LOCATION AROL TX

Established Series
Rev. WRM-CJV-RM
05/2014

AROL SERIES

The Arol series consists of moderately deep, moderately well drained soils that formed in clayey residuum weathered from tuffaceous sandstone and siltstone of the Catahoula formation of Miocene age. These nearly level to gently sloping soils are on broad, upland ridges. Slope ranges from 0 to 5 percent. Mean annual precipitation is about 889 to 1232 mm (35 to 49 in) and the mean annual air temperature is about 18.4 to 21.1 degrees C (65 to 70 degrees F).

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine, smectitic, thermic Udic Paleustalfs

TYPICAL PEDON: Arol fine sandy loam--pasture. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)

Ap--0 to 15 cm (0 to 6 in); dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) fine sandy loam, grayish brown (10YR 5/2) dry; structureless massive; hard, friable; many fine roots; moderately acid; abrupt smooth boundary. (Thickness is 8 to 30 cm [3 to 12 in])

Bt1--15 to 46 cm (6 to 18 in); black (10YR 2/1) clay, very dark gray (10YR 3/1) dry; moderate medium angular blocky structure; very hard, very firm, very sticky and very plastic; common fine roots; 5 percent faint clay films on all faces of peds and 5 percent pressure faces; moderately acid; gradual wavy boundary.

Bt2--46 to 76 cm (18 to 30 in); very dark gray (10YR 3/1) clay, dark gray (10YR 4/1) dry; moderate coarse angular blocky structure; very hard, very firm, very sticky and very plastic; common fine roots; 5 percent pressure faces and 5 percent faint clay films on all faces of peds; 1 percent fine distinct light gray (10YR 7/2), moist, iron depletions with sharp boundaries and 1 percent fine distinct pinkish gray (7.5YR 7/2), moist, iron depletions with sharp boundaries; slightly acid; abrupt smooth boundary. [Combined thickness of the Bt horizon is about 38 to 81 cm (15 to 32 in])

Cr--76 to 114 cm (30 to 45 in); pale olive (5Y 6/3) weakly cemented clayey tuff; structureless massive and weakly bedded; extremely hard, extremely firm; can be cut with a spade; gray stains between cleavage planes; neutral.

TYPE LOCATION: Walker County, Texas; from the intersection of Interstate 45 and Texas Highway 30 in Huntsville, Texas; 4.6 miles north along west access road of I-45 and northwest on Texas Highway 75 to the intersection on Wire Road; 2.7 miles west on Wire Road and 320 ft south in pasture. USGS Galilee topographic quadrangle; Latitude: 30 degrees, 43 minutes, 38.31 seconds N; Longitude: 95 degrees, 39 minutes, 41.34 seconds W, UTM Zone: 15; NAD 83.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Depth of solum: 61 to 94 cm (24 to 37 in), moderately deep
Depth to argillic horizon: 13 to 20 cm (5 to 8 in)
Depth to abrupt textural change: 13 to 20 cm (5 to 8 in)
Depth to redoximorphic features: 13 to 46 cm (5 to 18 in)
Depth to paralithic material: 61 to 94 cm (24 to 37 in)
Depth to paralithic contact: 61 to 94 cm (20 to 40 in)
Rock fragments: Less than 5 percent (by volume) sandstone gravels
Coefficient of Linear Extensibility (COLE):May exceed 0.07 in the Bt subhorizons of some pedons, but the potential linear extensibility is less than 6 cm (2.4 in)

Particle size control section (weighted average)
Clay content: 35 to 45 percent in particle size control section
Rock fragments: Less than 5 percent (by volume) sandstone gravels

A or Ap horizon(s)
Hue: 10YR or 2.5Y dry or moist
Value: 4 to 6 dry or moist
Chroma: 1 or 2 dry or moist
Texture: fine sandy loam or loam
Reaction: strongly acid to slightly acid

E horizon (where present)
Hue: 10YR or 2.5Y dry or moist
Value: 5 to 7 dry or moist
Chroma: 1 or 2 dry or moist
Texture: fine sandy loam or loam
Reaction: strongly acid to slightly acid

Upper Bt horizon(s)
Hue: 7.5YR or 10YR dry or moist
Value: 2 or 3 dry or moist
Chroma: 1 or 2 dry or moist
Texture: clay or clay loam
Reaction: strongly acid to neutral

