LOCATION MAHONING OH+PA
Established Series
Rev. AR-DMc-RAR
03/2015
MAHONING SERIES
The Mahoning series consists of very deep somewhat poorly drained soils formed in till on till plains. Saturated hydraulic conductivity is moderately low in the subsoil and moderately low or low in the underlying material. Slope ranges from 0 to 15 percent. Mean annual precipitation is about 1065 mm (42 inches) and the mean annual temperature is about 9 degrees C. (48 degrees F.).
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine, illitic, mesic Aeric Epiaqualfs
TYPICAL PEDON: Mahoning silt loam, on a northeast-facing convex slope of 2 percent in a cultivated field at an elevation of 300 m (984 feet). (Colors are for moist soil.)
Ap--0 to 18 cm (0 to 7 inches); dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) silt loam; moderate medium and fine granular structure; friable; many fine roots; slightly acid; abrupt smooth boundary. (15 to 25 cm (6 to 10 inches) thick)
Eg--18 to 23 cm (7 to 9 inches); light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) silt loam; weak fine subangular blocky structure parting to weak thin platy; friable; common fine roots; common fine and medium prominent yellowish brown (10YR 5/8) masses of iron accumulations in the matrix; very strongly acid; abrupt wavy boundary. (0 to 13 cm (0 to 5 inches) thick
Btg--23 to 30 cm (9 to 12 inches); grayish brown (10YR 5/2) silty clay loam; moderate medium prismatic structure parting to weak medium angular blocky; firm; common fine roots; about 10 percent light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) silt loam, mostly along prism faces; thin continuous grayish brown (10YR 5/2) clay films on vertical faces of peds within prisms and as patchy clay films on horizontal faces of peds; few small pebbles; many medium distinct yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) masses of iron accumulation in the matrix; very strongly acid; gradual smooth boundary.
Bt1--30 to 51 cm (12 to 20 inches); dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) silty clay; moderate medium and coarse prismatic structure parting to moderate medium angular blocky; firm; common fine roots along faces of prisms; thin continuous grayish brown (10YR 5/2) clay films on vertical faces of peds and as thin patchy clay films on horizontal faces; 2 percent pebbles; many medium distinct grayish brown (10YR 5/2) iron depletions in the matrix; common medium distinct yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) masses of iron accumulation in the matrix; very strongly acid; gradual smooth boundary.
Bt2--51 to 76 cm (20 to 30 inches); dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) silty clay; moderate coarse prismatic structure parting to weak coarse angular blocky; firm; few fine roots; medium patchy grayish brown (10YR 5/2) clay films mainly on the vertical faces of peds; 2 percent pebbles; common medium distinct grayish brown (10YR 5/2) iron depletions in the matrix; slightly acid; clear wavy boundary. (Combined thickness of the Bt horizons is 30 to 86 cm (12 to 34 inches)).
BCt--76 to 91 cm (30 to 36 inches); dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) clay loam; weak coarse prismatic structure parting to weak thick platy; very firm; dense; very patchy thin grayish brown (10YR 5/2) clay films on some vertical faces of peds; 5 percent pebbles; common medium distinct grayish brown (10YR 5/2) iron depletions in the matrix; slightly effervescent; slightly alkaline; clear wavy boundary. (0 to 25 cm (0 to 10 inches) thick)
C--91 to 152 cm (36 to 60 inches); brown (10YR 4/3) clay loam; massive, but parting to weak thick plate-like divisions; very firm; common light gray (10YR 7/1) and light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) calcium carbonate accumulations in the matrix; 5 percent pebbles; common black shale fragments; common medium distinct gray (10YR 5/1) iron depletions in the matrix; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline.
TYPE LOCATION: Lorain County, Ohio; Huntington Township; about three miles southeast of Wellington; 250 feet east of West Road, 130 feet south of railroad tracks. USGS Sullivan, OH topographic quadrangle; latitude 41 degrees, 05 minutes, 52 seconds N. and longitude 82 degrees, 10 minutes, 48 seconds W. NAD 1927.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: The solum thickness ranges from 71 to 112 cm (28 to 44 inches). Depth to carbonates ranges from 51 to 107 cm (20 to 42 inches). Rock fragments are glacial erratics, primarily shale and siltstone with minor amounts of limestone and crystalline lithology. Cobblestones and boulders are present in some pedons.
The Ap horizon has hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 4 or 5, and chroma of 2 or 3. In uncultivated areas A horizons, 3 to 13 cm (1 to 5 inches) thick, have value of 2 to 4, and chroma of 1 or 2. It is silt loam or loam. Rock fragment content ranges from 0 to 5 percent. Reaction is very strongly acid or strongly acid. Areas that have been limed range to slightly alkaline.
The E or Eg horizon has value of 5 or 6, chroma of 1 through 3, and commonly has redoximorphic features. It is silt loam or loam. Rock fragment content ranges from 0 to 5 percent. Reaction is very strongly acid or strongly acid.
Some pedons have B/E or BE horizons.
