LOCATION WADSWORTH OHEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-silty, mixed, active, mesic Aeric Fragiaqualfs
TYPICAL PEDON: Wadsworth silt loam, on a 0 to 2 percent slope in a cultivated field. (Colors are for moist soils unless otherwise noted.)
Ap--0 to 8 inches; dark grayish brown (2.5Y 4/2) silt loam, light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) dry; moderate fine granular structure; friable; very strongly acid; abrupt smooth boundary. (6 to 11 inches thick.)
BE--8 to 14 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) silt loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; friable; common roots; many light brownish gray (2.5Y 6/2) clay depletions on faces of peds; common medium distinct gray (5Y 6/1) iron depletions in the matrix; 2 percent rock fragments; very strongly acid; clear smooth boundary. (3 to 7 inches thick.)
Bt--14 to 23 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) silty clay loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; firm; common distinct dark gray (5Y 4/1) clay films on faces of peds; many gray (5Y 6/1) clay depletions on faces of peds; many medium distinct dark gray (5Y 4/1) iron depletions in the matrix; 2 percent rock fragments; very strongly acid; clear smooth boundary. (Combined thickness of Bt horizon is 6 to 16 inches.)
Btx1--23 to 35 inches; brown (10YR 4/3) silty clay loam; moderate very coarse prismatic structure parting to weak coarse prismatic and weak medium platy; very firm; brittle; many prominent gray (5Y 5/1) clay films on vertical faces of peds; few fine distinct gray (5Y 6/1) iron depletions in the matrix; common medium dark soft masses of iron-manganese accumulation in prism interiors; 2 percent rock fragments; strongly acid; gradual wavy boundary.
Btx2--35 to 44 inches; brown (10YR 4/3) silty clay loam; moderate very coarse prismatic structure parting to weak medium platy; very firm; moderately brittle; many prominent gray (5Y 5/1) clay films on faces of peds; fine rind of yellowish brown (10YR 5/8) iron accumulation between the prism matrix and clay films; 2 percent rock fragments; slightly acid; gradual wavy boundary. (The Btx horizons have a combined thickness of 10 to 32 inches.)
BC--44 to 54 inches; brown (10YR 4/3) silty clay loam; moderate very coarse prismatic structure; firm; many prominent gray (5Y 5/1) coats on vertical faces of peds; 2 percent rock fragments; slightly alkaline; gradual wavy boundary. (0 to 19 inches thick.)
C--54 to 60 inches; brown (10YR 4/3) silty clay loam; massive; firm; common medium distinct gray (5Y 6/1) iron depletions in the matrix; common medium distinct yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) masses of iron accumulation in the matrix; about 2 percent rock fragments; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline.
TYPE LOCATION: Summit County, Ohio; Twinsburg Township, about 2 miles southwest of Twinsburg, 1 1/4 miles west of State Road 91, 1200 feet south of Highland Road adjacent to Conrail railroad track, T. 5 N., R. 10 W.; U.S.G.S. Twinsburg, Ohio topographic quadrangle; Latitude 41 degrees, 17 minutes, 40 seconds N. Longitude 81 degrees, 27 minutes, 58 seconds W. NAD 1983.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Thickness of the solum ranges from 34 to 60 inches. Depth to the fragipan ranges from 18 to 30 inches. Rock fragments range from 0 to 4 percent in the A, BE, and Bt horizons and from 2 to 15 percent in the Btx, BC, and C horizons. The particle-size control section averages less than 15 percent fine sand or coarser and averages 27 to 35 percent clay.
The Ap horizon has hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 4 or 5 (6 or more dry), and chroma of 1 to 3. Some pedons have A horizons, 1 to 5 inches thick, with hue of 10YR, value of 2 or 3 (4 or 5 dry), and chroma of 2. An E horizon, where present, is up to 10 inches thick with hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 5 or 6 (more than 6 dry), chroma of 2 or 3, and few to many redoximorphic features with chroma of 2 to 6. The Ap, A, and E horizons commonly are moderately acid to extremely acid but the Ap horizon ranges to neutral.
The BE horizon (B/E in some pedons) has clay depletions on faces of peds that indicate degradation with value of 5 or 6, and chroma of 2 or less. The matrix has hue of 7.5YR, 10YR, or 2.5Y, value of 4 or 5, chroma of 3 to 6 and redoximorphic features with chroma of 2 or less. The BE horizon is silt loam or silty clay loam. It is moderately acid to extremely acid.
The Bt horizon has hue of 7.5YR, 10YR, 2.5Y, or 5Y, value of 4 or 5, chroma of 3 to 8 and few to many redoximorphic features; and faces of peds have chroma of 2 or less. It is silty clay loam, clay loam, or silt loam. It is moderately acid to extremely acid.
