LOCATION FRENCHTOWN OH+PA

Established Series
Rev. AR-DRM-SEA
03/2015

FRENCHTOWN SERIES

The Frenchtown series consists of very deep, poorly drained soils typically formed in loamy Wisconsinan age low lime till on plains. Some pedons have a thin mantle of loess. Saturated hydraulic conductivity is moderately high above the fragipan and moderately low or low in the fragipan. Slope ranges from 0 to 8 percent. Mean annual precipitation is about 1065 mm (42 in) and mean annual temperature is about 9 degrees C (48 degrees F).

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, mixed, active, mesic Typic Fragiaqualfs

TYPICAL PEDON: Frenchtown silt loam, on a nearly level area reverting to brush and trees, formerly a cultivated field. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise noted.)

Ap -- 0 to 18 cm (0 to 7 in); grayish brown (10YR 5/2) silt loam, light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) dry; moderate medium and coarse granular structure; friable; few fine black (10YR 2/1) concretions (iron and manganese oxides); very strongly acid; abrupt smooth boundary. (15 to 25 cm [6 to 10 in] thick.)

BEg -- 18 to 30 cm (7 to 12 in); light brownish gray (2.5Y 6/2) silt loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; firm; common medium black (10YR 2/1) concretions (iron and manganese oxides); 2 percent rock fragments; many medium prominent yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) and yellowish brown (10YR 5/8) masses of iron accumulation in the matrix; very strongly acid; clear wavy boundary. (0 to 25 cm [0 to 10 inches.])

Btg1 -- 30 to 53 cm (12 to 21 in); light brownish gray (2.5Y 6/2) silty clay loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; firm; few faint clay films on sides of pores; many faint light brownish gray (2.5Y 6/2) clay depletions on faces of peds; 2 percent rock fragments; many medium prominent yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) and yellowish brown (10YR 5/8) masses of iron accumulation in the matrix; very strongly acid; clear wavy boundary.

Btg2 -- 53 to 76 cm (21 to 30 in); gray (5Y 5/1) silty clay loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; firm; common faint clay films on faces of peds; gray (5Y 6/1) clay depletions on faces of peds; few medium black (10YR 2/1) concretions (iron and manganese oxides); 2 percent rock fragments; many medium prominent strong brown (7.5YR 5/8) masses of iron accumulation in the matrix; very strongly acid; clear wavy boundary. (Combined thickness of the Btg horizons is 10 to 51 cm [3 to 20 in]).

Btx1 -- 76 to 104 cm (30 to 41 in); dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) clay loam; weak very coarse prismatic structure parting to weak thick platy; polygons are 10 to 13 cm (4 to 5 in) across; very firm; many distinct clay films on vertical faces of peds; common faint clay films on some horizontal surfaces; many prominent gray (5Y 6/1) clay depletions on faces of peds; common very dark brown (10YR 2/2) soft accumulations (iron and manganese oxides) in ped interiors; 5 percent rock fragments; 60 percent brittle; strongly acid; clear smooth boundary.

Btx2 -- 104 to 122 cm (41 to 48 in); brown (10YR 4/3) loam; weak very coarse prismatic structure; very firm; few faint clay films on some horizontal surfaces; many prominent gray (5Y 6/1) clay depletions on vertical faces of peds; 5 percent rock fragments; 60 percent brittle; strongly acid; gradual smooth boundary. (Combined thickness of the Btx horizons is 28 to 122 cm [11 to 40 in]).

BC1 -- 122 to 145 cm (48 to 57 in); brown (10YR 4/3) loam; weak very coarse prismatic structure; firm; few prominent gray (5Y 6/1) coatings on prisms; 10 percent rock fragments; very strongly acid; clear smooth boundary.

BC2 -- 145 to 168 cm (57 to 66 in); yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) clay loam; weak very coarse prismatic structure; firm; few prominent gray (5Y 6/1) coatings on prisms; 10 percent rock fragments; moderately acid; clear smooth boundary. (Combined thickness of the BC horizons is 0 to 61 cm [0 to 24 in]).

C -- 168 to 203 cm (66 to 80 in); yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) loam; massive; firm; 12 percent rock fragments; moderately acid.

TYPE LOCATION: Portage County, Ohio; Nelson Township, 2 1/2 miles north northwest of Nelson; 1,950 feet south of Geauga County line, and 1,000 feet west of the intersection of Pritchard and Prentiss Roads. T. 5 N., R. 6 W.; USGS. Garrettsville, OH topographic quadrangle; Latitude 41 degrees, 20 minutes, 32 seconds N. and Longitude 81 degrees, 03 minutes, 47 seconds W., NAD 1983.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Thickness of the solum ranges from 102 to 203 cm (40 to 80 in), and depth to bedrock is greater than 152 cm (60 in). The depth to the fragipan ranges from 46 to 97 cm (18 to 38 in). Carbonates are at depths of 152 cm (60 in) or more. Rock fragments (dominantly sandstone but some shale and crystalline rocks) commonly are 0 to 10 percent by volume in the Ap horizon; 0 to 20 percent in the E, BE, Bt, and Btx horizons; and 2 to 30 percent in the BC and C horizons.

