LOCATION ALEXANDRIA OH

Established Series
Rev. DRM-SJH-DBD
11/2021

ALEXANDRIA SERIES

The Alexandria series consists of very deep, well drained soils that are moderately deep or deep to dense till. These soils formed in loamy till of medium lime content on till plains and moraines. Slope ranges from 0 to 50 percent. Mean annual precipitation is about 914 mm (36 inches), and mean annual air temperature is about 12 degrees C (54 degrees F).

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine, illitic, mesic Oxyaquic Hapludalfs

TYPICAL PEDON: Alexandria silt loam, on a convex, 7 percent slope in a timothy meadow at an elevation of about 303 meters (994 feet) above mean sea level. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)

Ap--0 to 18 cm (0 to 7 inches); brown (10YR 4/3) silt loam, pale brown (10YR 6/3) dry; moderate fine and medium granular structure; friable; many fine roots; 2 percent rock fragments; very strongly acid; abrupt smooth boundary. [10 to 25 cm (4 to 10 inches) thick]

BE--18 to 28 cm (7 to 11 inches); yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) silt loam; weak medium subangular blocky structure; friable; common fine roots; few prominent grayish brown (10YR 5/2) silt coatings on faces of peds and in root channels; 10 percent rock fragments; very strongly acid; clear wavy boundary. [0 to 10 cm (4 inches) thick in cultivated pedons and 8 to 15 cm (3 to 6 inches) thick in uncultivated pedons]

Bt1--28 to 38 cm (11 to 15 inches); yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) silty clay loam; moderate fine and medium subangular blocky structure; firm; common fine roots; few distinct yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) and brown (7.5YR 5/4) clay films on vertical and horizontal faces of peds; 10 percent rock fragments; very strongly acid; gradual wavy boundary.

Bt2--38 to 53 cm (15 to 21 inches); brown (7.5YR 5/4) silty clay loam; moderate medium and fine subangular blocky structure parting to angular blocky; firm; few fine roots; common distinct yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) clay films on vertical and horizontal faces of peds; 10 percent rock fragments; very strongly acid; clear wavy boundary.

Bt3--53 to 69 cm (21 to 27 inches); brown (10YR 4/3) clay; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; firm; few fine roots; common distinct yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) and brown (7.5YR 5/4) clay films on horizontal faces of peds; many distinct yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) and brown (7.5YR 5/4) clay films on vertical faces of peds; common fine faint pale brown(10YR 6/3) clay depletions on vertical and horizontal faces of peds; 10 percent rock fragments; very strongly acid; gradual wavy boundary.

Bt4--69 to 91 cm (27 to 36 inches); yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) clay loam; moderate medium and coarse subangular blocky structure; firm; few fine roots; common prominent grayish brown (10YR 5/2) clay films on vertical and horizontal faces of peds; few fine distinct light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) iron depletions in the matrix; common fine and medium faint brown (7.5YR 4/4) masses of iron accumulation in the matrix; common fine and medium prominent strong brown (7.5YR 5/8) masses of iron and manganese accumulation in the matrix; common fine distinct black (10YR 2/1) masses of iron and manganese accumulation on faces of peds; common fine distinct black (10YR 2/1) iron and manganese concretions throughout; 10 percent rock fragments; slightly acid; clear wavy boundary.

Bt5--91 to 107 cm (36 to 42 inches); yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) clay loam; weak coarse subangular blocky structure; firm; few very fine roots; common distinct brown (7.5YR 4/4) clay films on vertical faces of peds; few fine distinct light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) iron depletions in the matrix; few fine prominent strong brown (7.5YR 5/8) masses of iron and manganese accumulation in the matrix; 10 percent rock fragments; slightly effervescent; slightly alkaline; gradual wavy boundary. [Combined thickness of the Bt horizon is 63 to 102 cm (25 to 40 inches).]

BCt--107 to 140 cm (42 to 55 inches); yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) loam; weak coarse subangular blocky structure; firm; few distinct brown (7.5YR 4/4) clay films on vertical faces of peds; few fine distinct light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) iron depletions on faces of peds; few fine prominent strong brown (7.5YR 5/8) masses of iron and manganese accumulation on faces of peds; 10 percent rock fragments; slightly effervescent; slightly alkaline; diffuse smooth boundary. [0 to 38 cm (15 inches) thick]

Cd--140 to 203 cm (55 to 80 inches); yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) clay loam; massive; very firm; common medium distinct light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) iron depletions in vertical fractures in the till; few fine prominent yellowish brown (10YR 5/8) masses of iron and manganese accumulation in rinds around the iron depletions in vertical fractures in the till; few very fine distinct very dark brown (10YR 2/2) masses of iron and manganese accumulation throughout; few very fine distinct very dark brown (10YR 2/2) iron and manganese concretions throughout; 15 percent rock fragments; slightly effervescent; slightly alkaline.

