LOCATION SMOLAN KS

Established Series
Rev. LM, DJK
07/2020

SMOLAN SERIES

The Smolan series consists of very deep, well and moderately well drained soils that formed from loess. Smolan soils are on paleoterraces on river valleys or on hillslopes on uplands in Central Kansas Sandstone Hills, MLRA 74. Slopes range from 0 to 10 percent. Mean annual precipitation is about 810 millimeters (32 inches) and mean annual temperature is about 13 degrees C (55 degrees F).

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine, smectitic, mesic Pachic Argiustolls

TYPICAL PEDON: Smolan silt loam in cropland at an elevation of 381 meters (1250 feet). (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise stated.)

Ap--0 to 15 centimeters (0 to 6 inches); grayish brown (10YR 5/2) silt loam, very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) moist; weak fine granular structure; slightly hard, friable; moderately acid; clear smooth boundary. (10 to 20 centimeters (4 to 8 inches) thick)

A--15 to 30 centimeters (6 to 12 inches); dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) silty clay loam, very dark brown (10YR 2/2) moist; moderate fine and very fine granular structure; slightly hard, friable; moderately acid; clear smooth boundary. (10 to 18 centimeters (4 to 7 inches) thick)

BA--30 to 46 centimeters (12 to 18 inches); grayish brown (10YR 5/2) silty clay loam, very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) moist; moderate fine subangular blocky structure; hard, firm; slightly acid; gradual smooth boundary. (8 to 23 centimeters (3 to 9 inches) thick)

Bt1--46 to 61 centimeters (18 to 24 inches); grayish brown (10YR 5/2) silty clay, very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) moist; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; very hard, very firm; common distinct clay films on faces of peds; slightly acid; gradual smooth boundary. (13 to 38 centimeters (5 to 15 inches) thick)

Bt2--61 to 76 centimeters (24 to 30 inches); brown (7.5YR 5/4) silty clay, brown (7.5YR 4/3) moist; moderate medium blocky structure; very hard, firm; common distinct clay films on faces of peds; neutral; gradual smooth boundary. (10 to 41 centimeters (4 to 16 inches) thick)

BC--76 to 117 centimeters (30 to 46 inches); reddish brown (5YR 5/3) silty clay loam, reddish brown (5YR 4/3) moist; weak medium and coarse subangular blocky structure; very hard, friable; common faint clay films on faces of some peds; moderately alkaline; few small carbonate concretions; diffuse smooth boundary. (30 to 76 centimeters (12 to 30 inches) thick)

C--117 to 200 centimeters (46 to 80 inches); reddish brown (5YR 5/4) silty clay loam, reddish brown (5YR 4/4) dry; massive; hard, friable; moderately alkaline.

TYPE LOCATION: Saline County, Kansas; about 1.6 kilometers (1 mile) west and 0.8 kilometers (1/2 mile) south of Gypsum; located about 335 meters (1100 feet) north and 30 meters (100 feet) east of the southwest corner of sec. 33, T. 15 S., R. 1 W. Gypsum USGS quadrangle; latitude 38 degrees 41 minutes 57.4 seconds N. and longitude 97 degrees 26 minutes 44.8 seconds W., NAD83.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Mollic epipedon: 50 to 100 centimeters (20 to 40 inches) thick
Depth to secondary carbonates: 71 centimeters (28 inches) or greater
Soil moisture control section: The soil moisture control section is intermittently moist in some part from March through October; driest in November through February; ustic moisture regime bordering on udic
Mean annual soil temperature: 13 to 14 degrees C (55 to 58 degrees F)
Particle-size control section (weighted average):
Clay Content: 35 to 50 percent
Sand Content: 2 to 20 percent

Ap and A horizons:
Hue: 7.5YR or 10YR
Value: 4 or 5 dry, 2 or 3 moist
Chroma: 1 to 3 dry or moist
Texture: silt loam or silty clay loam
Clay content: 20 to 35 percent
Sand content: 2 to 20 percent
Reaction: moderately acid to neutral

BA horizon:
Hue: 5YR to 10YR
Value: 4 or 5 dry, 2 or 3 moist
Chroma: 2 or 3 dry or moist
Texture: silty clay loam
Clay content: 27 to 39 percent
Sand content: 2 to 20 percent
Reaction: moderately acid to neutral

Bt1 horizon:
Hue: 5YR to 10YR
Value: 4 or 5 dry, 2 or 3 moist
Chroma: 2 or 3 dry or moist
Texture: silty clay or silty clay loam
Clay content: 35 to 50 percent
Sand content: 2 to 20 percent
Redoximorphic features: fine iron-manganese masses or concretions
Reaction: moderately acid to moderately alkaline
Note: horizons containing more than 40 percent clay are not within 36 centimeters (14 inches) of the soil surface.

