LOCATION MORNINGSUN              OH

Established Series
Rev. JRA-DBD-SJH
11/2021

MORNINGSUN SERIES

The Morningsun series consists of very deep, moderately well drained soils formed in loess and in the underlying water modified till on ground moraines of Wisconsinan age. Slope ranges from 0 to 6 percent. Mean annual precipitation is about 991 mm (39 inches), and mean annual air temperature is about 12 degrees C (53 degrees F).

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-silty, mixed, superactive, mesic Oxyaquic Hapludalfs

TYPICAL PEDON: Morningsun silt loam, on a convex, 1 percent slope in a cultivated field at an elevation of about 339 meters (1,112 feet) above mean sea level. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)

Ap--0 to 25 cm (0 to 10 inches); dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) silt loam, light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) dry; weak fine and medium subangular blocky structure; friable; common fine and few medium roots throughout; very strongly acid; abrupt smooth boundary. [13 to 30 cm (5 to 12 inches) thick]

Bt1--25 to 43 cm (10 to 17 inches); yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) silt loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; friable; common fine roots throughout; common distinct yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) clay films on faces of peds; common distinct brown (10YR 5/3) clay depletions on faces of peds; few fine distinct black (10YR 2/1) masses of manganese accumulation throughout; very strongly acid; abrupt smooth boundary.

Bt2--43 to 61 cm (17 to 24 inches); yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) silt loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; friable; few very fine roots throughout; many distinct yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) clay films on faces of peds; few fine prominent black (10YR 2/1) masses of manganese accumulation throughout; very strongly acid; clear smooth boundary.

Bt3--61 to 84 cm (24 to 33 inches); yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) silt loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; firm; few very fine roots throughout; many distinct yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) clay films on faces of peds; few fine prominent black (10YR 2/1) masses of manganese accumulation throughout; 2 percent igneous gravel; neutral; clear wavy boundary. [Combined thickness of the Bt horizon is 51 to 89 cm (20 to 35 inches).]

2Bt4--84 to 107 cm (33 to 42 inches); yellowish brown (10YR 5/8) silt loam; weak coarse subangular blocky structure; firm; few very fine roots throughout; few distinct yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) clay films on faces of peds; common fine prominent grayish brown (10YR 5/2) iron depletions in the matrix; common fine distinct strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) masses of iron accumulation in the matrix; few fine prominent black (10YR 2/1) masses of manganese accumulation throughout; about 37 percent sand; 10 percent subrounded igneous gravel; slightly alkaline; clear wavy boundary. [0 to 51 cm (20 inches) thick]

2BC--107 to 129 cm (42 to 51 inches); dark yellowish brown (10YR 3/4) gravelly sandy loam; weak coarse subangular blocky structure; friable; few very fine roots; few distinct dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/6) clay bridging between sand grains and clay films coating pebbles; few fine distinct grayish brown (10YR 5/2) iron depletions in the matrix; few fine distinct yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) masses of iron accumulation throughout; few fine distinct black (10YR 2/1) masses of manganese accumulation throughout; 20 percent subrounded igneous gravel; strongly effervescent; slightly alkaline; abrupt smooth boundary. [13 to 63 cm (5 to 25 inches) thick]

2C1--129 to 160 cm (51 to 63 inches); dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/6) sandy loam; massive; friable; 10 percent subrounded igneous gravel; strongly effervescent; slightly alkaline; abrupt smooth boundary.

2C2--160 to 203 cm (63 to 80 inches); dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/6) gravelly loam with pockets of sandy loam and loamy sand; massive; firm; 10 percent subrounded and 5 percent subangular igneous gravel; strongly effervescent; slightly alkaline.

TYPE LOCATION: Preble County, Ohio; about 1 mile southwest of West Florence, in Dixon Township; about 1,000 feet west and 250 feet south of the northeast corner of sec. 8, T. 7 N., R. 1 E.; USGS Fairhaven, OH topographic quadrangle; lat. 39 degrees 43 minutes 38 seconds N. and long. 84 degrees 47 minutes 12 seconds W., NAD 27.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Depth to the base of the argillic horizon: 76 to 140 cm (30 to 55 inches)
Depth to carbonates: 102 to 152 cm (40 to 60 inches)
Thickness of the loess: 63 to 127 cm (25 to 50 inches)
Depth to densic contact (very firm till): greater than 203 cm (80 inches)
Particle-size control section: averages 18 to 34 percent clay and 2 10 percent fine sand or coarser

Ap horizon:
Hue: 10YR
Value: 4
Chroma: 3 or 4
Texture: silt loam
Rock fragment content: 0 to 2 percent
Reaction: very strongly acid to neutral

