LOCATION FESTINA IA+MN WIEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-silty, mixed, superactive, mesic Mollic Hapludalfs
TYPICAL PEDON: Festina silt loam, on a convex slope of 1 percent, in a cultivated field. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)
Ap--0 to 18 centimeters; very dark gray (10YR 3/1) silt loam, dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) dry; weak fine granular structure; friable; common very fine and fine roots; common very fine and fine tubular pores; very few distinct light gray (10YR 7/1) silt coats on faces of peds; moderately acid; abrupt smooth boundary. (15 to 23 centimeters thick)
E--18 to 28 centimeters; dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) silt loam, grayish brown (10YR 5/2) dry; weak thin platy structure parting to weak fine subangular blocky; friable; common very fine and fine roots; common very fine and fine tubular pores; few faint very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) organic coats on faces of peds; moderately acid; clear smooth boundary. (10 to 30 centimeters thick)
BE--28 to 51 centimeters; dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) silt loam; weak very fine subangular blocky structure; friable; few very fine roots; common very fine and fine moderate-continuity tubular pores; few faint brown (10YR 4/3) organic coats on faces of peds; moderately acid; clear smooth boundary. (0 to 25 centimeters thick)
Bt1--51 to 81 centimeters; dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) silt loam; weak very fine subangular blocky structure; friable; few very fine roots; common very fine and fine moderate-continuity tubular pores; few faint dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) clay films on faces of peds; few distinct light gray (10YR 7/1) silt coats on faces of peds; moderately acid; clear smooth boundary.
Bt2--81 to 107 centimeters; yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) silt loam; moderate fine subangular blocky structure; friable; common very fine and fine moderate-continuity tubular pores; very few faint dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) clay films on faces of peds; few distinct light gray (10YR 7/1) silt coats on faces of peds; moderately acid; gradual smooth boundary.
Bt3--107 to 165 centimeters; yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) and yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) silt loam; weak fine and medium subangular blocky structure; friable; common very fine and fine moderate-continuity tubular pores; very few faint dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) clay films on faces of peds; moderately acid; gradual smooth boundary. (Combined thickness of the Bt horizon is 30 to 130 centimeters.)
BC--165 to 200 centimeters; yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) silt loam; weak coarse subangular blocky structure; friable; common very fine and fine moderate-continuity tubular pores; slightly acid.
TYPE LOCATION: Major Land Resource Area (MLRA) 105-Northern Mississippi Valley Loess Hills, Winneshiek County, Iowa subset; about 5 miles south of Decorah; located about 1,980 feet west and 810 feet north of the southeast corner of section 4, T. 97 N., R. 8 W.; USGS Calmar topographic quadrangle; lat. 43 degrees 14 minutes 37 seconds N. and long. 91 degrees 47 minutes 26 seconds W., NAD 83.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Depth to carbonates--more than 180 centimeters
Clay content in the particle-size control section (weighted average)--24 to 29 percent
Sand content in the particle-size control section (weighted average)--8 to 15 percent
A or Ap horizon:
Hue--10YR
Value--2 or 3
Chroma--1 or 2
Texture--silt loam
Clay content--18 to 24 percent
Sand content--0 to 15 percent
Reaction--moderately acid to neutral
E horizon:
Hue--10YR
Value--4 or 5
Chroma--2 or 3
Texture--silt loam
Clay content--18 to 30 percent
Sand content--0 to 15 percent
Reaction--strongly acid to neutral
BE horizon (when present):
Hue--10YR
Value--4 or 5
Chroma--3 or 4
Texture--silt loam
Clay content--18 to 27 percent
Sand content--0 to 15 percent
Reaction--strongly acid to neutral
Bt horizon:
Hue--10YR or 2.5Y
Value--4 or 5
Chroma--2 to 6
Texture--silt loam or silty clay loam
Clay content--20 to 30 percent
Sand content--0 to 15 percent
Rock fragment content--0 to 2 percent
Reaction--strongly acid to neutral
BC and C (when present) horizon:
Hue--10YR or 2.5Y
Value--4 to 6
Chroma--2 to 8
Texture--silt loam
Clay content--5 to 24 percent
Sand content--0 to 15 percent
Rock fragment content--0 to 2 percent
Reaction--moderately acid to neutral
2BC and 2C (when present) horizon:
Hue--10YR or 2.5Y
Value--4 to 6
Chroma--2 to 8
Texturestratified textures of silty clay loam, silt loam, loamy sand, loamy fine sand, or sand below a depth of 150 centimeters
Clay content--5 to 24 percent
Sand content--10 to 80 percent
Rock fragment content--0 to 2 percent
Reaction--moderately acid to neutral
COMPETING SERIES: These are the
Batavia,
Bowes,
Churchtown,
Deroin,
Downs,
Ella,
Frankville,
Gladek,
Greenbush,
Harvard,
Hersey,
Knox,
Luana,
Mannon,
Massbach,
Mellott,
Mt. Carroll,
Myrtle,
Nasset,
Newhouse,
Oak Center,
Watkins,
Waubeek, and
Yutan series.
