LOCATION WELLSTON OH+IL IN KY WV
Established Series
DDC, SLH/Rev. JRT, MDJ
02/2015
WELLSTON SERIES
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-silty, mixed, active, mesic Ultic Hapludalfs
TYPICAL PEDON: Wellston silt loam - on a 7 percent convex slope about 30 meters (100 feet) from the ridge top at an elevation of 265 meters (870 feet) on the unglaciated Allegheny Plateau. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise indicated.)
A--0 to 5 cm (0 to 2 inches); very dark brown (10YR 2/2) silt loam, dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) dry; weak fine granular structure; friable; many fine roots; very strongly acid; abrupt wavy boundary. (3 to 13 cm thick)
E--5 to 18 cm (2 to 7 inches); pale brown (10YR 6/3) silt loam; weak coarse subangular blocky structure parting to weak fine granular; friable; many fine roots; many fine through coarse pores; very strongly acid; clear wavy boundary. (8 to 23 cm thick except in cultivated areas is 0 to 8 cm)
BE--18 to 25 cm (7 to 10 inches); yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) silt loam; weak medium subangular blocky structure; friable; many fine roots; many fine to medium pores; few faint dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) clay films; many distinct brown (10YR 5/3) silt coats on vertical faces of peds; very strongly acid; clear smooth boundary. (0 to 20 cm thick)
Bt1--25 to 38 cm (10 to 15 inches); brown (7.5YR 5/4) silt loam; moderate fine and medium subangular blocky structure; firm; common fine roots; few coarse pores; many faint brown (7.5YR 4/4) clay films on all faces of peds; very strongly acid; gradual wavy boundary.
Bt2--38 to 53 cm (15 to 21 inches); brown (7.5YR 5/4) silt loam; moderate fine and medium subangular blocky structure; firm; common fine roots; few coarse pores; many faint brown (7.5YR 4/4) clay films on all faces of peds; strongly acid; abrupt wavy boundary.
Bt3--53 to 64 cm (21 to 25 inches); brown (7.5YR 5/4) silty clay loam; moderate fine and medium subangular blocky structure; firm; common fine roots; few fine pores; common faint brown (7.5YR 4/4) clay films on all faces of peds; 3 percent sandstone channers; very strongly acid; clear smooth boundary. (Combined thickness of the Bt horizon is 20 to 76 cm.)
2BC--64 to 91 cm (25 to 36 inches); strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) channery loam; weak medium subangular blocky structure; firm; few fine roots; few fine pores; few distinct pale brown (10YR 6/3) clay films on all faces of peds; few distinct gray (10YR 5/1) silt coats on faces of peds in lower part of horizon; 20 percent sandstone and siltstone channers; strongly acid; abrupt wavy boundary. (0 to 38 cm thick)
2C--91 to 114 cm (36 to 45 inches); strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) extremely channery loam; many medium light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) lithochromic mottles; massive; firm; few fine roots; few fine pores; 80 percent siltstone channers; strongly acid; abrupt irregular boundary. (0 to 61 cm thick)
2R--114 to 139 cm (45 to 55 inches); light olive brown (2.5Y 5/6) acid fine-grained sandstone.
TYPE LOCATION:
County: Washington
State: Ohio
USGS Quadrangle: Fleming, Ohio
Latitude (Decimal Degrees, WGS84): 39.4576417 N
Longitude (Decimal Degrees, WGS84): -81.6242917 W
Directions to the pedon: Watertown Township; 1.37 km (0.85 mile) south of State Route 676 on County Road 2; 30.5 m (100 feet) north of the junction of County Road 2 and a field lane in the SE, SE, SW , section 8, T. 4 N., R. 10 W.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Depth to the top of the Argillic: 18 to 38 cm (7 to 15 inches)
Depth to the base of the Argillic: 60 to 122 cm (24 to 48 inches)
Solum Thickness: 81 to 140 cm (32 to 55 inches)
Depth to Bedrock: Greater than 102 cm (40 inches)
Depth Class: Deep or very deep
Depth to Lithologic Discontinuity: 58 to 94 cm (23 to 37 inches)
Rock Fragment Content: 0 to 15 percent, by volume, in the A, E, and upper Bt horizons, 0 to 60 percent, by volume, in sub horizons of the 2Bt and 2BC horizons, and 0 to 80 percent, by volume, in the 2C horizon.
Soil Reaction: Moderately acid through extremely acid in the Ap, A, E, BE, Bt, and 2Bt horizons, and moderately acid through very strongly acid in the 2BC and 2C horizons, where not limed
Fine-Earth Fraction: Averages 10 to 40 percent clay and less than 10 percent sand in the particle-size control section
Range of Individual Horizons:
A or Ap horizon:
Color--hue of 10YR or 7.5YR, value of 2 through 5, and chroma of 1 through 3, except eroded areas range in chroma of 4 through 6
Texture (fine-earth fraction)--silt loam or silty clay loam or their channery analogues
E horizon:
(In some cultivated pedons the E horizon is mixed in the Ap horizon.)
