LOCATION RITTMAN OHEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, mixed, active, mesic Aquic Fragiudalfs
TYPICAL PEDON: Rittman silt loam, on a west facing, convex 2 to 6 percent slope in a cultivated field. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise noted.)
Ap-- 0 to 9 inches; dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) silt loam, light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) dry; moderate fine and medium granular structure; friable; neutral; abrupt smooth boundary. (6 to 12 inches thick.)
Bt1-- 9 to 14 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) silt loam; weak fine subangular blocky structure; friable; a few dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) earthworm channels; few faint brown (10YR 5/3) clay films on faces of peds; many distinct light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) dry silt coats on faces of peds; moderately acid; clear smooth boundary.
Bt2-- 14 to 19 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) clay loam; moderate fine and medium subangular blocky structure; friable; [many distinct pale brown (10YR 6/3) silt coats and] common faint brown (10YR 5/3) clay films on faces of peds; about 5 percent rock fragments; many distinct pale brown (10YR 6/3) silt coats on faces of peds; few fine distinct gray (5Y 6/1) iron depletions in the matrix; common medium distinct strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) and yellowish red (5YR 5/6) masses of iron accumulation in the matrix; very strongly acid; clear smooth boundary.
Bt3-- 19 to 22 inches; brown (7.5YR 4/4) clay loam; moderate fine and medium subangular blocky structure; firm; many faint brown (10YR 4/3) clay films on faces of peds; many distinct light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) and common prominent gray (5Y 6/1) clay depletions on faces of peds; about 5 percent rock fragments; very strongly acid; clear smooth boundary.
Btx1-- 22 to 26 inches; dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) clay loam; moderate medium and coarse prismatic structure parting to weak medium subangular blocky; very firm; many prominent dark gray (5Y 4/1) clay films on vertical faces of peds; common faint dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) clay films in pores; about 5 percent rock fragments; 50 percent brittle; very strongly acid; gradual smooth boundary. (The Bt and Btx horizons above the fragipan have a combined thickness of 6 to 30 inches.)
Btx2-- 26 to 35 inches; dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) clay loam; moderate very coarse prismatic structure parting to weak thin platy with vertical partings at distances of 1 to 4 inches; very firm; many prominent gray (5Y 5/1) clay films on vertical faces of peds that are underlain by a fine rind of yellowish red (5YR 5/6) iron accumulation; common dark masses of iron-manganese accumulation on horizontal faces of peds and common dark masses of iron-manganese accumulation in the matrix; about 5 percent rock fragments; 80 to 90 percent brittle; very strongly acid; gradual smooth boundary.
Btx3-- 35 to 47 inches; dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) clay loam; weak very coarse prismatic structure parting to weak thick platy; very firm; many [distinct and] prominent gray (5Y 5/1) clay films on vertical faces of peds; common dark dendritic masses of iron-manganese accumulation on horizontal faces of peds; about 5 percent rock fragments; about 90 percent brittle; moderately acid; gradual smooth boundary. (The Btx horizons in the fragipan have a combined thickness of 10 to 40 inches.)
BC-- 47 to 55 inches; dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) clay loam; weak coarse prismatic structure parting to weak thick platy; firm; many distinct gray (5Y 5/1) clay films on some vertical faces of peds; common dark dendritic masses of iron-manganese accumulation on horizontal faces of peds; about 5 percent rock fragments; few spots are brittle; slightly acid; gradual smooth boundary. (0 to 15 inches thick.)
C-- 55 to 60 inches; dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) clay loam; moderate thick platy structure; firm; few gray (5Y 5/1) vertical seams; about 5 percent rock fragments; slightly effervescent; slightly alkaline.
TYPE LOCATION: Portage County, Ohio; Atwater Township, about 1 1/4 miles south and 1/2 mile east of Atwater Center, 510 feet north of Virginia Road, 42 feet east of fence, T. 1 N., R. 6 W.; U.S.G.S. Atwater, Ohio topographic quadrangle; Latitude 41 degrees, 0 minutes, 24 seconds N. and Longitude 81 degrees, 8 minutes, 19 seconds W., NAD 1927.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Thickness of the solum ranges from 34 to 60 inches. Depth to the fragipan ranges from 18 to 36 inches. Rock fragments range from 0 to 10 percent above the fragipan and from 2 to 15 percent in the fragipan and substratum. The particle size control section averages 27 to 35 percent clay.
The Ap horizon has hue of 10YR, value of 4 or 5 (6 or more dry), and chroma of 2 or 3. Some pedons have an A horizon, 1 to 4 inches thick, with hue of 10YR, value of 2 or 3 (4 or 5 dry), and chroma of 2.
