LOCATION BECKWITH                IA

Established Series
Rev. RID-RJK-RJB
06/2015

BECKWITH SERIES

The Beckwith series consists of very deep, poorly drained soils formed in loess. These soils occur on slightly concave to nearly level positions on interfluves on dissected till plains and on treads of stream terraces. Slope ranges from 0 to 2 percent. Mean annual air temperature is about 11 degrees C. Mean annual precipitation is about 953 millimeters.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine, smectitic, mesic Chromic Vertic Albaqualfs

TYPICAL PEDON: Beckwith silt loam, in a narrow, slightly concave area on a level interfluve, in a cultivated field. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)

Ap--0 to 15 centimeters; dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) silt loam, light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) dry; weak very thin platy structure parting to weak very fine granular; friable; very strongly acid; abrupt smooth boundary. (13 to 23 centimeters thick)

E--15 to 38 centimeters; light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) silt loam, very pale brown (10YR 8/2) dry; moderate thin platy structure; friable; few fine dark accumulations (oxides); very strongly acid; clear smooth boundary. (15 to 23 centimeters thick)

B/E--38 to 43 centimeters; pale brown (10YR 6/3) silty clay loam, very pale brown (10YR 8/2) dry (B); weak fine subangular blocky structure; friable; many distinct very pale brown (10YR 8/2) (E) silt coats on faces of peds; few fine distinct yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) redoximorphic concentrations; strongly acid; abrupt smooth boundary. (0 to 8 centimeters thick)

Btg1--43 to 53 centimeters; dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) silty clay; strong fine and medium subangular blocky structure; very firm; many distinct very dark gray (10YR 3/1) clay films on faces of peds; very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) coats on faces of peds; common fine dark accumulations (oxides); few fine prominent yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) and few fine faint brown (10YR 4/3) redoximorphic concentrations; very strongly acid; clear smooth boundary.

Btg2--53 to 79 centimeters; dark grayish brown (2.5Y 4/2) silty clay; strong medium subangular blocky structure; very firm; many distinct very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) clay films on faces of peds; few very dark grayish brown organic coats on peds; common fine dark accumulations (oxides); common fine distinct brown (10YR 4/3) and common fine prominent yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) redoximorphic concentrations; moderately acid; gradual smooth boundary.

Btg3--79 to 99 centimeters; grayish brown (2.5Y 5/2) silty clay; weak medium prismatic structure parting to weak medium subangular blocky; firm; common distinct very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) clay films on faces of peds; few white (10YR 8/1) silt coats in vertical streaks; common fine dark accumulations (oxides); common fine prominent yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) and common fine distinct dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) redoximorphic concentrations; moderately acid; gradual smooth boundary.

Btg4--99 to 152 centimeters; grayish brown (2.5Y 5/2) silty clay loam; weak very coarse subangular blocky structure; firm; few very dark gray (10YR 3/1) stains on vertical faces; few clay coats along surfaces of root channels; common fine distinct yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) redoximorphic concentrations; slightly acid. (Combined thickness of the Btg horizon is 75 to 135 centimeters.)

TYPE LOCATION: Major Land Resource Area (MLRA) 109-Iowa and Missouri Heavy Till Plain, Appanoose County, Iowa subset; about 6 miles east and 1 mile south of Moravia; located about 2,600 feet east and 1,500 feet north of the southwest corner section 10, T. 70 N., R. 16 W.; USGS Unionville topographic quadrangle; lat. 40 degrees 52 minutes 30 seconds N. and long. 92 degrees 41 minutes 13 seconds W., NAD 83.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Depth to carbonates--more than 150 centimeters
Content of clay in the particle-size control section (weighted average)--42 to 52 percent
Content of sand in the particle-size control section (weighted average)--less than 10 percent

A or Ap horizon:
Hue--10YR
Value--3 or 4 (6 or more dry)
Chroma--1 or 2
Texture--silt loam
Clay content--15 to 27 percent
Sand content--less than 5 percent
Reaction--very strongly acid to slightly acid

