LOCATION VELMA IL

Established Series
Rev. MH-JWS-AAC
02/2011

VELMA SERIES

The Velma series consists of deep, well drained and moderately well drained, moderately permeable soils formed in glacial till with a mantle of loess as much as 51 cm (20 inches) in thickness. These soils are on sloping to moderately steep uplands. Slope gradients range from 4 to 20 percent. Mean annual temperature is about 11.1 degrees C (52 degrees F), and mean annual precipitation is about 890 mm (35 inches).

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, mixed, superactive, mesic Typic Argiudolls

TYPICAL PEDON: Velma silt loam - with a 12 precent south-facing slope, in a cultivated field. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)

Ap--0 to 18 cm (0 to 7 inches); very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) silt loam, dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) dry; moderate very fine and fine granular structure; very friable; many very fine and fine roots; neutral; abrupt smooth boundary.

A--18 to 41 cm (7 to 16 inches); very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) loam, dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) dry; moderate fine and medium granular structure; friable; common very fine and fine roots; few yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) soil fragments or worm casts; 3 percent pebbles; moderately acid; clear smooth boundary. [Combined thickness of the A horizons is 25 to 46 cm (10 to 18 inches).]

Bt1--41 to 66 cm (16 to 26 inches); yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) clay loam; moderate fine and medium subangular blocky structure; friable; common fine roots; many distinct brown (10YR 4/3) clay films on faces of peds; 3 percent pebbles; strongly acid; clear smooth boundary.

Bt2--66 to 86 cm (26 to 34 inches); yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) clay loam; moderate fine and medium subangular blocky structure; friable; few fine roots; many distinct brown (10YR 5/3) clay films on faces of peds; few fine faint yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) masses of oxidized iron in the matrix; 3 percent pebbles; strongly acid; clear smooth boundary.

Bt3--86 to 119 cm (34 to 47 inches); mottled yellowish brown (10YR 5/4 and 10YR 5/8), and pale brown (10YR 6/3) clay loam; moderate fine and medium subangular blocky structure; friable; few distinct brown (10YR 4/3) clay films on faces of peds; 3 percent pebbles; moderately acid; clear smooth boundary.

Bt4--119 to 137 cm (47 to 54 inches); mottled yellowish brown (10YR 5/6 and 10YR 5/4) clay loam; weak medium subangular blocky structure; friable; few distinct brown (10YR 4/3) clay films on faces of peds; 3 percent pebbles; slightly acid; clear smooth boundary. [Combined thickness of the Bt horizons is 51 to 114 cm (20 to 45 inches).]

C--137 to 152 cm (54 to 60 inches); pale brown (10YR 6/3) loam; weak very coarse subangular blocky structure; friable; common distinct brown (10YR 4/3) clay films on vertical faces of peds; common medium distinct yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) masses of oxidized iron in the matrix; 3 percent pebbles; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline.

TYPE LOCATION: Macoupin County, Illinois; about 8 miles west and 2 miles south of Carlinville; 1000 feet south and 1200 feet west of the center of sec. 6, T. 9 N., R. 8 W.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Thickness of the solum: 107 cm to more than 152 cm (42 to more than 60 inches)
Thickness of the mollic epipedon: 25 to 61 cm (10 to 24 inches)
Thickness of the loess mantle: 0 to 51 cm (0 to 20 inches)
Depth to free carbonates: between 107 to 151 cm (42 and 60 inches)
The upper 51 cm (20 inches) of the argillic horizon: averages between 25 and 45 percent fine and coarser sand
The upper 51 cm (20 inches) of the argillic horizon: averages between 25 to 35 percent clay
Glacial pebbles: 0 to 15 percent throughout the part of the solum formed in till, and gennerally are absent in the surface and subsurface layers that formed in loess. A few cobbles may be present.

Ap and A horizons:
Hue: 10YR
Value: 2 or 3 (4 or 5 dry)
Chroma: 1 to 3
Texture: silt loam or loam except in some eroded or severely eroded pedons the surface layer is clay loam and contains some pebbles and cobbles.
Reaction: neutral to strongly acid

Some pedons have an AB and BA horizon. Some pedons have a thin silty clay loam Bt horizon formed in loess.

Bt and/or 2Bt horizon formed in till:
Hue: 7.5YR or 10YR
Value: 4 or 5
Chroma: 3 to 8
Texture: commonly clay loam and less commonly loam
Redoximorphic features: commonly present and chroma of 2 or less iron-manganese oxides in the middle and lower parts
Reaction: very strongly acid or strongly acid in the upper part and strongly acid to neutral in the lower part

Some pedons have a BC or 2BC horizon as much as 10 inches in thickness.

