LOCATION BRUSHCREEK OHEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine, illitic, mesic Oxyaquic Hapludalfs
TYPICAL PEDON: Brushcreek silt loam - on a 14 percent south southeast facing concave foot slope in pasture. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated).
Ap--0 to 6 inches; brown (10YR 5/3) silt loam, light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) dry; moderate fine and medium granular structure; friable; many roots; 10 percent limestone fragments; slightly acid; abrupt smooth boundary (4 to 10 inches thick).
Bt1--6 to 10 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) silty clay loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; firm; common roots; common faint yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) clay films and common distinct brown (10YR 4/3) silt coats on faces of peds; 5 percent limestone fragments; strongly acid; clear wavy boundary.
Bt2--10 to 19 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) silty clay; strong medium angular blocky structure; firm; few roots; many faint yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) clay films on faces of peds; 10 percent limestone fragments; medium acid in the upper part and mildly alkaline in the lower part; clear wavy boundary.
Bt3--19 to 24 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) silty clay; common fine prominent grayish brown (2.5Y 5/2) mottles; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; firm; many distinct brown (10YR 5/3) clay films on faces of peds; 10 percent limestone fragments; slight effervescence; moderately alkaline; clear wavy boundary. (Combined thickness of the Bt horizons are 10 to 20 inches.)
BC--24 to 33 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) channery silty clay loam; common medium prominent gray (N 6/0) and (5Y 6/1) mottles; weak coarse subangular blocky structure; firm; few distinct brown (10YR 5/3) clay films on vertical faces of peds; 25 percent limestone fragments; strong effervescence; moderately alkaline; clear wavy boundary. (0 to 15 inches thick)
C--33 to 56 inches; light olive gray (5Y 6/2) channery silty clay loam grading to channery silty clay in the lower six inches; common medium prominent light olive brown (2.5Y 5/4) mottles; massive; firm; 15 percent limestone fragments; strong effervescence; moderately alkaline; clear wavy boundary. (0 to 24 inches thick) Cr--56 to 60 inches; gray (5Y 6/1) calcareous soft shale with some thin strata of limestone.
TYPE LOCATION: Adams County, Ohio; Tiffin Township; about 1/2 mile north of West Union; 790 feet south of intersection of OH-247 and County Road 22 along OH-247, then 660 feet east.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Thickness of the solum ranges from 20 to 40 inches. Depth to soft bedrock ranges from 40 to 60 inches. Rock fragments, mainly limestone and shale, are 0 to 15 percent by volume in the Ap horizon, 2 to 15 percent in the Bt horizon, and 10 to 35 percent in the BC and C horizons.
The Ap horizon has hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 3 to 5, (6 or 7 dry) and chroma of 2 to 4. Some pedons have an A horizon 1 to 4 inches thick that has hue of 10YR, value of 3 or 4, (5 or 6 dry) and chroma of 3 or 4. The Ap and A horizons are silt loam or silty clay loam. They are strongly acid to neutral.
The E horizon is mixed in the Ap in most pedons. Some undisturbed pedons have an E horizon 3 to 6 inches thick. It is silt loam or silty clay loam. It is slightly acid to strongly acid.
The Bt horizon has hue of 10YR, 7.5YR, or 2.5Y; value of 4 or 5; chroma of 3 to 6; and low chroma mottles are in the lower part. It is silty clay loam, silty clay, or clay with some very thin strata having channery analogues of these textures. It ranges from strongly acid to slightly acid in the upper part to moderately alkaline in the lower part.
The BC and C horizons commonly have hue of 10YR, 2.5Y, or 5Y; value of 4 to 6; chroma of 2 to 6; and may have mottles of high or low chroma. Some pedons range to chroma of 1 in the C horizon. The BC and C horizons are silty clay loam, silty clay, clay, or their channery analogues. They are mildly alkaline or moderately alkaline and typically contain free carbonates.
Bedrock is calcareous soft shale with some thin strata of limestone. It commonly occurs in shades of gray or olive, but is brown in some pedons.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Alexandria, Edom, Lairdsville, Lucas, Millheim, Morley, Pate, Saylesville, Schoharie, and St. Clair series. Alexandria, Morley, and St. Clair soils formed all or partly in till and contain glacial pebbles and stones. Edom soils lack 2 chroma mottles in the solum. Lairdsville soils have bedrock within a depth of 40 inches. Lucas and Saylesville soils formed in lacustrine sediments and contain none or few rock fragments. Millheim soils contain rock fragments of dark carbonaceaus shale. Pate soils have thicker sola. Schoharie soils have hue redder than 7.5YR in all or part of the solum.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Brushcreek soils are on uplands. They are on long foot slopes and have slope gradients ranging from 6 to 25 percent. The soils formed mainly in colluvium and residuum weathered from interbedded Ordovician calcareous shale and some thin strata of limestone. Average annual precipitation is about 40 to 45 inches, and average annual temperature is about 53 to 55 degrees F.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Aaron, Bratton, Crider, Eden, Faywood, Lawshe, Nicholson, and Opequon soils. Aaron soils also are moderately well drained but are on broad ridges below Brushcreek soils. Bratton and Crider soils are well drained and are on broad ridgetops above Brushcreek soils. In addition Crider soils are fine-silty. Eden and Faywood soils are on side slopes and narrow ridge crests and are moderately deep to bedrock. Lawshe soils are on similar landscapes but have mollic epipedons. Nicholson soils are on broad ridgetops, have a thick mantle of silt over clayey residuum, and have a fragipan. Opequon soils are on sloping to steep side slopes above Brushcreek soils and are shallow to limestone.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Moderately well drained. Runoff is medium to very rapid. Permeability is slow.
USE AND VEGETATION: Brushcreek soils are in hayland, pasture, woodland, and some cropland. Principal crops are corn, winter wheat, and tobacco. Cedar trees are common in many places. Native vegetation was hardwood forest.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Southwestern Ohio, and possibly northern Kentucky. The series is of small extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Morgantown, West Virginia
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Adams County, Ohio, 1987.
REMARKS: Classification was adjusted to agree with ST Issue #17 on 23 Sept 94 by CLG. Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are: ochric epipedon - from the surface to a depth of 6 inches (Ap); argillic horizon - from a depth of 6 to about 24 inches (Bt1, Bt2, Bt3); paralithic contact - at a depth of 56 inches.
ADDITIONAL DATA: Refer to pedon AD-29 for laboratory characterization and engineering test data on this soil.