LOCATION FLAGG IL+WI

Established Series
Rev. BWR-JWS-AAC
01/2011

FLAGG SERIES

The Flagg series consists of very deep, well drained soils on till plains and moraines. These soils formed in loess and late Sangamon paleosols formed in Illinoian till. Slope gradients range from 0 to 20 percent. The mean annual precipitation is about 890 mm (35 inches), and the mean annual temperature is about 8.3 degrees C (47 degrees F).

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

TYPICAL PEDON: Flagg silt loam on a west-facing, convex, moderately eroded, 8 percent slope at an elevation of 256 meters (840 feet). (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)

Ap--0 to 18 cm (0 to 7 inches); brown (10YR 4/3) silt loam, pale brown (10YR 6/3) dry; moderate medium granular structure; friable; slightly alkaline; abrupt smooth boundary. [5 to 18 cm (2 to 7 inches) thick]

BE--18 to 41 cm (7 to 16 inches); dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) silt loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; friable; neutral; gradual smooth boundary. [0 to 23 cm (0 to 9 inches) thick]

Bt1--41 to 84 cm (16 to 33 inches); dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) silt loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; friable; common distinct brown (10YR 4/3) clay films on faces of peds; neutral; clear wavy boundary. [36 to 76 cm (14 to 30 inches) thick]

2Bt2--84 to 104 cm (33 to 41 inches); brown (7.5YR 4/4) silty clay loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; firm; common distinct brown (7.5YR 4/3) clay films on faces of peds; 5 percent pebbles; moderately acid; gradual wavy boundary.

2Bt3--104 to 122 cm (41 to 48 inches); brown (7.5YR 4/4) silty clay loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; firm; common distinct brown (7.5YR 4/3) clay films on faces of peds; 5 percent pebbles; slightly acid; clear wavy boundary.

2Bt4--122 to 168 cm (48 to 66 inches); yellowish red (5YR 4/6) silty clay loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; firm; common distinct reddish brown (5YR 4/4) clay films on faces of peds; 5 percent pebbles; neutral; gradual wavy boundary.

2Bt5--168 to 203 cm (66 to 80 inches); strong brown (7.5YR 4/6) silty clay loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; firm; common distinct brown (7.5YR 4/4) clay films on faces of peds; 5 percent pebbles; neutral; gradual wavy boundary.

2Bt6--203 to 223 cm (80 to 88 inches); strong brown (7.5YR 4/6) clay loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; firm; common distinct brown (7.5YR 4/4) clay films on faces of peds; 5 percent pebbles; slightly acid; clear wavy boundary. [Combined thickness of the 2Bt horizon is greater than 25 cm (10 inches).]

2BC--223 to 274 cm (88 to 108 inches); reddish brown (5YR 4/4) sandy clay loam; weak medium subangular blocky structure; friable; few distinct reddish brown (5YR 4/3) clay films on faces of peds; 5 percent pebbles; neutral.

TYPE LOCATION: Stephenson County, Illinois; about 2 miles northwest of Ridott; 2,600 feet north and 850 feet east of the southwest corner of sec. 20, T. 27 N., R. 9 E.; USGS Ridott topographic quadrangle; lat. 42 degrees 19 minutes 25 seconds N. and long. 89 degrees 29 minutes 31 seconds W., NAD 83.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Thickness of the solum: greater than 152 cm (60 inches)
Thickness of the loess: 76 to 127 cm (30 to 50 inches)
Average content of clay in the particle-size control section: between 25 and 35 percent
Reaction: very strongly acid to neutral except for Ap horizons that have been limed are neutral or slightly alkaline

A horizon:
Hue: 10YR
Value: 2 or 3
Chroma: 2
Texture: silt loam

Ap horizon:
Hue: typically 10YR
Value: 4 or 5
Chroma: 2 or 3
Texture: silt loam

E horizon (where it occurs):
Hue: typically 10YR
Value: 4 or 5
Chroma: 2 or 3
Texture: silt loam
Other features:
It typically averages less clay percentage than the A horizon.

