LOCATION ROWDY KYEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, mixed, semiactive, mesic Fluventic Dystrudepts
TYPICAL PEDON: Rowdy loam on a smooth 2 percent slope in an area of Grigsby-Rowdy complex, 0 to 6 percent slopes in pasture. (Colors are for moist soil.)
Ap--0 to 7 inches; brown (10YR 4/3) loam; weak medium platy and granular structure; friable; many fine roots; strongly acid; abrupt smooth boundary. (3 to 10 inches thick)
BA--7 to 19 inches; dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) loam; weak medium and fine subangular blocky structure; friable; common fine roots; many faint brown (10YR 4/3) organic stains on all surfaces of peds; moderately acid; clear smooth boundary. (0 to 20 inches thick)
Bw1--19 to 30 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; firm; common fine roots; few distinct brown (7.5YR 5/4) clay films and dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) organic stains on all surfaces of peds; 2 percent sandstone channers in a line at about 28 inches; moderately acid; clear smooth boundary. (8 to 30 inches thick)
Bw2--30 to 50 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) loam; moderate medium and coarse subangular blocky structure; firm; few fine roots; few distinct brown (7.5YR 5/4) clay films and yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) organic stains on all surfaces of peds; strongly acid; clear smooth boundary. (0 to 30 inches thick)
BC--50 to 65 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) loam; weak coarse subangular block structure; firm; very few fine roots; few fine prominent light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) irregular non-cemented iron depletions in the matrix; strongly acid; clear smooth boundary. (0 to 10 inches thick)
C--65 to 80 inches; pale brown (10YR 6/3) clay loam; massive; firm; many fine dark brown (10YR 3/3) spherical weakly cemented iron-manganese concretions, common fine prominent strong brown (7.5YR 5/8) reticulate non-cemented iron masses and few fine faint light gray (10YR 7/2) reticulate non-cemented iron depletions in the matrix; strongly acid. (5 to 25 inches thick)
TYPE LOCATION: Perry County, Kentucky; on a low stream terrace along the eastern shore of Troublesome Creek; 350 feet east of Kentucky Highway 476 about midway between a power pole and the creek channel; about.6 mile north of Stacy (Rowdy P. O.); 37 degrees, 24 minutes, 43.7 seconds N. Latitude and 83 degrees, 12 minutes, 22.4 seconds W. Longitude; USGS Noble Quadrangle; NAD 1983.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Thickness of the solum ranges from 40 to more than 60 inches. Depth to bedrock is more than 60 inches. Coarse fragments, mostly sandstone or siltstone gravels and channers including up to 15 percent shale and coal fragments, range from 0 to 30 percent in the solum and from 0 to 60 percent in the substratum. Reaction ranges from very strongly to moderately acid throughout, except where limed.
The A horizon has hue of 10YR or 7.5YR, value of 4 or 5, and chroma of 2 to 4. The fine-earth texture is loam, silt loam, or fine sandy loam.
The BA horizon (where present) has hue of 10YR or 7.5YR, value of 4 or 5, and chroma of 3 or 4. The fine-earth texture is loam, silt loam, or fine sandy loam.
The Bw horizon has hue of 10YR or 7.5YR, value of 4 or 5, and chroma of 4 or 6. The fine-earth texture is loam, silt loam or sandy clay loam. Redoximorphic features in shades of yellow, brown or gray are common below a depth of 40 inches becoming more numerous with depth.
The BC horizon (where present) has colors and textures similar to the lower Bw horizon or is variegated without dominant hue or chroma.
The C horizon has hue of 7.5YR or 10YR, value of 4 to 6 and chroma of 3 to 6. Most pedons have redoximorphic features in shades of brown, yellow or gray and some are variegated without dominant hue or chroma. The fine-earth texture is loam, fine sandy loam, sandy loam, clay loam or sandy clay loam. Stratification is common below about 55 inches.
COMPETING SERIES: The Suches series is the only other member of this family. The Bermudian and Clifty series are in a similar family, but have an active CEC activity class. Bermudian soils have red colors inherited from red and brown shale, sandstone and conglomerate. Clifty soils have sola less than 40 inches thick. Suches soils formed in loamy alluvial sediments washed largely from soils weathered from granite, gneiss, schist, phyllite and other metamorphic rocks.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Rowdy soils are on low stream terraces, foot slopes and alluvial fans. Slopes are commonly 0 to 6 percent, but range to 12 percent. They formed in loamy alluvium weathered mainly from Pennsylvanian aged sandstone, siltstone, and shale. Near the type location the mean annual precipitation is about 48 inches and mean annual temperature is about 55 degrees F.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Allegheny, Barbourville, Combs, Cotaco, Grigsby, Knowlton, Orrville and Pope soils. Allegheny, Cotaco and Knowlton soils are on higher terrace landforms and have argillic horizons. Barbourville soils are on adjacent alluvial fans and have umbric surface layers. Combs, Grigsby and Pope soils are coarse-loamy. Combs soils have mollic epipedons, Grigsby soils have higher base saturations, and Pope soils are on flood plains. Orrville soils are somewhat poorly drained.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Rowdy soils are well drained. Runoff is low or medium and permeability is moderate. Most low stream terraces of these soils are subject to occasional flooding.
USE AND VEGETATION: Most of these soils have been cleared and used for growing hay, pasture, corn, tobacco, small grains, and vegetables. Native vegetation was a mixed hardwood forest. The series is not extensive.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: The Cumberland-Allegheny Plateau in Kentucky. Possibly Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Morgantown, West Virginia
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Perry County, Kentucky; 1979.
REMARKS: Data from the Agronomy Department, University of Kentucky Pedon #: 77KY-193-3-(1-6) shows an irregular decrease in organic matter content. From 19 to 30 inches the organic matter content is 0.57 percent, from 30 to 65 inches 0.43 percent, and from 65 to 80 inches 0.52 percent.
Diagnostic horizons in the pedon are:
Ochric epipedon: 0 to 7 inches, Ap
Cambic horizon: 19 to 50 inches, Bw1, Bw2
The 2005 revision updated the description, location, competing series and associated soils.