Nebraska Soils Field Trip - Virginia Tech

4th IUSS Soil Classification Conference Field Tour Guidebook
COMPETING SERIES: There are no competing series.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Parent material--18 to 30 inches of clayey alluvium and the underlying loamy alluvium
Landform--flood plains
Slopes--0 to 2 percent
Elevation--700 to 1,260 feet above sea level
Mean annual air temperature--46 to 56 degrees F.
Mean annual precipitation--19 to 36 inches
Frost-free period--135 to 185 days
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Albaton, Blake, Percival,
Grable, Haynie, and Modale soils.
Albaton--are in the slightly lower landscape positions, have a saturated zone within a depth of 1
foot during March to June in most years, and have a clay content of 50 to 60 percent throughout
the particle-size control section
Blake--are in landscape positions similar to those of the Onawa soils and have a clay content of
22 to 35 percent throughout the particle-size control section
Percival--are in the slightly higher landscape positions, have a clay content of less than 10
percent in the lower half of the particle-size control section
Grable--are in the higher landscape positions, have a clay content of 12 to 16 percent in the upper
half of the particle-size control section, and do not have a saturated zone within a depth of 6 feet
during April to June in most years
Haynie--are in the slightly higher landscape positions, have a clay content of 15 to 18 percent
throughout the particle-size control section, and have a saturated zone between depths of 4 to 6
feet during April to June in most years
Modale--are in the slightly higher landscape positions, have a clay content of 10 to 18 percent in
the upper third to upper half of the particle-size control section, and have a saturated zone
between depths of 1 to 3 feet during April to June in most years
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY:
Drainage class--somewhat poorly drained--a saturated zone occurs within depths of 1 to 3 feet
during March to June in most years and is considered apparent
Permeability--slow in the clayey alluvium and moderate or moderately rapid in the underlying
loamy alluvium
Surface runoff potentiallow or medium
Flooding--rare to occasional flooding with very brief or brief duration during the months of
February to November from precipitation events and snowmelt and flooding from streambank
overflow is limited where dams and levees protect areas
USE AND VEGETATION:
Most areas are cultivated. The principal crops are corn, soybeans, and small grains. Some areas
are land-leveled and irrigated. The native vegetation is big bluestem, little bluestem, western
wheatgrass, indiangrass, switchgrass, and other grasses of the tall grass prairie.
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