LOCATION HICKORY IL+IN OHEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, mixed, active, mesic Typic Hapludalfs
TYPICAL PEDON: Hickory silt loam - on a north-facing convex slope of 30 percent under mixed hardwoods at an elevation of about 590 feet above MSL. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)
A--0 to 10 centimeters (0 to 4 inches); dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) silt loam, pale brown (10YR 6/3) dry; weak fine granular structure; friable; many very fine and few fine and medium roots; few fine and medium continuous tubular pores; about 20 percent sand; very strongly acid; clear smooth boundary. [7 to 20 centimeters (3 to 8 inches) thick]
E--10 to 30 centimeters (4 to 12 inches); light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) silt loam, very pale brown (10YR 7/4), dry; weak very thick platy structure parting to weak fine granular; friable; few very fine to medium roots; few fine and medium continuous tubular pores; pockets of dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) surface soil filling large root channels; 20 percent sand and 1 percent gravel; strongly acid; clear smooth boundary. [0 to 24 centimeters (0 to 10 inches) thick]
Bt1--30 to 43 centimeters (12 to 17 inches); yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) clay loam; moderate fine subangular blocky structure; firm; common very fine and few fine and medium roots; common distinct brown (10YR 4/3) clay films on faces of peds; 1 percent gravel; very strongly acid; clear smooth boundary.
Bt2--43 to 66 centimeters (17 to 26 inches); dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/6) clay loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; firm; few very fine and medium roots; common distinct brown (10YR 5/3) clay films on faces of peds; about 2 percent fine and medium gravel; very strongly acid; gradual smooth boundary.
Bt3--66 to 89 centimeters (26 to 35 inches); yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) clay loam; moderate coarse and medium angular blocky structure; firm; few very fine and medium roots; many distinct dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) clay films on faces of peds and few prominent brown (7.5YR 4/4) clay films coating medium gravel; many medium and coarse prominent brownish yellow (10YR 6/8) and strong brown (7.5YR 5/8) masses of iron accumulation in the matrix; few fine rounded black (10YR 2/1) iron-manganese nodules with sharp boundaries throughout; about 3 percent fine and medium gravel; very strongly acid; gradual smooth boundary.
Bt4--89 to 117 centimeters (35 to 46 inches); yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) clay loam; weak medium and coarse prismatic structure parting to weak coarse angular blocky; firm; few very fine and medium roots; common distinct dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) clay films on vertical faces of peds and few prominent brown (7.5YR 4/4) clay films coating medium and coarse gravel; many coarse distinct strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) masses of iron accumulation in the matrix; few fine rounded black (10YR 2/1) iron-manganese nodules with sharp boundaries throughout; about 4 percent fine to coarse gravel; strongly acid; diffuse smooth boundary. [Combined thickness of the Bt horizons is 71 to 137 centimeters (28 to 54 inches.)]
BCt--117 to 147 centimeters (46 to 58 inches); light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) loam; weak medium and coarse subangular blocky structure; friable; few very fine and fine roots; few distinct dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) clay films on vertical faces of peds and few prominent brown (7.5YR 4/4) clay films coating medium gravel; common medium distinct dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/6) and few fine distinct strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) masses of iron accumulation in the matrix; few fine rounded black (10YR 2/1) iron-manganese nodules with sharp boundaries throughout; 5 percent fine and medium gravel; strongly acid; gradual smooth boundary. [0 to 36 centimeters (0 to 14 inches) thick]
CB--147 to 165 inches (58 to 65 inches); yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) loam; massive; friable; few very fine and fine roots; few distinct brown (10YR 4/3) clay films lining root channels and coating medium gravel; few fine distinct brown (10YR 5/3) iron depletions in the matrix; 5 percent fine and medium gravel; moderately acid; clear smooth boundary. [0 to 36 centimeters (0 to 14 inches) thick]
C--165 to 203 centimeters (65 to 80 inches); yellowish brown (10YR 5/4), with strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) and light gray (10YR 7/1) loam; massive; friable; few very fine roots; 3 percent fine and medium gravel; slightly acid.
TYPE LOCATION: Bond County, Illinois; about 8 miles north and 0.5 miles west of Greenville; approximately 792 feet west and 38 feet north of the southeast corner of sec. 28, T. 7 N., R. 3 W.; U.S.G.S. Coffeen, IL topographic quadrangle; lat. 39 degrees, 0 minutes, 48 seconds North, and long. 89 degrees, 25 minutes, 11 seconds West. NAD 27.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: The depth to the base of the argillic horizon is greater than 40 inches and solum thickness is less than 80 inches. The loess mantle, where present, is less than 20 inches in thickness. Carbonates, where present, are below a depth of 40 inches. Rock fragments are commonly mixed throughout the series control section except where the upper part of the soil formed in loess. The rock fragments are typically igneous rocks, but in a few places include sedimentary rocks from a local source. The particle-size control section averages 24 to 35 percent clay, 15 to 45 percent fine sand and coarser, and less than 20 percent rock fragments.
The Ap or A horizon has properties as follows. The A horizon has value of 2 to 4 (4 to 6 dry) and chroma of 2 or 3. The Ap horizon has hue of 10YR or 7.5YR, value of 3 to 5 (5 to 7 dry), and chroma of 2 to 6. The A or Ap horizon is loam or silt loam except some eroded pedons are clay loam or silty clay loam. Rock Fragment content ranges from 0 to 5 percent. Reaction is very strongly acid to moderately acid, except pedons that have been limed range to neutral.