Lower Bt horizon(s)
Hue: 7.5YR or 10YR dry or moist
Value: 2 to 6 dry or moist
Chroma: 1 or 2 dry or moist
Texture: clay or clay loam
Redox depletions: amount-0 to 1 percent, size-fine, contrast-distinct, boundary-clear, shade-light gray and pinkish gray
Mottles: few to common, shades of gray, yellow, and red
Reaction: moderately acid to slightly alkaline

BC horizon, (where present)
Hue: 10YR or 2.5Y dry or moist
Value: 5 to 7 dry or moist
Chroma: 1 to 3 dry or moist
Reaction: slightly acid to slightly alkaline

Cr horizon
Hue: 10YR to 5Y dry or moist
Value: 5 to 8 dry or moist
Chroma: 1 to 3 dry or moist
Bedrock: Ranges from clayey tuff to mudstone, containing small amounts of volcanic materials, to very fine grained weakly cemented sandstone or siltstone; roots along cleavage planes or fractures in some pedons
Effervescence: very slight or slight
Reaction: moderately acid to moderately alkaline

COMPETING SERIES: These are the Chazos (TX), Gredge (TX), Payne (TX), and Singleton (TX) soils. Similar soils: These are the Burlewash (TX), Lufkin (TX), Shalba (TX), and Zulch (TX) soils.
Burlewash soils: Well drained and have higher chroma colors in the Bt horizon
Chazos, Gredge, Lufkin, and Payne soils: Solum thicker than 100 cm (40 in)
Shalba soils: Solum less than 50 cm (20 in) thick
Singleton soils: Have a Bt horizon with more than 40 percent of the matrix with chroma of 3 or 4
Zulch soils: Have vertic properties and do not have a paralithic contact

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Parent Material: Clayey residuum weathered from tuffaceous sandstone and siltstone of the Catahoula formation of Miocene age
Landscape: Inland dissected coastal plains
Landform: Ridges, broad
Slope: 0 to 5 percent
Mean Annual Air Temperature: 18.4 to 21.1 degrees C (65 to 70 degrees F)
Mean Annual Precipitation: 889 to 1092 mm (35 to 43 in)
Frost Free Days: 249 to 301 days
Elevation: 42.0 to 182.9 m (135 to 600 ft)
Soil moisture: ustic

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Burlewash, Lufkin, Shalba Elmina, Leson, Mabank, and Redco series. These soils are on adjoining nearly level Pleistocene terraces.
Burlewash soils: Located on nearby sloping areas
Elmina soils: Have sandy surface layers 50 t0 100 cm (20 to 40 in) thick and are on slightly higher positions
Leson soils: Have intersecting slickensides and are clayey throughout and are on similar to slightly higher positions
Lufkin and Mabank soils: Solum thicker than 150 cm (60 in) and have vertic properties

Redco soils: Have intersecting slickensides and are clayey throughout and are on similar to slightly higher positions
Shalba soils: Located on similar landscape positions

DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Moderately well drained. Permeability is very slow. Runoff is high on slopes less than 1 percent, very high on 1 to 5 percent slopes. Slow internal drainage.

USE AND VEGETATION: Used mainly as pastureland. Large acreages were once planted to cotton and corn, but are now idle or in low quality pastures of threeawn grasses and annuals. Improved pastures are mainly coastal bermudagrass. Native grasses are little bluestem, indiangrass, switchgrass, big bluestem, and sideoats grama with scattered post oak trees.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Land Resource Region J - Southwestern Prairies Cotton and Forage Region. Southeastern Claypan area of Texas (MLRA 87A). The series is moderately extensive.

MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Temple, Texas

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Walker County, Texas; 1975.

REMARKS: These soils do not have an aquic moisture regime. Classification change from Typic Albaqualfs is due to interpretation that the low chroma matrix is due to organic matter accumulations in conjunction with gray colored parent material. Field observations, water table studies from Texas A&M University, landscape position and climate indicate the soil is typically not saturated long enough to be reduced in most years. Arol soils were formerly included in the Wilson series.

Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:

Ochric epipedon-0 to 15 cm (6 in) Ap horizon
Abrupt textural change from A to Bt horizon 15 cm (6 in)
Argillic horizon-15 to 76 cm (6 to 30 in)
Redox depletions with chroma 2 or less - 46 to 76 cm (18 to 30 in)
Paralithic Contact-at depth of 76 cm (30 in) weakly cemented tuff

ADDITIONAL DATA: KSSL Data from type location - 70TX471004; Representative pedon for series - P1979TX4719501

Taxonomic version: Keys to Soil Taxonomy, Eleventh Edition, 2010.

National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.