BE horizon:
Hue: 10YR or 7.5YR
Value: 4 or 5
Chroma: 3 or 4
Texture: silt loam or silty clay loam

Bt horizon (formed in loess):
Hue: 7.5YR or 10YR
Value: 4 or 5
Chroma: 3 to 5
Texture: silty clay loam or silt loam
Average content of fine sand or coarser: 0 to 5 percent

2Bt horizon:
Hue: 2.5YR, 5YR or 7.5YR
Value: 4 to 6
Chroma: 4 to 6
Texture: silty clay loam, clay loam, sandy clay loam or loam
Other features:
It has a Hue of 5YR or redder on faces of peds or in the matrix in at least one subhorizon of the 2Bt horizon. Many of the properties of the 2Bt horizon are believed to have been inherited from a paleosol of late Sangamon Age.

2C horizon (where it occurs):
Texture: loam, clay loam or sandy loam
Reaction: neutral or slightly alkaline and in some pedons contains free carbonates.

COMPETING SERIES: These are the Bertrand, Blackhammer, Camden, Dodge, Dubuque, Fayette, Greenridge, Hackers, Jackson, Jemerson, Knowles, La Farge, Lambeau, Lomira, , Martinsburg, Menfro, , Middletown, Navlys, Palermo, Palsgrove, Pepin, Piscasaw, Ridgway, Rozetta, Ruma, Rush, Russell, Seaton, St. Charles, Stookey, Sylvan, Thebes, and Yellowriver series. Bertrand, Camden, Hackers, Jackson, Ridgeway, St. Charles, and Thebes soils contain more sand in the lower sola and are stratified in the lower B horizons and C horizons. Blackhammer soils commonly have more chert and sandstone rock fragments in the lower part of the solum. Dodge, Russell, and Yellowriver soils have thinner sola and do not have 2Bt horizons formed in paleosols. Dubuque, Knowles, La Farge, Palsgrove, and Pepin soils have a lithic contact within the series control section. Fayette, Jemerson, Menfro, Navlys, Palermo, Rozetta, Seaton, and Stooky soils contain less sand in the lower part of the sola and are formed in loess. Greenridge soils have hues yellower than 10YR in the 2Bt horizons. Lambeau, Lomira, Middletown, and Rush soils have coarser textures in the lower part of the solum and underlying material. Martinsburg soils have thicker E horizons. Piscasaw soils average more than 20 percent clay in the 2C horizons. Ruma soils have finer textures in the lower part of the solum and underlying material.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Flagg soils are on nearly level to moderately steep till plains and moraines. Slope gradient ranges from 0 to 20 percent. These soils formed in 76 to 127 cm (30 to 50 inches) of loess and late Sangamon paleosols formed in sandy loam, loam, or clay loam Illinoian till. Summers are hot and winters are cold. Mean annual temperature is between 7.2 to 13.9 degrees C (45 and 57 degrees F), and mean annual precipitation ranges from 711 to 1016 mm (28 to 40 inches).

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Myrtle, Ogle, Pecatonica, and Westville soils. The Myrtle and Ogle form a biosequence with the Flagg soils. Pecatonica and Westville soils have thinner mantles of loess than Flagg soils and are found down slope from Flagg.

DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY: Well drained. Saturated hydraulic conductivity is moderately high to high (4.23 to 14.11 micrometers per second). Permeability is moderate. Surface runoff is low or medium.

USE AND VEGETATION: The soils are used mostly for cultivated crops such as corn, small grain, and meadow. Native vegetation was hardwood trees.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT:LRRs K and M, MLRAs 95B, 105, and 108B in northwestern Illinois and possibly extreme eastern Iowa, southeastern Minnesota, and southwestern Wisconsin; The series is of moderate extent.

MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Indianapolis, Indiana

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Stephenson County, Illinois, 1969.

REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon -- from a depth of 0 to 41 cm (0 to 16 inches) (A and BE horizons)
argillic horizon -from a depth of 41 to 224 cm (16 to 88 inches) (Bt and 2Bt horizons)
Udic soil moisture regime; Mesic temperature regime
Particle-size control section -- from a depth of 41 to 91 cm (16 to 36 inches) (Bt1 and 2Bt2 horizons)
Series control section -- from a depth of 0 to 203 cm (0 to 80 inches) (A, BE, Bt1, 2Bt2, 2Bt3, 2Bt4, and 2Bt5 horizons)

National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.