LOCATION MAURY KY+TNEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine, mixed, active, mesic Typic Paleudalfs
TYPICAL PEDON: Maury silt loam--cultivated. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)
Ap--0 to 9 inches; brown (10YR 4/3) silt loam; moderate medium granular structure parting to moderate fine granular structure; very friable; common fine roots throughout; moderately acid; abrupt smooth boundary. (5 to 10 inches thick)
Bt1--9 to 16 inches; reddish brown (5YR 4/4) silty clay loam; moderate fine and medium subangular blocky structure; friable; common fine roots throughout; 30 percent discontinuous distinct clay films on vertical faces of peds; 1 percent fine prominent spherical weakly cemented, black (7.5YR 2.5/1) iron-manganese nodules with sharp boundaries in matrix; slightly acid; clear smooth boundary.
Bt2--16 to 36 inches; reddish brown (5YR 4/4) silty clay; strong medium and coarse subangular blocky structure; firm; few fine roots between peds; 40 percent discontinuous distinct clay films on vertical faces of peds; 8 percent fine prominent spherical moderately cemented black (7.5YR 2.5/1) iron-manganese nodules with sharp boundaries in matrix and 10 percent fine prominent irregular black (7.5YR 2.5/1) iron-manganese masses with clear boundaries in matrix; slighty acid; clear smooth boundary.
Bt3--36 to 53 inches; reddish brown (5YR 4/4) clay; moderate medium and coarse subangular blocky structure; very firm; 60 percent discontinuous distinct clay films on vertical faces of peds; 1 percent coarse prominent irregular moderately cemented black (7.5YR 2.5/1) iron-manganese nodules with sharp boundaries in matrix and 15 percent medium prominent irregular black (7.5YR 2.5/1) iron-manganese nodules with sharp boundaries in matrix and 15 percent fine prominent irregular black (7.5YR 2.5/1) iron-manganese nodules with sharp boundaries in matrix and 15 percent medium prominent irregular black (7.5YR 2.5/1) iron-manganese masses with clear boundaries in matrix and 15 percent fine prominent irregular black (7.5YR 2.5/1) iron-manganese masses with clear boundaries in matrix; slightly acid; clear smooth boundary. (combined thickness of the Bt horizon ranges from 30 to 60 inches thick)
BC1--53 to 71 inches; yellowish red (5YR 4/6) clay; weak medium subangular blocky structure; very firm; 1 percent coarse prominent irregular black (7.5YR 2.5/1) iron-manganese masses with clear boundaries in matrix and 8 percent medium prominent irregular black (7.5YR 2.5/1) iron-manganese masses with clear boundaries in matrix and 10 percent fine prominent irregular black (7.5YR 2.5/1) iron-manganese masses with clear boundaries in matrix; moderately acid; clear smooth boundary.
BC2--71 to 100 inches; yellowish red (5YR 4/6) clay; weak medium subangular blocky structure; very firm; 8 percent medium prominent irregular black (7.5YR 2.5/1) iron-manganese masses with clear boundaries in matrix and 10 percent fine prominent irregular black (7.5YR 2.5/1) iron-manganese masses with clear boundaries in matrix; moderately acid. (combined thickness of the BC horizon ranges from 20 to 60 inches thick)
TYPE LOCATION: Fayette County, Kentucky; 600 feet north of I-64/75, 0.25 miles northwest of I-64/75 & KY 922 interchange; 4.5 miles north of Lexington. USGS Centerville Quadrangle (Latitude 38 degrees, 6 minutes, 20.00 seconds North; Longitude 84 degrees 29 minutes, 38.00 seconds West; UTM Easting 719716 UTM Northing 4220516).
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Thickness of the solum ranges from 60 to 120 inches or more. Thickness of the argillic horizon ranges from 50 to 100 inches. Depth to bedrock ranges from 60 to 200 inches or more. Chert fragments, less than 3 inches in diameter, range from 0 to 5 percent in the Bt, BC and C horizons. The reaction of the Ap or A horizons range from neutral to strongly acid; the upper part of the Bt horizon ranges from slightly acid to strongly acid; the lower part of the Bt, BC and C horizons range from moderately acid to very strongly acid. The phosphate content in the solum is variable but is typically medium or high.
The Ap or A horizons have hue of 10YR or 7.5YR, value of 4, and chroma from 2 to 4. Some pedons have Ap or A horizons less than 7 inches thick with a value of 3 after mixing.
