LOCATION SEALY              TX
Established Series
Rev. JMG-JKW-CLN
01/2001

SEALY SERIES


The Sealy series consists of very deep, poorly drained, moderately slowly permeable soils that formed in sandy sediments derived from the Willis Formation of late Pliocene age. These nearly level to gently sloping soils are on uplands along drainageways and stream channels. Slope ranges from 0 to 5 percent but typically 1 to 3 percent. Mean annual temperature is about 74 degrees F., and mean annual precipitation is about 44 inches.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy, siliceous, semiactive, thermic Grossarenic Endoaqualfs

TYPICAL PEDON: Sealy loamy fine sand--on a convex 2 percent slope in pastureland. (Colors are for moist soils unless otherwise stated.)

Ap--0 to 6 inches; dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) loamy fine sand, grayish brown (10YR 5/2) dry; weak fine subangular blocky structure; soft, very friable; nonsticky and nonplastic; many medium roots; very strongly acid; clear smooth boundary. (4 to 8 inches thick)

Eg1--6 to 18 inches; grayish brown (10YR 5/2) loamy fine sand, light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) dry; single grained; loose, nonsticky and nonplastic; many fine roots; very strongly acid; clear wavy boundary. (10 to 36 inches thick)

Eg2--18 to 48 inches; gray (10YR 6/1) loamy fine sand, white (10YR 8/1) dry; single grained; loose, nonsticky and nonplastic; few fine roots; very strongly acid; abrupt wavy boundary. (10 to 36 inches thick)

Btg1--48 to 62 inches; light gray (10YR 7/1) sandy clay loam, white (10YR 8/1) dry; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; firm, sticky and plastic; few fine roots; few faint clay films; 12 percent medium distinct brownish yellow (10YR 6/6) iron concentrations with diffuse boundaries in matrix; very strongly acid; gradual wavy boundary. (8 to 20 inches thick)

Btg2--62 to 80 inches; light gray (N 7/0) sandy clay loam; white (N 8/0) dry; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; hard; firm, sticky and plastic; few faint clay films; 12 percent medium prominent brownish yellow (10YR 6/6) iron concentrations with diffuse boundaries on surfaces of peds; 8 percent medium prominent dark reddish brown (5YR 5/4) iron concentrations with clear boundaries in matrix; about 2 percent nodules of plinthite; very strongly acid.

TYPE LOCATION: Austin County, Texas; from intersection of Farm Road 1456 and State Highway 159 in downtown Bellville; 2.9 miles north on Farm Road 1456 to county road; 1.5 miles west and north on county road; 100 feet east of road in rangeland on a branch off of Clear Creek. Latitude: 30 degrees, 00 minutes, 07 seconds North; Longitude: 96 degrees, 15 minutes, 37 seconds West. Kenney, Texas USGS topographic quadrangle; NAD 1929.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: The solum thickness is more than 80 inches. The soil is saturated with water within 1 to 3 feet of the surface during the wet seasons of most years. The base saturation at 50 inches below the top of the Bt ranges from 50 to
80 percent.

Soil Moisture: An aquic soil moisture regime. The soil moisture control section, 12 to 36 inches, remains saturated during late winter and spring in most years.

Mean annual soil temperature: 69 to 72 degrees F.
Depth to argillic horizon: 42 to 75 inches
Depth to endosaturation: 18 to 80 inches
Thickness of the A and E horizons, 42 to 75 inches

Particle-size control section (weighted average)
Clay content: 25 to 35 percent
CEC/clay ratio: 0.25 to 0.35

A Horizon
Hue: 10YR
Value: 3 to 6
Chroma: 2 or 3
Texture: fine sand, loamy fine sand, or loamy sand
Reaction: very strongly acid to moderately acid

E Horizon
Hue: 10YR
Value: 6 to 8
Chroma: 1 or 2
Texture: fine sand, loamy fine sand, or loamy sand
Reaction: very strongly acid to moderately acid

Btg Horizon
Hue: 10YR or N
Value: 6 or 7
Chroma: 0 to 2
Texture: sandy clay loam, loam, or clay loam
Clay content: 25 to 35 percent and increases with depth
Clay films: location-surfaces of peds, contrast-faint or distinct
Redox accumulations: amount-5 to 20 percent, size-medium or coarse, contrast-distinct or prominent, boundary-clear or diffuse, location-surfaces of peds
Reaction: very strongly acid to moderately acid

COMPETING SERIES: There are no other series in the same family. Similar soils are the Harbeson, Holopaw, Lokosee, Malabar, Meadowbrook, and Popash series.
Harbeson series: active CEC/clay class; very poorly drained; mucky loamy sand surface layer
Holopaw series: active CEC/clay class; very poorly drained, very dark gray surface layer
Lokosee series: subactive CEC/clay class; have Bs and Bhs horizons; hyperthermic temperature regime
Malabar series: active CEC/clay class; have Bw horizons; hyperthermic temperature regime
Meadowbrook series: subactive CEC/clay class; very dark gray surface layer; very poorly drained
Popash series: active CEC/clay class; mucky fine sand surface layer; hyperthermic temperature regime

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Parent material: Sandy sediments derived from the Willis Formation of late Pliocene age
Landform: Coastal Plain; parallels drainageways and creek channels on low terraces
Slope: 0 to 5 percent but typically 1 to 3 percent
Mean annual temperature: 67 to 69 degrees F.
Mean annual precipitation: 40 to 48 inches
Precipitation Pattern: Precipitation is fairly uniform throughout the year with slight peaks in the spring and fall. Summertime rainfall is controlled by the influx of tropical moisture.
Frost-free period: 240 to 270 days
Elevation: 175 to 300 feet
Thornthwaite annual P-E indices: 52 to 72

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Aquilla, Catilla, Hockley, Kenney and Wockley series. All of the associated soils are on higher and better drained landscapes.
Aquilla and Catilla series: are not dominated by low chroma due to wetness in the Bt horizon
Hockley and Wockley series: have a fine sandy loam surface layer.

DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Poorly drained. Moderately slow permeability. Runoff is low on areas less than 1 percent slope. Runoff is medium on areas of 1 to 5 percent slope.

USE AND VEGETATION: Used mainly for rangeland. Native vegetation is little bluestem, indiangrass, giant plumegrass and other prairie grasses with an overstory of woody species such as waxmyrtle, yaupon, and perennial forbs. Some areas are used for improved pasture.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Southeast Texas; LRR T; MLRA 133B and 150A; This series is on terraces that extend into both MLRA 133B and 150A; small extent

MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Temple, Texas

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Austin County, Texas, 1981.

REMARKS:
Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Particle size control section: 48 to 68 inches. (Btg1 and Btg2 horizon)
Ochric epipedon - 0 to 6 inch layer
Grossarenic feature - loamy fine sand from 0 to 48 inches (Ap, Eg1, and Eg2)
Argillic horizon - 48 to 72 inches (Bt1 and Bt2)
Aquic feature-low chroma colors and endosaturation

Additional Comments: This series was revised in January 2001 as a part of the update of MLRA 150A. Classification was changed from Ochraqualfs to Endoaqualfs. These soils were formerly mapped as a wet phase of the Kenney series.

The assignment of the cation-exchange activity class is inferred from lab data from soils with similar parent material in Austin County, Texas.

ADDITIONAL DATA: None

TAXONOMIC VERSION: Soil Taxonomy, Second Edition, 1999


National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.