Skip to main content
soil clod

Russell

soil profile

RUSSELL SERIES

LOCATION                 IN+IA IL OH

Established Series
Rev. MLW-TJE
11/2021


The Russell series consists of very deep, well drained soils that are deep or very deep to dense till. The Russell soils formed in loess and in the underlying loamy till. They are on till plains. Slope ranges from 0 to 25 percent. Mean annual precipitation is about 940 mm (37 inches), and mean annual air temperature is about 11 degrees C (52 degrees F).

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-silty, mixed, superactive, mesic Typic Hapludalfs

TYPICAL PEDON: Russell silt loam, on a southwest-facing, convex, 4 percent slope on a narrow ridge in a cultivated field at an elevation of about 227 meters (745 feet) above mean sea level. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)

Ap--0 to 20 cm (0 to 8 inches); brown (10YR 4/3) silt loam, pale brown (10YR 6/3) dry; weak medium granular structure; friable; many fine roots; many fine pores; slightly acid; abrupt smooth boundary. [15 to 23 cm (6 to 9 inches) thick]

Bt1--20 to 33 cm (8 to 13 inches); dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) silt loam; weak medium subangular blocky structure; friable; many fine roots; many fine pores; common distinct brown (7.5YR 4/4) clay films on faces of peds; strongly acid; clear wavy boundary.

Bt2--33 to 71 cm (13 to 28 inches); brown (7.5YR 4/4) silty clay loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; firm; many fine roots; many distinct brown (7.5YR 4/4) clay films on faces of peds; very strongly acid; clear wavy boundary. [Combined thickness of the Bt horizon is 36 to 79 cm (14 to 31 inches).]

2Bt3--71 to 99 cm (28 to 39 inches); dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) clay loam; moderate coarse subangular blocky structure; firm; common fine roots; common distinct brown (7.5YR 4/4) clay films on faces of peds; 3 percent rock fragments; strongly acid; clear wavy boundary.

2Bt4--99 to 132 cm (39 to 52 inches); yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) clay loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; firm; few fine roots; few fine pores; common distinct brown (7.5YR 4/4) clay films on faces of peds; 3 percent rock fragments; strongly acid; clear wavy boundary. [Combined thickness of the 2Bt horizon is 30 to 86 cm (12 to 34 inches).]

2BCt--132 to 147 cm (52 to 58 inches); yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) clay loam; weak coarse subangular blocky structure; firm; few distinct brown (7.5YR 4/4) clay films on faces of peds; few medium distinct yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) masses of iron accumulation in the matrix; few very dark brown (7.5YR 2.5/2) very weakly cemented iron and manganese oxide nodules throughout; 4 percent rock fragments; slightly effervescent; moderately alkaline; clear wavy boundary. [0 to 30 cm (0 to 12 inches) thick]

2Cd--147 to 203 cm (58 to 80 inches); yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) loam; massive; very firm; 4 percent rock fragments; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline.

TYPE LOCATION: Putnam County, Indiana; about 2.5 miles northwest of Filmore; 2,600 feet north and 2,000 feet west of the southeast corner of sec. 1, T. 14 N., R. 4 W.; USGS Greencastle, Indiana topographic quadrangle; lat. 39 degrees 40 minutes 54.1 seconds N. and long. 86 degrees 48 minutes 2.4 seconds W., NAD 27; UTM Zone 16, 517094 easting and 4392454 northing, NAD 83.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Thickness of the loess: 51 to 102 cm (20 to 40 inches)
Depth to horizons with more than 15 percent sand: 51 to 102 cm (20 to 40 inches)
Depth to the base of the argillic horizon: 102 to 152 cm (40 to 60 inches)
Depth to carbonates: 102 to 152 cm (40 to 60 inches)
Depth to densic contact: 102 to 152 cm (40 to 60 inches)
Particle-size control section: averages between 27 and 33 percent clay and less than 15 percent fine sand or coarser

Ap or A horizon:
Hue: 10YR
Value: 4 or 5
Chroma: 2 or 3
Texture: silt loam or silty clay loam
Reaction: strongly acid to neutral depending on liming history

E horizon, where present:
Hue: 10YR
Value: 4 or 5
Chroma: 2 to 4
Texture: silt loam
Reaction: strongly acid to neutral depending on liming history

Bt horizon:
Hue: 7.5YR to 2.5Y
Value: 4 or 5
Chroma: 3 to 6
Texture: silt loam or silty clay loam
Clay content: 25 to 35 percent
Reaction: very strongly acid to neutral depending on liming history

2Bt horizon:
Hue: 7.5YR to 2.5Y
Value: 4 or 5
Chroma: 3 to 6
Texture: clay loam, loam, or silty clay loam
Clay content: 23 to 33 percent
Sand content: 15 to 30 percent fine sand or coarser
Rock fragment content: 1 to 10 percent gravel
Reaction: strongly acid to neutral

2BC or 2BCt horizon:
Hue: 7.5YR to 2.5Y
Value: 4 or 5
Chroma: 3 to 6
Texture: clay loam or loam
Clay content: 20 to 30 percent
Rock fragment content: 1 to 14 percent gravel
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 0 to 20 percent
Reaction: neutral to moderately alkaline