TYPE LOCATION: Pickaway County, Ohio; about 1.2 miles southwest of Tarlton, in Salt Creek Township; about 1,100 feet north and 2,000 feet west of the southeast corner of sec.4, T. 11 N., R. 20 W.; USGS Stoutsville, OH topographic quadrangle; lat. 39 degrees 32 minutes 57 seconds N. and long. 82 degrees 47 minutes 43 seconds W., NAD 27.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Thickness of the solum: 66 to 152 cm (26 to 60 inches)
Depth to densic contact: 66 to 152 cm (26 to 60 inches)
Depth to carbonates: 76 to 152 cm (30 to 60 inches)
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 8 to 22 percent
Particle-size control section: averages 35 to 40 percent clay with individual subhorizons ranging from 27 to 44 percent
Rock fragments: dominantly angular, partially weathered sandstone and shale
Rock fragment content: 0 to 5 percent in the solum to a depth of 51 cm (20 inches), and 2 to 15 percent below a depth of 51 cm (20 inches)

Ap or A horizon:
Hue: 10YR
Value: 4 or 5 (6 or 7 dry)
Chroma: 2 to 4
Texture: silt loam, loam, or silty clay loam
Reaction: very strongly acid to neutral

BE horizon:
Hue: 10YR
Value: 5 or 6 (7 or 8 dry)
Chroma: 3 or 4
Texture: silt loam or loam
Reaction: very strongly acid to moderately acid

Bt horizon:
Hue: 7.5YR or 10YR
Value: 4 or 5
Chroma: 3 to 6
Redoximorphic features: hue of 7.5YR or 10YR, value of 5 or 6, and chroma of 1 to 8 in the lower part
Texture: clay loam, silty clay loam, silty clay, or clay
Reaction: very strongly acid to moderately acid in the upper and middle parts and moderately acid to moderately alkaline in the lower part

BCt or BC horizon:
Hue: 7.5YR or 10YR
Value: 4 or 5
Chroma: 3 to 6
Redoximorphic features: hue of 7.5YR or 10YR, value of 5 or 6, and chroma of 1 to 8
Texture: clay loam, silty clay loam, silt loam, or loam
Reaction: slightly alkaline or moderately alkaline

Cd horizon:
Hue: 7.5YR, 10YR, or 2.5Y
Value: 4 or 5
Chroma: 2 to 4
Redoximorphic features: hue of 7.5YR or 10YR, value of 5 or 6, and chroma of 1 to 8
Texture: clay loam, silty clay loam, loam, or silt loam
Reaction: slightly alkaline or moderately alkaline

COMPETING SERIES: These are the Brushcreek, Lairdsville, Lucas, Morley, Ozaukee, Schoharie, and St. Clair series. Brushcreek and Lairdsville soils have a paralithic contact within a depth of 152 cm (60 inches). Lucas soils do not have rock fragments in the lower part of the series control section. Morley and Ozaukee soils have a densic contact within the series control section. Schoharie soils have hue redder than 7.5YR in the argillic horizon. St. Clair soils have carbonates within a depth of 76 cm (30 inches).

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Alexandria soils are on till plains and moraines. Slope ranges from 0 to 50 percent. The soils formed in loamy till of medium lime content. Climate is humid and temperate. Mean annual precipitation ranges from 838 to 1016 mm (33 to 40 inches). Mean annual air temperature ranges from 9 to 13 degrees C (48 to 56 degrees F). Frost-free period is 145 to 181 days. Elevation is 299 to 372 meters (980 to 1220 feet) above mean sea level.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Bennington, Cardington, Condit, Mechanicsburg, and Pewamo soils. Bennington soils are somewhat poorly drained on lower positions. Cardington soils are moderately well drained on similar landscapes. Condit soils are very poorly drained and are in the lowest positions. Pewamo soils are very poorly drained in depressions. Mechanicsburg soils have bedrock at 102 to 183 cm (40 to 72 inches) on similar landscapes.

DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY: Well drained. The depth to the top of an intermittent perched high water table ranges from 122 to 183 cm (4 to 6 feet) between December and May in normal years. The potential for surface runoff is low to very high. Saturated hydraulic conductivity is moderately high. Permeability is moderately slow.

USE AND VEGETATION: Most areas are cultivated. Principal crops are corn, wheat, soybeans, and hay. The steeper slopes are commonly in pasture or woodland. Native vegetation is mixed, deciduous hardwood forest.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Central and north central Ohio; MLRAs 111E and 139. The type location is in MLRA 111E. The series is of small extent.

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

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Licking County, Ohio, 1930.

REMARKS: Alexandria series needs to be evaluated on a MLRA basis. The type location of Alexandria was moved to Pickaway County. The previous type location in Delaware County was correlated to the Amanda series during the Soil Survey update.

Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon: from the surface to a depth of 28 cm (Ap, BE horizons).
Argillic horizon: from a depth of 28 to 91 cm (Bt horizon).
Densic contact: at 140 cm (top of the Cd horizon).

ADDITIONAL DATA: Characterization data are available for PY-17 typical pedon, RO-64 and HU-E2 from the Soil Characterization Laboratory at The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH.

National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.