LOCATION KNOWLES WI
Established Series
Rev. MJM-HFG-AAC
01/2011
KNOWLES SERIES
The Knowles series consists of well drained soils that are moderately deep to a lithic contact with dolomite bedrock. These soils formed in a loess mantle and in the underlying loamy till are on ground moraines. Slope ranges from 0 to 30 percent. Mean annual precipitation is about 762 mm (30 inches). Mean annual air temperature is about 8.9 degrees C (48 degrees F).
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-silty, mixed, superactive, mesic Typic Hapludalfs
TYPICAL PEDON: Knowles silt loam - on a 4 percent slope in a cultivated field at an elevation of about 272 meters (893 feet) above mean sea level. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)
Ap--0 to 20 cm (0 to 8 inches); very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) silt loam, light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) dry; weak very fine granular structure; very friable; common fine roots; neutral; abrupt smooth boundary. [15 to 23 cm (6 to 9 inches) thick]
BE--20 to 31 cm (8 to 12 inches); yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) silt loam; moderate very fine subangular b1ocky structure; friable; common fine roots; neutral; clear wavy boundary. [0 to 10 cm (0 to 4 inches) thick]
Bt1--31 to 58 cm (12 to 23 inches); dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) silty clay loam; moderate very fine subangular blocky structure; firm; common fine roots; common faint clay films on faces of peds; moderately acid; clear wavy boundary.
Bt2--58 to 74 cm (23 to 29 inches); brown (10YR 4/3) silty clay loam; moderate very fine angular blocky structure; firm; few fine roots; many faint clay films on faces of peds; moderately acid; clear wavy boundary. [Combined thickness of the Bt horizons ranges from 31 to 43 cm (12 to 17 inches).]
2Bt3--74 to 89 cm (29 to 35 inches); brown (10YR 4/3) clay loam, weak fine subangular blocky structure; firm; few fine roots; many faint clay films on faces of peds; about 4 percent gravel; slightly acid; clear wavy boundary. [5 to 15 cm (2 to 6 inches) thick]
2Bt4--89 to 99 cm (35 to 39 inches); brown (7.5YR 4/4) sandy clay loam; weak medium subangular blocky structure; friable; few fine roots; many faint clay bridges between mineral grains; about 14 percent gravel slightly alkaline; abrupt wavy boundary. [0 to 10 cm (0 to 4 inches) thick]
3R--99 cm (39 inches); dolomite bedrock, violently effervescent, moderately alkaline.
TYPE LOCATION: Columbia County, Wisconsin; about 2 miles west of Columbus; 600 feet north and 270 feet west of the southeast corner of sec. 16, T. 10 N., R. 12 E. USGS Columbus Wisconsin topographic quadrangle; lat. 49 degrees 19 minutes 43 seconds N., and long. 89 degrees 04 minutes 08 seconds W., NAD 27.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Depth to the base of the argillic horizon: 51 to 102 cm (20 to 40 inches)
Thickness of the loess mantle: 46 to 91 cm (18 to 36 inches)
Depth to a lithic contact with dolomite bedrock: 51 to 102 cm (20 to 40 inches)
Particle-size control section: averages between 25 and 35 percent clay
Volume of gravel in the till: 2 to 10 percent
Volume of cobbles in the till: 0 to 2 percent
Reaction: strongly acid to slightly acid in the loess but ranges to neutral in the upper part, where the soil is limed, and ranges from slightly acid to moderately acid in the till.
Ap horizon:
Hue: 10YR
Value: 3 or 4, where moist value is 3, dry value is 6 or more.
Chroma: 2 or 3
Texture: silt loam
A horizon [less than 13 cm (5 inches) thick]:
Hue: 10YR
Value: 2 or 3
Chroma: 1 to 3
Texture: silt loam.
E horizon (where present):
Hue: 10YR
Value: 4 or 5
Chroma: 2 or 3
Texture: silt loam.
BE horizon:
Hue: 7.5YR or 10YR
Value: 4 or 5
Chroma: 3 or 4
Texture; silt loam.
Bt horizon:
Hue: 7.5YR or 10YR
Value: 4 or 5
Chroma: 3 or 4
Texture: silt loam or silty clay loam.
2Bt horizon:
Hue: 7.5YR or 10YR
Value: 3 to 5
Chroma: 3 or 4
Texture: clay loam, sandy clay loam, or loam
Other features:
Faint patchy or continuous clay films commonly of dark brown (7.5YR 3/2 & 3/3), are on most faces of peds in the Bt and 2Bt horizons.
The 3R horizon is dolomite bedrock.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the
Bertrand,
Camden,
Dodge,
Dubuque,
Fayette,
Flagg,
Greenridge,
Hackers,
Jackson,
Jemerson,
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. None of these soils, except Dubuque, have a lithic contact at depths of 51 to 102 cm (20 to 40 inches). Dubuque soils have 40 to 55 percent clay in the lower part of the argillic horizon.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: The Knowles soils typically are on ground moraines underlain by dolomite bedrock. Slope ranges from 0 to 30 percent. The soils formed in loess and in the loamy till underlain by dolomite bedrock. Mean annual precipitation ranges from 710 to 840 mm (28 to 33 inches). Mean annual air temperature ranges from 7.2 to 9.4 degrees C (45 to 49 degrees F).
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the
Leroy,
Lomira,
Ripon, and St.
Charles soils. These soils, except Ripon, occupy areas next to bodies of Knowles where the depth to dolomitic limestone bedrock exceeds 152 cm (60 inches). Ripon soils have a mollic epipedon and, in many places, are in complex association with Knowles soils.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained. The potential for surface runoff ranges from low to high. Permeability is moderate in the loess and till and ranges from slow to moderate in the dolomite bedrock.
USE AND VEGETATION: Most areas of this soil are used for cropland. Common crops are corn, small grains, or hay. Some areas are used for pastureland and some are in woodland. Native vegetation is deciduous forests mainly oak-hickory with lesser amounts of maple-basswood.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: MLRAs 95A, and 95B in southeastern Wisconsin. The Knowles soils are of moderate extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Indianapolis, Indiana
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Columbia County, Wisconsin, 1972.
REMARKS: This soil was formerly included with the Whalan soils. Diagnostic horizons and other features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon - 0 to 31 cm (0 to 12 inches) (Ap, BE); argillic horizon - 31 to 99 cm (12 to 39 inches) (Bt1, Bt2, 2Bt3, and 2Bt4); lithic contact 99 cm (39 inches) (3R).
National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.