LOCATION GREENBUSH IL+IA
Established Series
Rev. SLE-JWH
01/2011
GREENBUSH SERIES
The Greenbush series consists of very deep, well drained soils formed in loess that has been leached of carbonates to a depth of 152 cm (60 inches) or more. These soils are on nearly level to moderately steep ridgetops and side slopes on till plains and on treads and risers of stream terraces in river valleys. Slope ranges from 0 to 18 percent. The mean annual air temperature is about 10.6 degrees C (51 degrees F), and the mean annual precipitation is about 914 mm (36 inches).
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-silty, mixed, superactive, mesic Mollic Hapludalfs
TYPICAL PEDON: Greenbush silt loam, on a south-facing, linear, 2 percent slope, in a pasture, at an elevation of 213 meters (700 feet) above mean sea level. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)
Ap--0 to 15 cm (0 to 6 inches); very dark gray (10YR 3/1) silt loam; gray (10YR 5/1) dry; moderate fine granular structure; friable; slightly acid; abrupt smooth boundary. [15 to 23 cm (6 to 9 inches) thick]
E--15 to 25 cm (6 to 10 inches); dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) silt loam; weak thin platy structure; friable; common faint very dark gray (10YR 3/1) organic coats on faces of peds; moderately acid; abrupt smooth boundary. [0 to 15 cm (0 to 6 inches) thick]
BE--25 to 43 cm (10 to 17 inches); brown (10YR 4/3) silt loam; moderate medium platy structure parting to weak fine subangular blocky; friable; few distinct very dark gray (10YR 3/1) organic coats and common distinct gray (10YR 6/1) (dry) silt coatings on faces of peds; moderately acid; clear smooth boundary. [8 to 20 cm (3 to 8 inches) thick]
Bt1--43 to 74 cm (17 to 29 inches); yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) silty clay loam; weak medium prismatic structure parting to moderate fine and medium angular blocky; friable; common faint dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) clay films on faces of peds; common distinct gray (10YR 6/1) (dry) silt coatings on faces of peds; strongly acid; gradual smooth boundary.
Bt2--74 to 97 cm (29 to 38 inches); brown (10YR 5/3) silty clay loam; weak medium prismatic structure parting to moderate fine angular blocky; friable; common faint brown (10YR 4/3) clay films on faces of peds; many faint light gray (10YR 7/2) dry, silt coats on faces of peds; common medium distinct yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) masses of oxidized iron in the matrix; common medium prominent gray (5Y 6/1) iron depletions within peds; common prominent black (7.5YR 2/1) masses of manganese oxide in the matrix; strongly acid; gradual wavy boundary.
Bt3--97 to 135 cm (38 to 53 inches); brown (10YR 5/3) silty clay loam; weak medium prismatic structure parting to moderate fine angular blocky; friable; common faint brown (10YR 4/3) clay films on faces of peds; many distinct light gray (10YR 7/2) dry, silt coatings on faces of peds; common medium distinct yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) masses of oxidized iron in the matrix; common medium prominent gray (5Y 6/1) iron depletions within peds; common prominent black (7.5YR 2/1) masses of manganese oxide in the matrix; strongly acid; gradual wavy boundary.
Bt4--135 to 191 cm (53 to 75 inches); about 60 percent brown (10YR 5/3) and about 40 percent light olive gray (5Y 6/2) silt loam; weak medium and coarse prismatic structure parting to weak fine and medium angular blocky; friable; few faint brown (10YR 4/3) clay films on faces of peds; few faint light gray (10YR 7/2) dry, silt coatings on faces of peds; common medium distinct yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) masses of oxidized iron within peds; common prominent black (7.5YR 2/1) masses of manganese oxide in the matrix; moderately acid; gradual wavy boundary. [Combined thickness of the Bt horizon is 61 to 170 cm (24 to 67 inches).].
C--191 to 254 cm (75 to 100 inches); about 55 percent yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) and about 45 percent light olive gray (5Y 6/2) silt loam; massive; friable; many medium distinct light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) iron depletions within peds; many prominent black (7.5YR 2/1) masses of manganese oxide in the matrix; moderately acid.
TYPE LOCATION: Warren County, Illinois; about 0.5 miles west and 2.25 miles south of Greenbush; located about 1,430 feet west and 1,400 feet north of the southeast corner of sec. 18, T. 8 N., R. 1 W.; USGS Greenbush topographic quadrangle; lat. 40 degrees 40 minutes 40.1 seconds N. and long. 90 degrees 32 minutes 48.3 seconds W., UTM Zone 16T, 0707334 easting 4505887 northing, NAD 83.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Depth to the base of the argillic horizon: 89 to 201 cm (35 to 79 inches)
Depth to carbonates: 122 cm (48 inches) or more
Average content of clay in the particle-size control section: between 27 and 35 percent
Average content of fine sand or coarser in the particle-size control section: 0 to 10 percent
Reaction: moderately acid to very strongly acid in the particle-size control section
A or Ap horizon:
Hue: 10YR
Value: 2 or 3
Chroma: 1 or 2
Texture: silt loam except in some eroded pedons it is silty clay loam.
Reaction: strongly acid to neutral
E horizon (where it occurs):
Hue: 10YR
Value: 3 to 5
Chroma: 2 or 3
Texture: silt loam
Reaction: strongly acid to neutral
Other features:
E horizon ranges from distinct to incipient and is mixed in the Ap horizon in many pedons. When the soil is dry, common light gray to white silt coats are visible on faces of peds.
