Miamian Ohio’s state soil.

Originally named part of the Miami soil series, in 1969 Miamian soil was separated. Miamian is found in the central lowland till plains in Ohio, Indiana and Illinois. It is formed from Wisconsinan till in the till plains and moraines under deciduous hardwood forests. Miamian is an Alfisol, and a fine, mixed, active, mesic Oxyaquic Hapludalfs. It is composed of moderately well drained, loess or silty material and underlying loamy till. It has a moderate amount of organic matter and is well leached of calcium carbonate. The A horizon contains: Silt 39-49%, 11-18% clay, 38-46% sand. The typical pedon contains the following horizons: an Ap (brown silt loam), 2Bt1 (clay loam), 2Bt2 (clay loam), 2Bt3 (clay), 2BC (loam), and a 2Cd (loam). Other horizons can be found but are not always present. Miamian is named as Ohio’s state soil because of the important role it plays in agriculture. Almost all this soil series has been converted to broad acreage agriculture and makes highly productive farmland. Corn, soybeans, winter wheat, and oats are the prime crops, while forages, pastures and hardwood forest trees are more common on steeper slopes. Miamian soil is usually found on convex slopes and has good rainfall, both of which make it highly suspectable to erosion. The use of no till planting, cover crops and crop rotation have all been used to prevent erosion. The A horizon is often to acidic 5.4 to grow corn, so liming agents are frequently used to bring up the pH closer to 6. Miamian soil is well drained and is not suited for filtering liquids, such as with septic tanks.