LOCATION SOLOMON KS+IA NE
Established Series
Rev. WAW, JCW, BKN
07/2020
SOLOMON SERIES
The Solomon series consists of very deep, poorly drained soils that formed in calcareous clayey alluvium. These nearly level soils are on flood plains and are subject to occasional flooding. These soils occur in the Central Kansas Sandstone Hills, MLRA 74; Central Loess Plains, MLRA 75 and the Bluestem Hills, MLRA 76. Slope ranges from 0 to 2 percent. Mean annual temperature is 13 degrees C (55 degrees F), and mean annual precipitation is 76 centimeters (30 inches) at the type location.
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine, smectitic, calcareous, mesic Vertic Epiaquolls
TYPICAL PEDON: Solomon silty clay - in a cultivated field at an elevation of 372 meters (1220 feet). (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.) As described on June 1, 1988.
Ap--0 to 10 centimeters (0 to 4 inches); very dark gray (10YR 3/1) silty clay, dark gray (10YR 4/1) dry; strong fine granular structure; very hard, firm, plastic and sticky; many fine roots; strong effervescence; moderately alkaline; abrupt smooth boundary. (0 to 15 centimeters (0 to 6 inches) thick.)
A--10 to 41 centimeters (4 to 16 inches); black (10YR 2/1) silty clay, very dark gray (10YR 3/1) dry; moderate fine and medium blocky structure; extremely hard, very firm, plastic and sticky; common fine tubular roots throughout; few faint discontinuous pressure faces on horizontal faces of peds; few fine calcium carbonate concretions; strong effervescence; moderately alkaline; gradual smooth boundary. (25 to 51 centimeters (10 to 20 inches) thick.)
Bg--41 to 81 centimeters (16 to 32 inches); very dark gray (10YR 3/1) silty clay, dark gray (10YR 4/1) dry; weak medium and coarse blocky structure; extremely hard, very firm, very plastic and very sticky; few faint discontinuous pressure faces on horizontal faces of peds; few fine black (N 2/0) strongly cemented iron-manganese concretions; few fine calcium carbonate concretions; strong effervescence; moderately alkaline; diffuse smooth boundary. (30 to 61 centimeters (12 to 24 inches) thick.)
BCg--81 to 127 centimeters (32 to 50 inches); mixed very dark gray (10YR 3/1) and dark gray (10YR 4/1) silty clay, dark gray (10YR 4/1) and gray (10YR 5/1) dry; weak coarse blocky structure; extremely hard, very firm, very plastic and very sticky; common fine distinct brown (10YR 5/3) irregularly shaped masses of iron accumulation with diffuse boundaries throughout; few fine black (N 2/0) strongly cemented iron-manganese concretions; many fine calcium carbonate concretions; strong effervescence; moderately alkaline; diffuse smooth boundary. (25 to 51 centimeters (10 to 20 inches) thick.)
Cg--127 to 200 centimeters (50 to 80 inches); dark gray (10YR 4/1) silty clay, gray (10YR 5/1) dry; massive; very hard, very firm, very plastic and very sticky; many fine distinct brown (10YR 5/3) irregularly shaped masses of iron accumulation with diffuse boundaries throughout; few fine black (N 2/0) strongly cemented iron-manganese concretions; many fine calcium carbonate concretions; strong effervescence; moderately alkaline.
TYPE LOCATION: Saline County, Kansas; about 0.8 kilometers (1/2 mile) north and 0.8 kilometers (1/2 mile) west of Salina; located about 305 meters (1,000 feet) north and 30 meters (100 feet) east of the southwest corner of sec. 35, T. 13 S., R. 3 W. Salina SW USGS quadrangle; latitude 38 degrees 52 minutes 24.8 seconds N. and longitude 97 degrees 37 minutes 50.0 seconds W, WGS84.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil moisture regime: aquic
Soil temperature regime: mesic
Mollic epipedon thickness: 38 to 102 centimeters (15 to 40 inches) or more
Depth to free carbonates: less than 25 centimeters (10 inches)
Mean annual soil temperature: 11 to 14 degrees C (52 to 57 degrees F)
Particle size control section (weighted average):
Clay content: 40 to 55 percent
Sand content: 2 to 15 percent
A horizon:
Hue: 10YR or 2.5Y
Value: 2 or 3 moist, 3 or 4 dry
Chroma: 1 or 2 moist or dry
Texture: silty clay or clay and less commonly silty clay loam
Clay content: 35 to 55 percent
Sand content: 2 to 15 percent
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 1 to 6 percent
Reaction: slightly alkaline or moderately alkaline
Bg horizon:
Hue: 10YR, 2.5Y, or 5Y
Value: 2 to 4 moist, 3 to 5 dry
Chroma: 1 or 2 moist or dry
Texture: silty clay or clay
Clay content: 40 to 55 percent
Sand content: 2 to 15 percent
Redoximorphic features: few to many concentrations and depletions
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 1 to 14 percent
Reaction: moderately alkaline or strongly alkaline
Cg horizon:
Hue: 10YR or 2.5Y
Value: 3 to 5 moist, 4 to 6 dry
Chroma: 1 or 2 moist or dry
Texture: silty clay or clay
Clay content: 40 to 55 percent
Sand content: 2 to 15 percent
Redoximorphic features: few to many concentrations and depletions
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 1 to 14 percent
Reaction: moderately alkaline or strongly alkaline
COMPETING SERIES: There are no competing series.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Parent material: calcareous clayey alluvium
Landform: depressions and old meander scars on flood plains
Slopes: generally less than 0.5 percent but range from 0 to 2 percent
Elevation: 320 to 420 meters (1050 to 1380 feet)
Mean annual air temperature: 10 to 14 degrees C (50 to 57 degrees F)
Mean annual precipitation: 760 to 860 millimeters (30 to 34 inches)
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: 160 to 190 days
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the
Detroit,
Muir,
New Cambria, and
Roxbury soils.
