LOCATION GRAYFORD                IN+KY OH

Established Series
Rev. DLM-BGN
11/2021

GRAYFORD SERIES


The Grayford series consists of deep, well drained soils formed in less than 56 cm (22 inches) of loess and in the underlying till of Illinoian age and residuum from limestone. They are on dissected till plains and sinkholes. Slope ranges from 2 to 35 percent. Mean annual precipitation is about 1016 mm (40 inches), and mean annual temperature is about 13 degrees C (55 degrees F).

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, mixed, active, mesic Ultic Hapludalfs

TYPICAL PEDON: Grayford silt loam, on a 13 percent side slope in a pasture at an elevation of about 207 meters (680 feet) above mean sea level. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise noted.)

Ap--0 to 15 cm (0 to 6 inches); brown (10YR 4/3) silt loam, pale brown (10YR 6/3) dry; weak medium granular structure; friable; many fine roots; neutral; abrupt smooth boundary. [13 to 25 cm (5 to 10 inches) thick]

Bt1--15 to 30 cm (6 to 12 inches); strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) silt loam; weak medium subangular blocky structure; friable; common fine roots; few faint strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) clay films on faces of peds; moderately acid; gradual smooth boundary.

Bt2--30 to 56 cm (12 to 22 inches); strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) silt loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; friable; few fine roots; many prominent reddish brown (5YR 4/4) clay films on faces of peds; few fine prominent very dark gray (10YR 3/1) iron-manganese concretions in the matrix; very strongly acid; gradual wavy boundary. [Combined thickness of the Bt horizon is 0 to 43 cm (17 inches).]

2Bt3--56 to 84 cm (22 to 33 inches); yellowish red (5YR 5/6) loam; moderate medium angular and subangular blocky structure; firm; many distinct reddish brown (5YR 4/4) clay films on faces of peds and lining pores; many medium prominent very dark gray (10YR 3/1) iron-manganese concretions in the matrix; 3 percent gravel; very strongly acid; gradual wavy boundary.

2Bt4--84 to 114 cm (33 to 45 inches); yellowish red (5YR 5/6) clay loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; firm; many distinct reddish brown (5YR 4/4) clay films on faces of peds and lining pores; many medium prominent very dark gray (10YR 3/1) iron-manganese concretions in the matrix; 3 percent gravel; strongly acid; gradual wavy boundary. [Combined thickness of the 2Bt horizon is 36 to 61 cm (14 to 24 inches).]

3Bt5--114 to 132 cm (45 to 52 inches); reddish brown (5YR 4/4) clay; weak very coarse subangular blocky structure; very firm; many distinct reddish brown (5YR 4/4) clay films on faces of peds; many medium prominent very dark gray (10YR 3/1) iron-manganese concretions in the matrix; 3 percent subangular chert gravel; 10 percent subangular chert cobbles; strongly acid; abrupt wavy boundary. [10 to 26 cm (4 to 14 inches) thick]

3R--132 to 152 cm (52 to 60 inches); indurated limestone bedrock.

TYPE LOCATION: Jefferson County, Indiana; 1816 feet east and 1,130 feet north of the southwest corner, sec. 29, T. 4 N., R. 9 E.; USGS Volga Indiana topographic quadrangle; lat. 38 degrees 45 minutes 18.124 seconds N. and long. 085 degrees 32 minutes 51.902 seconds W., NAD 83; UTM Zone 16, 626189 easting and 4290592 northing, NAD 83.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Depth to the base of the argillic horizon: 102 to 152 cm (40 to 60 inches)
Depth to a lithic contact: 102 to 152 cm (40 to 60 inches)
Thickness of the loess: 0 to 56 cm (0 to 22 inches)
Depth to clayey residuum: 89 to 140 cm (35 to 55 inches)
Rock fragments: of mixed lithology in the upper of the solum and mainly chert in the lower part

Ap horizon:
Hue: 7.5YR or 10YR
Value: 4 or 5
Chroma: 2 to 4
Texture: silt loam
Clay content: 12 to 26 percent
Sand content: 5 to 25 percent
Rock fragment content: 0 to 10 percent gravel
Reaction: very strongly acid to neutral

A horizon, where present:
Thickness: 2 to 10 cm (1 to 4 inches)
Hue: 7.5YR or 10YR
Value: 3 or 4
Chroma: 2 or 3
Texture: silt loam
Clay content: 12 to 20 percent
Sand content: 5 to 25 percent
Rock fragment content: 0 to 5 percent gravel
Reaction: very strongly acid or strongly acid

E horizon, where present:
Hue: 10YR
Value: 6
Chroma: 4 to 6
Texture: silt loam
Clay content: 12 to 26 percent
Sand content: 5 to 25 percent
Rock fragment content: 0 to 5 percent gravel
Reaction: very strongly acid or strongly acid

Bt or BE horizon:
Hue: of 7.5YR or 10YR
Value: 4 or 5
Chroma: 4 to 8
Texture: silt loam or silty clay loam
Clay content: 22 to 33 percent
Sand content: 10 to 25 percent
Rock fragment content: 0 to 5 percent gravel
Reaction: very strongly acid or strongly acid, and the upper part ranges to neutral in limed areas

