United States Department of Agriculture
Natural Resources Conservation Service		 Kansas Go to Accessibility Information
Skip to Page Content




Harney

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Harney soils are on uplands that have slightly concave to convex surfaces. The slope gradient commonly is 0 to 3 percent, but the range is 0 to 8 percent. The soils formed in loess. The mean annual temperature varies from 52 to 57 degrees F, and the mean annual precipitation varies from 19 to 27 inches. Thornthwaite Annual P-E Index ranges from 32 to 46.

Some Chemical Properties Of the Harney Soils
Horizon Depth/Inches pH1 Organic C Carbon2% C.E.C. Ca Mg Na K Base Sat.
Ap1 0-18 6.0 1.04 16.8 11.0 3.3 - 1.5 94
Ap2 18-25 6.7 0.80 22.7 16.1 5.0 - 1.0 97
Bt1 25-36 7.0 0.64 23.3 16.8 5.5 TR 1.0 100
Bt2 36-61 7.3 0.44 30.1 21.8 7.8 0.3 1.3 100
BCk 61-79 8.0 0.31 28.3 - 8.0 0.5 1.3 100
Ck 79-122 8.3 0.25 26.1 - 7.7 1.0 1.3 100
C 122-152 8.4 0.25 26.3 - 6.5 2.2 1.3 100

1 Analysis by the Soil Survey Investigations Staff, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Lincoln, Nebraska, Sample # S81KS-165-001. pH – 1:1 water method CEC & Base Sat. NH40AC pH7.0 method

2 O.C. X 1.728 = % organic matter (Walkley-Black method)

Some Physical Properties Of The Harney Soils
Horizon Depth/Inches Clay-% Silt Sand cm/cm Textural Class 3% Available Water Capacity Water Held at 15A4
Ap1 0-18 24.1 65.2 10.7 SiL 0.14 10.1
Ap2 18-25 30.9 58.3 10.8 SiCL - 14.9
Bt1 25-36 31.7 65.9 2.4 SiCL - 15.7
Bt2 36-61 40.6 55.3 4.1 SiC 0.07 19.2
BCk 61-79 37.1 57.9 5.0 SiCL - 18.1
Ck 79-122 30.8 63.3 5.9 SiCL - 15.0
C 122-152 27.5 68.1 4.4 SiCL 0.16 15.0

3SiL = Silt Loam; SiCL = Silty Clay Loam and SiC = Silty Clay

4Water held at 15 atmosphere of tension. This means that a force 15 times that of the atmosphere is required to remove the water. This is the "permanent wilting point" or point where most plants cannot get water. It is used as the lower boundary of available water, and is governed by the clay and organic matter content in Harney soils.

Soil Family Classification:

Fine, smectitic, mesic Typic Argiustolls

Harney soils are Mollisols; this soil consists of soils developed under prairie vegetation and the base saturation in the lower subsoil is above 50 percent. The "fine" particle size class indicates that the subsoil is between 35-60 percent clay with less than 15 percent fine sand or coarser. "Smectitic" mineralogy suggests that in the fraction less than 0.002 mm in size, there is more smectite by weight than any other single kind of clay mineral. "Mesic" refers to an average annual soil temperature of between 8 and 15 degrees C. (47 to 59 degrees F.)

< Back to Kansas State Soil