The Btx horizon has hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 4 or 5, chroma of 3 to 6, and few to many high and low chroma redoximorphic features, except subhorizons of some pedons do not have redoximorphic features. Faces of prisms have coats with hue of 10YR to 5Y, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 0 to 2. It is clay loam, silty clay loam, or silt loam. It is moderately acid to very strongly acid in the upper part and moderately acid to neutral in the lower part.
The BC horizon has colors similar to the Btx horizon. It is clay loam, silty clay loam, loam or silt loam. It is strongly acid to slightly alkaline.
The C horizon has hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 4 or 5, and chroma of 3 to 6. It is clay loam, silty clay loam, silt loam, or loam. It is moderately acid to moderately alkaline and typically contains free carbonates.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Bartle, Doles, Dubois, Patricksburg, Platea, Schaffer, and Weinbach series. Bartle soils contain less rock fragments in the lower part of the control section and the C horizon. Doles soils contain less sand in the lower part of the solum and in the substratum. The Dubois and Schaffer soils have the base of the argillic horizon at more than 80 inches. Patricksburg soils have a paralithic contact at 60 to 80 inches. Platea soils formed in younger age till and in slightly different climate characterized by more snow and slightly higher precipitation. Weinbach soils lack an argillic horizon above the fragipan.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: The Wadsworth soils formed in Wisconsinan age till and are on convex flats, low interfluves, side slopes and base slopes on till plains. The slope ranges from 0 to 12 percent. The soils formed in till strongly influenced by sandstone and clay shale. Mean annual precipitation ranges from about 32 to 42 inches, and mean annual temperature ranges from about 48 to 54 degrees F.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Bogart, Chagrin, Chili, Conotton, Fitchville, Frenchtown, Glenford, Jimtown, Lobdell, Rittman, and Sebring soils. Moderately well drained Bogart, well drained Chili, well drained Conotton, and somewhat poorly drained Jimtown soils lack fragipans and are on nearby sandy and gravelly terraces. The well drained Chagrin and moderately well drained Lobdell soils are on nearby flood plains. The somewhat poorly drained Fitchville, moderately well drained Glenford, and poorly drained Sebring soils lack fragipans and are on nearby silty lacustrine terraces. The poorly drained Frenchtown soils are on nearby lower landscape positions on the till plain. The moderately well drained Rittman soils are on nearby steeper slopes or adjacent higher landscape positions on the till plain.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Somewhat poorly drained. The potential for surface runoff is negligible to very high. Permeability is moderate or moderately slow above the fragipan and slow or very slow in the fragipan. In undisturbed areas the depth to the top of a perched seasonal high water table is 0.5 to 1.0 feet during November to June in normal years.
USE AND VEGETATION: Most areas are used to grow corn, oats, and wheat. Some areas are in pasture or woodland. The natural vegetation is deciduous forest with sugar maple, beech, and red oak the main species.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Northeastern Ohio. MLRA 139. The series is of large extent, about 157,000 acres.
MLRA OFFICE RESPONSIBLE: Amherst, Massachusetts
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Muddy Fork Project, Ohio, 1936.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
a) Ochric epipedon - from the surface to a depth of about 8 inches (Ap);
b) Argillic horizon - from a depth of about 14 to 44 inches (Bt, Btx1, Btx2);
c) Fragipan - from depths of about 23 to about 44 inches (Btx1, Btx2);
d) Redoximorphic features - 8 to 60 inches (BE, Bt, Btx1, Btx2, BC, and C horizons).
Notes: A moderately shallow variant was correlated in Stark Co., Ohio. This variant will be evaluated during MLRA updating to determine if a new series is needed.
08/2000 revision included numerous changes made to all parts of the OSD. Pedon description was updated to include redoximorphic features.
The Wadsworth series and the Platea series now have significant overlap of attribute ranges in characteristics. Both series are correlated and by consensus are needed. Future MLRA investigations should identify more exact attribute ranges and to identify an OSD-diagnostic criteria to retain these two series separately. Platea soils are generally north of the Wadsworth soils. By implication they are younger (though both are formed in Wisconsinian age till), and the extreme northern Platea and extreme southern Wadsworth soils are on different till members. Also the extreme climate difference from the northernmost Platea to the southernmost Wadsworth is somewhat contrasting, but is not generally definitive for differentiating.
Acreage based on 2004 data.
ADDITIONAL DATA: : Refer to pedon ST-24 for characterization data of the typical pedon, sample numbers 6841-6849, from Summit County, Ohio; samples analyzed by The Ohio State University Soil Characterization Laboratory, Columbus, Ohio. Data is also available for pedons CO-138, MD-11, MD-13, MH-25, PG-S6, and ST-17.