LOCATION BRANCHVILLE INEstablished Series
The Branchville series consists of very deep, moderately well drained soils on benches of hills. They formed in 20 to 40 inches of colluvium from sandstone and siltstone and the underlying residuum from soft shale bedrock. They are moderately permeable in the upper part of the solum and slowly permeable in the lower part. Slopes range from 20 to 30 percent. Mean annual precipitation is about 45 inches, and mean annual temperature is about 54 degrees F.
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine, mixed, active, mesic Aquic Hapludalfs
TYPICAL PEDON: Branchville channery loam on a 23 percent slope in a woodland at an elevation of about 550 feet above MSL. (Colors are for moist conditions unless stated otherwise.)
A--0 to 3 inches; very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) channery loam, grayish brown (10YR 5/2) dry; moderate fine granular structure; friable; many fine roots; 20 percent sandstone channers; slightly acid; clear wavy boundary. (2 to 12 inches thick)
BA--3 to 23 inches; brown (10YR 4/3) extremely flaggy loam; weak fine subangular blocky structure; friable; many fine to coarse roots; 65 percent sandstone rock fragments (50 percent flagstones, 10 percent stones, and 5 percent channers); moderately acid; clear wavy boundary. (5 to 25 inches thick)
Bt1--23 to 29 inches; pale brown (10YR 6/3) very channery clay loam; moderate fine subangular blocky structure; firm; common fine roots; many distinct light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) clay films on faces of peds; many medium prominent brown (7.5YR 4/4) masses of iron accumulation in the matrix; common black (10YR 2/1) iron-manganese concretions; 50 percent sandstone channers; moderately acid; clear wavy boundary. (4 to 18 inches thick)
2Bt2--29 to 38 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) clay; strong medium subangular blocky structure; firm; few fine roots; many prominent light gray (10YR 7/1) clay films on faces of peds; many medium prominent light gray (10YR 7/1) iron depletions in the matrix; many medium distinct yellowish red (5YR 4/6) masses of iron accumulation in the matrix; 7 percent sandstone channers (2 percent is 3/4 to 3 inch); very strongly acid; abrupt wavy boundary. (5 to 24 inches thick)
2Btg1--38 to 47 inches; gray (10YR 6/1) clay; strong medium subangular blocky structure; firm; few fine roots; many distinct gray (10YR 6/1) clay films on faces of peds; many medium prominent yellowish red (5YR 4/6) and yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) masses of iron accumulation in the matrix; 2 percent sandstone channers; strongly acid; gradual wavy boundary.
2Btg2--47 to 55 inches; gray (10YR 6/1) silty clay; strong medium subangular blocky structure; firm; few fine roots; many distinct gray (10YR 6/1) clay films on faces of peds; many medium prominent yellowish red (5YR 4/6) and yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) masses of iron accumulation in the matrix; 1 percent sandstone channers; slightly acid; gradual wavy boundary. (10 to 40 inches thick)
2CBg--55 to 80 inches; gray (10YR 6/1) extremely parachannery silty clay; strong fine platy structure; firm; few fine roots; 70 percent shale fragments (parachanners); slightly alkaline.
TYPE LOCATION: Perry County, Indiana; 1,000 feet east and 600 feet south of the northwest corner of sec. 7, T. 4 S., R. 1 W; USGS Branchville, IN topographic quadrangle: lat. 38 degrees 11 minutes 15 seconds N and long. 86 degrees 33 minutes 45 seconds W; NAD 27.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: The depth to the base of the argillic horizon and to a paralithic contact is more than 80 inches. Depth to a 3Bt horizon formed in shale is 20 to 40 inches.
The A horizon has hue of 10YR, value of 3 or 4, and chroma of 1 to 3. Texture is channery loam. It averages 15 to 26 percent clay and 32 to 48 percent sand, and 15 to 34 percent sandstone rock fragments, mainly channers and includes flagstones. Reaction is strongly acid to slightly acid.
