LOCATION LANCASTER KS+NE

Established Series
Rev. CEW, DJK
07/2020

LANCASTER SERIES

The Lancaster series consists of moderately deep, well drained soils that formed in residuum from sandstone and sandy shales. Lancaster soils are on hillslopes on uplands in Central Kansas Sandstone Hills, MLRA 74. Slopes range from 1 to 20 percent. Mean annual precipitation is about 810 millimeters (32 inches) and the mean annual temperature is about 13 degrees C (55 degrees F).

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, mixed, active, mesic Udic Argiustolls

TYPICAL PEDON: Lancaster loam, on a southeast-facing, convex, 4 percent slope in native rangeland at an elevation of 420 meters (1380 feet). (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise stated.)

A--0 to 23 centimeters (0 to 9 inches); dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) loam, very dark brown (10YR 2/2) moist; weak medium granular structure; hard, friable, slightly plastic and slightly sticky; moderately acid; few fine roots: gradual smooth boundary. (15 to 36 centimeters (6 to 14 inches) thick)

BA--23 to 41 centimeters (9 to 16 inches); brown (7.5YR 4/2) clay loam, dark brown (7.5YR 3/2) moist; moderate fine subangular blocky structure; hard, friable, slightly plastic and slightly sticky; few fine roots; less than 5 percent hard sandstone fragments about 2 mm to 1 inch diameter; moderately acid; gradual smooth boundary. (0 to 20 centimeters (0 to 8 inches) thick)

Bt1--41 to 61 centimeters (16 to 24 inches); brown (7.5YR 5/4) clay loam, brown (7.5YR 4/4) moist; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; very hard, firm, plastic and sticky; few fine roots; slightly darker colored clay films on vertical faces of peds and in root channels; slightly acid; gradual smooth boundary.

Bt2--61 to 76 centimeters (24 to 30 inches); reddish yellow (7.5YR 6/6) sandy clay loam, strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) moist; streaked and splotched with colors that are more yellow and more gray than the soil mass and with few distinct reddish spots; weak medium blocky structure; very hard, firm, plastic and sticky; few fine roots; darker colored clay films on some faces of peds; neutral; gradual smooth boundary. (Combined thickness of the Bt horizon ranges from 15 to 79 centimeters (6 to 31 inches))

Cr--76 centimeters (30 inches); partially weathered sandy shale; neutral.

TYPE LOCATION: Saline County, Kansas; about 3 kilometers (2 miles) north and 2 kilometers (1.25 miles) west of Bavaria; 53 meters (175 feet) north and 14 meters (45 feet) west of the southeast corner of sec. 17, T. 14 S., R. 4 W. Brookville, KS USGS topographic quadrangle; latitude 38 degrees, 49 minutes, 40.5 seconds N. and longitude 97 degrees, 46 minutes, 49.1 seconds W., NAD83.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil moisture control section: The soil moisture control section is intermittently moist in some part from March through October; driest in November through February; ustic moisture regime bordering on udic
Mean annual soil temperature: 13 to 14 degrees C (55 to 58 degrees F)
Depth to paralithic contact: 50 to 100 centimeters (20 to 40 inches) to sandstone or shale
Depth to argillic horizon: 15 to 50 centimeters (6 to 20 inches)
Thickness of the mollic epipedon: 20 to 48 centimeters (8 to 19 inches)

Particle-size control section (weighted average):
Clay content: 18 to 35 percent
Sand content: 20 to 80 percent
Pararock fragments:
Content: 0 to 14 percent by volume
Size: 2 millimeters to 76 millimeters (3 inches)
Kind: Weathered sandstone
Content: 0 to 5 percent by volume
Size: 76 to 250 millimeters (3 to 10 inches)
Kind: Weathered sandstone

A horizon:
Hue: 7.5YR or 10YR
Value: 4 or 5 dry, 2 or 3 moist
Chroma: 1 to 3 dry or moist
Texture: loam, sandy loam, or fine sandy loam
Clay content: 5 to 26 percent
Sand content: 20 to 80 percent
Pararock fragments: 0 to 14 percent
Reaction: moderately acid or slightly acid

BA horizon:
Hue: 5YR to 10YR
Value: 4 or 5 dry, 2 to 4 moist
Chroma: 2 to 4 dry or moist
Texture: loam, fine sandy loam, sandy clay loam, or clay loam
Clay content: 15 to 30 percent
Sand content: 20 to 80 percent
Pararock fragments: 0 to 14 percent
Reaction: moderately acid to neutral

Bt horizon:
Hue: 5YR to 10YR
Value: 4 to 6 dry, 3 to 5 moist
Chroma: 3 to 6 dry or moist
Texture: loam, clay loam, or sandy clay loam
Clay content: 18 to 35 percent
Sand content: 20 to 80 percent
Pararock fragments: 0 to 14 percent
Reaction: moderately acid to neutral

BC or C horizon, when present:
Hue: 5YR or 7.5YR
Value: 5 or 6 dry, 4 or 5 moist
Chroma: 4 to 6 dry or moist
Texture: Sandy clay loam, clay loam, fine sandy loam or loam.
Clay content: 12 to 30 percent
Sand content: 30 to 80 percent
Pararock fragments: 0 to 14 percent
Reaction: slightly acid or neutral
Note: Variegations of colors more gray, yellow or red than the soil matrix occur below a depth of 51 centimeters (20 inches). These colors are presumed to be inherited from the parent material.

