LOCATION GRABLE             IA+MO NE SD
Established Series
Rev. LEB-RAL-TWN
12/2005

GRABLE SERIES


The Grable series consists of very deep, well drained soils on flood plains. These soils formed in 45 to 80 centimeters of calcareous silty alluvium and the underlying sandy alluvium. Slopes range from 0 to 5 percent. Mean annual air temperature is about 11 degrees C. Mean annual precipitation is about 710 millimeters.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Coarse-silty over sandy or sandy-skeletal, mixed, superactive, calcareous, mesic Mollic Udifluvents

TYPICAL PEDON: Grable silt loam, on a nearly level slope, in a cultivated field, at an elevation of 306 meters above sea level. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)

Ap--0 to 15 centimeters; very dark grayish brown (2.5Y 3/2) silt loam, grayish brown (2.5Y 5/2) dry, weak fine subangular blocky structure parting to weak fine granular; very friable; few very fine pores; some very fine sand grains; few fine faint grayish brown (2.5Y 5/2) redoximorphic depletions; strongly effervescent; slightly alkaline; clear smooth boundary. (13 to 25 centimeters thick)

C1--15 to 58 centimeters; alternating layers of grayish brown (2.5Y 5/2) and dark grayish brown (2.5Y 4/2) silt loam; massive with weak thin alluvial stratification; very friable; few fine pores; 2 centimeter thick strata of dark grayish brown silty clay loam at about 38 centimeters; few dark oxide stains; some organic coats around root channels; some very fine sand on horizontal faces; few fine prominent strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) redoximorphic concentrations between 25 and 43 centimeters; strongly effervescent; slightly alkaline; abrupt smooth boundary. (30 to 52 centimeters thick)

2C2--58 to 152 centimeters; stratified grayish brown (2.5Y 5/2) fine sand; single grain loose; silt loam lens between 124 and 132 centimeters; some dark oxide stains; common fine prominent strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) redoximorphic concentrations; few fine faint gray (5Y 6/1) redoximorphic depletions between 124 and 132 centimeters; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline.

TYPE LOCATION: Major Land Resource Are (MLRA) 107B-Iowa and Missouri Deep Loess Hills; Harrison County, Iowa subset; about 1 1/2 miles east of the Missouri River; located about 350 feet west and 1,100 feet south of the center of sec. 33, T. 79 N., R. 45 W.; USGS Modale topographic quadrangle; lat. 41 degrees 36 minutes 30 seconds N. and long. 95 degrees 05 minutes 23 seconds W., NAD 83.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Depth to carbonates--less than 25 centimeters
Depth to sandy alluvium--45 to 80 centimeters
Thickness of the ochric epipedon--less than 25 centimeters
Content of clay in the upper half of the particle-size control section (weighted average)--12 to 16 percent
Content of clay in the lower half of the particle-size control section (weighted average)--2 to 10 percent
Content of sand in the upper half of the particle-size control section (weighted average)--5 to 20 percent
Content of sand in the lower half of the particle-size control section (weighted average)--65 to 95 percent

Ap or A horizon:
Hue--10YR or 2.5Y
Value--3
Chroma--1 to 3
Texture--silt loam, loam, very fine sandy loam, or silty clay loam
Clay content--18 to 30 percent
Sand content--10 to 75 percent
Calcium carbonate equivalent--5 to 30 percent
Reaction--slightly alkaline or moderately alkaline

C horizon:
Hue--10YR or 2.5Y
Value--4 or 5
Chroma--2
Texture--silt loam or very fine sandy loam
Clay content--12 to 16 percent
Sand content--30 to 75 percent
Calcium carbonate equivalent--5 to 30 percent
Reaction-- slightly alkaline to strongly alkaline

Some pedons have strata up to 6 centimeters thick of finer or coarser material

2C horizon:
Hue--10YR or 2.5Y
Value--4 or 5
Chroma--2
Texture--fine sand, sand, loamy sand, or is stratified with these textures
Clay content--2 to 10 percent
Sand content--70 to 95 percent
Calcium carbonate equivalent--5 to 30 percent
Reaction--slightly alkaline to strongly alkaline

Redoximorphic features usually are on the surface of the strata and are believed to be relict (see remarks)

Some pedons have strata of finer material 2 to 6 centimeters thick

COMPETING SERIES: There are no competing series.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Parent material--45 to 80 centimeters of calcareous silty alluvium and the underlying sandy alluvium
Landform--flood plains
Slopes--0 to 5 percent
Elevation--213 to 503 meters above sea level
Mean annual air temperature--8 to 15 degrees C
Mean annual precipitation--500 to 920 millimeters
Frost-free period--135 to 190 days

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Albaton, Blake, Haynie, Onawa, Percival, and Sarpy soils.
Albaton--are in the lower landscape positions and have a frequently saturated zone at the surface of the soil during the wettest periods in normal years
Blake--are in the slightly lower landscape positions and have less than 15 percent sand in the throughout the particle-size control section
Haynie--are in the slightly lower landscape positions or are in landscape positions similar to those of the Grable soils, have a sand content of 18 to 80 percent throughout the particle-size control section and have a frequently saturated zone within a depth of between depths of 1.2 meters in normal years
Onawa--are in the lower landscape positions and have a frequently saturated zone within a depth 0.3 meters in normal years
Percival--are in the slightly lower landscape positions and have 40 to 60 percent clay in the upper half of the particle-size control section
Sarpy--are in the lower landscape positions and have a sand content of more than 20 percent sand throughout the particle-size control section

DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY:
Drainage class--well drained--a frequently saturated zone does not occur within a depth of 1.8 meters during April to June in normal years
Saturated hydraulic conductivity--4.23 to 14.11 micrometers per second (moderately high) in the silty alluvium and 42.34 to 141.14 micrometers per second (high or very high) in the sandy alluvium
Surface runoff potential--negligible or low
Flooding--rare or occasional flooding for brief periods during the months of February to November resulting from precipitation events and snowmelt; flooding from stream overflow is limited where areas are protected by dams or levees

USE AND VEGETATION:
Most areas are cultivated. The principal crops are corn, small grains, and hay. Some areas are leveled and irrigated. The native vegetation is big bluestem, little bluestem, indiangrass, switchgrass and other grasses of the tall grass prairie.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT:
Physiographic Division--Interior Plains
Physiographic Province--Central Lowland
Physiographic sections--Western lake section and Dissected till plains
MLRAs--Till Plains (102B) and Iowa and Missouri Deep Loess Hills (107B)
LRR M--along the Missouri River in Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, and South Dakota
Extent--moderate

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

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Woodbury County, Iowa, 1971.

REMARKS:
Particle-size control section--the zone from a depth of 25 to 100 centimeters (C1 and 2C2 horizons);
series control section--the zone from the surface to a depth of 150 centimeters (Ap, C1, and C2 horizons).

Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon include:
ochric epipedon--the zone from the surface to a depth of to 15 centimeters (Ap horizon);
udic moisture regime.

The assignment of the cation-exchange activity class is inferred from lab data from similar soils in the surrounding area.

Taxonomy version--Keys to Soil Taxonomy, ninth edition, 2003.

Redoximorphic features in this profile are believed to be relict features related to the moisture status of the materials at the time of deposition. These features are believed not to be related to present day saturation.


National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.