LOCATION LIPAN                   TX

Established Series
Rev. CCW-RED-GSM
09/2016

LIPAN SERIES

The Lipan series consists of deep, moderately well or somewhat poorly drained, very slowly permeable soils that formed in calcareous clayey alluvial materials derived from limestone. These soils are on nearly level alluvial plains and slightly depressed playas and waterways on dissected plateaus. Slopes range from 0 to 1 percent. Mean annual temperature is about 18.3 degrees C. (65 degrees F.) and mean annual precipitation is about 584 mm (23 in).

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine, smectitic, thermic Chromic Haplusterts

TYPICAL PEDON: Lipan clay--cropland.
(Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise stated.)

Ap--0 to 15 cm (0 to 6 in); gray (10YR 5/1) clay, dark gray (10YR 4/1) moist; weak fine blocky structure, upper 5 cm (2 in) forms a mulch of very hard, very fine angular peds when dry; very hard, very firm, very sticky, very plastic; many fine roots; few siliceous pebbles mostly less than 6 mm (1/4 in) in diameter; strongly effervescent, moderately alkaline; abrupt smooth boundary. Thickness is 13 to 23 cm (5 to 9 in)

A--15 to 46 cm (6 to 18 in); gray (10YR 5/1) clay, dark gray (10YR 4/1) moist; moderate very fine and fine blocky structure; very hard, very firm, very sticky, very plastic; many fine roots; peds have shiny pressure faces; few siliceous pebbles mostly less than 6 mm (1/4 inch) in diameter; strongly effervescent, moderately alkaline; gradual wavy boundary. Thickness is 20 to 56 cm (8 to 22 in)

Bkss--46 to 122 cm (18 to 48 in); light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) clay, grayish brown (10YR 5/2) moist, very few fine distinct strong brown mottles; weak medium blocky structure; parallelepipeds or wedge-shaped peds 6 to 12 mm (1/4 to 1/2 in) long and grooved slickensides extend downward from a depth of 71 cm (28 in); slickensides intersect, are at least 8 cm (3 in) across and become more strongly expressed with depth; very hard, very firm, very sticky, very plastic; few fine roots penetrate the peds; many shiny faces of peds; a few siliceous pebbles as in horizons above; very few fine whitish soft calcium carbonate bodies in lower part; violently effervescent; moderately alkaline; gradual wavy boundary. Thickness is 46 to 127 cm (18 to 50 in)

Ck--122 to 183 cm (48 to 72 in); pale brown (10YR 6/3), clay, brown (10YR 5/3) moist; massive; very hard, very firm, sticky, plastic, about 10 percent by volume of whitish soft bodies and concretions of calcium carbonate, which decrease in amount with depth; very few siliceous pebbles as in horizons above; violently effervescent, moderately alkaline.

TYPE LOCATION: Tom Green County, Tx; about 7.2 miles south east of the courthouse in San Angelo along U.S. High way 87, 1.0 mile southeast along Ranch Road 1223, 0.9 mile south along a county road, and 90 feet west in a cropped field.
USGS topographic quadrangle: Veribest Texas;
Latitude: 31 degrees, 22 minutes, 37.6 seconds N;
Longitude: 100 degrees, 21 minutes, 55.8 seconds W;
Datum: WGS84.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil Moisture: Aridic Ustic and Typic Ustic soil moisture regimes
Solum thickness: 102 to 152 cm (40 to 60 in)
Thickness of the ochric epipedon: 33 to 79 cm (13 to 31 in)
Vertic features: cracks remain open for more than 150 cumulative days each year; in areas that have never been plowed, gilgai microrelief consists of knolls 1.5 to 2.4 m (5 to 8 ft) in diameter and 7.6 to 20 cm (3 to 8 in) higher than depressions; wedge-shaped peds that have their long axis tilted more than 10 degrees from the horizontal; slickensides that have grooved surfaces are below depths of about 61 to 76 cm (24 to 30 in).

Particle-size control section (weighted average)
Clay content: 40 to 60 percent
Rock fragments: 0 to 10 percent siliceous gravels and 0 to 15 percent limestone cobbles and stones

A horizons
Hue: 10YR, 2.5Y or N
Value: 4 to 6
Chroma: 1 or less
Texture: clay or silty clay
Clay content: 40 to 60 percent
Rock fragments: 0 to 10 percent siliceous gravels and 0 to 15 percent limestone cobbles and stones
Electrical conductivity (mmhos/cm): 0 to 2
Effervescence: none to strong
Reaction (pH): slightly alkaline to moderately alkaline (7.4 to 8.4)