2Bt horizon:
Hue: 5YR to 10YR
Value: 4 or 5
Chroma: 4 to 8
Texture: commonly loam or clay loam, and less commonly silt loam
Clay content: 24 to 39 percent
Sand content: 20 to 35 percent
Rock fragment content: 1 to 10 percent gravel
Reaction: very strongly acid or strongly acid

3Bt horizon:
Hue: 2.5YR or 5YR
Value: 4 or 5
Chroma: 4 to 8
Texture: silty clay or clay, or their gravelly analogues, and less commonly cobbly clay
Clay content: 42 to 80 percent
Sand content: 5 to 20 percent
Rock fragment content: 2 to 34 percent gravel and cobbles
Reaction: very strongly acid to moderately acid

3BC horizon, where present:
Hue: 7.5YR or 10YR
Value: 3 or 4
Chroma: 3 or 4
Texture: silty clay or clay, or their gravelly analogues, and less commonly cobbly clay
Clay content: 42 to 80 percent
Sand content: 5 to 20 percent
Rock fragment content: 2 to 34 percent gravel and cobbles
Reaction: very strongly acid to neutral

COMPETING SERIES: These are the Alanthus, Athol, Burkittsville, Cateache, Culleoka, Door, Duffield, Dumfries, Ebbing, Frondorf, Hayter, Kell, Lamotte, Legore, Loudonville, Manassas, Mechanicsburg, Middleburg, Morrison, Myersville, Oatlands, Panorama, Sowego (T), Spriggs, Sudley, Westmoreland, Wheeling, and Williamsburg series. Alanthus, Athol, Burkittsville, Ebbing, Hayter, Manassas, Middleburg, Morrison, Sudley, and Williansburg soils do not have a lithic contact within a depth of 152 cm (60 inches). Cateache, Kell, Myersville, Panorama, Sowego, and Spriggs soils have a paralithic contact within a depth of 152 cm (60 inches). Culleoka, Frondorf, Loudonville, and Oatlands soils have a lithic contact within a depth of 102 cm (40 inches). Dumfries, Legore, and Westmoreland soils have the depth to the base of the argillic horizon at less than 102 cm (40 inches). Door soils have an umbric epipedon. Wheeling soils average more than 20 percent sand in the lower part of the series control section. Lamotte soils contain less than 42 percent clay in the lower part of the argillic (Bt) horizon. Mechanicsburg soils do not have rock fragments of chert lithology in the lower part of the series control section. Duffield soils do not have a lithologic discontinuity within a depth of 140 cm (55 inches).

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Grayford soils are typically on shoulders and backslopes of dissected till plains and sinkholes. Slope gradient is dominantly 6 to 25 percent, and ranges from 2 to 35 percent. Grayford soils formed in less than 56 cm (22 inches) of loess and in the underlying till of Illinoian age and residuum from limestone. Mean annual precipitation ranges from 1016 to 1168 mm (40 to 46 inches). Mean annual temperature ranges from 11 to 14 degrees C (52 to 57 degrees F). Frost-free period is 170 to 200 days. Elevation is 122 to 259 meters (400 to 850 feet) above mean sea level.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Blocher, Caneyville, Cincinnati, Hickory, Ryker, and Stinesville soils. The moderately deep, more clayey Caneyville soils are on lower lying backslopes of hills. The moderately well drained, very deep Blocher and Cincinnati soils are commonly on higher lying summits, shoulders and backslopes and the very deep Hickory soils are on backslopes of dissected till plains. The very deep Ryker and Stinesville soils are on summits, shoulders and backslopes of dissected till plains and sinkholes.

DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY: Well drained. Potential for surface runoff is low to high. Saturated hydraulic conductivity is moderately high or high. Permeability is moderate.

USE AND VEGETATION: Most areas are used for hay, pasture, and or are in forest. A few areas are used to grow corn, soybeans, and wheat. Native vegetation is mixed hardwood forest.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: MLRAs 114A, 114B, 121, and 122 in southern Indiana, southwestern Ohio, and north central Kentucky. The series is of moderate extent.

SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (SSRO) RESPONSIBLE: AMHERST, MASSACHUSETTS

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Jennings County, Indiana, 1938.

REMARKS: The classification of this series is borderline between fine-loamy and fine-silty. The typical pedon averages about 14.6 percent fine and coarser sand in the particle-size control section. Also data from Owen County, IN (S92IN119-26) places this series in the Typic rather than Ultic subgroup of Hapludalfs. Therefore the classification of this series could change as more data is collected.

Representative component and horizon data is in DMU# 153531 and 153538.

Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this soil are:
Ochric epipedon: from the surface to a depth of 15 cm (6 inches) (Ap horizon).
Argillic horizon: from 15 to 132 cm (6 to 52 inches) (Bt1, Bt2, 2Bt3, 2Bt4, 3Bt5 horizons).
Lithic contact: at 132 cm (52 inches) (top of the 3R layer).

ADDITIONAL DATA: Agricultural Experiment Station, Purdue University Soils Laboratory pedon number S77IN77-2.


National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.