Bt2 horizon:
Hue: 5YR or 7.5YR
Value: 4 or 5 dry, 3 or 4 moist
Chroma: 3 or 4 dry or moist
Texture: silty clay or silty clay loam
Clay content: 35 to 50 percent
Sand content: 2 to 20 percent
Redoximorphic features: fine iron-manganese masses or concretions; masses of oxidized or reduced iron occur in some pedons
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 0 to 2 percent
Reaction: moderately acid to moderately alkaline
Note: When secondary carbonates are present this is often called a Btk horizon.

BC and C horizons:
Hue: 5YR or 7.5YR
Value: 5 or 6 dry, 3 to 5 moist
Chroma: 3 to 6 dry or moist
Texture: silty clay loam or silty clay
Clay content: 30 to 42 percent
Sand content: 2 to 20 percent
Redoximorphic features: fine iron-manganese masses or concretions; masses of oxidized or reduced iron occur in some pedons
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 0 to 2 percent
Reaction: neutral to moderately alkaline

COMPETING SERIES: These are the Detroit, Lane, Onita, Pinespring, Rago and Sponiker series.
Detroit soils do not have hues redder than 10YR in the argillic.
Lane and Onita soils do not have hues redder than 10YR in the series control section. Lane soils also have secondary carbonates within 64 centimeters (25 inches).
Rago soils have higher calcium carbonate equivalents in the lower horizons.
Pinespring soils have greater than 20 percent sand in the series control section (sandy clay loam, clay loam, or sandy clay textures).
Sponiker, Pinespring, and Rago soils are dry in some part of the moisture control section for greater than four-tenths of the cumulative days per year (typic ustic or aridic ustic).

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Parent material: loess that is older and more weathered than the Peoria Loess. Often the loess has been reworked by fluvial processes.
Landform: paleoterraces on river valleys or hillslopes on uplands
Slopes: 0 to 10 percent
Mean annual precipitation: 710 to 910 millimeters (28 to 36 inches)
Mean annual air temperature: 12 to 14 degrees C (53 to 57 degrees F)
Precipitation pattern: Precipitation is usually evenly distributed throughout the year with the exception of November through February being the driest months and May and June being the wettest months. Summer precipitation occurs during intense summer thunderstorms.
Frost-free period: 165 to 200 days

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Crete, Geary, Detroit, and Tobin soils.
Crete soils are on higher hillslopes or interfluves and do not have hues redder than 10YR.
Geary soils are on hillslopes and are fine-silty.
Detroit soils are on terraces and do not have hues redder than 10YR in the argillic.
Tobin soils are on floodplains and are occasionally flooded.

DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY:
Drainage: moderately well drained to well drained
Runoff: medium to high
Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity: moderately low

USE AND VEGETATION: Slopes of less than 6 percent are usually cultivated. Principal crops are wheat or sorghum. The steeper slopes and part of the gentler slopes are used for native range. Native vegetation is mid or tall grass prairie.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Central Kansas and possibly adjacent parts of Nebraska; Land Resource Region H, Central Great Plains Winter Wheat and Range Region; Major Land Resource Areas 74, Central Kansas Sandstone Hills and 76, Bluestem Hills. The series is of moderate extent.

SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (SSRO) RESPONSIBLE: Salina, Kansas

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Saline County, Kansas, 1952.

REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Mollic epipedon: 0 to 61 centimeters (0 to 24 inches) (A, BA, and Bt1 horizons)
Argillic horizon: 46 to 76 centimeters (18 to 30 inches) (Bt1, and Bt2 horizons)

Modified format by LRM in 3/2006 to include metric conversion and change permeability to saturated hydraulic conductivity.

3/2014 DJK Updated the intro (changed deep to very deep, edited landforms, added MLRA, updated MAP based on climate data). For landform changed high terrace to paleoterrace which is now more commonly used to describe these old terraces. Added elevation to typical pedon. Added BA to RIC. Added clay content, sand contents, redox, and CCE to RIC of horizons. Updated competing series (deleted Crete). Updated geographically associated soils to only series associated at original type location or soil survey area. Changed MAP from 26 to 33 inches to 28 to 36 inches. Added precipitation pattern and FFD to geographic setting. Changed runoff from rapid to high. Added LRR and MLRAs to Distribution and Extent.

ADDITIONAL DATA: Kellogg Soil Survey Laboratory (KSSL) data available for pedon 99KS161012. An additional site was sampled and sent to Kansas State for analysis (pedon 11KS161101).

National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.