The BA horizon has hue of 10YR, value of 3 or 4, and chroma of 3 to 6. Textures are the channery, very channery, extremely channery, or flaggy, very flaggy, and extremely flaggy analogues of loam or sandy loam. It averages 15 to 26 percent clay and 30 to 60 percent sand, and 15 to 80 percent sandstone rock fragments, mainly channers and flagstones, and includes some stones. Reaction is strongly acid to slightly acid.
The Bt or Btg horizons has hue of 10YR, value of 5 or 6, and chroma of 3 to 6. Textures are the channery, very channery, flaggy and very flaggy analogues of clay loam or sandy clay loam. It averages 25 to 35 percent clay and 25 to 60 percent sand and 15 to 60 percent sandstone rock fragments, channers and flagstones. Reaction is strongly acid to slightly acid.
The 2Bt or 2Btg horizons have hue of 5YR to 2.5Y, value of 5 to 7 and chroma of 1 to 6. Texture is clay or silty clay. It averages 40 to 65 percent clay and 2 to 20 percent sand. Pararock fragments (shale) range from 0 to 14 percent. Rock fragments (sandstone channers) range from 0 to 10 percent. Reaction is very strongly acid to neutral.
The 2CBg or 2BC horizon has hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 5 to 7, and chroma of 1 to 4. Texture is very parachannery or extremely parachannery analogues of clay or silty clay. It averages 40 to 65 percent clay and 2 to 20 percent sand. Pararock fragments (shale) range from 35 to 80 percent. Rock fragments (sandstone channers) range from 0 to 10 percent. Reaction is slightly acid to slightly alkaline.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Cardinal, Celina, Eudy (T), Hartville, Jerktail, Lewisburg, Loudon, and Tarlton. Celina, Lewisburg, and Loudon soils have carbonates, and rock fragments, dominantly of igneous lithology, in the lower part of the series control section. Hartville soils average less than 15 percent rock fragments in the upper part of the series control section.
Competing series that may change as they are updated to the 8th Edition of Keys to Soil Taxonomy are Poorhouse (T) and Whippany soils. Whippany soils have hue of 7.5YR or redder throughout the B horizon.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Branchville soils are on benches below sandstone and siltstone bedrock outcrops. Slopes typically are from 20 to 25 percent and range to 30 percent. They formed in 20 to 40 inches of colluvium from sandstone and siltstone, and the underlying residuum from shale bedrock (Mississippian age). Mean annual temperature ranges from 52 to 57 degrees F, and the mean annual precipitation ranges from 40 to 47 inches. Frost-free days range from 170 to 200.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Adyeville, Deuchars, Ebal, Jubin, Kitterman, and Tipsaw soils. The somewhat excessively drained, moderately deep Adyeville soils and Tipsaw soils are the upper part of backslopes. The very deep, moderately well drained Deuchars soils, and deep or very deep, moderately well drained Ebal soils and the moderately well drained, moderately deep Kitterman soils are either on higher lying shoulder and backslopes, or on lower lying footslopes. The well drained, very deep Jubin soils formed in more than 80 inches of colluvium, and typically are on more sloping areas in a complex with the Branchville soils.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Moderately well drained. Permeability is moderate in the upper part of the solum and slow in the lower part. The potential for surface water runoff is high. Depth to an intermittent, perched high water table is at 2.0 to 3.0 feet from December through April in most years.
USE AND VEGETATION: Most areas are used for woodland and wildlife areas. Native vegetation is mixed, deciduous hardwood forest.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Southern Indiana. The acreage is of small extent in the west part of MLRA 120 in Indiana.
MLRA OFFICE RESPONSIBLE: Indianapolis, Indiana
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Perry County, Indiana, 1997. The source of the name is a small town in Perry County.
REMARKS: Diagnostic surface an subsurface horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
1) Ochric epipedon- the zone from 0 to 23 inches (A, BA horizons);
2) Argillic horizon- the zone from 23 to 55 inches (2Bt1, 3Bt2, 3Btg horizons);
3) Redoximorphic features from 23 to 80 inches.
ADDITIONAL DATA: Data for the typical pedon S92IN-123-001 is at the NSSL, Lincoln, NE.