Where present the E horizon ranges to 10 inches thick and has hue of 10YR, value of 5 or 6 (more than 6 dry), and chroma of 3 or 4. The Ap, A, and E horizons commonly are silt loam, but the Ap ranges to silty clay loam or clay loam in severely eroded areas. They are moderately acid to extremely acid except for the Ap horizon that ranges to neutral.
Some pedons have a BE or B/E horizon that is silt loam, silty clay loam, or clay loam. Faces of peds in the upper part of the B horizon have thin silt coats with value of 5 or 6, and chroma of 2 to 4. The BE or B/E horizon is extremely acid to moderately acid.
The Bt horizon has hue of 10YR or 7.5YR, value of 4 or 5, chroma of 2 to 6. It is dominantly clay loam or silty clay loam but silt loam is common in the upper part. Reaction is strongly acid to extremely acid except for the upper part that ranges to moderately acid.
The Btx and BC horizons have hue of 10YR, value of 4 or 5, chroma of 3 to 6, and few to many redoximorphic features in most pedons. Textures are clay loam or silty clay loam and less commonly are loam or silt loam in subhorizons in the lower part of the Btx and BC horizons. Reaction is strongly acid or very strongly acid in the upper part of the Btx horizon and moderately acid to neutral in the lower part of the Btx and in the BC horizons.
The C horizon has hue of 10YR, value of 4 or 5, and chroma of 3 or 4. It is clay loam, silty clay loam, loam, or silt loam. It is slightly acid to slightly alkaline and most pedons contain some free carbonates.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Canfield, Nockamixon, and Teegarden series. Canfield soils average 18 to 27 percent clay in the series particle-size control section. Nockamixon soils have 35 to 60 percent rock fragments in the substratum. Teegarden soils have solum 60 to 80 inches thick.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Rittman soils formed in Wisconsinan age till on till plains. The slope ranges from 2 to 70 percent. Mean annual precipitation ranges from about 32 to 42 inches, and mean annual temperature ranges from about 48 to 54 degrees F.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Bogart, Chagrin, Chili, Fitchville, Glenford, Frenchtown, Jimtown, Lobdell, Sebring, Wadsworth, and Wooster soils. The moderately well drained Bogart, well drained Chili, and somewhat poorly drained Jimtown soils lack fragipans and are on nearby outwash terrace treads and risers. The well drained Chagrin and moderately well drained Lobdell soils are on nearby flood plains. The somewhat poorly drained Fitchville, moderately well drained Glenford, and poorly drained Sebring soils are on nearby silty lacustrine terrace treads and risers. The poorly drained Frenchtown, somewhat poorly drained Wadsworth, and well drained Wooster soils are in a toposequence with Rittman soils. Frenchtown soils are in nearby level areas, drainageways or in depressions. Wadsworth soils are on less sloping areas and in lower landscape positions.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Moderately well drained. The potential for surface runoff is medium to very high. Permeability is moderate above the fragipan and slow in the fragipan. In undisturbed areas the depth to the top of the intermittent perched seasonal high water table is at 1.0 to 2.0 feet between December and May in normal years.
USE AND VEGETATION: A large proportion of Rittman soils is either cultivated or in pasture. Principal crops are corn, oats, wheat, or mixed hay. Some areas are in woodland. Natural vegetation is hardwood forest, mainly sugar maple, beech, oak, and hickory.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Northeastern Ohio. MLRA 100 and 139. The soils are of large extent, about 197,000 acres.
MLRA OFFICE RESPONSIBLE: Amherst, Massachusetts
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Muddy Fork Project, Ohio, 1936.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
a) Ochric epipedon - from the surface to a depth of about 9 inches (Ap);
b) Argillic horizon - from a depth of about 9 to 55 inches (Bt1, Bt2, Bt3, Btx1, Btx2, Btx3, BC);
c) Fragipan - from a depth of about 26 to 47 inches (Btx2, Btx3);
d) Redoximorphic features - 14 to 55 inches (Bt2, Bt3, Btx1, Btx2, Btx3, BC).
Notes: A sandstone substratum phase is recognized. These soils will need to be evaluated during MLRA update activities.
08/2000 revision included numerous changes made to all parts of the OSD. Pedon description updated to include redoximorphic features.
Acreage based on 2004 data.
08/2005-The competing series have been compared by the 9th Edition of Keys to Soils Taxonomy.
ADDITIONAL DATA: Refer to pedon PG-2 for characterization data of the typical pedon, sample numbers 6968-6986, from Portage County, Ohio; samples analyzed by The Ohio State University Soil Characterization Laboratory, Columbus, Ohio. Data is also available for pedons CO-31, MD-12, MD-15, MD-18, MD-S7, MH-15, PG-S16, RC-21, SK-3, ST-22, WN-S9 and WN-S10.