These soils are on slightly higher landform positions than Solomon soils and are better drained.
DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY:
Drainage: poorly drained
Runoff: negligible
Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity: low
Flooding: occasional brief or very brief flooding.
Ponding: frequent brief to long ponding typically in late winter and early spring.
Saturation: has a perched seasonal high-water table that ranges from 30 centimeters (12 inches) above the soil surface to about 60 centimeters (24 inches) below.
USE AND VEGETATION: Most areas are cultivated. Small grains and grain sorghums are the principal crops. Lesser amounts are used for native range and wildlife habitat. Native vegetation is tall prairie grasses intermixed with wetland vegetation. See Additional Data section for native vegetative cover in Iowa.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Central Kansas, central and eastern Nebraska, and southeast Iowa; Land Resource Region and H, Central Great Plains Winter Wheat and Range Region; MLRA 74, Central Kansas Sandstone Hills; 76, Bluestem Hills; Land Resource Region M, Central Feed Grains and Livestock Region; 107B, Iowa and Missouri Deep Loess Hills. The extent is moderate.
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: The zone from 0 to 81 centimeters (0 to 32 inches) (Ap, A, and Bg horizons)
Cambic horizon: The zone from 81 to 127 centimeters (32 to 50 inches) (BCg horizon)
Redoximorphic concentrations: In the zone from 41 to 165 centimeters (16 to 65 inches) (Bg, BCg, and Cg horizons)
Moisture conditions: Aquic
Episaturation: A seasonal, perched water table ranges from 30 centimeters (12 inches) above the surface to 61 centimeters (24 inches) below (Ap, A, and Bg horizons)
Vertic features: The presence of linear extensibility of 6.0 cm or more between 0 and 100 cm (0 to 40 inches). There is no lab data available to support this, but it is assumed that it would meet this criteria due to the amount and type (smectitic) of clay.
Solomon soils will likely classify as a Vertisol if intersecting slickensides are found to occur.
07/2003 WAW Changed format to semi-tabular from narrative.
Changed runoff: from very slow to negligible
Range in characteristics: Added clay and sand content to control section
Modified format by LRM in 3/2006 to include metric conversion and change permeability to saturated hydraulic conductivity.
09/2015 DJK Updated opening paragraph to current SSRO5 standards. Added quad and lat/long to type location. Added elevation to typical pedon. Added clay content, sand content, CCE, and redoximorphic features to RIC. Added elevation, precipitation pattern, and FFD to geographic setting. Added flooding, ponding, and saturation statement to drainage and Ksat section. Updated use and vegetation section to include wildlife habitat and wetland vegetation. Edited depths of mollic and cambic in remarks. Added Vertic features. Added statement about being a Vertisol if have slickensides. Added available lab data to additional data.
07/2020 BKN Updated intro paragraph. Updated Distribution and Extent paragraph to include LRR and MLRA names. Removed South Dakota (SD) from the state list at the top as this soils does not occur in SD at all.
Keys to Soil Taxonomy: Twelfth Edition, 2014
ADDITIONAL DATA: Kansas State University Pedology Laboratory data is available for Pedon IDs 88KS061324 and 89KS061346.
In Iowa, the native vegetative cover is an herbaceous wetland community commonly inhabited with Prairie Cordgrasses, Big Bluestems, Switchgrasses, Grays Sedges, Fox Sedges, Tall Tickseeds, and Great St. John Worts. Source: Iowa State Office, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Des Moines, IA.
In Nebraska, the native vegetative cover is an herbaceous wetland community commonly inhabited with sedges (Carex emoryi, C. laeviconica, C. pellita, C. vulpinoidea), flat stem spikerush, (Eleocharis compressa), Kentucky bluegrass (Poa Pratensis), prairie cordgrass (Spartina pectinate). Source: Terrestrial Ecological Systems and Natural Communities of Nebraska, Version IV. S.B. Rolfsmeier and G. Steinauer. Nebraska Natural Heritage Program, Nebraska Game and Parks Commission. 2010.
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National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.