LOCATION GARA               IA+KS MO

GARA SERIES

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, mixed, superactive, mesic Mollic Hapludalfs

TYPICAL PEDON: Gara loam, on a convex slope of 11 percent, in a deciduous forest. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)

A--0 to 18 centimeters; very dark gray (10YR 3/1) loam, gray (10YR 5/1) dry; weak very fine granular structure; friable; moderately acid; clear smooth boundary. (13 to 25 centimeters thick)

E--18 to 30 centimeters; dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) and very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) loam, light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) dry; weak fine subangular blocky structure parting to weak medium platy; friable; few very dark gray (10YR 3/1) worm casts; about 2 percent rock fragments (2 to 75 millimeters in diameter); moderately acid; clear smooth boundary. (0 to 20 centimeters thick)

Bt1--30 to 43 centimeters; dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) loam; moderate fine subangular blocky structure; friable; few very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) worm casts; common brown (10YR 4/3) clay films on faces of peds; few distinct grayish brown (10YR 5/2), dry silt and very fine sand coats on faces of peds; about 3 percent rock fragments; strongly acid; clear smooth boundary.

Bt2--43 to 61 centimeters; dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) clay loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; firm; common distinct brown (10YR 4/3) clay films on faces of peds; few fine dark concretions; about 3 percent rock fragments; strongly acid; gradual smooth boundary.

Bt3--61 to 84 centimeters; dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) clay loam; weak medium prismatic structure parting to weak and moderate medium subangular blocky; firm; common distinct brown (10YR 4/3) clay films on faces of peds; few fine black (10YR 2/1) concretions; few fine distinct grayish brown (2.5Y 5/2) redoximorphic depletions; about 3 percent rock fragments; strongly acid; gradual smooth boundary.

Bt4--84 to 114 centimeters; yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) clay loam; weak medium prismatic structure parting to weak medium and coarse subangular and angular blocky; firm; few dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) clay films on vertical faces of peds and along surfaces of pores; few fine distinct grayish brown (2.5Y 5/2) redoximorphic depletions; about 3 percent rock fragments; slightly acid; clear smooth boundary. (Combined thickness of the Bt horizon is 40 to 150 centimeters.)

BC--114 to 203 centimeters; yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) and grayish brown (2.5Y 5/2) clay loam; extremely coarse prismatic structure dissected by few oblique fractures; firm; few fine carbonate concretions; about 3 percent rock fragments; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline.

TYPE LOCATION: Major Land Resource Area (MLRA) 109-Iowa and Missouri Heavy Till Plain, Wayne County, Iowa subset; about 2 miles east of Lineville; located about 900 feet east and 1,600 feet south of the northwest corner of section 23, T. 67 N., R. 23 W.; USGS Cleopatra topographic quadrangle; lat. 40 degrees 35 minutes 24 seconds N. and long. 93 degrees 28 minutes 38 seconds W., NAD 83.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Depth to carbonates--76 to 178 centimeters
Clay content of the particle-size control section (weighted average)--30 to 35 percent
Sand content of the particle-size control section (weighted average)--25 to 45 percent

A or Ap horizon:
Hue--10YR
Value--3
Chroma--1 to 3
Texture--loam, silt loam, clay loam, or fine sandy loam
Clay content--12 to 35 percent
Sand content--20 to 50 percent
Rock fragment content--1 to 10 percent
Reaction--moderately acid to neutral
Special features--when mixed to a depth of 18 centimeters, matrix value is 3 or less, moist, 5 or less, dry

E (when present) or BE horizon (when present):
Hue--10YR
Value--3 to 5
Chroma--2 to 4
Texture--loam, silt loam, or clay loam
Clay content--18 to 35 percent
Sand content--20 to 50 percent
Rock fragment content--1 to 10 percent
Reaction--moderately acid to neutral

Bt horizon:
Hue--7.5YR or 10YR
Value--4 or 5
Chroma--3 to 6
Texture--loam or clay loam
Clay content--30 to 35 percent
Sand content--20 to 45 percent
Rock fragment content--1 to 10 percent
Reaction--very strong acid to neutral

Some pedons have subhorizons that have a clay content of up to 38 percent

Btk horizon (when present):
Hue--10YR
Value--4 or 5
Chroma--3 to 6
Texture--clay loam
Clay content--30 to 35 percent
Sand content--20 to 45 percent
Rock fragment content--1 to 10 percent
Reactionslightly alkaline or moderately alkaline

BC or C horizon (when present):
Hue--10YR or 2.5Y
Value--4 or 5
Chroma--2 to 6
Texture--clay loam or loam
Clay content--24 to 35 percent
Sand content--20 to 45 percent
Rock fragment content--1 to 10 percent
Reaction--slightly acid to moderately alkaline