The AB or BA horizons, where present, have a hue of 10YR or 7.5YR, value of 4 or 5, and chroma of 2 to 4. Texture is silt loam or light silty clay loam.
The upper part of Bt horizon has hue of 7.5YR or 5YR, value of 4 or 5, and chroma of 4 to 6. Texture is light silty clay loam to clay.
The lower part of the Bt, BC, and C horizons have hue of 7.5YR to 2.5YR, value of 4 or 5, and chroma of 4 to 8. Texture is heavy silty clay loam to clay. Some pedons are mottled in shades of red, brown or yellow, or are a variegation of these colors.
Some pedons in the transition zone between the Inner and Outer Bluegrass Physiographic Regions have lower Bt, BC, and C horizons with hue of 10YR, value of 3 to 5, and chroma of 3 to 6. Many pedons have few to many, fine to coarse, black iron and manganese oxide nodules, masses or concretions.
COMPETING SERIES: There are no competing series. The Bluegrass, Lowell, and Faywood Series are in related families. The Bluegrass Series has less than 35 percent clay in the particle size control section. The Lowell Series has hue of 7.5YR or yellower in the Bt horizon. The Faywood Series has hue of 7.5YR or yellower and is moderately deep.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Maury soils are on nearly level to moderately steep uplands. Slopes are commonly 0 to 12 percent, but range to 20 percent. The underlying limestone is cavernous and some areas have karst topography. The upper 10 to 20 inches of the solum formed in silty material and the lower part formed in residuum weathered from phosphatic limestone. The phosphatic limestone members include the Lexington and Cynthiana Limestone Formations of the Inner Bluegrass Physiographic Region. The mean annual precipitation is about 45 inches and the mean annual temperature is about 54 degrees F.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Ashton, Bluegrass, Caleast, Donerail, Elk, Fairmount, Faywood, Loradale, Lowell, McAfee, and Nicholson series. Ashton soils are located on low stream terraces and alluvial fans, have a dark colored surface layer, and have a solum thickness of 40 to 60 inches. Bluegrass soils have less than 35 percent clay in the particle size control section. Caleast soils formed in residuum weathered from limestone interbedded with thin strata of calcareous shale and siltstone, have a dark colored surface layer, have an average of more than 35 percent clay in the particle size control section, and have a solum thickness of 40 and 60 inches. Donerail soils have a dark colored surface layer, are moderately well drained, have an average of more than 35 percent clay in the particle size control section, and have hues of 10YR or yellower in the subsoil. Elk soils are located on stream terraces, and are typically more acid. Fairmount soils formed in limestone residuum interbedded with thin layers of calcareous shales, have a solum thickness and depth to bedrock from 10 to 20 inches, have a dark colored surface layer, have more than 35 percent clay in the particle size control section, and do not have argillic horizons. Faywood soils have hues of 7.5YR yellower in the Bt horizon and are moderately deep. Loradale soils formed in residuum or old alluvium from limestone and thin layers of calcareous shale, have a dark colored surface layer, and have hues of 10YR or yellower in the subsoil. Lowell soils formed in residuum weathered from limestone interbedded with thin layers of shale, have more than 35 percent clay in the particle size control section, have a solum thickness of 30 to 60 inches, and have hues of 7.5YR or yellower in the lower part of the subsoil. McAfee soils have a solum thickness and depth to bedrock from 20 to 40 inches, have a dark colored surface layer, and have an average of more than 35 percent clay in the particle size control section. Nicholson soils are moderately well drained with a slowly permeable fragipan in the subsoil.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained. Runoff is slow to medium and permeability is moderate to moderately rapid.
USE AND VEGETATION: Most areas are used for crops such as burley tobacco, corn, small grains, and alfalfa; and for pasture. Bluegrass and white clover are the most common pasture plants. Native vegetation was dominated by oaks, elm, ash, black walnut, black and honey locust, hackberry, black cherry, and Kentucky coffee tree. Glades of native grasses and canes were reported by early settlers.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: The Inner Bluegrass Physiographic Region of Kentucky.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Morgantown, West Virginia
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Garrard County, Kentucky; 1921.
REMARKS: The Maury series is currently used in the Central Basin of Tennessee as a thermic taxajunct. The extent is large.
Diagnostic horizons in the pedon are:
Ochric epipedon 0 to 9 inches (Ap)
Argillic horizon 9 to 53 inches (Bt1, Bt2, Bt3)
ADDITIONAL DATA: Characterization sample 08KY-067-04-(1-6) by the University of Kentucky.