The Btg or Bt horizon has hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 4 through 6, and chroma of 2 through 4. It is silty clay loam, clay loam, silty clay, or clay. The average clay content of the argillic horizon ranges from 35 to 45 percent. Rock fragment content ranges from 2 to 10 percent. Reaction ranges from very strongly acid to moderately acid in the upper part and from moderately acid to slightly alkaline in the lower part.
The BC, BCt or BCg horizon has hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 2 to 4. It is clay loam, silty clay loam, silty clay, or clay. Rock fragment content ranges from 2 to 10 percent. Reaction ranges from neutral to moderately alkaline.
The C or Cg horizon has hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 1 to 4. It is clay loam or silty clay loam with a clay content ranging from 27 to 40 percent. Rock fragment content ranges from 2 to 10 percent. Channery analogues may be present in the bedrock substratum phases. Reaction is slightly alkaline or moderately alkaline with a calcium carbonate equivalent ranging from 5 to 15 percent. Shale and sandstone substratum phases are recognized. In shale and sandstone substratum phases, bedrock is at depths of 102 to 152 cm (40 to 60 inches). The C horizon is silty clay loam and silty clay with shaly analogues in the shale substratum phase, and loam and sandy loam with channery analogues in the sandstone substratum phase. These bedrock substratum phases are commonly noncalcareous.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the
Bennington,
Blount,
Del Rey,
Fulton,
Kimmell and
Nappanee series. Bennington soils are typically mapped in MLRA 111E and have rock fragments dominated by sandstone, shale, and crystalline lithology. Blount, Kimmell and Nappanee soils have calcium carbonate equivalent of more than 15 percent in the lower part of the series control section. Del Rey and Fulton soils formed in glaciolacustrine sediments and typically do not have rock fragments in the series control section. Fulton soils average more than 45 percent clay in the particle size control section.
The
Brockport,
Caneadea,
Churchville,
Lockport,
Odessa,
Pyrmont,
Remsen, and
Rhinebeck series are in a related family. Brockport and Lockport soils have a lithic contact between 51 to 102 cm (20 and 40 inches). Caneadea soils formed in glaciolacustrine sediments and typically do not have rock fragments in the series control section. Churchville soils formed in glaciolacustrine sediments over loamy till. Odessa soils formed in glaciolacustrine sediments and are redder. Pyrmont soils have mixed mineralogy. Remsen soils average more than 45 percent clay in the particle size control section. Rhinebeck soils formed in glaciolacustrine sediments and have endosaturation.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Mahoning soils formed in low-lime till on till plains of Wisconsin age. The till is derived primarily from shale and siltstone, with minor amounts of limestone and crystalline erratics. Slope is primarily 0 to 6 percent, but ranges to 15 percent. Mean annual precipitation ranges from 830 to 1320 mm (33 to 52 inches), and the mean annual temperature ranges from about 6 to 11 degrees C (43 to 52 degrees F).
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the moderately well drained
Ellsworth, the poorly drained
Trumbull, and the very poorly drained
Miner soils that form a toposequence with the Mahoning soils.
DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY: Somewhat poorly drained. Saturated hydraulic conductivity is moderately low in the subsoil and moderately low or low in the underlying material. A perched and/or apparent seasonal high water table can be present from 15 to 30 cm (6 to 12 inches) below the surface from October through June in most years.
USE AND VEGETATION: A large proportion is under cultivation. Corn, soybeans, oats, wheat, meadow, and pasture are the principal crops. A sizeable acreage is still wooded with oaks, sugar maple, tulip poplar, ash, and beech the main species.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Northeastern Ohio and northwestern Pennsylvania. MLRA 139. The soil is of large extent, more than 450,000 acres.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Amherst, Massachusetts.
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Mahoning County, Ohio, 1917.
REMARKS: The C horizon needs evaluation during MLRA update activities to determine if they meet the requirements for dense till. Future MLRA projects have been created (2014) to properly evaluate this issue.
The shale and sandstone substratum phases of the Mahoning series have bedrock that is at depths of 102 to 152 cm (40 to 60 inches) and are typically noncalcareous to bedrock. Textures of the C horizon are silty clay loam and silty clay (shale substratum phase), loam and sandy loam (sandstone substratum phase) and includes channery analogues. It is anticipated that these substratum phases will become new series during modernization projects. Data on clay mineralogy indicates 50 percent illite.
Diagnostic horizons and other features recognized in the typical pedon include:
1. ochric epipedon - the zone from the surface to 23 cm (9 inches) (Ap, Eg horizons);
2. argillic horizon - the zone from 23 to 76 cm (9 to 30 inches) (Btg, Bt1, Bt2 horizons);
3. aquic conditions - the zone from 18 to 152 cm (7 to 60 inches).
ADDITIONAL DATA: Characterization data is available for the following profiles sampled in Ohio: AB-58, GA-S19, ER-29, HU-E6, HU-S6, LK-16, LR-5, LR-7, LR-8 (location of the typical pedon), LR-16, LR-S3, LR-S6, MD-14, MH-18, MH-30, PG-S5, PG-S10, and ST-1.
National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.