Ships soil and landscape

Soil profile: Profile of Ships clay. Slickensides are at a depth of about 50 centimeters. (Soil Survey of Robertson County, Texas; By Harold W. Hyde, Natural Resources Conservation Service)

 

Landscape: Cotton in an area of Ships clay, 0 to 1 percent slopes, rarely flooded. Cotton is a major crop in Robertson County. Ships soils are mainly used as cropland. Crops include cotton, corn, grain sorghum, small grain, and some improved pastures of bermudagrass, johnsongrass, or small grain. Native vegetation includes big bluestem, little bluestem, Indiangrass, switchgrass, Virginia wildrye, and beaked panicum. Adjacent to stream channels ash, elm, and pecan are the dominant trees.

 

Setting

Landform: Flood plain

Landscape position: Side slopes adjacent to natural drainageways within the flood plain of the Brazos River

Slope: Very gently sloping; convex surfaces

Shape of areas: Narrow and elongated

Size of areas: 10 to 150 acres

 

Typical Profile

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Very-fine, mixed, active, thermic Chromic Hapluderts

 

Surface layer:

0 to 15 inches—moderately alkaline clay that is dark reddish gray in the upper part and reddish brown in the lower part

Subsoil:

15 to 24 inches—red, moderately alkaline clay

24 to 50 inches—reddish brown, moderately alkaline clay

50 to 65 inches—light brown, moderately alkaline clay that has thin strata of silt loam

65 to 80 inches—light brown, moderately alkaline clay that has thin strata of pink loam

 

Soil Properties

Depth: Very deep

Drainage class: Moderately well drained

Water table: None within a depth of 6 feet

Flooding: 1 to 5 times in 100 years; for a period of 2 to 7 days

Runoff: Very high

Permeability: Very slow

Available water capacity: High

Root zone: Very deep

Natural soil fertility: High

Shrink-swell potential: Very high

Hazard of water erosion: Moderate

 

Composition

Ships soil and similar inclusions: 85 to 95 percent

Contrasting inclusions: 5 to 15 percent

 

Use and Management

Major land use: Rangeland

Other land uses: Cropland and pasture

Pasture

Major limitations:

• The very slow permeability restricts water movement and the root development of improved grasses.

• The clay surface layer requires a well prepared seedbed for the establishment of improved grasses.

Minor limitations:

• Water erosion is a moderate hazard during seedbed preparation for improved grasses.

Cropland

Major limitations:

• The very slow permeability restricts water movement and the root development of crops.

Minor limitations:

• Water erosion is a moderate hazard when the soil is cultivated.

• The clay surface layer is more difficult to till when the soil is too wet or too dry.

Rangeland

Major limitations:

• The very slow permeability restricts water movement and the root development of native plants.

Urban development

Major limitations:

• Because of the hazard of flooding, this soil is unsuitable for most dwellings and poorly suited to other urban uses.

• The flooding, low soil strength, and shrink-swell potential are limitations affecting the construction of local roads and streets.

• The risk of corrosion is high for uncoated steel.

 

Interpretive Groups

Land capability classification: 2e

Ecological site: Clayey Bottomland

Pasture management group: Clayey Bottomland

 

For additional information about the survey area, visit:

www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_MANUSCRIPTS/texas/TX395/0/...

 

For a detailed soil description, visit:

soilseries.sc.egov.usda.gov/OSD_Docs/S/SHIPS.html

 

For acreage and geographic distribution, visit:

casoilresource.lawr.ucdavis.edu/see/#ships

 

Done