COMPETING SERIES: This is the Wells series.
Wells soils do not have a paralithic contact within a depth of 100 centimeters (40 inches).

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Parent material: residuum weathered from sandstone and sandy shales; in some places thin deposits of colluvium or loess may be at the surface
Landform: hillslopes on uplands
Slopes: 1 to 20 percent
Elevation: 380 to 550 meters (1250 to 1800 feet)
Mean annual temperature: 11 to 14 degrees C (51 to 57 degrees F)
Mean annual precipitation: 660 to 840 millimeters (26 to 33 inches)
Precipitation pattern: Precipitation is usually evenly distributed throughout the year with the exception of November through February being the driest months and May and June being the wettest months. Summer precipitation occurs during intense summer thunderstorms.
Frost-free period: 160 to 190 days.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Edalgo, Geary, Hedville, and Wells soils.
Edalgo soils have more than 35 percent clay in the particle size control section (fine family particle size class) and generally are on hillslopes below Lancaster.
Geary soils have less than 15 percent sand in the particle size control section (fine-silty family particle size class) and occur on higher hillslopes.
Hedville soils have bedrock within 50 centimeters (20 inches) and occur on similar hillslope positions.
Wells soils do not have bedrock occurring within the profile and usually occur on lower hillslopes.

DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY:
Drainage: well
Runoff: high
Saturated hydraulic conductivity: moderately high

USE AND VEGETATION: Most gentle slopes are cultivated. Principal crops are wheat and sorghums. Steeper slopes are usually in range. Native vegetation is dominated by mid and tall grasses; big bluestem, indiangrass, and little bluestem are most common.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: North central Kansas and southeastern Nebraska; Land Resource Region H, Central Great Plains Winter Wheat and Range Region; MLRA 73 Rolling Plains and Breaks, MLRA 74 Central Kansas Sandstone Hills, MLRA 75 Central Loess Plains, MLRA 78C Central Rolling Red Plains, Eastern Part; Land Resource Region M, Central Feed Grains and Livestock Region; MLRA 106 Nebraska and Kansas Loess-Drift Hills. The series is of large extent.

SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (SSRO) RESPONSIBLE: Salina, Kansas

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Lancaster County, Nebraska, 1906.

REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are: Particle-size control section: The zone from 41 to 76 centimeters (16 to 30 inches). (Bt1, Bt2 horizons)
Mollic epipedon: The zone from 0 to 41 centimeters (0 to 16 inches). (A and BA horizons)
Argillic horizon: The zone from 41 to 76 centimeters (16 to 30 inches). (Bt1, Bt2 horizons)
Paralithic contact: The contact with weathered sandy shale at 76 centimeters (30 inches). (Cr horizons)

The assignment of the CEC activity class is supported by KSSL lab sample numbers 81P0658 (pedon 81KS115001), 99P0643 (pedon 99KS169003), 02N0361 (pedon S02KS-029-002), and 40A1794 (pedon 53KS169006).

LRR=H
Added "moderately deep" to first sentence in the first paragraph. Increase slope range to "16 percent".
Described wet consistence in typical pedon and added clay film to the Bt horizons.
Removed series that did compete within the same family from the competing series paragraph.
Changed runoff from rapid to medium to reflect permeability.
Added Soil Interpretation Record clay content and sand content to "Range In Characteristics".

Modified format by LRM in 2/2006 to include metric conversion and change permeability to saturated hydraulic conductivity.

05/2014 DJK Updated intro paragraph to SSRO5 standards. Updated activity class in classification from superactive to active (added statement in remarks about this being from KSSL lab data). Added slope, aspect, slope shape, and elevation to typical pedon. Added quadrangle and lat/long to type location. Updated soil moisture regime to SSRO5 requirements and added mean annual soil temperature. Added sand content and BA horizon data to RIC. Updated parent material, changed slopes to 20 percent from 16 percent because of the 3396 3-20 percent map unit. Updated climate data, added precipitation pattern, and added elevation to geographic setting. Updated competing series for new classification with active activity class. Changed runoff to high. Updated geographically associated soils and distribution and extent sections.

ADDITIONAL DATA: National Soil Survey Laboratory Soil Survey investigation Report No. 4, page 39. KSSL characterization data available for pedons 81KS115001, 53KS169005, and 53KS169006.

National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.