LOCATION MUIR               KS+NE

MUIR SERIES

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-silty, mixed, superactive, mesic Cumulic Haplustolls

TYPICAL PEDON: Muir silt loam - in a cultivated field. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise stated.)

Ap--0 to 7 inches; dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) silt loam, very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) moist; moderate fine granular structure; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; many fine roots; moderately acid; clear smooth boundary.

A--7 to 22 inches; very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) silt loam, very dark brown (10YR 2/2) moist; moderate medium granular structure; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common fine roots; slightly acid; gradual smooth boundary. (Combined thickness of the A horizon is 7 to 29 inches)

Bw1--22 to 36 inches; dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) silty clay loam, very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) moist; moderate very fine blocky structure; hard, firm, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common very fine roots; slightly acid; gradual smooth boundary.

Bw2--36 to 50 inches; grayish brown (10YR 5/2) silt loam, dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) moist; moderate very fine subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; neutral; gradual smooth boundary. (Combined thickness of the Bw horizon is 14 to 30 inches)

BC--50 to 60 inches; light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) silt loam, grayish brown (10YR 5/2) moist; weak fine subangular blocky structure; hard, firm; slightly acid.

TYPE LOCATION: Clay County, Kansas; about 3 miles south and 1 mile west of Clifton; 1200 feet south and 150 feet west of the northeast corner of Sec. 22, T. 6 S., R. 1 E.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Mollic epipedon ranges from 20 to more than 40 inches
Depth to free carbonates: is more than 48 inches

A horizon:
Hue of 10YR
Value: 3 to 5 and 2 or 3 moist
Chroma: 1 or 2
Texture: silt loam, and less commonly silty clay loam
Reaction: moderately acid to neutral.

Bw horizon:
Hue: 10YR
Value: 4 to 6 and 2 to 4 moist
Chroma: of 2 or 3
Texture: silt loam or silty clay loam and less commonly loam
Reaction: moderately acid to neutral.

BC horizon:
Hue: of 10YR or7.5YR
Value: 4 to 7 and 3 to 5 moist
Chroma: 2 to 4.
Texture: silt loam, silty clay loam, or loam
Reaction: slightly acid to moderately alkaline
Stratification with varying colors and textures are in the BC horizon of some pedons. Fine sand or sand is below a depth of 40 inches in some pedons. Some pedons have a C horizon with color and textures similar to the BC horizon.

COMPETING SERIES: These are the Ackmen, Alcester, Coleridge, Gabaldon, Hord, Irak, Roxbury, Shell, Tobin, and Vega series. The Ackmen and Alcester soils are drier in the soil moisture control section during the months of June through August. Gabaldon, Hord, Roxbury, Tobin and Vega soils have free carbonates above a depth of 48 inches. Colridge soils are somewhat poorly drained and have a water table below 1.5 feet. Shell soils are more stratified in the control section and do not have a cambic horizon.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Muir soils are on stream terraces and footslopes. The slope gradient commonly is less than 2 percent, but the range is 0 to 7 percent. The soils formed in deep silty alluvium and colluvium that in places contain silty eolian sediments in the upper part. The mean annual temperature ranges from 53 to 58 degrees F, and the mean annual precipitation ranges from 25 to 33 inches. Thornthwaite annual P-E index ranges from 44 to 60.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Detroit, Eudora, Hobbs, Kimo, Solomon and Sutphen soils. Detroit and Eudora soils are on similar landscapes. Detroit soils are more clayey. Eudora soils are coarse-silty. Hobbs soils have a mollic epipedon less than 20 inches and are on lower flood plains. The more clayey Kimo, Solomon and Sutphen soils are at slightly lower elevations.

DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained. Runoff is low or medium. Permeability is moderate.

USE AND VEGETATION: Most areas of Muir soils are cultivated and some of the acreage is irrigated. Corn, sorghum, wheat, and alfalfa are the principal crops. Native vegetation is tall prairie grasses and a few deciduous trees.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: North central Kansas and adjacent parts of Nebraska. The Muir series is extensive.

MLRA OFFICE RESPONSIBLE: Salina, Kansas

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Saline County, Kansas, 1952.

REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Mollic epipedon: the zone from the surface to a depth of about 36 inches (Ap, A, and Bw1 horizons)
Cambic horizon: the zone from approximately 36 inches to 50 inches (Bw2 horizons).
In the remapping of Saline County, Kansas, Muir series was not correlated. Type location changed to Clay County, Kansas.
07/2003 WAW Format changed to semi-tabular, update terminology for reaction and runoff classes
Future updates should consider reclassifying this series to Pachic from Cumulic, most pedons sampled have a regular decrease in organic carbon.

ADDITIONAL DATA: NSSL Laboratory samples 2P0113 (01KS029004); 2P0111 (01KS027015); 40A1797 (53KS157002); 40A1798 (53KS157004); 80P0051 (79NE023132).