Bt horizon:
Hue: 10YR
Value: 4 or 5
Chroma: 3 to 6
Texture: silty clay loam or silt loam
Reaction: moderately acid to very strongly acid to neutral
Other features:
It typically is free of iron depletions to 76 cm (30 inches) or more.
C horizon:
Hue: 10YR, 2.5Y or 5Y
Value: 4 to 6
Chroma: 2 to 6
Texture: silt loam
reaction: moderately acid to neutral
COMPETING SERIES: These are the
Batavia,
Bowes,
Churchtown,
Deroin,
Downs,
Ella,
Festina,
Frankville,
Gladek,
Harvard,
Hersey,
Knox,
Luana,
Mannon,
Massbach,
Mellott, Mt. Carroll,
Myrtle,
Nasset,
Newhouse,
Oak Center,
Watkins,
Waubeek, and
Yutan series. Batavia soils formed in 102 to 152 cm (40 to 60 inches) of loess or other silty material and in loamy stratified outwash or in sandy loam till and have a lithologic discontinuity. Bowes soils have 60 to 90 percent sand in the lower part of the series control section. Churchtown soils have 10 to 55 percent sand in the particle-size control section. Deroin, Downs, Mt. Carroll, and Watkins soils do not have zones within 152 cm (60 inches) of the surface that are frequently saturated for periods longer than one month. Ella soils have horizons with 15 to 60 percent sand in the series control section. Festina soils have more sand in the lower part of the series control section. Frankville soils have limestone bedrock within 102 cm (40 inches). Gladek soils have calcium carbonates within 152 cm (60 inches). Harvard soils have 30 to 75 percent sand in the lower part of the series control section. Hersey soils average 18 to 27 percent clay in the particle-size control section. Knox soils are less acid in the series control section. Luana soils formed in 51 to 102 cm (20 to 40 inches) of loess and underlying residuum weathered from arenaceous limestone and have a lithologic discontinuity. Mannon soils have 18 to 27 percent clay in the particle-size control section. Massbach soils have a paralithic contact within 152 cm (60 inches). Mellott soils formed in 56 to 102 cm (22 to 40 inches) of silty material and underlying glaciofluvium and loamy glacial till and have a lithologic discontinuity. Myrtle soils formed in 76 to 127 cm (30 to 50 inches) of loess and late Sangamon reddish paleosols formed in sandy loam to loam or clay loam Illinoian glacial till and have a lithologic discontinuity. Nasset soils have limestone bedrock within 140 cm (55 inches). Newhouse soils have 5 to 35 percent coarse fragments in the lower part of the series control section. Oak Center soils have a paralithic contact with siliceous sandstone within a depth of 201 centimeters (79 inches). Waubeek soils formed in 51 to 102 cm (20 to 40 inches) of loess and underlying glacial till and have a lithologic discontinuity. Yutan soils have surface layers with 35 to 40 percent clay.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: The Greenbush soils occupy nearly level to moderately steep ridgetops and side slopes on till plains and on treads and risers of stream terraces in river valleys. Slope ranges from 0 to 18 percent. They formed in loess that has been leached of carbonates to a depth of 152 cm (60 inches) or more. Mean annual air temperature ranges from 8.3 to 12.8 degrees C (47 to 55 degrees F). Mean annual precipitation ranges from 840 to 965 mm (33 to 38 inches).
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the
Atterberry,
Clarksdale,
Osco, and
Rozetta soils. The Atterberry and Clarksdale series are on nearly level ridgetops and are wetter. The Osco and Rozetta series are on similar positions and form a biosequence with Greenbush soils. Osco soils have a mollic epipedon. Rozetta soils have surface layers 8 to 15 cm (3 to 6 inches thick).
DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY: Well drained. Saturated hydraulic conductivity is moderately high to high (4.23 to 14.11 micrometers per second). Permeability is moderate. Soil moisture status wet is from 122 to 183 cm (4 to 6 feet) sometime from November through June in most years.
USE AND VEGETATION: Most areas are cultivated. Corn and soybeans are common crops. Some areas are in pasture. Native vegetation is prairie grasses and woodlands of widely spaced oak and hickory trees.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Northwestern Illinois and eastern Iowa. LRR M; MLRAs 104, 105, 108B, 108C, and 115C. This series is of small extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Indianapolis, Indiana
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Adams County, Illinois, 2000.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon include:
Ochric epipedon - the zone from 0 to 15 cm (0 to 6 inches) (Ap horizon)
Albic horizon - from a depth of 15 to 25 cm (6 to 10 inches) (E horizon);
Argillic horizon - from a depth of 43 to 135 cm (17 to 53 inches) (Bt horizons).
Udic moisture regime; Mesic temperature regime
Cation-exchange activity class is inferred from lab data from similar soils in the surrounding area.
Particle-size control section - from a depth of 43 to 93 cm (17 to 37 inches)
Series control section - from 0 to 150 cm (0 to 59 inches)
These soils were formerly mapped as a moderately wet phase of the Downs series.
ADDITIONAL DATA: Samples from pedon 87PO0669, samples 87P3540-3554 from Warren
County, Illinois, samples by SSL, Lincoln, NE.
National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.