LOCATION BRYCE IL+IN

Established Series
Rev. JWS-LMK- AAC
01/2018

BRYCE SERIES

The Bryce series consists of very deep, poorly drained soils formed in clayey water-sorted sediments and in the underlying clayey till on till plains or glacial lake plains. Slope ranges from 0 to 2 percent. Mean annual temperature is about 10 degrees C (50 degrees F), and mean annual precipitation is about 940 mm (37 inches).

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine, mixed, superactive, mesic Vertic Endoaquolls

TYPICAL PEDON: Bryce silty clay - on a concave slope of less than 1 percent in a cropped field at an elevation of 206 meters (675 feet) above mean sea level. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)

Ap1--0 to 25 cm (0 to 10 inches); black (10YR 2/1) silty clay, dark gray (10YR 4/1) dry; weak very fine granular structure; friable; few fine black (7.5YR 2.5/1) weakly cemented iron-manganese nodules throughout; slightly acid; abrupt smooth boundary.

Ap2--25 to 33 cm (10 to 13 inches); black (10YR 2/1) silty clay, dark gray (10YR 4/1) dry; moderate medium angular blocky structure; friable; moderately acid; abrupt smooth boundary. [Combined thickness of the A horizon is 25 to 46 cm (10 to 18 inches).]

Bg--33 to 48 cm (13 to 19 inches); black (10YR 2/1) silty clay, dark gray (10YR 4/1) dry; moderate fine and medium subangular blocky structure; friable; many distinct black (10YR 2/1) organic coatings on faces of peds; common fine distinct dark grayish brown (2.5Y 4/2) and few fine distinct grayish brown (10YR 5/2) iron depletions in the matrix; slightly acid; clear wavy boundary.

Btg1--48 to 61 cm (19 to 24 inches); dark grayish brown (2.5Y 4/2) silty clay; weak medium prismatic structure parting to moderate fine and medium subangular blocky; firm; many distinct dark gray (10YR 4/1) clay films on faces of peds; many distinct black (N 2.5/) organo-clay films on faces of peds; common fine prominent yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) masses of oxidized iron in the matrix; neutral; clear wavy boundary.

Btg2--61 to 89 cm (24 to 35 inches); olive gray (5Y 5/2) silty clay; moderate medium prismatic structure parting to moderate medium subangular blocky; firm; common distinct olive gray (5Y 4/2) clay films on faces of peds; common distinct very dark gray (10YR 3/1) organo-clay films on faces of peds; few slickensides on faces of peds; common fine black (7.5YR 2.5/1) weakly cemented iron-manganese nodules throughout; common fine faint dark gray (2.5Y 4/1) iron depletions in the matrix; common fine prominent strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) masses of oxidized iron in the matrix; neutral; gradual smooth boundary.

Btg3--89 to 114 cm (35 to 45 inches); gray (5Y 5/1) silty clay; weak coarse prismatic structure parting to weak coarse subangular blocky; firm; few distinct dark gray (5Y 4/1) clay films on faces of peds; few slickensides and pressure faces on faces of peds; common medium prominent light olive brown (2.5Y 5/4) and few medium prominent dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) iron-manganese accumulations in the matrix; slightly alkaline; clear smooth boundary. [Combined thickness of the Bg and Btg horizons is 20 to 89 cm (8 to 35 inches).]

2BCg--114 to147 cm (45 to 58 inches); gray (5Y 5/1) silty clay; weak very coarse prismatic structure; very firm; few fine white (10YR 8/1) very weakly cemented nodules and concretions of calcium carbonate throughout; common coarse prominent brown (10YR 4/3) iron-manganese accumulations and common medium prominent yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) masses of oxidized iron in the matrix; 1 percent gravel; slightly effervescent; moderately alkaline; clear smooth boundary. [13 to 38 cm (5 to 15 inches) thick]

2Cg--147 to 168 cm (58 to 66 inches); gray (5Y 5/1) silty clay; massive; very firm; many medium prominent olive brown (2.5Y 4/4) iron-manganese accumulations in the matrix; 3 percent gravel; slightly effervescent; slightly alkaline.

TYPE LOCATION: Iroquois County, Illinois; about 5 miles north of Cissna Park; 2,559 feet north and 45 feet west of the center of sec. 7, T. 25 N., R. 13 W.; USGS Woodworth topographic quadrangle; lat. 40 degrees 38 minutes 39 seconds N. and long. 87 degrees 52 minutes 23 seconds W., NAD 27; UTM Zone 16, 426178 easting and 4499628 northing, NAD 83.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Depth to base of soil development: 76 to more than 152 cm (30 to more than 60 inches)
Depth to carbonates: 46 to 140 cm (18 to 55 inches); the 2Cg horizon is calcareous
Thickness of mollic epipedon: 25 to 61 cm (10 to 24 inches) and includes the upper part of the B horizon in some pedons
Thickness of the water-sorted sediments: 102 to 122 cm (40 to 48 inches) but ranges from 38 to 140 cm (15 to 55 inches)
Particle-size control section: averages 40 to 52 percent clay; some subhorizons contain as much as 55 percent clay

