LOCATION ELLSWORTH OH
Established Series
Rev. AR-STP-SA
03/2015
ELLSWORTH SERIES
The Ellsworth series consists of very deep, moderately well drained soils formed in till on till plains. Saturated hydraulic conductivity is moderately low in the subsoil and moderately low or low in the underlying material. Slope ranges from 0 to 70 percent. Mean annual precipitation is about 1065 mm (42 in) and the mean annual temperature is about 9 degrees C (48 degrees F).
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine, illitic, mesic Aquic Hapludalfs
TYPICAL PEDON: Ellsworth silt loam on an east-facing 4 percent slope in idle field at an elevation of 291 m (955 ft). (Colors are for moist soil.)
Ap--0 to 20 cm (0 to 8 inches); brown (10YR 4/3) silt loam; weak medium and fine granular structure; friable; many fine roots; 2 percent gravel; strongly acid; abrupt smooth boundary. ((15 to 25 cm (6 to 10 inches) thick))
BE--20 to 28 cm (8 to 11 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) silty clay loam; moderate fine subangular blocky structure; friable; many fine roots; 2 percent gravel; very strongly acid; clear smooth boundary. ((0 to 13 cm (0 to 5 inches) thick))
Bt1--28 to 41 cm (11 to 16 inches); yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) silty clay loam; strong medium prismatic structure parting to strong medium and coarse angular blocky; firm; common fine roots; thin light olive brown (2.5Y 5/4) clay films on faces of peds; 2 percent gravel; many fine distinct grayish brown (10YR 5/2) iron depletions in the matrix; many fine distinct strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) masses of iron accumulation in the matrix; very strongly acid; clear smooth boundary.
Bt2--41 to 64 cm (16 to 25 inches); brown (10YR 4/3) silty clay loam; moderate coarse prismatic structure parting to moderate coarse angular blocky; firm; common fine roots on ped faces; thin patchy olive gray (5Y 5/2) clay films on faces of peds; olive gray (5Y 5/2) and grayish brown (10YR 5/2) coatings on vertical faces of prisms and brown (10YR 4/3) coatings on faces of peds; 2 percent gravel; very strongly acid; clear smooth boundary.
Bt3--64 to 94 cm (25 to 37 inches); brown (10YR 4/3) silty clay loam; moderate coarse prismatic structure parting to moderate coarse angular blocky; very firm, few fine roots on ped faces; thin continuous dark grayish brown (2.5Y 4/2) clay films on vertical faces of peds; thin patchy olive gray (5Y 5/2) clay films on horizontal faces of peds; common black (10YR 2/1) iron and manganese oxide stains in ped interiors; 3 percent gravel; strongly acid in the upper part but slightly acid in the lower part; clear smooth boundary. (Combined thickness of the Bt horizon is ((33 to 79 cm) (13 to 31 inches))
C--94 to 152 cm (37 to 60 inches); dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) silty clay loam; weak thick plate-like divisions; firm; few fine roots; light gray (10YR 7/2) accumulations of carbonate along horizontal fractures; 3 percent gravel; slightly effervescent; slightly alkaline.
TYPE LOCATION: Mahoning County, Ohio; Jackson Township; T. 2 N., R. 4 W.; 325 feet north and 100 feet west of the intersection of State Route 18 and Lipkey Road; about 1 3/4 miles east of North Jackson; USGS Canfield, Ohio topographic quadrangle; latitude 41 degrees, 06 minutes, 05 seconds N. and longitude 80 degrees, 49 minutes, 24 seconds W. NAD 1927.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: The solum thickness ranges from 71 to 117 cm (28 to 46 inches). The particle-size control section averages 35 to 45 percent clay. Rock fragment lithology is predominantly shale and siltstone, with minor amounts of limestone and crystalline erratics.
The Ap horizon has hue of 10YR, value of 4 or 5 and chroma of 2 or 3. Rock fragment content ranges from 0 to 10 percent. Reaction ranges from very strongly acid to neutral. In uncultivated areas, the A horizon is 3 to 8 cm (1 to 3 inches) thick and has value of 2 or 3 and chroma of 1 or 2.
Some pedons have an E horizon, 8 to 20 cm (3 to 8 inches) thick that has value of 4 to 6 and chroma of 3 or 4. Rock fragment content ranges from 0 to 10 percent. Reaction is very strongly acid or strongly acid.
