LOCATION NIOTAZE            KS  OK

NIOTAZE SERIES

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine, smectitic, thermic Albaquic Hapludalfs

TYPICAL PEDON: Niotaze cobbly fine sandy loam - on a l2 percent west-facing slope under hardwoods. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)

A--0 to 3 inches; very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) very cobbly fine sandy loam, grayish brown (10YR 5/2) dry; weak very fine and fine granular structure; slightly hard, very friable; many fine roots; 40 percent by volume subangular fragments of sandstone; moderately acid; clear irregular boundary. (2 to 5 inches thick)

E--3 to l0 inches; brown (10YR 5/3) cobbly fine sandy loam, pale brown (10YR 6/3) dry; weak very fine granular structure; slightly hard, very friable; few fine roots; 30 percent by volume subangular fragments of sandstone; strongly acid; clear smooth boundary. (2 to l0 inches thick)

2Bt--l0 to 18 inches; reddish brown (5YR 4/4) silty clay, brown (7.5YR 5/4) dry; weak medium subangular blocky and moderate fine angular blocky structure; very hard, very firm; few fine roots; continuous clay films on faces of peds, grayish coatings on faces of peds in upper 3 inches; strongly acid; gradual smooth boundary. (6 to 30 inches thick)

2BCt--18 to 28 inches; mixed light brown (7.5YR 6/4) and gray (10YR 6/1) silty clay loam, dark brown (7.5YR 3/4) moist; common, fine distinct redox concentrations of strong brown (7.5YR 5/8) and common, fine, prominent redox depletions of gray (10YR 5/1); weak coarse subangular blocky structure; hard, firm; few fine roots; thin continuous clay films on faces of peds; lower portion having some laminated shale; moderately acid; gradual wavy boundary. (6 to 20 inches thick)

2Cd--28 to 61 inches; grayish brown (2.5Y 5/2) noncemented shale bedrock, light brownish gray (2.5Y 6/2) dry; massive with angular rock structure; extremely hard, extremely firm; few roots along fractures; moderately acid; clear smooth boundary. (20 to 40 inches thick)

2Cr--61 to 80 inches; grayish brown (2.5Y 5/2) moist,shale bedrock; moderately acid.

TYPE LOCATION:Chautauqua County, Kansas; one mile southeast of the town of Chautauqua; 850 feet south and 900 feet west of the northeast corner, sec.14, T. 35 S., R. 11 E. Latitude N37 degrees 0 minutes 24 seconds, Longitude W96 degrees 0 minutes 10 seconds. Chautauqua, KS Topographic Quadrangle.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Thickness of the solum and depth to shale: 20 to 40 inches
Clay content: More than 40 percent in the control section
Soil Moisture: udic soil moisture regime

A horizon
Hue: l0YR
Value: 4 to 6 and 2 to 4 moist
Chroma: l to 3
Texture: cobbly fine sandy loam or fine sandy loam but includes loam, silt loam, very fine sandy loam and their cobbly or stony counterparts
Coarse fragments: Coarse fragments of sandstone less than 3 inches range from 0 to 35 percent by volume. Coarse fragments of sandstone greater than 3 inches range from 0 to 35 percent by volume
Reaction: strongly acid to moderately acid
In some pedons up to l inch of organic litter is on top of the mineral horizon.

E horizon
Hue: l0YR or 7.5YR
Value: 5 to 7 and 4 to 6 moist
Chroma: 2 to 4
Texture: cobbly fine sandy loam or fine sandy loam but includes loam, silt loam, very fine sandy loam and their cobbly or stony counterparts
Coarse fragments: Coarse fragments of sandstone less than 3 inches range from 0 to 35 percent by volume. Coarse fragments of sandstone greater than 3 inches range from 0 to 35 percent by volume

2Bt horizon
Hue: 2.5YR to 2.5Y
Value: 4 to 6 and 3 to 5 moist
Chroma: 3 to 6
Texture: silty clay, clay or silty clay loam with 35 to 55 percent clay
Reaction: very strongly acid to slightly acid.

