LOCATION BEHRING TX
Established Series
Rev. ACL-RMR
09/2015
BEHRING SERIES
The Behring series consists of deep, moderately well drained, slowly permeable soils that formed in residuum weathered from mudstone of Tertiary Age. These nearly level to sloping soils occur on interfluves and side slopes on upland ridges and plains on dissected plains. Slopes range from 0 to 8 percent, but are mostly 2 to 4 percent. Mean annual precipitation is about 888 mm (35 in) and the mean annual air temperature is about 19.7 degrees C (67.5 degrees F).
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine, smectitic, thermic Udic Haplusterts
TYPICAL PEDON: Behring clay loam--pasture. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise stated.)
Ap--0 to 20 cm (0 to 8 in); dark grayish brown (2.5Y 4/2) clay loam, very dark grayish brown (2.5Y 3/2) moist; weak fine blocky structure; very hard, very firm; many roots; few earthworm channels; few fine strongly cemented calcium carbonate concretions; a few siliceous pebbles; noncalcareous; moderately alkaline; diffuse smooth boundary. (10 to 25 cm [4 to 10 in] thick)
A--20 to 61 cm (8 to 24 in); very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) clay, very dark brown (10YR 2/2) moist; moderate coarse prismatic and medium angular blocky structure; very hard, very firm; common roots; few pores; few fine strongly cemented concretions or particles of calcium carbonate; few pressure faces; few siliceous pebbles; noncalcareous; moderately alkaline; gradual smooth boundary. (30 to 51 cm [12 to 20 in] thick)
Bkss--61 to 97 cm (24 to 38 in); light olive brown (2.5Y 5/4) clay, olive brown (2.5Y 4/4) moist; with mottles and streaks of dark grayish brown (2.5Y 4/2) along old cracks; moderate coarse prismatic and medium angular blocky structure; very hard, very firm; few roots; few grooved pressure faces and a few fine strongly cemented calcium carbonate concretions; noncalcareous; moderately alkaline; few Fe-Mn concretions; clear wavy boundary. (28 to 51 cm [11 to 20 in] thick)
Bk--97 to 124 cm (38 to 49 in); mottled grayish brown (2.5Y 5/2) yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) and light olive brown (2.5Y 5/4) clay loam; weak fine and medium angular blocky structure; very hard, very firm; few roots; few streaks of very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2); contains about 2 percent by volume weakly and strongly cemented calcium carbonate concretions and particles of limestone; noncalcareous; moderately alkaline; clear smooth boundary. (18 to 30 cm [7 to 12 in] thick)
Cdk--124 to 203 cm (49 to 60 in); mixed mottled yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) and grayish brown (10YR 5/2) shaly clay; blocky structure; very hard, very firm; few roots along cleavage planes; few very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) streaks or fillings in old cracks; few soft masses and concretions of calcium carbonate; noncalcareous; moderately alkaline.
TYPE LOCATION: Caldwell County, Texas; From the intersection of Farm To Market Road 1854 and County Road 172 in Lytton Springs, Texas, approximately 1.75 miles southeast on Farm to Market Road 1854, approximately 0.25 miles northeast in pastureland. USGS Dale topographic quadrangle; Latitude: 29 degrees, 59 minutes, 22.05 seconds N; Longitude: 97 degrees 35 minutes, 21.4 seconds W. Datum: WGS84.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil moisture: An ustic soil moisture regime. The soil moisture control section is dry in some or all parts for more than 90 but less than 150 cumulative days in normal years.
Soil Depth: 102 to 152 cm (40 to 60 in)
Rock fragments: amount-0 to 14 percent, kind-quartzite, shape-nonflat, roundness-subrounded, cementation-very-strongly to indurated; size-gravel; occur throughout matrix.
Vertic features: 0.6 to 3 cm (1/4 to 1 in) wide extend from the surface to depths of 51 to 76 cm (20 to 30 in) when the soil is dry.
Thickness of the mollic epipedon: 40 to 80 cm (16 to 32 in)
Depth to cambic horizon: 40 to 80 cm (16 to 32 in)
Depth to slickensides: 8 to 61 cm (3 to 24 in)
Depth to secondary calcium carbonate: 8 to 97 cm (3 to 38 in)
Depth to gypsum accumulations, where present: 45 to 147 cm (18 to 58 in)
Particle-size control sections (weighted average)
Clay content: 35 to 55 percent
A horizon:
Hue: 2.5Y or 10YR
Value: 4 or 5, 2 or 3 moist
Chroma: 2 to 3, 1 or 2 moist
Texture: clay loam or clay
Clay content: 30 to 45 percent
Sand content: 22 to 42 percent
Rock fragments: amount-0 to 6; size-gravel; kind-quarzite
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 0 to 2 percent
Electrical conductivity (mmhos/cm): 0 to 2
Sodium Adsorption Ratio: 0 to 2
Effervescence: None
Reaction: slightly acid to moderately alkaline
Bss Horizon (where present):
Hue: 2.5Y or 10YR
Value: 3 or 4 dry or moist
Chroma: 1 or 2 dry or moist
Texture: clay or silty clay
Clay content: 42 to 52 percent
Sand content: 5 to 35 percent
Slickensides/Pressure faces: amount-few to common; distinctness-faint to prominent
Rock fragments: amount-0 to 6 percent; size-gravel; kind- quartzite
Identifiable secondary carbonate: amount-0 to 1, size-fine, kind-carbonate concretions
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 0 to 5 percent
Electrical conductivity (mmhos/cm): 0 to 2
Sodium Adsorption Ratio: 0 to 1