Color--hue of 10YR, value of 4 through 6, and chroma of 3 or 4
Texture (fine-earth fraction)--silt loam or silty clay loam or their channery analogues
BE horizon (if it occurs):
Color--hue of 10YR, value of 4 or 5, and chroma of 3 through 6
Texture (fine-earth fraction)--silt loam or silty clay loam or their channery analogues
Bt or 2Bt horizon:
Color--hue of 10YR or 7.5YR, value of 4 or 5, and chroma of 3 through 8
Texture (fine-earth fraction)--silty clay loam or silt loam or their channery analogues
Redoximorphic features (if they occur)--black manganese stains or concretions; and yellowish brown or strong brown iron-manganese masses
Lithochromic mottles (if they occur)--pale brown or light brownish gray below a depth of 64 cm
2BC horizon:
Color--hue of 7.5YR through 2.5Y, value of 4 or 5, and chroma of 3 through 6
Texture (fine-earth fraction)--silt loam, silty clay loam, clay loam, or loam, or their channery, very channery, gravelly, or very gravelly analogues
Redoximorphic features (if they occur)--black manganese stains or concretions; and yellowish brown or strong brown iron-manganese masses
Lithochromic mottles (if they occur)--light brownish gray
2C horizon:
Color--hue of 7.5YR through 2.5Y, value of 4 or 5, and chroma of 3 through 6
Texture (fine-earth fraction)--loam, silt loam, clay loam, sandy clay loam, or sandy loam, or their gravelly or channery through extremely gravelly or extremely channery analogues
Redoximorphic features (if they occur)--black manganese stains or concretions; and yellowish brown or strong brown iron-manganese masses
Lithochromic mottles (if they occur)--light brownish gray
COMPETING SERIES:
Bearthicket soils--formed in silty alluvium and do not have a loess surface
Cidermill soils--are stratified in the underlying glacial material and contain rounded gravel
Elk soils--are alluvial and lack rock fragments or have rounded fragments in the lower part of the subsoil
Elkinsville soils--formed in loess over alluvium and lack rock fragments or have rounded fragments in the lower B and C horizons
Olephant soils--formed in loess over paleosol in lacustrine deposits
Parke soils--formed in loess over paleosol in outwash and have hues redder than 7.5YR in the lower part of the B horizon
Pike soils--formed in loess over paleosol in outwash, have hues redder than 7.5YR in the lower B horizon, have a solum of more than 60 inches, and lack rock fragments within 40 inches
Rickert soils--are very deep and formed in more than 203 cm of loess
Tobinsport soils--are very deep and formed on loess covered dunes on stream terraces
Wellrock soils--have a paralithic contact and average less than 15 percent sand in the lower part of the series control section.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
MLRA(s) using this series: 111A, 113, 114A, 114B, 115A, 120A, 120B, 120C, 122, 124, 126, 127
Landscape: Hills
Landform: Ridge and hillslope
Geomorphic Component: Crest, head slope, nose slope, or side slope
Hillslope Profile Position: Summit, shoulder, or backslope
Parent Material Origin: Silty loess over sandstone, siltstone, or shale
Parent Material Kind: Loess over residuum
Slope: 0 to 35 percent
Elevation: 183 to 699 meters (600 to 2293 feet)
Frost-free period: 110 to 225 days
Mean Annual Air Temperature: 8.9 to 15.2 degrees C. (48 to 59 degrees F.)
Mean Annual Precipitation: 945 to 1344 millimeters (37 to 53 inches)
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS:
Berks soils-- occur on similar landscape positions and are moderately deep to shale and siltstone bedrock
Dekalb soils-- occur on similar landscape positions and are moderately deep to sandstone bedrock
Muskingum soils-- occur on similar landscape positions and are moderately deep to sandstone, siltstone, and shale bedrock
Neotoma soils--occur on north-facing slopes in coves and are loamy-skeletal
Zanesville soils--occur on similar landscape positions and have a fragipan
DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY:
Drainage Class (Agricultural): Well drained
Internal Free Water Occurrence: None
Index Surface Runoff: Medium to high
Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity Class: High
Permeability Class (obsolete): Moderate
Shrink-Swell Class: Low
Flooding Frequency and Duration: None
Ponding Frequency and Duration: None
USE AND VEGETATION:
Major Uses: Hayland, pasture, woodland, and cropland
Dominant Vegetation: Where cultivated--Grass legume hay, corn, oats, soybeans, or winter wheat. Where wooded--Oaks, hickory, yellow-poplar, shortleaf pine, and cherry
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT:
Distribution: Southern and eastern Ohio, southern Illinois, southern Indiana, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and West Virginia
Extent: Large, about 1 million acres at the time of this revision
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: MORGANTOWN, WEST VIRGINIA
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Athens County, Ohio, 1932.
REMARKS: Large areas previously classed as Wellston, where the content of coarse fragments is high, are now classed as Westmoreland, and areas with lower base saturation are classed as Whitley.
Diagnostic horizons and soil characteristics recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon--the zone from 0 to 25 cm (A, E, and BE horizons)
Argillic horizon--the zone from 25 to 64 cm (Bt1, Bt2, and Bt3 horizons)
Lithic materials--The zone from 114 to 139 cm (2R horizon)
Other soil features identified with this pedon:
Lithologic discontinuity--the zone from 64 to 139 cm (2BC, 2C, and 2R horizons)
Series control section--the zone from 0 to 114 cm
The 2/2015 update expands the ranges for the climatic data
ADDITIONAL DATA:
Characterization data is available from the KSSL for the following pedons:
73KY-089-036
Characterization data is available from The Ohio State University Soil Characterization Laboratory for the following pedons:
1955-OH013-S03, 1960-OH019-002, 1960-OH019-007, 1962-OH019-W28, 1962-OH019-W20, 1961-OH119-W01, 1967-OH167-005, 1978-OH009-016, 1985-OH013-033, 1962OH053W04
National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.