Bt horizon:
Hue: 7.5YR or 10YR
Value: 4 or 5
Chroma: 3 to 6
Texture: silt loam or silty clay loam
Rock fragment content: 0 to 2 percent
Reaction: very strongly acid to neutral

2Bt horizon:
Hue: 7.5YR or 10YR
Value: 4 or 5
Chroma: 3 to 8
Texture: silt loam, loam, or clay loam
Rock fragment content: 0 to 10 percent
Reaction: neutral or slightly alkaline

2BC horizon:
Hue: 10YR
Value: 3 to 5
Chroma: 3 or 4
Texture: loam, clay loam, or sandy loam, or the gravelly analogs of these textures
Rock fragment content: 5 to 25 percent
Reaction: neutral to moderately alkaline; carbonates are present in some pedons

2C horizon:
Hue: 10YR
Value: 4 or 5
Chroma: 3 to 6
Texture: loam or sandy loam, or the gravelly analogs of these textures; some pedons have strata or pockets of loamy sand or sandy loam
Consistence: friable or firm
Clay content: averages 5 to 10 percent
Sand content: averages 40 to 55 percent
Rock fragment content: 5 to 25 percent
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 20 to 40 percent
Moist bulk density: 1.70 to 1.95 g/cm3 and is not restricting to root and water penetration
Reaction: slightly alkaline or moderately alkaline

COMPETING SERIES: These are the Baraboo, Birkbeck, Cadiz, Campton, Elco, Eleroy, Homen, Inton, Iona, Libre, Mayville, Minnith, Redbud, Rocheport, Rockfield, Somonauk, Uniontown, Winfield, and Zurich series. Birkbeck, Cadiz, Iona, Redbud, and Winfield soils average less than 40 percent sand in the lower part of the series control section. Campton and Somonauk soils formed in loess and loamy stratified outwash and are in MLRAs 95B and 108A. Elco, Homen, Libre, and Minnith soils do not have carbonates within a depth of 152 cm (60 inches). Eleroy and Rocheport soils have a paralithic or lithic contact within a depth of 152 cm (60 inches). Inton soils have a matrix color with hue yellower than 10YR and chroma of less than 3 within 76 cm (30 inches) of the surface. Mayville and Zurich soils have carbonates within a depth of 102 cm (40 inches). Rockfield soils have a densic contact within a depth of 152 cm (60 inches). Uniontown soils have less than 5 percent rock fragments in the lower part of the series control section.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Morningsun soils are on ground moraines of Wisconsinan age. Slope ranges from 0 to 6 percent. The soils formed in loess and in the underlying water modified till. The till is dense but is not restricting to root and water penetration. Climate is humid and temperate. Mean annual precipitation ranges from 864 to 1118 mm (34 to 44 inches). Mean annual air temperature ranges from 11 to 13 degrees C (51 to 55 degrees F). Frost-free period is 130 to 160 days. Elevation is 317 to 349 meters (1,040 feet to 1,145) feet above mean sea level.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Cyclone, Dana, Fincastle, Ragsdale, Sugarvalley, Treaty, and Xenia soils. The poorly drained Cyclone, Ragsdale, and Treaty soils are in depressions. Dana soils are on similar positions and have a mollic epipedon. The somewhat poorly drained Fincastle and Sugarvalley soils are in lower landform positions. Xenia soils are on slightly higher landform positions and have redoximorphic features in the upper part of the subsoil.

DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY: Moderately well drained. The depth to the top of an intermittent apparent high water table ranges from 61 to 107 cm (2.0 to 3.5 feet) from December through April in normal years. The potential for surface runoff is negligible to medium. Saturated hydraulic conductivity is moderately high.

USE AND VEGETATION: Most areas are cultivated. Principal crops are corn, soybeans, small grain and hay. The native vegetation is mixed, deciduous forest with oaks, hickory and maple as dominant species.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Western Ohio and possibly eastern Indiana; MLRA 111D. The series is of small extent.

SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (SSRO) RESPONSIBLE: AMHERST, MASSACHUSETTS

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Preble County, Ohio, 2005.

REMARKS: This soil was formerly mapped as Birkbeck series in the Preble County Soil Survey published in June 1969. Field investigations indicate that these soils in the Boston Plains area formed in loess and the underlying water modified till that is dense but not restricting to root and water penetration.

Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon: from the surface to a depth of about 25 cm (Ap horizon).
Argillic horizon: from 25 to 107 cm (Bt, 2Bt horizons).
Aquic conditions: iron depletions present between 84 and 129 cm.

ADDITIONAL DATA: Characterization data are available for PB-80, the typical pedon, and PB-72 from the Soil Characterization Laboratory at The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH.

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National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.