LOCATION KELLISON TXEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine, smectitic, thermic Vertic Hapludalfs
TYPICAL PEDON: Kellison loam--woodland.
(Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)
A--0 to 3 inches; very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) loam; weak medium granular structure; slightly hard, friable; common fine and medium roots; moderately acid; clear smooth boundary. (2 to 6 inches thick)
E--3 to 7 inches; pale brown (10YR 6/3) loam; weak medium subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, friable; common fine and medium roots; moderately acid; abrupt smooth boundary. (0 to 6 inches thick)
Bt--7 to 22 inches; light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) clay; weak medium subangular blocky structure; very hard, very firm; common fine and medium roots; common medium distinct yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) and few fine faint grayish brown (2.5Y 5/2) redox features; few pressure faces; few thin clay films; strongly acid; gradual wavy boundary. (7 to 21 inches thick)
Btss1--22 to 30 inches; light brownish gray (2.5Y 6/2) clay; moderate medium angular blocky structure; very hard, very firm; common fine roots; common fine faint grayish brown (10YR 5/2) and common fine distinct yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) redox features; common slickensides; few thin clay films; strongly acid; gradual wavy boundary.
Btss2--30 to 39 inches; light brownish gray (2.5Y 6/2) clay; moderate medium angular blocky structure; very hard, very firm; common fine roots; common fine faint light yellowish brown (2.5Y 6/4) redox concentrations; common slickensides; few thin clay films; strongly acid; gradual wavy boundary.
Btss3--39 to 47 inches; light yellowish brown (2.5Y 6/4) clay; moderate fine angular blocky structure; very hard, very firm; few fine roots; common fine faint light brownish gray (2.5Y 6/2) redox depletions; common slickensides; few thin clay films; very strongly acid; gradual wavy boundary. (combined thickness of the Btss subhorizons is 20 to 30 inches)
C--47 to 65 inches; interbedded olive (5Y 5/3) and gray (5Y 6/1) shale with clay texture; weak very coarse platy rock structure parting to weak medium angular fragments; very hard, very firm; few iron-manganese coatings between plates; very strongly acid.
TYPE LOCATION: Houston County, Texas; from intersection of State Highway 7 and Farm Road 357 in Kennard, 4.75 miles east on Farm Road 357; 2.7 miles west on U.S. Forest Service Road 527; 0.2 mile south along woods road; about 50 feet east in woods. (Latitude: 31 degrees; 17 minutes; 34 seconds north. Longitude: 95 degrees; 08 minutes; 39 seconds west.)
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Solum thickness is 40 to 60 inches. The weighted average clay content of the particle-size control section ranges from 45 to 60 percent. When dry, the soil has cracks that extend from the surface to a depth of 12 inches or more for 60 to 80 days during most years. Slickensides begin at a depth of 12 to 24 inches. The sodium absorption ratio ranges from 2 to 9 in the upper part of the Bt horizon and from 2 to 12 in the lower part. The SAR commonly increases with depth. Redox features are relic or lithochromic.
The A horizon has hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 3 to 5, and chroma of 2 or 3. Texture is very fine sandy loam or loam. Reaction ranges from very strongly acid to moderately acid.
The E horizon has hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 5 or 6, and chroma of 2 or 3. Texture is very fine sandy loam or loam. The combined thickness of the A and E horizons is 3 to 10 inches. Some pedons do not have an E horizon. Reaction ranges from very strongly acid to moderately acid.
The Bt horizon has hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 3 to 6, and chroma of 2 or 3. Redox features in shades of red or brown range from few to common. Texture is clay loam, silty clay or clay. Reaction ranges from extremely acid to strongly acid.
The Btss horizon has hue of 10YR, 2.5Y or 5Y, with value of 3 to 7, and chroma of 2 to 4. Texture is silty clay or clay. Masses and/or crystals of gypsum, mainly in the lower part, range from none to commmon. Reaction ranges from extremely acid to strongly acid.
The C horizon has hue of 7.5YR, 10YR, 2.5Y or 5Y, with value of 3 to 7, and chroma of 1 or 3. It is shale or shale interbedded with mudstone with texture of clay loam or clay. Masses and/or crystals of gypsum range from few to many in most pedons. The sodium absorption ratio ranges from 2 to 13. Reaction ranges from very strongly acid to neutral.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Colbert, Eastwood, Edna, Etoile, Kipling, Lorman, Oula, Rayburn, Wilcox, and Woodtell soils. Colbert soils are underlain by limestone bedrock. Eastwood soils have reddish upper Bt horizons, receive more annual rainfall, and have a greater woodland productivity potential. Edna soils are more alkaline throughout and are mainly on slopes of less than 3 percent. Etoile soils have colors with hue redder than 7.5YR in the upper part of the Bt horizon and they are more alkaline in the C horizon. Kipling and Oula soils are not underlain by shale or mudstone geologic materials and they receive more than 46 inches of annual rainfall. Lorman, Wilcox, and Woodtell soils have hue redder than 7.5YR in the upper part of the Bt horizon. Rayburn soils have a paralithic contact of tuffaceous materials at a depth of 40 to 60 inches.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Kellison soils are on gently sloping to moderately steep uplands. They are on low ridges and along side slopes above drainageways. Slopes range from 3 to 15 percent. They formed in shale or shale stratified with mudstone of the Yegua, Caddell or Manning geologic formations. The elevation is 200 to 390 feet above sea level. The frost free days range from 230 to 245. The average annual temperature ranges from 65 to 68 degrees F., the average annual rainfall ranges from 42 to 52 inches and the Thornwaite P-E index ranges from 68 to 82.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the competing Etoile soils, and the Fuller, Herty, Keltys, Kurth, Moswell, and Raylake series. Etoile and Herty soils are on lower positions in the landscape and are moderately well drained. Keltys and Kurth soils have loamy control sections and are on similar positions. Moswell soils have a very-fine control section, and are on similar or slightly lower positions. Raylake soils have a clay loam surface layer and are on similar or slightly lower positions.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Kellison soils are well drained. They are very slowly permeable. Runoff is high on 3 to 5 percent slopes and very high on slopes that are greater than 5 percent.
USE AND VEGETATION: Used mainly for woodland. Native vegetation is mixed pine and hardwood forest with an understory of grasses and shrubs. A few areas have been cleared for pasture.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Mainly East Texas, in MLRA 133B. The series is of moderate extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Temple, Texas
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Houston County, Texas; 1994.
REMARKS: Kellison soils were formerly included with the Herty series. The matrix color of this soil is considered lithochromic and the redox features are relic. It is well drained based on the landscape position, native vegetation, and land uses. The name Kellison is from a creek in the area.
Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon - 0 to 7 inches, the A and E horizons.
Argillic horizon - 7 to 47 inches, the Bt and Bss horizons.
Vertic properties - slickensides at a depth of 22 to 47 inches. In addition the soil cracks when dry.
SOIL INTERPRETATION RECORD NUMBER: TX1272