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) mottles; moderate fine and medium angular blocky structure; firm, very sticky, very plastic; few fine roots; pressure faces on some peds; common fine brown concretions; some Ap horizon material in root channels and cracks; strongly acid; gradual wavy boundary. (14 to 30 inches thick)
Cg--38 to 60 inches; gray (5Y 6/1) clay; many medium distinct strong brown (7.5YR 5/8), brown (7.5YR 4/4), and yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) mottles; massive; firm, very sticky, very plastic; few slickensides that do not intersect; common fine brown concretions; strongly acid.
TYPE LOCATION: Monroe County, Mississippi; 0.6 mile south, and 1.2 miles east of Mulden and about 500 feet north of road into cultivated field on east side of creek. SW1/4SW1/4sec. 36, T. 16 S., R. 6 E.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Thickness of the solum ranges from 25 to 60 inches. Reaction is strongly or very strongly acid throughout, except in surface layers that have been limed. Black and brown concretions range from none to many.
The A horizon has hue of 10YR, 2.5Y, or it is neutral, value of 3
HOULKA 2
or 4, and chroma of 0 to 2. A thin A2 horizon, where present, has hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 4 or 5, and chroma of 2. Texture is silty clay loam, silty clay, clay, clay loam, or sandy clay loam.
The B2 horizon has hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 4 or 5, and chroma of 2. Some pedons have a thin B2 horizon in hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 4 or 5, and chroma of 4 with few to many mottles in shades of brown and gray, or it is mottled in shades of brown and gray.
The B2g and Cg horizons have hue of 10YR, 2.5Y, 5Y, or they are neutral, value of 4 to 7, and chroma of 0 to 2 with few to many mottles in shades of gray and brown.
Texture of the B and C horizons is silty clay loam, clay loam, silty clay, or clay.
COMPETING SERIES: There are no other series in the same family. Soils in a similar family are the Alligator, Arkabutla, Belden, Giffith, Leeper, Mathiston, Perry, Portland, Sharkey, Tuscumbia, Una, and Urbo series. Alligator, Perry, Portland, and Sharkey soils have more than 60 percent clay content in the control section. Arkabutla, Belden, and Mathiston soils have 18 to 35 percent clay in the 10-to 40-inch control section. Griffith soils have mollic epipedons more than 24 inches in thickness. Leeper soils are medium acid to moderately alkaline. Tuscumbia and Una soils are grayer and have mixed clay mineralogy. Urbo soils have mixed mineralogy and do not have the higher shrink-swell properties of the Houlka soils.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Houlka soils are on level flood plains. Slopes range from 0 to 2 percent. The soils formed in clayey alluvial sediments. The climate is warm and humid; mean annual precipitation is about 53 inches and mean annual temperature is 63 degrees F. near the type location.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the competing Arkabutla, Belden, Mathiston, Tuscumbia, and Una series and the Marietta series. All of these soils formed in alluvial sediments in flood plains of streams from uplands of mixed Blackland Prairie and Coastal Plain. Arkabutla, Belden, and Mathiston soils, which are somewhat poorly drained, are on the nearly level surfaces of flood plains. Tuscumbia and Una soils, which are poorly drained, are in depressions and poorly defined drainageways. Marietta soils, which are moderately well drained, are less acid and have less than 35 percent clay in the 10- to 40-inch control section, are in slightly higher positions on the flood plains or in areas bordering incised stream channels.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Somewhat poorly drained; slow runoff; and very slow permeability. The soil is subject to occasional flooding during winter and early in spring.
USE AND VEGETATION: Most areas of the soil have been cleared; they are used for cotton, corn, soybeans, and small grains. A
HOULKA 3
moderate acreage is in pasture and hay. Wooded areas are in mixed hardwoods.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Alabama and Mississippi. The series is of moderate extent.
MLRA OFFICE RESPONSIBLE: Auburn, Alabama
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Elmore County, Alabama; 1948.
REMARKS: This series was formerly classified in the Alluvial great soil group. National Cooperative Soil Survey