LOCATION ORD NEEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Coarse-loamy over sandy or sandy-skeletal, mixed, superactive, mesic Aeric Calciaquolls
TYPICAL PEDON: Ord loam on a less than 1 percent slope in native grass. When described, the soil was moist to 61 centimeters (24 inches) and wet below. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)
Ak1--0 to 30 centimeters (0 to 12 inches); very dark gray (10YR 3/1) loam, gray (10YR 5/1) dry; weak fine granular structure; very friable, slightly hard; many fine and very fine roots throughout; strong effervescence; finely disseminated carbonate throughout; 20 percent calcium carbonate equivalent; moderately alkaline; abrupt smooth boundary.
Ak2--30 to 43 centimeters (12 to 17 inches); very dark gray (10YR 3/1) fine sandy loam, dark gray (10YR 4/1) dry; weak moderate subangular blocky parting to weak fine granular structure; very friable, slightly hard; many fine and very fine roots throughout; slight effervescence; finely disseminated carbonate throughout; slightly alkaline; abrupt wavy boundary. [Combined thickness of the Ak horizon is 18 to 51 centimeters (7 to 20 inches) thick]
AC--43 to 61 centimeters (17 to 24 inches); dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) fine sandy loam, light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) dry; weak coarse subangular blocky structure; soft, very friable; common fine and very fine roots throughout; slightly alkaline; abrupt wavy boundary. [0 to 66 centimeters (0 to 26 inches) thick]
2Cg--61 to 200 centimeters (24 to 79 inches); grayish brown (10YR 5/2) sand, light gray (10YR 7/2) dry; few medium and fine faint yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) moist iron masses in the matrix; single grain; loose; few very fine roots throughout; thin strata of very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) loamy fine sand at 117 centimeters (46 inches); slightly alkaline.
TYPE LOCATION: Holt County, Nebraska; about 38 kilometers (24miles) south of O'Neill, Nebraska; 671 meters (2200 feet) east and 30 meters (100 feet) north of the southwest corner of sec. 20, T. 25 N., R.11 W. Lena topographic quadrangle; latitude 41 degrees, 41 minutes, 44 seconds North and longitude 101 degrees, 29 minutes, 44 seconds West.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Moisture regime: aquic
Depth to redoximorphic features: 46 to 91 centimeters (18 to 36 inches)
Endosaturation depth: 46 to 91 centimeters (18 to 36 inches)
Depths of Carbonates: 0 to 97 centimeters (0 to 38 inches),
Calcium carbonate equivalent in the calcic horizon: 15 to 40 percent
Thickness of the mollic epipedon: 18 to 49 centimeters (7 to 19 inches)
Depth to sandy material: 41 to 97 centimeters (16 to 38) inches
Particle-size control section of the coarse-loamy part (weighted average):
Sand content: 40 to 73 percent
Silt content: 15 to 30 percent
Non-carbonate clay content: 7 to 18 percent
Ak horizon:
Hue: 10YR or 2.5Y
Value: 3 to 6, 2 to 3 moist
Chroma: 1 or 2
Texture: loam, fine sandy loam, very fine sandy loam, sandy clay loam, clay loam, silt loam
Reaction: slightly alkaline or moderately alkaline
AC and ACk horizon, when present:
Hue: 10YR to 5Y
Value: 5 to 7, 4 to 6 moist
Chroma: 1 or 2
Texture: fine sandy loam, loam, sandy loam, very fine sandy loam, sandy clay loam, clay loam
Reaction: neutral to moderately alkaline
Some pedons have a 2C horizon which overlies and has similar characteristics as the 2Cg horizon and but lacks redoximorphic features.
2Cg horizon:
Hue: 10YR to 10Y
Value: 5 to 7, 4 to 6 moist
Chroma: 0 to 2
Texture: sand, fine sand, loamy sand, loamy fine sand
Reaction ranges: neutral to moderately alkaline
Some pedons have layers of darker colored or finer textured material below a depth of 102 centimeters (40 inches).
COMPETING SERIES: This is the
Crowther series.
Crowther series is on slightly lower swales on interdunes and are poorly and very poorly drained having a seasonal zone of saturation or aquic conditions beginning at the surface and having ponding on the very poorly drained soil up to 15 centimeters (6 inches).
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Parent material: loamy over sandy eolian deposits
Landscape: sandhills
Landform: interdunes
Slopes: 0 to 3 percent
Elevation: 610 to 1066 meters (2000 to 3500 feet)
Mean annual air temperature: 8 to 10 degrees C. (46 to 49 degrees F.)
Mean annual soil temperature: 9 to 11 degrees C. (46 to 51 degrees F.)
Mean annual precipitation: 41 to 64 centimeters (16 to 25 inches)
Frost Free Days: 120 to 140
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the
Crowther,
Elsmere,
Ipage, and
Valentine soils.
All of these soils, except Crowther, do not have a calcic horizon.
Crowther soils are on slightly lower swales on interdunes and are poorly and very poorly drained having a seasonal zone of saturation or aquic conditions beginning at the surface and having ponding on the very poorly drained soil up to 15 centimeters (6 inches).
Elsmere soils are on similar swales on interdunes and are sandy in the control section.
Ipage soils are on slightly higher hummocks on interdunes and are moderately well drained having a seasonal zone of saturation or aquic conditions beginning at 91 centimeters (36 inches). Ipage soils do not have a mollic epipedon.
Valentine soils are on higher dunes and are excessively drained having no seasonal zone of saturation or aquic conditions.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY:
Drainage: somewhat poorly drained
Runoff: negligible or very low
Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity: high
USE AND VEGETATION: The major uses are livestock grazing and haying. A few areas are cultivated and irrigated. Crops are mainly alfalfa and forages. The rangeland native plant community for the subirrigated ecological site (R065XY029NE) is principally big bluestem, little bluestem, yellow Indiangrass, and switchgrass.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: The sandhills of Nebraska and sandhills of southwestern South Dakota (MLRA 65, LRR G). The series is of moderate extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Denver, Colorado
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Logan County, Nebraska, 1969.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Mollic epipedon: 0 to 43 centimeters (0 to 17 inches) (Ak1 and Ak2 horizons)
Calcic horizon: 0 to 30 centimeters (0 to 12 inches) (Ak1 horizon)
Aquic soil conditions: 43 to 200 centimeters (17 to 79 inches)
3/2009 RRH: Ord soils were formerly classified as coarse-loamy, mixed, mesic Fluvaquentic Haplustolls and were included in the Wann series. About half of the pedons of the Ord soils in the sandhills have the aeric subgroup and the rest have the typic subgroup. About 72 percent of the Ord soils in the sandhills have depths to the sandy material less than 102 centimeters (40 inches) and about 28 percent have depths more than 102 centimeters (40 inches).
3/2009 RRH: Ord soils were first mapped on floodplains of valleys and most are outside of MLRA 65. The old type location in Logan County, Nebraska, was on a floodplain along the South Loup River between MLRA 65 and MLRA 71. It may be a stream terrace as of present because of down cutting of the river. The Ord soils may be better represented by the Wann series on floodplains of valleys and by the Ovina series on stream terraces of valleys.
3/2009 RRH: Reformatted the Ord OSD using Central Great Plains MLRA Office (MO5) Instruction No. 430-381, Official Series Descriptions. All sections were revised, including the typical pedon to reflect the original pedon description.
ADDITIONAL DATA: Data is available from the National Soil Survey Center, Soil Survey Laboratory for pedon 79NE089005 which is the type location for the series. Pedons 08NE005043 and 08NE005042 have been sampled for the SSL in Arthur County, Nebraska.