LOCATION SARCO TXEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, mixed, active, hyperthermic Oxyaquic Haplustalfs
TYPICAL PEDON: Sarco coarse sand -- on a northwest facing, convex, 0.5 percent slope in post oak savannah at an elevation of 39 m (128 ft). (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.)
A--0 to 12 cm (0 to 5 in); grayish brown (10YR 5/2) coarse sand, dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2), moist; weak fine granular structure; loose, soft; common fine roots and common medium roots and many very fine roots; many medium interstitial pores; slightly acid; clear smooth boundary. (8 to 23 cm [3 to 9 in] thick)
E--12 to 30 cm (5 to 12 in); very pale brown (10YR 7/3) coarse sand, yellowish brown (10YR 5/4), moist; single grain; loose, soft; many very fine roots; common fine tubular and common very fine tubular pores; 8 percent fine prominent reddish yellow (7.5YR 6/8) masses of oxidized iron with clear boundaries in matrix; slightly acid; abrupt smooth boundary. (0 to 20 cm [0 to 8 in] thick)
Bt1--30 to 50 cm (12 to 20 in); light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) sandy clay loam, grayish brown (10YR 5/2), moist; moderate medium prismatic parting to medium subangular blocky structure; firm, hard; common very fine roots; common fine tubular and common very fine tubular pores; 5 percent distinct yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) sand coats on vertical faces of peds; 15 percent distinct grayish brown (10YR 5/2) clay films on all faces of peds; 8 percent coarse prominent brownish yellow (10YR 6/8) masses of oxidized iron with clear boundaries in matrix surrounding redox concentrations; 10 percent medium prominent red (2.5YR 4/8) masses of oxidized iron with sharp boundaries in matrix; 14 percent medium prominent strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) masses of oxidized iron with sharp boundaries in matrix surrounding redox concentrations; strongly acid; gradual wavy boundary.
Bt2--50 to 65 cm (20 to 26 in); light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) sandy clay loam, grayish brown (10YR 5/2), moist; very firm, very hard; common fine roots and common very fine roots; common very fine tubular pores; 5 percent yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) sand coats on vertical faces of peds; 30 percent distinct grayish brown (10YR 5/2) clay films on all faces of peds; 6 percent medium prominent red (2.5YR 4/8) masses of oxidized iron with sharp boundaries in matrix; 8 percent coarse prominent brownish yellow (10YR 6/8) masses of oxidized iron with clear boundaries in matrix surrounding redox concentrations; 16 percent medium prominent strong brown (7.5YR 5/6), moist, masses of oxidized iron with sharp boundaries in matrix surrounding redox concentrations; strongly acid; gradual wavy boundary.
Bt3--65 to 82 cm (26 to 32 in); light brownish gray (2.5Y 6/2) sandy clay loam, grayish brown (2.5Y 5/2), moist; very firm, very hard; common very fine roots; common very fine tubular pores; 30 percent prominent yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) clay films on all faces of peds; 2 percent medium prominent red (2.5YR 4/8) masses of oxidized iron with sharp boundaries in matrix; 4 percent coarse prominent brownish yellow (10YR 6/8) masses of oxidized iron with sharp boundaries in matrix surrounding redox concentrations; 10 percent coarse prominent strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) masses of oxidized iron with sharp boundaries in matrix surrounding redox concentrations; slightly acid; gradual wavy boundary. (combined thickness of the Bt horizons is 124 to 193 cm [48 to 75 in])
Btk1--82 to 110 cm (32 to 43 in); light gray (2.5Y 7/2) sandy clay loam, light brownish gray (2.5Y 6/2), moist; very firm, hard; common very fine roots; few very fine tubular pores; 20 percent prominent yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) clay films on all faces of peds; 2 percent medium prominent red (2.5YR 4/8) masses of oxidized iron with sharp boundaries in matrix; 2 percent coarse prominent masses of oxidized iron with sharp boundaries in matrix surrounding redox concentrations; 6 percent coarse prominent strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) masses of oxidized iron with sharp boundaries in matrix surrounding redox concentrations; 6 percent fine white (10YR 8/1) carbonate masses ; 1 percent fine very pale brown (10YR 8/2) carbonate nodules; moderately alkaline; gradual wavy boundary.