E horizon:
Hue--10YR
Value--5 or 6
Chroma--2
Texture--silt loam
Clay content--18 to 27 percent
Sand content--less than 5 percent
Reaction--very strongly acid to moderately acid

B/E horizon (when present):
Hue--10YR
Value--5 or 6
Chroma--2 or 3
Texture--silty clay loam
Clay content--27 to 35 percent
Sand content--less than 5 percent
Reaction--very strongly acid to moderately acid

Btg horizon:
Hue--10YR to 5Y
Value--5 or 6
Chroma--1 or 2
Texture--silty clay or silty clay loam
Clay content--28 to 52 percent
Sand content--less than 5 percent
Reaction--very strongly acid to moderately acid

Cg horizon (when present):
Hue--2.5Y or 5Y
Value--5 or 6
Chroma--2
Texture--silty clay loam
Clay content--28 to 35 percent
Sand content--less than 5 percent
Reaction--strongly acid to slightly acid

COMPETING SERIES: These are the Floraville, Mariosa, and Okaw series.
Floraville--are in areas that have mean annual air temperature range of 12 to 14 degrees C
Mariosa--have a horizon with brittleness in the lower half of the series control section
Okaw--have a clay content of 35 and 60 percent in the lower third of the series control section

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Parent material--loess
Landform--slightly concave to nearly level positions on interfluves on dissected till plains and on treads of stream terraces
Slope--0 to 2 percent
Elevation--240 to 300 meters above sea level
Mean annual air temperature--9 to 12 degrees C
Mean annual precipitation--865 to 1,040 millimeters
Frost-free period--175 to 210 days

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Keswick, Lindley, and Weller soils.
Keswick and Lindley--are at lower landscape positions on convex side and have a sand content that averages 20 to 45 percent in the particle size-control section
Weller--are at lower landscape positions on convex ridge crests and side-valley slopes and have a frequently saturated zone at a depth of 1.2 meters during the wettest periods of normal years

DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY:
Drainage class--poorly drained--these soils are frequently saturated at the soil surface during the wettest periods of normal years, this saturation is considered perched
Saturated hydraulic conductivity--low
Surface runoff potential--high
Ponding--unless artificially drained, these soils may pond up to 0.3 meter of water above the surface for long duration during late winter and spring in normal years and after heavy precipitation events

USE AND VEGETATION:
Most areas are cultivated or pastured. The principal crops are corn, soybeans, oats, and meadows. The native vegetative cover is a mixed herbaceous and woody community commonly inhabited with Green Ashes, American Elms, Common Hackberries, Eastern Cottonwoods, American Sycamores, Silky Dogwoods, Black Willows, Wild Black Currants, Riverbank Grapes, Grays Sedges, Hop Sedges, Virginia Wildryes, Stiff Bedstraws, White Avens, Wood Nettles, False Nettles, Canadian Clearweeds, and Common Bonesets.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT:
Physiographic Division--Interior Plains
Physiographic Province--Central Lowland
Physiographic section--Dissected till plains
MLRA--Iowa and Missouri Heavy Till Plain (109)
LRR M; southern Iowa and possibly northern Missouri
Extent--small

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

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Jefferson County, Iowa, 1957

REMARKS:
Particle-size control section--the zone from a depth of 43 to 93 centimeters;
series control section--the zone from the surface to a depth of 152 centimeters.

Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon include:
ochric epipedon--the zone from the surface to a depth of 43 centimeters (Ap, E, and B/E horizons);
albic horizon--the zone from a depth of 15 to 43 centimeters (E and B/E horizons);
argillic horizon--the zone from a depth of 43 to 152 centimeters (Btg1, Btg2, Btg3, and Btg4 horizons);
aquic moisture regime.

Taxonomy version--Keys to Soil Taxonomy, tenth edition, 2006.

ADDITIONAL DATA: Laboratory analysis is available at Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, for this site.

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National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.