LOCATION ROSSBURG OH+IL IN

Established Series
Rev. RAR-RMG-JAG
11/2021

ROSSBURG SERIES

The Rossburg series consists of very deep, well drained soils formed in loamy alluvium on flood plains. Slope ranges from 0 to 3 percent. Mean annual precipitation is about 864 mm (34 inches), and mean annual air temperature is about 11 degrees C (51 degrees F).

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, mixed, superactive, mesic Fluventic Hapludolls

TYPICAL PEDON: Rossburg silt loam, on a slope of less than 1 percent in a cultivated field at an elevation of 198 meters (651 feet) above mean sea level. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)

Ap--0 to 23 cm (0 to 9 inches); very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) silt loam, dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) dry; weak medium and fine granular structure; friable; many roots; neutral; clear smooth boundary. [15 to 30 cm (6 to 12 inches) thick]

A--23 to 53 cm (9 to 21 inches); dark brown (10YR 3/3) silt loam, brown (10YR 4/3) dry; weak medium and fine subangular blocky structure parting to moderate medium granular; friable; many roots; many faint very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) organic coatings on faces of peds; neutral; clear smooth boundary. [0 to 38 cm (15 inches) thick]

Bw1--53 to 84 cm (21 to 33 inches); brown (10YR 4/3) loam; weak coarse and medium subangular blocky structure; friable; common roots; few very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) worm casts; neutral; clear smooth boundary.

Bw2--84 to 104 cm (33 to 41 inches); dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) loam; weak medium and fine subangular blocky structure; friable; few roots; few thin strata of very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) material; few coarse faint brown (10YR 5/3) iron depletions in the matrix; common medium distinct yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) masses of iron accumulation in the matrix; dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) worm casts; neutral; abrupt smooth boundary.

Bw3--104 to 124 cm (41 to 49 inches); yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) fine sandy loam with thin lenses of silt loam and loam; weak fine subangular blocky structure; friable; few roots; neutral; clear smooth boundary. [Combined thickness of the Bw horizon is 18 to 112 cm (7 to 44 inches).]

C--124 to 152 cm (49 to 60 inches); dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) fine sandy loam with thin lenses of silt loam and loam; massive; friable; slightly effervescent; slightly alkaline.

TYPE LOCATION: Sandusky County, Ohio; Ballville Township; 580 feet east and 1815 feet south of the northwest corner of sec. 29, T. 4 N., R. 15 E.; USGS Fremont West, Ohio topographic quadrangle; lat. 41 degrees 16 minutes 45 seconds N. and long. 83 degrees 09 minutes 59 seconds W., NAD 27.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Depth to the base of the cambic horizon: 61 to 152 cm (24 to 60 inches)
Thickness of the solum: 61 to 152 cm (24 to 60 inches)
Thickness of the mollic epipedon: 25 to 61 cm (10 to 24 inches) and includes the upper part of the B horizon in some pedons
Rock fragments: mainly glacial erratics of mixed lithology
Particle-size control section: averages 18 to 27 percent clay
Mean annual soil temperature: 8 to 15 degrees C (46 to 59 degrees F)

Ap, A, AB, or BA horizon:
Hue: 10YR
Value: 2 or 3 (5 or less dry)
Chroma: 1 to 3
Texture: silt loam, loam, or silty clay loam
Rock fragment content: 0 to 5 percent
Reaction: slightly acid to slightly alkaline

Bw horizon:
Hue: 10YR
Value: 3 to 5; value of 3 with chroma of 2 or 3 is most common in the upper part
Chroma: 2 to 6
Texture: typically silt loam or loam, but includes clay loam or silty clay loam with less than 35 percent clay; fine sandy loam or sandy loam is allowed in the lower part
Rock fragment content: 0 to 10 percent
Reaction: slightly acid to slightly alkaline

C horizon:
Hue: 10YR
Value: 4 to 6
Chroma: 3 to 6
Texture: loam, silt loam, fine sandy loam, or sandy loam or the gravelly analogs of these textures; strata of loamy fine sand, fine sand, or very gravelly sandy loam, or the gravelly or very gravelly analogs of sand or loamy sand are in some pedons
Clay content: 5 to 15 percent
Rock fragment content: 0 to 20 percent to a depth of 122 cm (48 inches); 0 to 34 percent below 122 cm (48 inches) with up to 50 percent in individual strata
Reaction: neutral to moderately alkaline

Moderately wet phase:
Cg or C horizon:
Hue: 10YR or 2.5Y
Value: 4 to 6
Chroma: 2 to 6
Redox features: in the lower part of the series control section, either as depletions or as the matrix color

COMPETING SERIES: This is the Bellevue series. Bellevue soils have hue redder than 10YR in the middle and lower parts of the series control section.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Rossburg soils are on flood plains. Slope ranges from 0 to 3 percent. The soils formed in loamy alluvium derived from Wisconsinan age drift. Mean annual precipitation ranges from 813 to 1067 mm (32 to 42 inches). Mean annual air temperature ranges from 7 to 13 degrees C (45 to 55 degrees F). Frost-free period is 140 to 165 days. Elevation is 152 to 335 meters (500 to 1100 feet) above mean sea level.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Eel, Flatrock, Fox, Genesee, Knoxdale, Landes, Medway, Shoals, Sloan, and Stonelick soils. Eel, Flatrock, Fox, Genesee, Knoxdale, Shoals, and Stonelick soils have ochric epipedons. The moderately well drained Eel and Flatrock soils, and the somewhat poorly drained Shoals soils are on lower positions on the flood plains. Fox soils have an argillic horizon and are on higher lying terraces. Genesee and Knoxdale soils are on similar positions. Landes and Stonelick soils are coarse-loamy and are on natural levees or on gentle slopes. The moderately well drained Medway soils commonly are on lower positions. The very poorly drained Sloan soils are in depressions and backswamps.

DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY: Well drained. The depth to the top of an intermittent high water table is greater than 183 cm (6 feet). The moderately wet phase has an apparent seasonal high water table at a depth ranging from 107 to 183 cm (3.5 to 6 feet) between December and January in normal years. The potential for surface runoff is very low. Saturated hydraulic conductivity is moderately high in the solum and high in the underlying material. Permeability is moderate in the solum and moderately rapid in the underlying material. These soils are subject to flooding from November to June.

USE AND VEGETATION: Most areas are cultivated, but a few areas are in pasture or woodland. Corn, soybeans, and some wheat are the principal crops. Native vegetation is mixed prairie grasses and scattered deciduous hardwoods.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Ohio, Illinois, and Indiana; MLRAs 99, 108A, 111A, 111B, 111D, 111E, and 124. The type location is in MLRA 99. The series is of small extent.

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

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Sandusky County, Ohio, 1983.

REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Mollic epipedon: from the surface to a depth of 53 cm (Ap, A horizon).
Cambic horizon: from a depth of 53 to 124 cm (Bw horizon).

Rossburg soils were formerly correlated as taxadjuncts to the Ross series. A moderately wet phase is recognized.

National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.