Effervescence: none to slight
Reaction: neutral or moderately alkaline
Bkss, Bkssy, Bk, or By Horizon:
Hue: 2.5Y or 10YR
Value: 3 to 7, 3 to 5 moist
Chroma: 2 to 4, 1 to 3 moist
Texture: clay or silty clay
Clay content: 35 to 55 percent
Sand content: 9.6 to 32 percent
Slickensides/Pressure faces: amount-few to common; distinctness-faint to prominent
Rock fragments: amount-0 to 12 percent; size-gravel; kind- quartzite
Identifiable secondary carbonate: amount-0 to 6 percent, size-fine to medium, kind-carbonate masses and carbonate concretions
Gypsum accumulations: amount-0 to 4 percent, size-fine to medium, kind-gypsum crystals and gypsum masses
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 0 to 10 percent
Gypsum: 0 to 2 percent
Electrical conductivity (mmhos/cm): 0 to 3
Sodium Adsorption Ratio: 0 to 13
Effervescence: slight to violent
Reaction: slightly alkaline to moderately alkaline
Cd, Cdk, Cdky, Cdy, CBdky, or CBdk horizon:
Hue: 2.5Y to 10YR
Value: 3 to 5, 4 or 5 moist
Chroma: 1 to 4 dry or moist
Texture: clay, silty clay loam or silty clay containing thin strata of loamy materials
Clay content: 35 to 57 percent
Sand content: 4.2 to 32 percent
Rock fragments: amount-0 to 14 percent; size-gravels; kind-quartzite
Pararock fragments: amount-0 to 1 percent; size-channers and flagstones; kind-mudstone
Identifiable secondary carbonate: amount-0 to 2 percent, size-fine, kind-carbonate concretions and carbonate masses
Gypsum accumulations: amount-0 to 9 percent, size-fine to medium, kind-gypsum crystals
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 2 to 8 percent
Gypsum: 0 to 2 percent
Electrical conductivity (mmhos/cm): 0 to 8
Sodium Adsorption Ratio: 0 to 12
Effervescence: slight to violent
Reaction: slightly alkaline to moderately alkaline
COMPETING SERIES: These are the
Bleiblerville,
Branyon,
Burleson,
Deport,
Dimebox,
Ellis,
Heiden,
Houston Black,
Leson, and
Luling. Similar soils include the
Fairlie series.
Bleiblerville,
Branyon,
Burleson,
Dimebox,
Houston Black, and
Leson soils: have chroma of 1 or less in the upper 30 cm (12 in) of the surface in 50 percent or more of the pedon.
Luling soils: range from deep to very deep to shale of the
Cook Mountain formation and are slightly lighter in the surface horizon
Deport soils: have moist values of 3.5 or higher in the upper 30 cm (12 in) of soils
Ellis soils: are moderately deep to weathered shale of upper Cretaceous Age
Heiden soils: are calcareous in the surface and are formed in residdum from Cretaceous Age
Fairlie soils: are deep to a paralithic contact of Chalk
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Parent material: loamy and clayey residuum weathered from mudstone in the Tertiary Aged Midway Group
Landscape: dissected plains
Landform: ridges and plains
Slope: 0 to 8 percent, but are dominantly from 2 to 4 percent
Mean annual precipitation: 787 to 915 mm (31 to 36 in)
Mean annual air temperature: 19.5 to 21.1 degrees C (67 to 70 degrees F)
Frost-free period: 257 to 275
Elevation: 103 to 192 m (337 to 630 ft)
Thornthwaite P-E Index: 44 to 56.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the
Ellis,
Leson,
Heiden,
Crockett, and
Wilson series.
Ellis soils: are on slightly higher elevations.
Leson soils: are on slightly lower elevations.
Crockett soils: have loamy A horizons and mottled clayey Bt horizons.
Heiden soils: have A horizons which are effervescent. These soils occur on Cretaceous Aged parent materials.
Wilson soils: A horizons which are hard and massive when dry, and Bt horizons. These soils occur at lower elevations.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Moderately well drained; medium runoff; slowly permeable. Water enters the dry soil rapidly.
USE AND VEGETATION: In cultivation and pasture. Cultivated crops are mostly grain sorghums. Native vegetation consists of mid and tall grasses such as little and big bluestem, indiangrass and switchgrass with an overstory of elm and hackberry. Mesquite is a common invader.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Land Resource Region J - Southwestern Prairies Cotton and Forage Region. East Central Texas. The Blackland Prairies (MLRA 86A and 86B). Series is of moderate extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Temple, Texas
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Caldwell County, Texas; 1972.
REMARKS: These soils were formerly included in the Heiden series and classified in the Rendzina great soil group. The classification was changed from Fine, smectitic, thermic Udertic Haplustolls to Fine, smectitic, thermic Udic Haplusterts based on extensive data collection and analysis of laboratory data. Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon:
Mollic epipedon: 0 to 61 cm (0 to 24 in) (Ap and A horizons)
Cambic horizon: 61 to 124 cm (24 to 49 in) (Bkss and Bk horizons)
Slickensides (pedongenic): 61 to 97 cm (24 to 38 in) (Bkss horizon)
Secondary carbonates: 61 to 152 cm (24 to 80 in) (Bkss, Bk, and Cdk horizons)
Densic materials: 124 to 203 cm (49 to 80 in) (Cdk horizon)
ADDITIONAL DATA: Kellogg Soil Survey Laboratory, S08TX055001. Texas A&M University Soil Characterization Laboratory, P06TX055-4051.
Taxonomic Version: Keys to Soil Taxonomy, Twelfth Edition, 2014.
National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.