Batavia--have a sand content of more than 15 percent in the lower third of the series control section
Bowes--have a sand content of more than 60 percent in the lower third of the series control section
Churchtown--have a sand content of 15 to 55 percent in the upper fourth of the series control section
Deroin--have matrix hues of 5YR or 7.5YR in the series control section
Downs--have a clay content that averages 27 to 35 percent in the particle-size control section and have a sand content of less than 10 percent throughout the series control section
Ella--have a frequently saturated zone within a depth of 1.8 meters during April to June in years when precipitation is within one standard deviation of the 30 year mean of annual precipitation
Frankville--have a lithic contact of limestone within a depth of 100 centimeters
Gladek--have carbonates within a depth of 150 centimeters
Greenbush--have a frequently saturated zone within a depth of 1.8 meters during April to June in years when precipitation is within one standard deviation of the 30 year mean of annual precipitation
Harvard--have a sand content of more than 15 percent within a depth of 100 centimeters
Hersey--have a rock fragment content of 2 to 15 percent in the lower third of the series control section
Knox--have a sand content of less than 5 percent throughout the series control section
Luana--have a rock fragment content of 10 to 35 percent in the lower third of the series control section
Mannon--have a sand content of less than 10 percent in the lower third of the series control section
Massbach--have a paralithic contact of shale with a depth of 150 centimeters
Mellott--have a rock fragment content of 3 to 10 percent in the lower third of the series control section
Mt. Carroll--have a sand content of less than 15 percent in the lower third of the series control section
Myrtle--have matrix hues of 2.5YR, 5YR, or 7.5YR in the lower third of the series control section
Nasset--have a lithic contact of limestone within a depth of 150 centimeters
Newhouse--have a rock fragment content of 5 to 35 percent in the lower third of the series control section
Oak Center--have a sand content of 85 to 100 percent in the lower third of the series control section
Watkins--have a clay content that averages 30 to 35 percent in the particle-size control section
Waubeek--have a rock fragment content of 2 to 10 percent in the lower third of the series control section
Yutan--have a sand content of less than 15 percent in the lower third of the series control section
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Parent material--silty alluvium
Landform--low stream terraces
Slope--0 to 12 percent
Elevation--155 to 400 meters above sea level
Mean annual air temperature--6 to 12 degrees C
Mean annual precipitation--760 to 1,040 millimeters
Frost-free period--145 to 210 days
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the
Dorchester,
Huntsville,
Rowley, and
Volney soils.
Dorchester--are at lower landscape positions on flood plains, do not have an argillic horizon, and are calcareous throughout
Huntsville--are in landscape positions similar to those of the Festina soils and have a mollic epipedon more than 60 centimeters thick
Rowley--are at slightly lower landscape positions and have layers within a depth of 60 centimeters that are frequently saturated in years when precipitation is within one standard deviation of the 30 year mean of annual precipitation
Volney--are at slightly higher landscape positions on foot slopes adjacent to uplands and have a rock fragment content of more than 35 percent limestone and sandstone fragments within the particle-size control section
DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY:
Drainage class--well drained--a frequently saturated zone does not occur within a depth of 1.8 meters in years when precipitation is within one standard deviation of the 30 year mean of annual precipitation
Saturated hydraulic conductivity--1.00 to 100.00 micrometers per second
USE AND VEGETATION:
Most areas are cultivated. The principal crops are corn, soybeans, small grain, and legume hay. The native vegetation is mixed deciduous trees (oak and hickory) and big bluestem, indiangrass, switchgrass, and other grasses of the tall grass prairie.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT:
Physiographic Division--Interior Plains
Physiographic Province--Central Lowland
Physiographic sections--Dissected till plains, Wisconsin driftless section
MLRAs--Northern Mississippi Valley Loess Hills (105),
Illinois and Iowa Deep Loess and Drift, West Central Part (108C), and
Iowa and Missouri Heavy Till Plain (109)
LRR M; eastern Iowa, southeastern Minnesota, and southwestern Wisconsin
Extent--small
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: St. Paul, Minnesota
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Winneshiek County, Iowa, 1964
REMARKS:
Particle-size control section--the zone from a depth of 51 to 101 centimeters (Bt1 and Bt2 horizons);
series control section--the zone from the surface to a depth of 165 centimeters (Ap, E, BE, Bt1, Bt2, and Bt3 horizons).
Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon include:
ochric epipedon--the zone from the surface to a depth of 51 centimeters (Ap, E, and BE horizons);
argillic horizon--the zone from a depth of 51 to 165 centimeters (Bt1, Bt2, and Bt3 horizons);
udic moisture regime.
Cation-exchange class is inferred from lab data for similar soils in the surrounding area.
A stratified substratum phase is mapped in MLRA 105 in Wisconsin. Additional phases may be required for sandy substratums.
Taxonomy version--Keys to Soil Taxonomy, tenth edition, 2006.