2Cd horizon:
Hue: 10YR or 2.5Y
Value: 5
Chroma: 3 to 6
Texture: loam or less commonly fine sandy loam
Clay content: 12 to 27 percent
Sand content: 20 to 60 percent fine sand or coarser
Rock fragment content: 1 to 14 percent gravel
Moist bulk density: 1.75 to 2.00 g/cc
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 15 to 40 percent
Reaction: slightly alkaline or moderately alkaline

COMPETING SERIES: 

BertrandBlackhammerCamdenDodgeDubuqueFayetteFlaggGreenridgeHackersJacksonJemersonKnowlesLa FargeLambeauLomiraMartinsburgMenfroMiddletownNavlysPalermoPalsgrovePepinPiscasawRidgwayRozettaRumaRushSeatonSt. CharlesStookeySylvanThebes, and Yellowriver series. Bertrand, Greenridge, Jackson, Jemerson, Lambeau, and Seaton soils average less than 27 percent clay in the particle-size control section. Blackhammer, Camden, Flagg, Middletown, Ridgway, and Thebes soils are deeper than 152 cm (60 inches) to carbonates. Dodge and Lomira soils have carbonates within a depth of 102 cm (40 inches). Dubuque, Knowles, La Farge, and Palsgrove soils have a lithic or paralithic contact within a depth of 152 cm (60 inches). Fayette, Menfro, Navlys, Palermo, Rozetta, Ruma, Stookey, Sylvan, and Yellowriver soils have less than 15 percent sand in the lower part of the argillic horizon. Hackers soils have hue redder than 7.5YR in at least one subhorizon of the argillic horizon. Martinsburg soils average more than 27 percent clay in the lower part of the series control section. Pepin soils have more than 35 percent clay in the middle part of the series control section. Piscasaw and St. Charles soils have a moist bulk density of less than 1.75 gm/cc in the lower part of the series control section. Rush soils have more than 15 percent rock fragments in the lower part of the series control section.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: The Russell soils are on till plains of Wisconsinan age. Slope gradients are commonly between 0 and 6 percent but range to 25 percent. The soils formed in 51 to 102 cm (20 to 40 inches) of loess and in the underlying loamy till. Mean annual precipitation ranges from 737 to 1016 mm (29 to 40 inches). Mean annual air temperature ranges from 8 to 13 degrees C (46 to 55 degrees F). Frost-free period ranges from 155 to 180 days. Elevation ranges from 207 to 311 meters (680 to 1,020 feet) above mean sea level.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS:  

CycloneFincastleHennepinMiamiTreaty and Xenia soils. The moderately well drained Xenia soils, the somewhat poorly drained Fincastle soils, and the poorly drained Treaty soils form a drainage sequence with the Russell soils. The poorly drained Cyclone and Treaty soils have a mollic epipedon and are in depressions. The Fincastle soils are on less sloping or lower landform positions. The Xenia soils are on less sloping or slightly lower landform positions. The well drained Hennepin soils are on steeper backslopes. The moderately well drained Miami soils have a thinner mantle of loess and are on more sloping positions.

DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY: Well drained. The depth to the top of an intermittent perched high water table typically ranges from 107 to 183 cm (3.5 to 6.0 feet) from December to April in normal years. In some areas, the depth to the seasonal high water table is greater than 183 cm (6.0 feet). The potential for surface runoff is low to high. Saturated hydraulic conductivity is moderately high or high in the solum and low to moderately high in the underlying material. Permeability is moderate in the upper part of the solum, moderate or moderately slow in the lower part of the solum, and slow or very slow in the underlying material.

USE AND VEGETATION: Most of this soil is cultivated. Corn and soybeans are the principal crops. Native vegetation is mixed hardwoods of oak, hickory, and sugar maple.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: MLRA 111A and 111D in central and south central Indiana and southwestern Ohio; MLRA 108A in Illinois; and MLRA 108C in southeastern Iowa. The type location is in MLRA 111D. The series is of large extent.

SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (SSRO) RESPONSIBLE: AMHERST, MASSACHUSETTS

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Wayne County, Indiana, 1925.

REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon: from the surface to a depth of 20 cm (Ap horizon).
Argillic horizon: from a depth of 20 to 147 cm (Bt, 2Bt, 2BCt horizons).
Densic contact: at 147 cm (top of the 2Cd horizon).
Aquic conditions: redox concentrations present in the 2BCt horizon at a depth of 132 and 147 cm.

Representative NASIS data mapunit for this pedon is DMU ID 153378 in MO 11.

Moderately slowly permeable and bedrock substratum phases are recognized. These soils will be evaluated during MLRA update activities to determine whether a new series is needed.

ADDITIONAL DATA: Station Bulletin No. 174 - 175. Soil Characterization in Indiana; II 1967 - 1973, also III 1974 - 1976 Data. Department of Agronomy, A.E.S., Purdue University in cooperation with Soil Conservation Service, U.S.D.A. Unpublished Purdue University Soil Characterization Laboratory Data: Soil Number S76-IN133-54-(1-6). Transect data is on file at the Indianapolis MLRA Project Office.
 


National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.