LOCATION SMOLAN KSEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine, smectitic, mesic Pachic Argiustolls
TYPICAL PEDON: Smolan silt loam - cultivated. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise stated.)
Ap--0 to 15 centimeters (0 to 6 inches); grayish brown (10YR 5/2) silt loam, very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) moist; weak fine granular structure; slightly hard, friable; moderately acid; clear smooth boundary. (10 to 20 centimeters (4 to 8 inches) thick)
A--15 to 30 centimeters (6 to 12 inches); dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) silty clay loam, very dark brown (10YR 2/2) moist; moderate fine and very fine granular structure; slightly hard, friable; moderately acid; clear smooth boundary. (10 to 18 centimeters (4 to 7 inches) thick)
BA--30 to 46 centimeters (12 to 18 inches); grayish brown (10YR 5/2) silty clay loam, very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) moist; moderate fine subangular blocky structure; hard, firm; slightly acid; gradual smooth boundary. (8 to 23 centimeters (3 to 9 inches) thick)
Bt1--46 to 61 centimeters (18 to 24 inches); grayish brown (10YR 5/2) silty clay, very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) moist; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; very hard, very firm; common distinct clay films on faces of peds; slightly acid; gradual smooth boundary. (13 to 38 centimeters (5 to 15 inches) thick)
Bt2--61 to 76 centimeters (24 to 30 inches); brown (7.5YR 5/4) silty clay, brown (7.5YR 4/3) moist; moderate medium blocky structure; very hard, firm; common distinct clay films on faces of peds; neutral; gradual smooth boundary. (10 to 41 centimeters (4 to 16 inches) thick)
BC--76 to 117 centimeters (30 to 46 inches); reddish brown (5YR 5/3) silty clay loam, reddish brown (5YR 4/3) moist; weak medium and coarse subangular blocky structure; very hard, friable; common faint clay films on faces of some peds; moderately alkaline; few small carbonate concretions; diffuse smooth boundary. (30 to 76 centimeters (12 to 30 inches) thick)
C--117 to 201 centimeters (46 to 79 inches); reddish brown (5YR 5/4) silty clay loam, reddish brown (5YR 4/4) dry; massive; hard, friable; moderately alkaline.
TYPE LOCATION: Saline County, Kansas; about 1,6 kilometers (1 mile) west and 0.8 kilometers (1/2 mile) south of Gypsum; 335 meters (1100 feet) north and 30 meters (100 feet) east of the southwest corner of sec. 33, T. 15 S., R. 1 W.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Mollic epipedon: over 51 centimeters (20 inches) thick
Depth to free carbonates: 71 to 178 centimeters (28 to 70 inches) or more
The matrix in some part of the solum: redder than 7.5YR hue
A horizon:
Hue: 10YR or 7.5YR
Value: 4 or 5, 2 or 3 moist
Chroma: 1 to 3
Texture: silt loam or silty clay loam
Reaction: moderately acid to neutral
Bt1 horizon:
Hue: 10YR, 7.5YR, or 5YR
Value: 4 or 5, 2 or 3 moist
Chroma: 2 or 3
Texture: silty clay or silty clay loam
Reaction: moderately acid to moderately alkaline
Bt2 horizon:
Hue: 7.5YR or 5YR
Value: 4 or 5, 3 or 4 moist
Chroma: 3 or 4
Texture: silty clay or silty clay loam
Reaction: moderately acid to moderately alkaline
Clay content: 35 and 50 percent, with less than 15 percent fine and coarser sand
Horizons containing more than 40 percent clay are not within 36 centimeters (14 inches) of the soil surface.
BC and C horizons:
Hue: 7.5YR or 5YR
Value: 5 or 6, 3 or 4 moist
Chroma: 3 to 6
Reaction: neutral or moderately alkaline
In some pedons the BC and C horizons are mottled with colors of lower chroma and usually of yellower hue.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the
Crete,
Detroit,
Lane,
Onita,
Pinespring,
Rago and
Sponiker series.
Crete, Detroit, Lane and Onita soils have hues yellower than 7.5YR in the solum.
Rago soils are drier in the soil moisture control section.
Pinespring soils have sandy clay loam, sandy clay and clay loam textures and average more than 40 percent sand in control section.
Sponiker soils are formed in alluvium derived from mixed sources.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Landform: high terraces and uplands
Slope: 1 to 8 percent, but range from 0 to 12 percent
Parent material old silty sediments believed to be loess that is older and more weathered than the Peorian loess
Mean annual precipitation: 66 to 84 centimeters (26 to 33 inches)
Mean annual temperature: 11 to 14 degrees C. (51 to 57 degrees F.)
Thornthwaite Annual P-E Index: 40 to 54
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the
Geary,
Hastings,
Hedville,
Hobbs,
Irwin,
Kennebec,
Labette, and
Tully soils.
Geary, Hastings, Irwin, Labette, and Tully soils are on adjacent uplands.
Hobbs and Kennebec soils are less clayey and on flood plains.
The shallow Hedville soils and the moderately deep
Lancaster soils are on adjacent uplands.
DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY:
Drainage: moderately well drained to well drained
Runoff: medium to rapid
Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity: moderately low
USE AND VEGETATION: Slopes of less than 6 percent are usually cultivated.
Principal crops are wheat or sorghum.
The steeper slopes and part of the gentler slopes are used for native range. Native vegetation is mid or tall grass prairie.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Central Kansas and possibly adjacent parts of Nebraska. The series is moderately extensive.
MLRA OFFICE RESPONSIBLE: Salina, Kansas
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Saline County, Kansas, 1952.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Mollic epipedon: 0 to 61 centimeters (0 to 24 inches) (A, BA, and Bt1 horizons)
Argillic horizon: 46 to 76 centimeters (18 to 30 inches) (Bt1, and Bt2 horizons)
Modified format by LRM in 3/2006 to include metric conversion and change permeability to saturated hydraulic conductivity.