The BE horizon has hue of 10YR, value of 5, and chroma of 3 to 6. It is silty clay loam or silt loam. Rock fragment content ranges from 0 to 10 percent. Reaction is very strongly acid or strongly acid. Silty degradation surfaces are common in the BE and Bt horizons in some pedons.
The Bt horizon has hue of 7.5YR, 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 4 or 5 and chroma of 3 to 6. It is silty clay, clay, silty clay loam or clay loam. Rock fragment content ranges from 2 to 10 percent. Reaction is very strongly acid or strongly acid in the upper part and strongly acid to neutral in the lower part.
A BC or BCt horizon, up to 30 cm (12 inches) thick is present in some pedons. It has a matrix and coating colors similar to that of the Bt horizon. It is clay loam or silty clay loam. Rock fragment content ranges from 2 to 10 percent. Reaction ranges from slightly acid to slightly alkaline.
The C horizon has hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 4 or 5, and chroma of 2 to 6. It is clay loam or silty clay loam. Subhorizons of silty clay are in some pedons. Rock fragment content commonly ranges from 2 to 10 percent, though channery analogues may be present in bedrock substratum phases - see Remarks. Reaction is slightly alkaline or moderately alkaline. The calcium carbonate equivalent ranges from 5 to 15 percent. Shale and sandstone substratum phases are recognized. In shale and sandstone substratum phases, bedrock is at depths of 102 to 152 cm (40 to 60 inches). The C horizon is silty clay loam and silty clay with channery analogues in the shale substratum phase, and loam and sandy loam with channery analogues in the sandstone substratum phase. These phases are commonly noncalcareous to bedrock.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the
Cardington,
Geeburg,
Glynwood,
Mississinewa,
Mortimer,
Pert,
Shinrock and
Wyatt series. The Cardington soils have rock fragments of primarily sandstone and shale in the series control section. The Glynwood and Mortimer soils have a calcium carbonate equivalent of more than 15 percent in the lower part of the series control section. Geeburg soils average more than 45 percent clay in the particle size control section. Mississinewa and Pert soils have sola less than 71 cm (28 inches) thick. Shinrock and Wyatt soils have less than 2 percent rock fragments in the series control section.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Ellsworth soils formed in low-lime till on plains of Wisconsinan age typically with a calcium carbonate equivalent of between 5 and 15 percent. The till is derived from shale and sandstone, with minor amounts of limestone and crystalline rocks. Slope range is from 0 to 70 percent. The mean annual precipitation ranges from 830 to 1320 mm (33 to 52 inches) and the mean annual temperature commonly is about 6 to 11 degrees C (43 to 52 degrees F).
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the
Mahoning,
Miner, and
Trumbull soils. The somewhat poorly drained Mahoning soils, the poorly drained Trumbull soils, and the very poorly drained Miner soils form a toposequence with the Ellsworth soils. These soils occupy lower or less sloping landscape positions.
DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY: Moderately well drained. The potential for surface runoff is moderate to very high. Saturated hydraulic conductivity is moderately low in the subsoil and moderately low or low in the underlying material. A perched seasonal high water table is from 28 to 61 cm (11 to 24 inches) from November to May in most years.
USE AND VEGETATION: Areas with slopes less than 12 percent are mostly cleared and used as cropland. Corn, wheat, oats, soybeans, and mixed hay are the principal crops. Moderately steep areas with slope from 12 to 18 percent that are eroded because of past cultivation are reverting to pasture. Steeper areas are in woodland or permanent pasture. Original vegetation was deciduous forest. Many areas near cities are in nonagricultural uses.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Northeastern Ohio. MLRA 139. The series is of large extent, with more than 190,000 acres.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Amherst, Massachusetts.
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Mahoning County, Ohio, 1917.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon include:
1. Ochric epipedon - the zone from 0 to 28 cm (0 to 11 inches) (Ap, BE)
2. Argillic horizon - the zone from 28 to 94 cm (11 to 37 inches) (Bt1, Bt2, Bt3)
3. Aquic conditions - the upper limit of a seasonal high water table is at 28 cm (11 inches) (Bt horizon).
The typical pedon appears to have a densic contact described. This feature will need to be properly evaluated during future MLRA projects. These projects are identified in NASIS.
The sandstone and shale substratum bedrock phases will need to be evaluated during future MLRA project activities.
ADDITIONAL DATA: Laboratory data are available for the following profiles in Ohio: CY-S5; GA-S16; HU-5; HU-E5; LR-9; LR-10; LR-11; LR-12; LR-S5; MD-9; MD-3 ; MH-34; PG-S11.
National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.