LOCATION DESKER IN

Established Series
Rev. TRZ-WDH-KKN
11/2021

DESKER SERIES

The Desker series consists of very deep, somewhat excessively drained soils that are moderately deep to calcareous, stratified sandy and gravelly outwash. The Desker soils formed in gravelly loamy and gravelly sandy outwash. They are on kames, eskers, terraces, and outwash plains. Slope ranges from 0 to 18 percent. Mean annual precipitation is about 914 mm (36 inches), and mean annual air temperature is about 10.0 degrees C (50 degrees F).

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Coarse-loamy, mixed, superactive, mesic Mollic Hapludalfs

TYPICAL PEDON: Desker sandy loam, on a 10 percent slope in a cultivated field at an elevation of 224 meters (735 feet) above mean sea level. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)

Ap--0 to 23 cm (0 to 9 inches); very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) sandy loam, brown (10YR 4/3) dry; moderate medium granular structure; friable; common coarse dark brown (7.5YR 3/4) pockets of subsoil material; 12 percent gravel; slightly acid; abrupt smooth boundary. [18 to 23 cm (7 to 9 inches) thick]

Bt1--23 to 38 cm (9 to 15 inches); dark brown (7.5YR 3/4) gravelly sandy loam; moderate fine subangular blocky structure; friable; faint dark brown (7.5YR 3/2) clay films on faces of peds; 15 percent gravel; slightly acid; clear smooth boundary.

Bt2--38 to 63 cm (15 to 25 inches); dark brown (7.5YR 3/4) gravelly coarse sandy loam; weak fine subangular blocky structure; friable; faint dark brown (7.5YR 3/2) clay films on faces of peds; 18 percent gravel; neutral; clear wavy boundary. [Combined thickness of the Bt horizon is 33 to 79 cm (13 to 31 inches).]

BC--63 to 86 cm (25 to 34 inches); dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) gravelly loamy coarse sand; weak medium subangular blocky structure; very friable; faint dark brown (7.5YR 3/2) clay bridging between sand grains; 20 percent gravel; slightly effervescent; moderately alkaline; abrupt irregular boundary. [0 to 25 cm (0 to 10 inches) thick]

C--86 to 152 cm (34 to 60 inches); brown (10YR 5/3) stratified sand and gravelly coarse sand; single grain; loose; 25 percent gravel; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline.

TYPE LOCATION: Tippecanoe County, Indiana; 6 miles south of Lafayette, 2,480 feet west and 2,270 feet north of the southeast corner of sec. 6, T. 21 N., R. 4 W.; USGS Romney, IN topographic quadrangle; lat. 40 degrees 17 minutes 40.1 seconds N. and long. 86 degrees 54 minutes 45.3 seconds W., NAD 27; UTM Zone 16, 507429 easting and 4460448 northing, NAD 83.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Depth to the base of the argillic horizon: 51 to 102 cm (20 to 40 inches)
Depth to carbonates: 51 to 102 cm (20 to 40 inches)
Series control section: rock fragment content averages 12 to 25 percent throughout, but ranges from 5 to 35 percent; some subhorizons in the C horizon may contain more than 35 percent rock fragments

Ap horizon:
Hue: 10YR
Value: 2 or 3
Chroma: 2 or 3
Texture: sandy loam or gravelly sandy loam
Reaction: moderately acid to neutral, depending on liming history

Bt horizon:
Hue: 7.5YR
Value: 3 or 4
Chroma: 3 or 4
Texture: gravelly sandy loam or gravelly coarse sandy loam
Clay content: 12 to 18 percent
Sand content: 60 to 80 percent
Reaction: moderately acid to neutral

BC horizon:
Hue: 10YR
Value: 4 or 5
Chroma: 3 or 4
Texture: gravelly loamy sand
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 5 to 10 percent
Reaction: neutral to moderately alkaline

C horizon:
Hue: 10YR
Value: 4 or 5
Chroma: 3 or 4
Texture: stratified sand, gravelly coarse sand, or very gravelly coarse sand
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 15 to 25 percent
Reaction: moderately alkaline

COMPETING SERIES: These are the Backbone, Billett, Brownchurch, Kingsley, Oronoco, and Ulster series. Backbone soils have a lithic contact within a depth of 102 cm (40 inches). Billett soils average less than 12 percent rock fragments in the upper part of the series control section. Brownchurch, Oronoco, and Ulster soils do not have carbonates within a depth of 102 cm (40 inches). Kingsley soils have calcium carbonate equivalent of less than 5 percent in the lower part of the series control section.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Desker soils are on terraces, outwash plains, kames, and eskers of Wisconsinan age. Slope ranges from 0 to 18 percent. Desker soils formed in gravelly loamy and gravelly sandy outwash. Mean annual precipitation ranges from 914 to 1092 mm (36 to 43 inches). Mean annual temperature ranges from 8.9 to 12.2 degrees C (48 to 54 degrees F). Frost-free period is 150 to 180 days. Elevation is 183 to 466 meters (600 to 1,530 feet) above mean sea level.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Carmi, Longlois, and Rodman soils. The well drained Carmi soils have a mollic epipedon and are on less sloping positions. The well drained Longlois soils average more than 18 percent clay in the particle-size control section and are on less sloping ridge tops. The excessively drained Rodman soils are on more sloping positions.

DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY: Somewhat excessively drained. Potential for surface runoff is negligible to low. Saturated hydraulic conductivity is high in the subsoil and very high in the underlying material. Permeability is moderately rapid in the subsoil and very rapid in the underlying material.

USE AND VEGETATION: Most areas are used to grow corn, soybeans, or small grain. A few areas are used for hay or pasture. Native vegetation is a mixture of tall prairie grasses and deciduous trees.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: MLRAs 98 and 111D in west-central Indiana. The series is of small extent.

SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (SSRO) RESPONSIBLE: AMHERST, MASSACHUSETTS

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Tippecanoe County, Indiana, 1993.

REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon (mollic intergrade): from the surface to a depth of 23 cm (Ap horizon).
Argillic horizon: from a depth of 23 to 63 cm (Bt horizon).

ADDITIONAL DATA: Supporting lab characterization data (not typical pedon) for this series is available from the Purdue University Soil Characterization Lab for pedon S86IN157-9. Characterization data for other pedons is available from the National Soil Survey Laboratory, Lincoln, NE.

National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.