LOCATION MATFIELD KSEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Clayey-skeletal, smectitic, mesic Pachic Paleustolls
TYPICAL PEDON: Matfield cherty silt loam - native grassland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise stated.)
A1--0 to 3 inches; grayish brown (10YR 5/2) cherty silt loam, very dark brown (10YR 2/2) moist; strong fine granular structure; slightly hard, very friable; angular chert from 1/4 inch to 2 1/2 inches in longest dimension comprises 15 percent of soil mass; medium acid; clear smooth boundary. (2 to 5 inches thick)
A2--3 to 10 inches; grayish brown (10YR 5/2) extremely cherty silt loam, very dark brown (10YR 2/2) moist; strong fine granular structure; slightly hard, very friable; angular chert averaging about 2 1/2 inches in longest dimension comprises about 75 percent of soil mass; many clusters of fine worm casts; slightly acid; gradual smooth boundary. (5 to 12 inches thick)
A3--10 to 22 inches; dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) extremely cherty silt loam, very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) moist; strong fine granular structure; slightly hard, very friable; chert content as in A2 horizon; many fine worm casts; neutral; gradual smooth boundary. (8 to 14 inches thick)
E1--22 to 33 inches; brown (7.5YR 5/3) extremely cherty silt loam, dark brown (7.5YR 4/3) moist; moderate fine subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, very friable; chert content as in A2 horizon; few voids up to 1/2 inch diameter; many open pores, many fine worm casts; neutral; gradual smooth boundary. (5 to 20 inches thick)
E2--33 to 42 inches; light brown (7.5YR 6/4) extremely cherty silt loam, brown (7.5YR 5/4) moist; massive; soft, very friable; angular chert fragments comprise about 80 percent of soil mass; very porous; neutral; abrupt wavy boundary. (5 to 20 inches)
Bt--42 to 62 inches; dark red (2.5YR 3/6) dry or moist, extremely cherty clay; moderate fine blocky structure; extremely hard, very firm; angular chert fragments averaging about 5 inches in longest dimension comprise about 85 percent of soil mass; neutral; clear wavy boundary. (16 to 60 inches thick)
R--62 inches; cherty limestone with common vertical fractures containing clay like that of Bt.
TYPE LOCATION: Chase County, Kansas; about 2 1/2 miles west of Matfield Green; 4,200 feet east and 850 feet north of the southwest corner of sec. 6, T. 22 S., R. 8 E.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: The thickness of solum is in excess of 60 inches and ranges to as much as 96 inches. In many pedons the R horizon of cherty limestone is lacking and the solum is underlain by brown clayey shales. The thickness of the mollic epipedon ranges from 20 to 30 inches.
The A horizon has hue of 10YR, value of 4 or 5 and 2 or 3 moist, and chroma of 1 or 2. It is cherty or extremely cherty silt loam and ranges from medium acid to neutral.
The E horizon has hue of 7.5YR or 10YR, value of 5 to 7 and 4 to 6 moist, and chroma of 3 or 4. It is cherty or extremely cherty silt loam. The E horizon ranges from medium acid to neutral.
The Bt horizon has hue of 2.5YR to 7.5YR, value of 3 to 5 dry or moist, and chroma of 4 to 6. It is cherty or extremely cherty clay averaging between 50 and 80 percent clay. It has fine or medium blocky structure. Some pedons have mottles in the Bt horizon that are redder than the soil mass. It is slightly acid or neutral.
COMPETING SERIES: The Matfield series is the only member of the family. Competing series in other families are the Florence, Labette, Olpe, and Eldorado soils. All of these soils have a mollic epipedon less than 20 inches thick and lack E horizons. In addition, the Florence soils have sola less than 60 inches thick; Labette soils contain less than 35 percent chert in all horizons; Olpe soils contain more than 35 percent water rounded chert pebbles in the Bt horizons; and the Eldorado soils average less than 35 percent clay in the control section, have higher mean soil temperature, and are wetter.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Matfield soils are on nearly level to gently sloping weakly convex erosional upland. Slope gradient ranges from about 0 to 5 percent. The Matfield soils formed in residuum weathered from cherty limestone. Mean annual precipitation ranges from about 30 to 36 inches, and the mean annual temperature is 54 to 57 degrees F. Thornthwaite Annual P-E Index ranges from 48 to 64.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These include the competing Florence and Labette soils and the Dwight, Ladysmith, Irwin, and Sogn soils. All of these are essentially free of chert and lack E horizons.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained. Runoff is slow. Permeability is very slow in the Bt horizon and moderate in the thick A horizons.
USE AND VEGETATION: Used for native range. Mid grasses predominate with a few tall grasses and a considerable component of short grasses.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Exclusively in the Bluestem Hills of mid eastern Kansas. The series is of moderate extent.
MLRA OFFICE RESPONSIBLE: Salina, Kansas
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Chase County, Kansas, 1971.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are mollic epipedon - the zone from the surface of the soil to a depth of about 22 inches; argillic horizon - zone from 42 to 62 inches.
Alternate location is in a road cut about 2 miles west of Matfield Green; 1,850 feet southwest of the southeast corner of lot 27, sec. 6, T. 22 S., R. 8 E.
ADDITIONAL DATA: Analyses are available for two profiles (63-KANS9-1 and 9-3) from Chase County, Kansas.