Btk2--110 to 137 cm (43 to 54 in); light gray (2.5Y 7/1) sandy clay loam, gray (2.5Y 6/1), moist; firm, hard; common fine roots and common very fine roots; few very fine tubular pores; 10 percent distinct light olive (10Y 5/4) clay films on all faces of peds; 10 percent distinct gray (2.5Y 6/1) clay films on all faces of peds; 2 percent coarse prominent red (2.5YR 4/8) masses of oxidized iron with sharp boundaries in matrix; 2 percent very coarse prominent brownish yellow (10YR 6/8) masses of oxidized iron with clear boundaries in matrix and 6 percent coarse prominent masses of oxidized iron with sharp boundaries in matrix surrounding redox concentrations; 2 percent medium carbonate masses; moderately alkaline; gradual wavy boundary.
Btk3--137 to 166 cm (54 to 65 in); white (2.5Y 8/1) sandy clay loam, light gray (2.5Y 7/1), moist; firm, hard; common very fine roots; 25 percent distinct gray (2.5Y 6/1) clay films on all faces of peds; 2 percent medium prominent red (2.5YR 5/6) masses of oxidized iron with sharp boundaries in matrix; 6 percent fine prominent black (10YR 2/1) iron-manganese masses with sharp boundaries in matrix; 6 percent coarse prominent strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) masses of oxidized iron with sharp boundaries in matrix surrounding redox concentrations; 2 percent fine white (10YR 8/1) carbonate masses; moderately alkaline; gradual wavy boundary. (combined thickness of the Bt horizons is 124 to 193 cm [48 to 75 in])
Btk4--166 to 203 cm (65 to 80 in); white (2.5Y 8/1) sandy clay loam, light gray (2.5Y 7/1), moist; firm, hard; common fine roots and common very fine roots; 25 percent distinct gray (2.5Y 6/1) clay films on all faces of peds; 2 percent medium prominent strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) masses of oxidized iron with sharp boundaries in matrix; 10 percent fine prominent black (10YR 2/1) iron-manganese masses with sharp boundaries in matrix; 4 percent coarse white (10YR 8/1) carbonate masses; moderately alkaline.
TYPE LOCATION: Goliad County, Texas; Texas; from the intersection of Farm Road 2441 and U.S. Highway 183 south of Goliad; 8.2 miles west and south on Farm Road 2441 to Prescott Road; 3.5 miles southwest on Prescott Road; 0.6 mile southeast on right-of-way; 1.4 mile southwest on ranch road along fence; 0.5 mile southeast on ranch road to fence; 0.7 mile southwest along fence to cross fence; .2 mile northwest along cross fence; 120 feet east in rangeland Blanconia USGS quad; Latitude is 28 degrees 27 minutes 40.29 seconds N; Longitude is 97 degrees 27 minutes 51.58 seconds W. NAD 83.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil Moisture: An ustic soil moisture regime. The soil moisture control section remains dry for less than 120 cumulative days in normal years. July through September are the driest months.
Mean annual soil temperature: 21.7 to 22.8 degrees C (71 to 73 degrees F)
Depth to abrupt textural change: 20 to 46 cm (8 to 18 inches)
Depth to argillic horizon: 20 to 46 cm (8 to 18 inches)
Depth to secondary calcium carbonate: where present, 58 to 170 cm (23 to 67 in)
Depth to redox concentrations: 0 to 46 cm (0 to 18 inches)
Particle-size control section (weighted average)
Clay content: 26 to 35 percent
A horizon
Hue: 10YR
Value: 5 to 7
Chroma: 2 to 4
Texture: coarse sand or sand
Clay content: 2 to 10 percent
Redox accumulations: where present, amount- 1 percent, color-shades of brown
Reaction: moderately acid to neutral
E horizon (where present)
Hue: 10YR
Value: 5 to 7
Chroma: 3 or 4
Texture: coarse sand or sand
Clay content: 1 to 10 percent
Redox accumulations: amount- 1-5 percent, color- shades of yellowish brown
Reaction: moderately acid to neutral
Bt horizon
(upper Bt Horizon)
Hue: 10YR
Value: 4 to 7
Chroma: 1 or 2
Texture: sandy clay loam or sandy clay
Clay content: 30 to 45 percent
Redox accumulations: amount- 1 to 30 percent, color- shades of brown, red, or yellow
Reaction: strongly acid to neutral
Bt horizon
(lower Bt Horizons)
Hue: 10YR or 2.5Y
Value: 4 to 8
Chroma: 1 to 4
Texture: sandy loam or sandy clay loam
Clay content: 15 to 30 percent
Redox accumulations: amount-0 to 20 percent, color- shades of red, yellow, brown, gray and black
Reaction: strongly acid to neutral
Btk horizon (where present)
Hue: 10YR or 2.5Y
Value: 6 to 8
Chroma: 1 to 4
Texture: sandy loam or sandy clay loam
Clay content: 15 to 30 percent
Redox accumulations: amount- 0 to 25 percent, color- shades of red, yellow, brown and black
Effervescence: none to strong
Reaction: neutral to moderately alkaline
COMPETING SERIES: There are no other competing series. Similar soils are the
Brennan (TX),
Duval (TX),
Lozano (TX),
Lyford (TX),
Papalote (TX),
Premont (TX),
Raisin (TX), and
Wyick (TX) series.
