LOCATION SYLVAN                  IL+IN

Established Series
Rev. WFA-WSM-RT-GRS-WMT
02/2011

SYLVAN SERIES


The Sylvan series consists of very deep, well drained soils on loess covered till plains and high stream terraces on till plains. They formed in loess. Slopes range from 2 to 60 percent. Mean annual precipitation is about 864 mm (34 inches), and mean annual temperature is about 11.1 degrees C (52 degrees F).

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-silty, mixed, superactive, mesic Typic Hapludalfs

TYPICAL PEDON: Sylvan silt loam on a southwest facing, convex side slope with a gradient of 27 percent, in a wooded area, at an elevation of 189 meters (620 feet) above mean sea level. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)

A--0 to 10 cm (0 to 4 inches); dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) silt loam, brown (10YR 5/3) dry; weak fine and medium subangular blocky structure parting to weak fine granular; friable; common very fine roots; few faint very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) organic coatings on faces of peds; neutral; clear smooth boundary. [7 to 15 cm (3 to 6 inches) thick]

E1--10 to 20 cm (4 to 8 inches); brown (10YR 4/3) silt loam, pale brown (10YR 6/3) dry; weak medium platy structure parting to weak very fine subangular blocky; friable; few very fine and medium roots; many faint dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) organic coatings on faces of peds; moderately acid; clear smooth boundary.

E2--20 to 25 cm (8 to 10 inches); dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) silt loam, light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) dry; weak fine and medium subangular blocky structure; friable; few very fine roots; common distinct dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) organic coatings on faces of peds; slightly acid; clear smooth boundary. [Combined thickness of the E horizon is 0 to 25 cm (0 to 10 inches).]

Bt1--25 to 43 cm (10 to 17 inches); dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) silty clay loam; weak fine subangular blocky structure; friable; few very fine roots; common distinct brown (10YR 4/3) clay films on faces of peds; slightly acid; clear smooth boundary.

Bt2--43 to 58 cm (17 to 23 inches); yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) silty clay loam; moderate fine angular and subangular blocky structure; friable; few very fine and medium roots; many distinct dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) and few distinct brown (10YR 4/3) clay films on faces of peds; slightly acid; clear smooth boundary. [Combined thickness of the Bt horizon is 23 to 76 cm (9 to 30 inches).]

BCt--58 to 68 cm (23 to 27 inches); yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) silt loam; weak fine and medium subangular blocky structure; friable; few very fine roots; few distinct dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) clay films lining pores; neutral; clear smooth boundary. [0 to 23 cm (0 to 9 inches) thick]

C1--68 to 104 cm (27 to 41 inches); 80 percent yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) and 20 percent light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) silt loam; massive; friable; few very fine roots; the light brownish gray matrix color is a relict feature; few fine and medium carbonate nodules; strongly effervescent; slightly alkaline; clear smooth boundary.

C2--104 to 162 cm (41 to 64 inches); 60 percent light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) and 40 percent yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) silt loam; massive; friable; few very fine roots; the light brownish gray matrix color is a relict feature; common fine and medium carbonate nodules; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline; clear smooth boundary.

C3--162 to 203 cm (64 to 80 inches); 55 percent light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) and 45 percent yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) silt loam; massive; friable; common medium prominent irregular reddish yellow (7.5YR 6/8) and few fine prominent irregular strong brown (7.5YR 4/6) masses of oxidized iron with diffuse boundaries lining pores; common fine and medium carbonate nodules; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline.

TYPE LOCATION: Cass County, Illinois; about 2 miles north and 1 mile west of Virginia; 210 feet south and 2,580 feet west of the northeast corner of sec. 28, T. 18 N., R. 10 W.; USGS Virginia, IL. topographic quadrangle; lat. 39 degrees 59 minutes 21 seconds N. and long. 90 degrees 13 minutes 44 seconds W.; UTM zone 15, 736584 Easting and 4430238 Northing; NAD 83.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Depth to the base of the argillic horizon: typically 56 to 89 cm (22 to 35 inches) and ranges to 102 cm (40 inches) in some pedons
Depth to carbonates: 56 to 102 cm (22 to 40 inches) and the BC horizon contains free carbonates in some pedons
Thickness of loess: typically greater than 203 cm (80 inches)
Particle-size control section: averages 25 to 35 percent clay and less than 15 percent sand
Series control section: averages less than 15 percent sand
Other characteristics: Relict redoximorphic masses with chroma of 2 or less are in pedons where the soil formed in deoxidized loess.

Ap horizon:
Hue: 10YR
Value: 4 to 6 (6 or 7 dry)
Chroma: 2 to 4
Texture: silt loam, except severely eroded pedons are silty clay loam
Clay content: 18 to 32 percent
Reaction: moderately acid to neutral

A horizon:
Hue: 10YR
Value: 3 to 5 (5 or 6 dry)
Chroma: 2 or 3
Texture: silt loam
Clay content: 15 to 25 percent
Reaction: moderately acid to neutral
Other characteristics: Uncultivated areas have an A horizon 5 to 15 cm (2 to 6 inches) thick.

E horizon:
Hue: 10YR
Value: 4 or 5, (5 or 6 dry)
Chroma: 2 to 4
Texture: silt loam
Clay content: 15 to 25 percent
Reaction: moderately acid or slightly acid, but ranges to neutral in some pedons
Other characteristics: In cultivated areas the E is commonly mixed with the Ap horizon.