The Ap horizon has hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 4 or 5 (6 or 7 dry), and chroma of 1 or 2. Some pedons have A horizons 3 to 13 cm (1 to 5 in) thick that have hue of 10YR, value of 2 or 3, and chroma of 1 or 2. The Ap or A horizon commonly is silt loam, and less commonly loam. It is extremely acid to moderately acid. Areas that have been limed range to neutral.

The Eg horizon, where present, is up to 30 cm (12 in) thick is in some undisturbed pedons. The Eg horizon has hue of 10YR, 2.5Y, or 5Y, value of 5 or 6, and chroma of 1 or 2 (3 if hue is 2.5Y or 5Y). It is silt loam or loam or gravelly analogs. It is extremely acid to moderately acid.

The BEg horizon (or BA horizon, where present) has hue of 10YR, 2.5Y or 5Y, value of 5 or 6, and chroma of 1 or 2. It is silt loam or loam, or their gravelly analogues. It is extremely acid to moderately acid.

The Btg horizon has hue of 10YR, 2.5Y, or 5Y, or is neutral, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 0 to 2. It is loam, silt loam, clay loam, silty clay loam, or their gravelly analogues. It is extremely to moderately acid.

The Btx and BC horizons have hue of 7.5YR, 10YR, or 2.5Y, value of 4 or 5, and chroma of 1 to 4. They are loam, silt loam, silty clay loam, clay loam, or their gravelly analogues. They are very strongly acid to neutral.

The C horizon has hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 4 or 5, and chroma of 2 to 6. It is loam, silt loam, silty clay loam, clay loam, or their gravelly analogues. It is strongly acid to moderately alkaline.

COMPETING SERIES: This is the Hasbrouck series. Hasbrouck soils have less than 10 percent clay in the lower part of the series control section.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Frenchtown soils are in depressions, on broad flat areas and base slopes, and along minor natural drainageways on till plains. The slope gradient typically is less than 3 percent, but the range is 0 to 8 percent (see Remarks). The soils formed in Wisconsin and to a lesser extent pre-Wisconsin till strongly influenced by siltstone and sandstone and in places a thin mantle of loess. Mean annual precipitation ranges from about 830 to 1320 mm (33 to 52 in), and mean annual temperature ranges from about 6 to 11 degrees C (47 to 52 degrees F).

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Alden, Cambridge, Canfield, Damascus, Holly, Ilion, Luray, Ravenna, Rittman, Sebring, Venango, and Wadsworth soils on nearby landscapes. The very poorly drained Alden soils have a thick, dark surface and do not have a fragipan. The moderately well drained Cambridge, Canfield, and Rittman soils and the somewhat poorly drained Ravenna, Venango, and Wadsworth soils are in toposequences with Frenchtown soils. All of these soils are on higher landscape positions. Damascus, Luray, and Sebring soils are on nearby terraces. Holly soils are on nearby flood plains. Ilion soils have a darker surface than Frenchtown soils, do not have a fragipan, and typically are in deeper depressions.

DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY: Poorly drained. The potential for surface runoff is negligible to medium. Saturated hydraulic conductivity is moderately high above the fragipan and moderately low or low in the fragipan and below. In undisturbed areas the depth to an intermittent perched seasonal high water table ranges from 15 cm (0.5 ft) above the surface to 15 cm (0.5 ft) below the surface from October to June in most years. Frequent brief and very brief ponding occurs during periods of heavy rainfall and snowmelt.

USE AND VEGETATION: Principal uses are cropland, former cropland reverting to forest, forest, and pasture in approximately equal amounts. Where adequately drained, the principal crops include corn, wheat, or oats and meadow. The natural vegetation is elm, ash, red maple, swamp white oak, and pin oak.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Northeastern Ohio and northwestern Pennsylvania. MLRAs 139 and 140. The series is extensive.

MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Amherst, Massachusetts

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Crawford County, Pennsylvania, 1946.

REMARKS: About 40,000 acres are correlated with higher slopes. Further study of these soils is needed to determine if they should be recorrelated from the Frenchtown series.

Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
1. Ochric epipedon - from the surface to a depth of about 30 cm (12 in) (Ap and BEg horizons).
2. Argillic horizon - the zone from a depth of about 30 to 122 cm (12 to 48 in) (Btg and Btx horizons).
3. Fragipan - the zone from a depth of about 76 to 122 cm (30 to 48 in) (Btx1, Btx2 horizons).
4. Redoximorphic features - from the surface to about 168 cm (66 in) (Ap, BEg, Btg1, Btg2, Btx1, Btx2, BC1, BC2 ).

ADDITIONAL DATA: Characterization data for the Frenchtown series is located at the NCSS Kellogg Soil Survey Lab, Lincoln, NE and includes pedons analyzed by the Ohio State University Soil Characterization Laboratory, Columbus, Ohio.

National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.