COMPETING SERIES: These are the Angus, Argyle, Bassett, Blooming, Caleb, Cortland, Koronis, Lester, Newcomer, Orwood, Racine, Sebbo, Taopi, Waucoma, and Winneshiek series.
Angus--have a clay content that averages 22 to 30 percent in the particle-size control section
Argyle--have matrix hues of 5YR or redder in the lower half of the series control section
Bassett--have a clay content that averages 20 to 28 percent in the particle-size control section
Blooming--have a clay content that averages 24 to 30 percent in the particle-size control section
Caleb--have a clay content that ranges from 5 to 30 percent, have a sand content of more than 40 percent in the lower third of the series control section and do not have carbonates in the series control section
Cortland--do not have carbonates in the series control section
Koronis--have carbonates within a depth of 91 centimeters and have a clay content that averages 18 to 24 percent and a sand content that averages 45 to 65 percent in the particle-size control section
Lester--have carbonates within a depth of 137 centimeters
Newcomer--have a paralithic contact with sandstone within a depth of 100 centimeters
Orwood--do not have rock fragments in the series control section
Racine--do not have rock fragments in the upper third of the series control section
Sebbo--have a clay content that averages 18 to 25 percent in the particle-size control section
Taopi--have carbonates within a depth of 100 centimeters and have soft limestone or siltstone rock fragment content of 10 to 40 percent in the lower third of the series control section
Waucoma--have a lithic contact with limestone within a depth of 150 centimeters
Winneshiek--have a lithic contact with limestone within a depth of 100 centimeters

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Parent material--till
Landform--interfluves, side slopes, and nose slopes on dissected uplands
Slope--5 to 40 percent
Elevation-195 to 415 meters above sea level
Mean annual air temperature--9 to 13 degrees C
Mean annual precipitation--750 to 910 millimeters
Frost-free period--155 to 180 days

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Armstrong, Ladoga, Lindley, and Olmitz soils.
Armstrong--are at higher landscape positions on side slopes and nose slopes, have a clay content of 35 to 60 percent in the particle-size control section and have a frequently saturated zone within a depth of 0.3 meter during the wettest periods of normal years
Ladoga--are at higher landscape positions on side slopes and nose slopes, have a clay content that averages 35 to 40 percent in the particle-size control section and have a frequently saturated zone within a depth of 1.2 meters during the wettest periods of normal years
Lindley--are at higher landscape positions on side slopes and have dark-colored surface layers that are thinner than Gara soils
Olmitz--are at lower landscape positions on base slopes and have mollic epipedons 60 to 100 centimeters thick

DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY:
Drainage class--well drained-a frequently saturated zone does not occur within a depth of 1.8 meters during the wettest periods of normal years
Saturated hydraulic conductivity--1.0 to 10 micrometers per second
Surface runoff potential--medium or high

USE AND VEGETATION:
More gently sloping areas are cultivated. The principal crops are corn, soybeans, oats, and grass-legume hay. More steeply sloping areas are pastured. The native vegetation is mixed deciduous trees (oak and hickory) and big bluestem, little bluestem, switchgrass, and other grasses of the tall grass prairie.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT:
Physiographic Division--Interior Plains
Physiographic Province--Central Lowland
Physiographic sections--Dissected till plains and Till plains
MLRAs--Nebraska and Kansas Loess-Drift Hills (106),
Iowa and Missouri Deep Loess Hills (107),
Illinois and Iowa Deep Loess and Drift (108),
Iowa and Missouri Heavy Till Plain (109),
Central Clay Pan Areas (113), and
Central Mississippi Valley Wooded Slopes (115)
LRR M; southern Iowa, northern Missouri, and northeastern Kansas
Extent--large

MLRA OFFICE RESPONSIBLE: St. Paul, Minnesota

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Daviess County, Missouri, 1952

REMARKS:
Particle-size control section--the zone from a depth of 30 to a depth of 80 centimeters (Bt1, Bt2, and Bt3 horizons);
series control section--the zone from the surface to a depth of 203 centimeters (A, E, Bt1, Bt2, Bt3, Bt4, and BC horizons).

Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon include:
ochric epipedon--the zone from the surface to a depth of 30 centimeters (A and E horizons);
albic horizon--the zone from a depth of 18 to 30 centimeters (E horizon);
argillic horizon--the zone from a depth of 30 to 114 centimeters (Bt1, Bt2, Bt3, and Bt4 horizons);
udic moisture regime.

The till is Kansan or Nebraskan age.

The matrix colors and the redoximorphic features described in this profile are not believed to be indicative of present day wetness. These colors were not used to determine the classification of this soil.

Cation-exchange activity class is inferred from lab data from similar soils in the surrounding area.

Taxonomy version--Keys to Soil Taxonomy, tenth edition, 2006.