Some pedons have an EB or BE horizon

Bt horizon:
Hue: 10YR or 7.5YR
Value: 4 to 6
Chroma: 3 to 6
Texture: typically is silty clay loam, but some pedons contain silt loam subhorizons
Clay content: 25 to 35 percent
Reaction: moderately acid to neutral

BCt, BCk and/or BC horizons:
Hue: 10YR or 7.5YR
Value: 4 to 6
Chroma: 3 to 6
Texture: typically silt loam and less commonly silty clay loam
Clay content: 20 to 30 percent
Reaction: moderately acid to moderately alkaline
Other characteristics: The BCk horizon shows evidence of carbonate translocation from upper horizons. Evidence includes carbonate concretions, nodules, accumulations, and coatings of secondary carbonates.

C horizon:
Hue: 10YR or 2.5Y
Value: 4 to 6
Chroma: 2 to 6
Texture: silt loam or silt
Clay content: 10 to 26 percent
Reaction: slightly alkaline or moderately alkaline
Other characteristics: Redoximorphic masses of oxidized iron with hue of 10YR or 7.5YR, value of 4 or 6, and chroma of 4 to 8, are sometimes present below depths of 102 cm (40 inches).

COMPETING SERIES: These are the Bertrand, Blackhammer, Camden, Dodge, Dubuque, Fayette, Flagg, Greenridge, Hackers, Jackson, Jemerson, Knowles, La Farge, Lambeau, Lomira, Martinsburg, Menfro, Middletown, Navlys, Palermo, Palsgrove, Pepin, Piscasaw, Ridgway, Rozetta, Ruma, Rush, Russell, Seaton, St. Charles, Stookey, Thebes, and Yellowriver series. Dubuque, Knowles, and La Farge soils have a lithic or paralithic contact within a depth of 102 cm (40 inches). Bertrand, Blackhammer, Camden, Dodge, Flagg, Jackson, Lambeau, Lomira, Middletowm, Piscasaw, Ridgeway, Rush, Russell, St. Charles and Thebes soils have subhorizons in the lower part of the series control section that have more than 15 percent sand. Fayette, Jemerson, Martinsburg, Rozetta, Ruma, and Stookey soils have the base of the argillic horizon and free carbonates at depths greater than 102 cm (40 inches). Greenridge soils have a paralithic contact within a depth of 203 cm (80 inches0 and have soil color hues of 5Y, 5YG, 10GY, or 5G in the lower part of the series control section. Hackers soils have hue redder than 7.5YR in at least one subhorizon of the lower part of the control section and formed in alluvium. Menfro, Seaton, and Yellowriver soils do not have free carbonates at depths less than 102 cm (40 inches). Navlys soils have redoximorphic features and a seasonal high water table at depths of 122 to 183 cm (4 to 6 feet). Palermo soils have redoximorphic concentrations above a depth of 107 cm (42 inches) and do not have an E horizon. Palsgrove and Pepin soils have a lithic contact in the lower part of the series control section within a depth of 203 cm (80 inches) and Palsgrove soils have more than 35 percent clay in the lower part of the series control section.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Sylvan soils are on convex side slopes on loess covered till plains and risers on stream terraces. Slopes range from 2 to 60 percent on till plains and from 2 to 10 percent on the stream terraces. Sylvan soils formed in more than 203 cm (7 feet) of calcareous loess. Mean annual temperature ranges from 7.2 to 13.9 degrees C (45 to 57 degrees F), mean annual precipitation ranges from 762 to 1143 mm (30 to 45 inches), frost free days range from 140 to 200 days, and elevation ranges from 106 to 412 meters (350 feet to 1350 feet) above sea level.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are Fayette, Menfro, Bold, Hamburg, Hickory, Iona, Rozetta, and Timula soils. The Bold and Timula soils average less than 18 percent clay in the particle-size control section, and are on similar landforms. The Fayette, and Menfro soils are on nearby landforms typically upslope, and have free carbonates at depths greater than 102 cm (40 inches). The somewhat excessively drained Hamburg soils average less than 18 percent clay in the particle-size control section and are on side slopes on bluffs above Sylvan soils. The Hickory soils average more than 15 percent sand in the particle-size control section, formed in till, and are downslope from the Sylvan soils. The moderately well drained Iona and Rozetta soils are upslope from the Sylvan soils.

DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY: Well drained. The seasonal high water table is more than six feet below the surface. Saturated hydraulic conductivity is moderately high or high (4.23 to 14.11 micrometers/sec). Permeability is moderate. The potential for surface runoff is medium to high.

USE AND VEGETATION: The steeper slopes are wooded or used for pasture. The less sloping areas are used for corn, soybean, small grain, and forages. Native vegetation is hardwood forest.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Illinois and Indiana. These soils have large extent in MLRA's 105, 108B, 115A, 115B and 115C.

MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Indianapolis, Indiana

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Cass County, Illinois, 1939.

REMARKS: Extent of moderately well drained profiles is small. The moderately wet phase (IL0362) will probably be correlated as a different series when the subset soil surveys in which it occurs are updated.

Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are: Ochric epipedon - the zone from the surface to a depth of approximately 25 cm (10 inches). (A, E1 and E2 horizons).
Argillic horizon - the zone from approximately 25 to 58 cm (10 to 23 inches). (Bt1 and Bt2 horizons).
Udic moisture regime.

ADDITIONAL DATA: Particle-size data are on file for several pedons of the Sylvan soils at the NRCS MLRA Region 11 Office.


National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.