The E horizon has value of 4 to 6 (5 to 7 dry) and chroma of 2 to 4. It is silt loam or loam. Rock fragment content ranges from 0 to 5 percent. Reaction is very strongly acid to moderately acid except pedons that have been limed range to neutral.
Some pedons have a BE horizon.
The Bt horizon has hue of 10YR, 7.5YR, or 2.5Y; value of 4 to 6; and chroma of 3 to 6. Hue of 2.5Y in the matrix is accompanied by chroma of 4 or higher. Redoximorphic features have chroma of 3 to 8. The Bt horizon commonly is clay loam, but in some pedons the first subhorizon is silty clay loam, and in other pedons the lower horizons are loam, and less commonly gravelly clay loam. Rock Fragment content ranges from 0 to 20 percent. Reaction is very strongly acid to moderately acid in the most acid part and ranges to neutral in the lower part.
The BCt or BC horizon has the same color as the Bt horizon. It is commonly clay loam or loam, and less commonly gravelly clay loam or sandy loam. Reaction is moderately acid to slightly alkaline. Carbonate content ranges from 0 to 15 percent.
The CB or C horizon has hue of 7.5YR, 10YR, or 2.5Y; value of 5 to 7; and chroma of 1 to 8. Chroma of 1 or 2 are thought to be relict and not considered redox features. Texture is commonly loam, clay loam, and less commonly, sandy loam or gravelly analogues of these textures. Rock Fragment content by volume averages about 5 percent and ranges from 2 to 20 percent. Reaction is commonly neutral to moderately alkaline, but ranges to slightly acid. Carbonate content ranges from 0 to 25 percent.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Amanda, Belmont, Belmore, Chili, Cliftycreek, Crouse, Gallman, Greybrook, High Gap, Kanawha, Kidder, Kosciusko, LeRoy, Lumberton, Martinsville, Military, Ockley, Pignut (T), Princeton, Relay, Richardville, Riddles, Senachwine, Skelton, Strawn, Turnersburg (T), Wawaka, Wawasee and Woodbine series. Amanda soils have rock fragments in the series control section dominated by sandstone and shale. Belmont, High Gap, Lumberton, Military, Pignut (T) and Woodbine soils have a lithic contact within a depth of 60 inches. Belmore, Chili, Gallman, Kanawha, Kosciusko, Martinsville, Ockley, Richardville, Turnersburg (T) soils contain, in some part of the series control section, subhorizons that contain more than 52 percent sand and/or more than 20 percent gravel. Cliftycreek soils average more than 35 percent clay in the lower part of the series control section. Crouse soils have solum thickness greater than 80 inches when the modern and buried soil is combined. Greybrook soils average less than 5 percent rock fragments in the lower part of the series control section and formed in loess and the underlying lacustrine sediments. Kidder, LeRoy, Relay, Senachwine, Strawn and Wawasee soils are less than 40 inches to the base of the argillic horizon. Princeton and Riddles soils have lamella as part of the argillic horizon. Skeleton soils are more acid than slightly acid in the substratum. Wawaka soils have sola greater than 80 inches thick.
Chenault, Conestoga, Hollinger, and Nollville (T) soils have not been updated for cation exchange activity class. These soils may or may not compete with the Hickory soils when their classification is updated.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Hickory soils are on convex slopes in dissected parts of the Illinoian till plain. They formed in Illinoian glacial till that can be capped with as much as 20 inches of loess. Illite is considered to be the dominant clay mineral in the till. Slope ranges from 5 to 70 percent. Mean annual air temperature ranges from 50 to 57 degrees F., mean annual precipitation ranges from 36 to 48 inches, frost-free period is 170 to 200 days, and elevation is 360 to 1000 feet above mean sea level.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Atlas, Ava, Blair, Bunkum, Elco, Fayette, Fishhook, Gosport, Hosmer, Marseilles, Menfro, and Passport soils. The somewhat poorly drained Atlas, Blair, Bunkum, Fishhook and Passport soils are on shoulders and backslopes above the Hickory soils. The well drained or moderately well drained, more silty Ava, Elco, Fayette, Hosmer, and Menfro soils are on shoulders and summits above the Hickory soils. The moderately deep Gosport and Marseilles soils are on lower lying backslopes. In Indiana, Hickory soils are also associated with the Avonburg, Blocher, Bonnell, Cincinnati, Nabb, Rossmoyne, Shakamak, and Vigo soils. The somewhat poorly drained Avonburg and Vigo soils are on higher lying summits. The moderately well drained Blocher, Nabb, Rossmoyne and Shakamak soils are on higher lying shoulders and summits. The well drained Cincinnati soils are on higher lying summits, shoulders and backslopes.
DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY: Well drained. Saturated hydraulic conductivity is moderately high or high (4.23 to 14.11 micrometers per second). Permeability is moderate. The potential for surface water runoff is medium to very high.
USE AND VEGETATION: Most areas are in forest or used for pasture. A few lesser sloping areas are used for forages or row crops. Native vegetation is deciduous forest.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio; extent is large (more than 1.2 million acres correlated). The Hickory soils are mainly in MLRA's 108B, 113, 114A, 114B, 115A, 115B, 115C and to a lesser extent in MLRA 124 in transitional areas.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Indianapolis, Indiana
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Shelby County, Illinois, 1932.
REMARKS: Eroded, gullied and moderately wet substratum phases are recognized.
Diagnostic horizons and features in this pedon include:
Ochric epipedon - from the surface of the soil to a depth of 30 centimeters (12 inches), (A and E horizons);
Argillic horizon - from a depth of approximately 30 to 147 centimeters (12 to 58 inches), (Bt1, Bt2, Bt3, Bt4, and BCt horizons);