Ap and/or A horizons:
Hue: 10YR, 2.5Y, or neutral
Value: 2, 2.5, or 3 (3 to 5 dry)
Chroma: 0 or 1
Texture: silty clay or silty clay loam
Reaction: moderately acid to slightly alkaline

AB or BA horizon (some pedons):
Hue: 10YR, 2.5Y, or neutral
Value: 2, 2.5, or 3 (3 to 5 dry)
Chroma: 0 to 2
Texture: silty clay or silty clay loam
Reaction: moderately acid to slightly alkaline

Bg, Btg, or BCg horizon:
Hue: 10YR, 2.5Y, 5Y, or neutral
Value: 2 to 6 (2, 2.5, or 3 is limited to the upper few inches of the horizon)
Chroma: 0 to 3
Texture: silty clay or clay
Clay content: 42 to 52 percent
Sand content: 1 to 20 percent
Rock fragment content: less than 5 percent
Reaction: slightly acid to moderately alkaline

2BCg horizon:
Hue: 2.5Y or 5Y
Value: 4 to 6
Chroma: 1 or 2
Texture: silty clay or clay
Clay content: 40 to 60 percent
Sand content: 1 to 20 percent
Rock fragment content: less than 8 percent
Reaction: slightly alkaline or moderately alkaline

2Cg horizon:
Hue: 2.5Y or 5Y
Value: 4 to 6
Chroma: 1 to 8
Texture: silty clay or clay, some pedons are silty clay loam
Consistence: very firm
Clay content: 38 to 60 percent
Sand content: 1 to 20 percent
Rock fragment content: less than 10 percent
Moist bulk density: 1.60 to 1.75 g/cc
Reaction: slightly alkaline or moderately alkaline

COMPETING SERIES: This is the only series in this family.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Bryce soils are on low-lying areas on till plains or glacial lake plains of Wisconsinan Age. Slope gradients commonly are less than 1 percent and range from 0 to 2 percent. They formed in clayey water-sorted sediments and in the underlying clayey calcareous till. The upper sediments are lacustrine or local colluvial sediments from surrounding slopes or a combination of both kinds of sediments and increment or admixed loess. The sediments have a broader spectrum of clay minerals, lower bulk density, and greater available water capacity than the underlying till. Mean annual temperature ranges from 8 to 12 degrees C (46 to 54 degrees F), mean annual precipitation ranges from 864 to 1016 mm (34 to 40 inches), frost-free period ranges from 155 to 190 days, and elevation ranges from 170 to 235 meters (558 to 771 feet) above mean sea level.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These include the Mokena, Rantoul, Rutland, and Swygert soils. The somewhat poorly drained Mokena, Rutland, and Swygert soils are on nearby higher elevations or more sloping areas or both. Mokena soils are fine-loamy. Rutland soils contain 35 to 45 percent clay in the control section and have loess in the upper few feet of the solum. Swygert soils formed in similar materials and form a drainage sequence with Bryce soils. The very poorly drained, very slowly permeable Rantoul soils are in nearby lower-lying depressions and have higher COLE values.

DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY: Poorly drained. Where drained, depth to the top of an apparent seasonal high water table ranges from 15 cm (0.5 foot) above the surface to 30 cm (1.0 foot) below the surface at some time between January and May in normal years. Potential for surface runoff is negligible. Saturated hydraulic conductivity is moderately low (less than 0.42 micrometers per second). Permeability is very slow.

USE AND VEGETATION: Most areas are cultivated. Principal crops are corn and soybeans and other crops include small grain and meadow. Native vegetation is marsh grasses and sedges.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Northeastern Illinois and northwestern Indiana. These soils are of large extent in MLRAs 110 and 108A. The type location is in MLRA 110.

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

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Iroquois County, Illinois, 1940.

REMARKS: In soils such as this, with materials in the control section of mixed origin, clay mineralogy determinations are imprecise. Several indicators should be used. The X-ray diffraction patterns at NSSL indicate a montmorillonitic placement. However, that method should be compared to weighted CEC/clay and LE/clay ratios which are outside the limits commonly set for the smectitic mineralogy class. The relative proportions of clay minerals, is a function of the kind and amount of mixing of materials over the till. In all pedons the mineralogy of the till is illitic.

A bedrock substratum phase is recognized. These soils will be evaluated during MLRA updating to determine if new series needed.

An evaluation of Bryce soils in the map unit "Bryce silty clay loam, 0 to 2 slopes" in MLRA 110 identified a possible densic restriction in the Cg horizon. Existing lab data, pedons and similar soils were reviewed to come to this conclusion. Additional collection of lab data on bulk density and water table fluctuations are necessary to determine whether the water table is epi or endo in nature.

Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Mollic epipedon: from the surface to a depth of 48 cm (0 to 19 inches) (Ap1, Ap2 and Bg horizons).
Cambic horizon: from a depth of 48 to 152 cm (19 to 60 inches) (Btg1, Btg2, Btg3, and 2BCg horizons).

ADDITIONAL DATA: The typical pedon is S1977IL075006 (NSSL Nos. 77P 1079 - 77P 1085) from a characterization study of soils formed in fine-textured materials in northeastern Illinois.

National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.