LOCATION WIRT IN+ILEstablished Series
The Wirt series consists of very deep, well drained soils that formed in loamy alluvium. These soils are on flood plains and flood-plain steps. Slopes range from 0 to 2 percent. The mean annual temperature is about 13 degrees C (55 degrees F), and mean annual precipitation is about 1067 mm (42 inches).
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Coarse-loamy, mixed, superactive, mesic Dystric Fluventic Eutrudepts
TYPICAL PEDON: Wirt loam on a nearly level area in a pastured field at an elevation of 207 meters (680 feet) above MSL. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)
Ap--0 to 20 cm (0 to 8 inches); brown (10YR 4/3) loam, pale brown (10YR 6/3) dry; moderate medium granular structure, weak thin platy in the lower part; friable; many fine roots; neutral; clear smooth boundary. (15 to 30 cm or 6 to 12 inches thick)
Bw1--20 to 38 cm (8 to 15 inches); brown (10YR 4/3) silt loam; common fine distinct light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) mottles; weak medium subangular blocky structure; friable; common fine roots; few distinct dark brown (10YR 3/3) organic coatings on faces of peds; neutral; gradual smooth boundary.
Bw2--38 to 56 cm (15 to 22 inches); dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) silt loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; friable; few fine roots; many distinct dark brown (10YR 3/3) organic coatings on faces of peds; neutral; gradual wavy boundary.
Bw3--56 to 97 cm (22 to 38 inches); dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/6) loam; few fine distinct light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) mottles; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; friable; many distinct dark brown (10YR 3/3) organic coatings on faces of peds; neutral; gradual wavy boundary. (Combined thickness of the Bw horizon is 46 to 91 cm or 18 to 36 inches.)
C1--97 to 130 cm (38 to 50 inches); dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/6) sandy loam; common fine distinct pale brown (10YR 6/3) mottles; massive; friable; 1 percent gravel; neutral; gradual wavy boundary. (30 to 41 cm or 8 to 16 inches thick)
C2--130 to 152 cm (50 to 60 inches); dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) gravelly sandy loam; massive; friable; 25 percent gravel; neutral.
TYPE LOCATION: Jefferson County, Indiana; about 11 miles west and 3 miles south of Madison; 50 feet south and 2,085 feet east of the northwest corner, sec. 24, T. 3 N., R. 8 E.; USGS Kent, Indiana topographic quadrangle; lat. 38 degrees 41 minutes 35 seconds N. and long. 085 degrees 34 minutes 57 seconds
W; NAD 27; UTM Zone 16, 623277 easting and 4283675 northing, NAD 83.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Depth to the base of the cambic horizon: 61 to 122 cm or 24 to 48 inches
Reaction: moderately acid to neutral
Particle-size control section: averages 7 to 18 percent clay, 16 to 40 percent fine and coarser sand, and 0 to 14 percent rock fragments
Ap horizon:
Hue: 10YR
Value: 4 or 5
Chroma: 3 or 4
Texture: silt loam or loam, and less commonly fine sandy loam or very fine sandy loam
Reaction: moderately acid to neutral
A horizon (2 to 6 inches thick), where present:
Hue: 10YR
Value: 2 to 4
Chroma: 2 or 3
Texture: silt loam or loam, and less commonly fine sandy loam or very fine sandy loam
Reaction: moderately acid to neutral
Bw horizon:
Hue: 10YR
Value: 3 to 5
Chroma: 3 to 6
Texture: loam, silt loam, sandy loam, fine sandy loam, or very fine sandy loam
Reaction: moderately acid to neutral
Rock fragment content: 0 to 14 percent gravel
C horizon, or BC where present:
Hue: 10YR
Value: 3 to 5
Chroma: 3 to 6
Texture: loam, fine sandy loam, or sandy loam, and below 102 cm or 40 inches includes their gravelly analogues, and strata of loamy fine sand, loamy sand, or their gravelly analogues
Reaction: moderately acid to neutral
Rock fragment content: 0 to 34 percent gravel
COMPETING SERIES: The Tioga series is the only competing series. Tioga soils compete very closely with soil properties, but they differ in mean annual temperature which is below 52 degrees F.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: The Wirt soils are on flood plains and flood-plain steps along streams, mainly in dissected till plains considered to be formed during the Illinoian glacial stage. Slopes range from 0 to 2 percent. They formed in loamy alluvium. Mean annual temperature ranges from 11 to 14 degrees C (52 degrees to 57 degrees F), mean annual precipitation ranges from 965 to 1168 mm or 38 to 46 inches, frost free period ranges from 160 to 190 days, and elevation ranges from 122 to 280 meters (400 to 920 feet) above mean sea level.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: The Wirt soils are associated with the somewhat poorly drained Holton and moderately well drained Oldenburg soils on flood plains. They are associated with the well drained Bonnell and Hickory, the well drained Cincinnati and moderately well drained Blocher and Nabb soils on adjacent till plains.
DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY: Well drained. Saturated hydraulic conductivity is moderately high or high (4.23 to 14.11 micrometers/s) in the subsoil and moderately high or high (4.23 to 42.34 micrometers/s) in the underlying material. Permeability is moderate in the subsoil and moderate or moderately rapid in the underlying material. The potential for surface water runoff is negligible or very low. Wirt soils are subject to frequent to rare periods of flooding.
USE AND VEGETATION: Most areas of this soil are used to grow corn and soybeans, or are used for pasture. Native vegetation is mixed deciduous trees, mainly sycamore, elm, hickory, beech and maple.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Southern Indiana and Illinois. The series is of moderate extent, mainly in MLRA's 113, 114A, 114B and 115A. The typical pedon is in MLRA 114A.
MLRA OFFICE RESPONSIBLE: Indianapolis, Indiana
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Jefferson County, Indiana, 1982.
REMARKS: Sandy substratum and flaggy clay substratum phases are recognized, and will likely become new series when the subsets with these phases are updated.
Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
1) Ochric epipedon: 0 to 20 cm or 0 to 8 inches (Ap horizon)
2) Cambic horizon: 20 to 97 cm or 8 to 38 inches (Bw1, Bw2, Bw3 horizons)
ADDITIONAL DATA: Lab data available: Agricultural Experiment Station, Purdue University file no's. JF7703 (typical pedon), MT8014, DC7710, GN7933; and National Soil Survey Lab, Lincoln, NE. soil survey number S88IN143-13.