2BC horizon
Hue: 2.5YR to 2.5Y
Value: 4 to 6, and 3 to 5 moist
Chroma: l to 6
Texture: silty clay or silty clay loam
Redox features: the 2BC horizon and the lower Bt horizon in pedons with a thicker Bt horizon, have grayish redox depletions with values of 4 or more and chroma of 2 or less and brownish or reddish redox concentrations having values of 4 or more and chroma of 3 to 8.

2Cd horizon
Hue: 2.5YR to 2.5Y
Value: 4 to 6, and 3 to 5 moist
Chroma: l to 6
Reaction: strongly acid to neutral
The Cd horizon is weakly cemented shale that slakes in water when air dried and submerged at least one hour. The Cd horizon is underlain by a Cr or R horizon of hard shale or sandstone.

COMPETING SERIES: These are the Corrigan, Invershiel, and Pilgrims series in the same family.
Corrigan: These soils formed in material weathered from volcanic tuff, and are over paralithic volcanic tuff.
Invershiel: These soils formed in marine sediments over marl on the coastal plain.
Pilgrims: These soils are moderately deep over limestone bedrock.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Niotaze soils are mostly on backslopes of hills and cuestas. The slope gradient ranges from 3 to 45 percent. The soils formed in residuum weathered from interbedded shale and sandstone, with a surface mantle of colluvium from sandstone. The mean annual temperature ranges from 56 to 61 degrees F, and the mean annual precipitation ranges from 38 to 48 inches. The Thornthwaite Annual P-E Index ranges from 64 to 75.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Bartlesville, Bates, Bigheart, Coweta, Steedman, Prue, and Wewoka series.
Bartlesville: These soils are on less sloping summits above Niotaze soils, are fine-loamy and have sandstone at depths of 20 to 40 inches.
Bates: These soils are on higher summits, have mollic epipedons, are fine-loamy, and have sandstone at depths of 20 to 40 inches.
Bigheart and Coweta: These soils are on shoulder slopes adjoining Niotaze soils but have sandstone within a depth of 20 inches. In addition, Coweta soils have mollic epipedons.
Prue: These soils are on colluvial footslopes below the Niotaze. They are fine-loamy and very deep.
Steedman: These soils are on similar slopes, but do not have E horizons, are more alkaline in the Bt and BC horizons, and have prairie vegetation.
Wewoka: These soils are on broad to narrow summits and interfluves and have a sandy-skeletal control section.

DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Somewhat poorly drained. Runoff is medium or high. Permeability is slow.

USE AND VEGETATION: Primarily as native range pasture and woodland. The native vegetation is a savannah consisting of post oak, blackjack oak, red oak, hickory, other udic trees, and an understory of tall grasses. The aspect may range from rangeland or sparse savannah to woodland, depending on management.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Southeast Kansas, north-central and north-eastern Oklahoma. These soils are extensive, about 350,000 acres. About 300,000 acres is in Oklahoma with the balance in Kansas.

MLRA OFFICE RESPONSIBLE: Temple, Texas

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Chautauqua County, Kansas, March l972.

REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons recognized in the pedon are:

Ochric epipedon - zone from the soil surface to a depth of 10 inches (A and E horizon).

Argillic horizon - zone from 10 to 18 inches (Bt horizon).

Abrupt texture change - clay increase greater than 20 percent absolute (within 7.5 cm) from the E to Bt horizon.

Laboratory data by Oklahoma State University and NSSL is available on these soils.

These soils in Chautauqua County, Kansas are on hillslopes of strongly dissected landscapes of shale with lenses and outcrops of sandstone. Surface creep has distributed fragments of sandstone over the surface of the soil in most locations and the loamier A and E horizons have developed in this material while the clayey B horizons have developed in material from the underlying shale. Discontinuous stone lines are common at top of the argillic horizon.

Data from NSSL and Oklahoma State University indicate that the mineralogy is variable across the series and geological range. Both smectitic and mixed pedons have been sampled.