Bw horizon (where present)
Hue: 10YR
Value: 5 or 6
Chroma: 1 to 3
Texture: clay or silty clay
Clay content: 40 to 60 percent
Rock fragments: 0 to 10 percent siliceous gravels and 0 to 15 percent limestone cobbles and stones
Electrical conductivity (mmhos/cm): 0 to 2
Effervescence: none to strong
Reaction (pH): moderately alkaline (7.9 to 8.4)

Bkss horizon
Hue: 7.5YR or 10YR
Value: 5 or 6
Chroma: 1 to 3
Texture: clay or silty clay
Clay content: 40 to 60 percent
Rock fragments: 0 to 10 percent siliceous gravels and 0 to 15 percent limestone cobbles and stones
Identifiable secondary carbonate: 1 to 10 percent; films, threads, soft masses, and concretions
Electrical conductivity (mmhos/cm): 0 to 2
Effervescence: strong to violent
Reaction (pH): moderately alkaline (7.9 to 8.4)

Ck horizon:
Hue: 7.5YR or 10YR
Value: 5 or 6
Chroma: 1 to 3
Texture: clay or silty clay
Identifiable secondary carbonate: 1 to 40 percent, films, threads, soft masses, and concretions
Effervescence: strong to violent
Reaction (pH): moderately alkaline (7.9 to 8.4)

COMPETING SERIES: These are the Reap and Stamford series in the same family. Similar soils include the Angelo, Dalby, Randall, Roscoe, Rowena, Tobosa, and Verhalen series.
Reap soils: do not have chromas less than 2 and do not occur in playa landforms
Stamford soils: have densic horizons and do not have chroma less than 2. Angelo and Rowena soils: do not have slickensides and have calcic horizons within a depth of 100 cm (40 in).
Dalby and Verhalen soils: occur in a drier climate and have cracks that remain open for longer periods of time. In addition, they have chromas of more than 1.5 in the upper 30 cm (12 in) and Verhalen soils have color values less than 3.5 when moist, in the upper 30 cm (12 in).
Randall, Roscoe, and Tobosa soils: have color values of less than 3.5, when moist, in as least the upper 30 cm (12 in) of the solum. In addition, Tobosa soils have chromas of more than 1.5 throughout.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Parent material: calcareous clayey alluvium derived from limestone
Landscape: dissected plateaus
Landform: These soils occupy smooth, nearly level alluvial plains and shallow playas or depressions
Slope: 0 to 1 percent
Precipitation Pattern: The majority of the yearly amount occurs during the fall and spring months. The winter and summer months are normally drier.
Mean annual precipitation: 305 to 711 mm (12 to 28 in)
Thornthwaite P-E Index: 22 to 44
Mean annual air temperature: 14.4 to 21.1 degrees C (58 to 70 degrees F)
Frost-free period: 210 to 240 days
Elevation: 365.8 to 1036.3 m (1200 to 3400 ft)

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These include the competing Angelo and Tobosa series and the Mereta and Rioconcho series.
Mereta soils: have a mollic epipedon that rests on a petrocalcic horizon at depths of 36 to 50 cm (14 to 20 in) thick.
Rioconcho soils: have a mollic epipedon and occur in floodplain steps and drainage ways lower in the landscape.

DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Moderately well to somewhat poorly drained; negligible to slow runoff or ponded; water enters the soil rapidly when the soil is cracked; but after the cracks are closed water movement into the soil is very slow. These soils are frequently ponded for long periods. In wet years water stands on the surface until it evaporates in the spring or fall.

USE AND VEGETATION: Much of the soil is used for growing dryland cotton, grain sorghums, and wheat. Principal vegetation in uncultivated areas is buffalograss and a few stunted mesquite trees.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Mainly the Edwards Plateau, the Rolling Plains of Texas and the southern part of the High Plains of Texas. The series is of moderate extent.

MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Temple, Texas

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Tom Green County, Texas; 1966.

REMARKS: This series was formerly included in the Randall series.

Edited 09/2016 (RFG-LAD): Added metric measurements. Updated RIC, competing series, geographic setting, and associated soils sections.

Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Particle size control section: 25 to 100 cm (10 to 40 in). (A and Bkss horizons)
Ochric epipedon - 0 to 46 cm (0 to 18 in). (Ap and A horizons)
Cambic horizon - 46 to 122 cm (18 to 48 in). (Bkss horizon)
Chromic feature - high values with low chroma in upper 30 cm (12 in).
Slickensides - 46 to 122 cm (18 and 48 in). (Bkss horizon)
Deep wide cracks that remains open for more than 150 cumulative days each year.

ADDITIONAL DATA: NSSL sample S71TX-226-1 (71L1346).

Taxonomic Version: Keys to Soil Taxonomy, Twelfth Edition, 2014.

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National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.