LOCATION GIFFORD MOEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine, smectitic, mesic Vertic Epiaqualfs
TYPICAL PEDON: Gifford silt loam - on a 4 percent south-facing slope in a cultivated field. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)
Ap--0 to 7 inches; very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) silt loam, grayish brown (10YR 5/2) dry; moderate very fine granular structure; friable; few fine roots; moderately acid; abrupt smooth boundary. (3 to about 10 inches thick)
BE--7 to 10 inches; dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) silty clay loam; common fine prominent yellowish brown (10YR 5/8) Fe masses in ped interiors; weak very fine subangular blocky structure; firm; few fine roots; moderately acid; clear smooth boundary. (3 to 6 inches thick)
Btg1--10 to 14 inches; dark gray (10YR 4/1) silty clay; moderate fine subangular and angular blocky structure; firm; few fine roots; common faint clay films on faces of peds; common fine prominent strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) Fe masses in ped interiors; strongly acid; gradual smooth boundary.
Btg2--14 to 24 inches; dark gray (10YR 4/1) silty clay; moderate fine and medium subangular blocky structure; firm; few fine roots; common faint clay films on faces of peds; many fine prominent yellowish brown (10YR 5/8) and a few fine prominent strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) Fe masses in ped interiors; few fine dark stains and concretions (Fe and Mn oxides); moderately acid; gradual smooth boundary.
Btg3--24 to 30 inches; grayish brown (2.5Y 5/2) silty clay; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; firm; few fine roots; common faint clay films on faces of peds; common medium prominent strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) and dark brown (7.5YR 4/4) Fe masses in ped interiors; few fine dark concretions (Fe and Mn oxides); slightly acid; gradual smooth boundary.
Btg4--30 to 39 inches; gray (10YR 5/1) silty clay; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; firm; few fine roots; few faint clay films on faces of peds; common medium prominent yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) Fe masses in ped interiors; neutral; gradual smooth boundary. (Combined thickness of the Btg horizon is 20 to 40 inches.)
2Btg5--39 to 60 inches; gray (5Y 6/1) silty clay loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; friable; few faint clay films on faces of peds; common coarse prominent yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) Fe masses in ped interiors; 15 percent medium sand; neutral.
TYPE LOCATION: Macon County, Missouri; about 1/8 mile southeast of Gifford; 530 feet south and 72 feet east of northwest corner of sec. 10, T. 60 N., R. 16 W.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Depth to the 2Btg or 2Cg horizon is 30 to 50 inches. These soils have deep wide cracks, usually during summer months.
The A or Ap horizon has hue of 10YR, value of 2 or 3, 4 or 5 dry and chroma of 1 or 2. It is silt loam or silty clay loam. The BE horizon has hue of 10YR, value of 4 or 5 and chroma of 1 or 2. Reaction is strongly acid to neutral.
The Btg horizon has hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 4 or 5, and chroma of 1 or 2 with few to many Fe masses that have hue of 7.5YR and 10YR with value of 4 or 5 and chroma of 4 to 8. Texture commonly is silty clay, but includes silty clay loam in the lower part. Reaction is strongly acid to neutral.
The 2Btg horizon has hue of 10YR to 5Y, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 1 or 2 with higher chroma Fe masses. It is silty clay, silty clay loam or silt loam with sand content of more than 10 percent or clay loam. It is moderately acid to neutral. Some pedons have 2C horizons that are silt loam with more than 10 percent sand, loam, sandy clay loam or silty clay loam. Some pedons have a sandy substratum.
COMPETING SERIES: These include the Bevier, Kilwinning and Leonard series. Bevier soils are somewhat poorly drained and have at least a few pebbles in the lower one-half of the control section. Kilwinning soils have less than 10 percent sand in the lower part of the series control section. Leonard soils have subhorizons in the lower one-half of the control section that have less than 50 percent silt and less than 27 percent clay.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Gifford soils are on side slopes and footslopes of stream terraces and have slopes of 1 to 9 percent. These soils formed in loess and silty sediments or loess and alluvium. Both the silty sediments and the alluvium have more than 10 percent sand. The mean annual temperature ranges from 50 to 55 degrees F., and mean annual precipitation ranges from 35 to 40 inches.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Chariton soils on nearly level stream terraces above the Gifford soils and the Colo, Nodaway, and Wabash soils on the lower adjacent flood plains. Chariton soils have an abrupt textural change. Colo, Nodaway, and Wabash soils do not have argillic horizons.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Poorly drained. Runoff is medium. Permeability is very slow. A perched water table has an upper limit of 0.5 to 1.5 feet during November to April. Flooding is none or rare.
USE AND VEGETATION: Most areas are used to grow corn and soybeans. Native vegetation is hardwood trees and prairie grasses.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Northeastern Missouri. The series is of moderate extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Indianapolis, Indiana
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Scotland County, Missouri, 1969.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this series are: ochric epipedon - the zone from the surface of the soil to a depth of 10 inches (Ap and BE horizons). This soil would be in a mollic subgroup if not vertic; argillic horizon - the zone from approximately 10 inches to 60 inches (Btg1, Btg2, Btg3, Btg4, and 2Btg5 horizons).