LOCATION BARBAROSA TXEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine, smectitic, thermic Udertic Paleustolls
TYPICAL PEDON: Barbarosa silty clay--cropland.
(Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise
stated.)
Ap--0 to 6 inches; very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) silty
clay, very dark brown (10YR 2/2) moist; moderate medium granular
and very fine subangular blocky structure; hard, friable; few
cracks 1/2 inch wide and about 14 inches long; few fine roots;
mildly alkaline; clear smooth boundary. (0 to 8 inches thick)
A--6 to 24 inches; very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) silty
clay, very dark brown (10YR 2/2) moist; moderate very fine
subangular blocky structure; hard, firm but crumbly; few cracks
1/2 inch wide and 12 inches long throughout horizon; few fine
roots; few reddish brown wormcasts; few shiny pressure faces on
peds in lower part; mildly alkaline; clear smooth boundary. (10
to 20 inches thick)
Bt--24 to 48 inches; reddish brown (5YR 4/4) clay, dark
reddish brown (5YR 3/4) moist; moderate fine angular blocky structure; hard, firm; few streaks of very dark grayish brown
silty clay in filled cracks; few reddish yellow wormcasts; thin
clay films and pressure faces on peds; few fine calcium carbonate concretions in lower part; calcareous; moderately alkaline; clear smooth boundary. (10 to 28 inches thick)
Btk--48 to 72 inches; reddish yellow (5YR 6/6) clay,
yellowish red (5YR 5/6) moist; weak angular blocky structure;
hard, firm; few thin clay films and pressure faces on peds; an estimated 15 percent by volume of fine and medium concretions and soft bodies of calcium carbonate; few limestone pebbles.
TYPE LOCATION: Guadalupe County, Texas; 2 miles northwest of
Seguin on Texas Highway 46; 1 mile east on gravel road; 300 feet
into field south of road.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Solum thickness is 60 to 72 inches or more. The dry soil has cracks 1 to 4 cm wide to depths of 50 to
127 cm. COLE is 0.07 to 0.15. Limestone and siliceous pebbles comprise 0 to 10 percent of any horizon. Depth to visible
secondary calcium carbonate is 28 to 40 inches in over half of
the pedon.
The A horizon is dark brown (7.5YR 3/2, 4/2; 10YR 4/3), reddish
brown (5YR 4/3), dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2), or very dark
grayish brown (10YR 3/2). It is clay loam, silty clay loam,
clay, or silty clay. It is mildly or moderately alkaline and it
is calcareous in some pedons.
The Bt horizon is reddish brown (5YR 4/4, 5/4), dark reddish
brown (5YR 3/4), red (2.5YR 4/6), or brown (7.5YR 5/4). It is
clay or silty clay with a clay content of 40 to 60 percent.
The Btk horizon is yellowish red (5YR 5/6), reddish yellow (5YR
6/6; 7.5YR 6/6), or strong brown (7.5YR 5/6). It is clay or
silty clay and contains 5 to 30 percent by volume of fine and
medium concretions and soft bodies of calcium carbonate. Some
pedons are underlain at depths of 62 to 72 inches with thick beds
of limestone gravel and sand.
COMPETING SERIES: These include
Durant,
Knippa,
Krum, and
Renfrow series. Durant soils have Bt horizons with hues yellower than 7.5YR. Knippa and Krum soils lack Bt horizons. Renfrow
soils have mixed mineralogy and noncalcareous Bt horizons.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Barbarosa soils are on nearly level to
gently sloping ancient stream terraces. These soils formed in calcareous clayey sediments. Slope gradients are mainly less
than 1 percent but range up to 3 percent. The climate is dry subhumid with a mean annual rainfall of 28 to 35 inches. The Thornthwaite P-E indices are 40 to 50. Mean annual temperature
is 65 to 70 degrees F.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the competing
Krum
series and the
Branyon series. Branyon soils have intersecting slickensides and gilgai microrelief. Krum and Branyon soils
occur on similar surfaces.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; slow to medium runoff;
slow permeability.
USE AND VEGETATION: Mostly cropped to cotton, corn, grain
sorghum, and oats. Native vegetation is tall and midgrasses
with a few scattered live oak, pecan, and hackberry trees.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Mainly in south-central Texas on
ancient stream terraces of the Blackland Prairie and Edwards
Plateau. The series is of moderate extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Temple, Texas
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Guadalupe County, Texas; 1973.
REMARKS: These soils were formerly included with the Krum
series.