Brennan soils: have an aridic-ustic soil moisture regime.
Duval soils: have siliceous mineralogy and an aridic-ustic soil moisture regime.
Lozano and Lyford soils: are wet for longer periods.
Papalote soils: have more than 35 percent clay in the particle-size control section.
Premont and Raisin series: are well drained.
Wyick series: have loamy fine sand or fine sandy loam surface layers and support an open-prairie plant community.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Parent material: Loamy sediments derived from alluvium of late-Pleistocene age.
Landform: Stream terrace on inland dissected coastal plains
Slope: 0 to 2 percent
Mean annual air temperature range: 21 to 23 degrees C (70 to 73 degrees F).
Mean annual precipitation range: 711 to 914 mm (28 to 36 inches)
Precipitation pattern: Precipitation falls mostly during the months of April through June and October through November. July through September and January through March are the driest months.
Frost-free period: 248 to 305 days
Elevation: 9.1 to 122 m (30 to 200 feet)
Thornthwaite annual P-E indices: 38 to 48
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the
Blanconia,
Papalote, and
Raisin series.
Blanconia soils: have a clayey argillic horizon and are on low river terraces.
Papalote soils: have a clayey argillic horizon and are on similar landforms.
Raisin soils: have fewer coarse sands in the surface horizon and are on higher terrace positions.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Moderately well drained. Permeability is slow. Runoff is low on slopes of less than 1 percent and medium on 1 to 2 percent slopes.
USE AND VEGETATION: The major use is livestock grazing and pastureland. Native grasses include little bluestem, feathery bluestem, Nash and hooded windmillgrass, and Texas plains bristlegrass. Woody species consist of live oak, post oak, mesquite, huisache, spiny hackberry and pricklypear. Coastal bermudagrass is the dominant improved pasture grass. (Ecological site name: Claypan Savannah 28-40" PZ; Ecological site number is R087AY221TX).
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Northern Rio Grande Plain (MLRA 83A in LRR I) in south central Texas mainly along the transition between MLRA 83A and MLRA 150A (Gulf Coast Prairie). Series is of moderate extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Temple, Texas
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Goliad County, Texas, 2009. The name is from a creek in southern Goliad County.
REMARKS: These soils were previously included with the Papalote series. Classification of this soil is based on the 1989 to 2002 water table study* conducted on similar soils in the central part of the Texas Gulf Coast Prairie MLRA. This soil does not have aquic conditions in most years. In some years, reduced conditions develop just above and in the upper part of the argillic horizon for brief periods following extreme above-normal precipitation events Redoximorphic features that result from these above normal events are not diagnostic for classification.
*partial data in Proceedings of eight international soil correlation meeting (VIII ISCOM) 1992, USDA-SCS National Soil Survey Center, Lincoln, NE
Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
The Ecological site description for these soils is under review. The Claypan Prairie MLRA (87A) is not currently recognized for the area these soils occur.
Particle size control section: 30 to 80 cm (12 to 32 in). (Bt1, Bt2 and Bt3 horizons)
Ochric epipedon: 0 to 30 cm (0 to 12 in). (A horizon)
Argillic horizon: 30 to 203 cm (11 to 80 in). (Bt1, Bt2, Bt3, Btk1, Btk2, Btk3 and Btk4 horizons)
Redoximorphic concentrations: 0 to 203 cm (0 to 80 in). (A, Bt1, Bt2, Bt3, Bt4, Bt5 and Bt6 horizons)
Abrupt textural change: At the upper boundary of the Bt1 horizon.
ADDITIONAL DATA: NSSL data from type location in Goliad County on pedon identification number S07TX175004 (pedon number: 08N0162)
TAXONOMIC VERSION: Keys to Soil Taxonomy, Tenth Edition, 2006.