C or 2C horizon:
Hue: 7.5YR or 10YR
Value: 5 or 6
Chroma: 3 to 8
Texture: clay loam, loam or sandy loam
Redoximorphic features: commonly present
Rock fragments: between 2 to 15 percent fine gravels
Reaction: slightly alkaline or moderately alkaline

COMPETING SERIES: These are the Atkinson, Burchard, Cokato, Cresco, Cresent, Durand, Friesland, Griswold, Hitt, Jasper, Joslin, Keosauqua, Kishwaukee, Marbletown, Moingona, Morrill, Nuxmaruhanixete, Parmod, Penfield, Reedslake, Ringwood, Rockton, Schoolcraft, Shelby, Sibleyville, and Winnebago series. Atkinson, and Joslin soils contain more clay in the lower part of the solum. Burchard soils contain free carbonates within a depth of 76 cm (30 inches). Cokato and Reedslake soils are moderately acid to neutral in the upper part of the argillic horizon. Cresco soils have grayish colors on the faces of peds on the B horizons. Cresco soils typically contain more sand in the upper part of the solum and have gray colors with chroma 0 or 1 in the matrix and on the faces of the peds in the lower part of the solum. Durand, Hitt, and Winnebago soils have redder colors with hue of 5YR in some part of the subsoil. Friesland, Moingona, Plattville, Shelby, and Symerton soils are not strongly acid in any part. In addition, Friesland and Symerton soils contain less sand in the lower part of the solum, and Shelby soils contain a higher content of smectitic clay. Griswold, and Ringwood soils have thinner sola. Keosauqua soils do not have carbonates in the lower third of the series control section. Kishwaukee soils have less than 5 percent clay in the lower part of the series control section. Jasper soils contain less clay in the lower part of the solum and formed in stratified sediments. Marbletown, Rockton, and Sibleyville soils have bedrock within a depth of 102 cm (40 inches). Morrill soils typically have, in the B horizon, hue of 5YR, and lack hue of 10YR or yellower. Nuxmaruhanixete soils do not have carbonates in the series control section. Parmod soils are less than 102 cm (40 inches) to the base of the soil development. Penfield soils have more than 45 percent sand in the lower part of the series. Ringwood soils are not strongly acid in any part of the solum, and Ringwood soils contain more sand in the lower part of the solum. Schoolcraft soils contain more sand and less clay in the lower part of the solum and have sand or gravelly sand within a depth of 102 cm (40 inches).

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Velma soils are on sloping to moderately steep side slopes of drainageways on dissected loess-covered till plains. Slope gradients range from 4 to 20 percent. Velma soils formed in glacial till, typically of Illinoian age, with a mantle of loess less than 51 cm (20 inches) in thickness on many pedons. They are downslope from the Sangamon paleosol that formed in the upper part of the Illinoian till. Mean annual temperature varies from 10.0 to 12.2 degrees C (50 to 54 degrees F), and mean annual precipitation varies from 813 to 965 mm (32 to 38 inches).

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are Assumption, Coatsburg, Elkhart, Harrison, Keller, and Tama soils. All these soils are upslope from the Velma soils. The well drained or moderately well drained Assumption soils and the somewhat poorly drained Keller soils formed in 51 to 102 cm (20 to 40 inches) of loess and the underlying till and contain a paleosol in the underlying till. The poorly drained Coatsburg soils formed in thin loess and the underlying till and contain a paleosol in the till. The well drained Elkhart soils and well drained or moderately well drained Tama soils formed entirely in loess. In addition, Elkhart soils contain free carbonates within a depth of 102 cm (40 inches). The moderately well drained Harrison soils formed in 102 to 152 cm (40 to 60 inches) of loess and in the uderlying silty or loamy materials.

DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY: Well drained or moderately well drained. Runoff is medium on the sloping areas and rapid on the strongly sloping and moderately steep areas. Saturated hydraulic conductivity is moderately high to high (4.23 to 14.11 micrometers per second). Permeability is moderate.

USE AND VEGETATION: These soils are used for cropland or forage for hay or pasture. Corn is the principal row crop. Native vegetation was prairie grasses.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Central and western Illinois in MLRAs 108B, 114B, and 115C. The extent is moderate.

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

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Christian County, Illinois, 1937.

REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are: mollic epipedon - the zone from the surface of the soil to a depth of 41 cm (16 inches) (Ap and A horizon); argillic horizon - the zone from about 41 to 137 cm (16 to 54 inches) (Bt1, Bt2, Bt3, and Bt4 horizons).

National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.