LOCATION MYRTLE IL+WI
Established Series
Rev. BWR-JCD-AAC
02/2011
MYRTLE SERIES
The Myrtle series consists of very deep, well drained soils on ground moraines that formed in loess and late Sangamon reddish paleosols in Illinoian till. Slope ranges from 2 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 Mollic Hapludalfs
TYPICAL PEDON: Myrtle silt loam at an elevation of 320 meters (1050 feet) above mean sea level. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)
Ap--0 to 20 centimeters (0 to 8 inches); very dark gray (10YR 3/1) silt loam, gray (10YR 5/1) dry; moderate fine granular structure; friable; neutral (pH 6.9); abrupt smooth boundary. [15 to 23 cm (6 to 9 inches) thick]
E--20 to 36 centimeters (8 to 14 inches); dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) silt loam; weak medium platy structure parting to weak fine and medium granular; friable; slightly acid (pH 6.3); clear smooth boundary. [10 to 20 cm (4 to 8 inches) thick]
Bt1--36 to 48 centimeters (14 to 19 inches); brown (10YR 4/3) silty clay loam; moderate very fine subangular blocky structure; friable; few faint very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) organo-clay films on horizontal faces of peds; common distinct light gray (10YR 7/1) dry, silt coatings on faces of peds; moderately acid (pH 5.8); clear smooth boundary.
Bt2--48 to 69 centimeters (19 to 27 inches); dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) silty clay loam; moderate fine subangular blocky structure; firm; common distinct dark brown (10YR 3/3) clay films on faces of peds; common light gray (10YR 7/1) dry, silt coatings on faces of peds; moderately acid (pH 5.8); clear smooth boundary.
Bt3--69 to 94 centimeters (27 to 37 inches); dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) silty clay loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; firm; common distinct dark brown (10YR 3/3) and very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) clay films on faces of peds; common light gray (10YR 7/1) dry, silt coatings on faces of peds; moderately acid (pH 5.8); gradual smooth boundary.
Bt4--94 to 107 centimeters (37 to 42 inches); dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) silty clay loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; firm; common distinct dark brown (7.5YR 3/3) clay films on faces of peds; few distinct light gray (10YR 7/1) dry, silt coatings on faces of a few peds; about 12 percent by volume sand; moderately acid (pH 5.8); clear smooth boundary. (Combined thickness of the Bt horizon is 43 to 69 cm, 20 to 36 inches) 17 to 27 inches).]
2Bt5--107 to 203 centimeters (42 to 80 inches); brown (7.5YR 4/4) clay loam; moderate medium and coarse subangular blocky structure; firm; common distinct reddish brown (5YR 4/4) and dark reddish brown (5YR 3/3) clay films on faces of peds; few fine prominent black (N 2.5/) iron-manganese oxide stains in the matrix; moderately acid (pH 5.8).
TYPE LOCATION: Stephenson County, Illinois; about 490 feet west and 165 feet north of the southeast corner, sec. 19, T. 29 N., R. 9 E. USGS Davis quadrangle; lat. 42 degrees, 29 minutes, 27 seconds N and long. 89 degrees, 29 minutes, 58 seconds W; NAD 83.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Thickness of the solum: greater than 152 centimeters (60 inches)
Thickness of the loess: typically 76 to 127 centimeters (30 to 50 inches)
Depth to the paleosollic 2Bt horizon in drift to dolomitic bedrock: about 216 to 229 centimeters (85 to 90 inches) in many pedons.
Reaction: moderately acid to very strongly acid in solum except for Ap horizons that have been limed.
A or Ap horizon:
Hue: 10YR
Value: 2 or 3
Chroma: 1 or 2
Texture: silt loam
E horizon:
Hue: 10YR
Value: 4 or 5
Chroma: 2 or 3
Texture; silt loam
Bt horizon:
hue: 10YR or 7.5YR
Value: 4 or 5
Chroma: 3 to 5
Texture: dominantly silty clay loam, but is silt loam in the upper part in some pedons.
Content of fine and coarser sand: commonly less than 5 percent but ranges to 15 percent by volume just above the 2Bt horizon in some pedons.
Structure: commonly moderate or strong, fine to coarse, subangular or angular blocky
2Bt horizon:
Hue: 7.5YR, 5YR or 2.5YR
Value: 4to 6
Chroma: 4 to 6
Texture: silty clay loam with moderate content of sand, clay loam, or sandy clay loam
Content of clay: decreases by more than 20 percent of the maximum within a depth of 152 centimeters (60 inches) below the soil surface in most pedons, especially in those that have chroma greater than 4.
Rock fragment: 1 to 5 percent
Other features: Hue of 5YR or redder is present on faces of peds or in the matrix in at least one subhorizon. Many of the properties of the 2Bt horizon are believed to have been inherited from the paleosol of late Sangamon age.
2C horizon:
Hue: dominant 10YR or 7.5YR
Value: 4 to 6
Chroma: 4 to 6
Texture: loam, clay loam or sandy loam
Reaction: neutral or mildly alkaline and, in some pedons, contains free carbonates.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the
Batavia,
Bowes,
Churchtown, Derion,
Downs,
Ella,
Festina,
Frankville,
Gladek,
Greenbush,
Harvard,
Hersey,
Knox,
Luana,
Mannon,
Massbach,
Mellott, Mt. Carroll,
Nasset,
Newhouse,
Oak Center,
Watkins,
Waubeek, and
Yutan soils.
Ashton soils have sola less than 152 cm (60 inches) thick and the lower part formed in loamy alluvium. Batavia, Bowes, Churchtown, Downs, Festina, Gladek, Greenbush, Harvard, Hersey, Knox, Luana, Mannon, Mellott, Mt. Carroll, Watkins, Waubeek, and Yutan soils are not as red as 5YR in the matrix or on faces of peds in any part of the series control section. Derion soils are less acid than medium acid in the upper part of the argillic horizon. Frankville, Massbach, Nasset, and Oak Center soils have a lithic or paralithic contact within a depth of 152 cm (60 inches). Newhouse soils average less than 27 percent clay in the particle size control section.
Shelbyville soils have silty clay or clay 2B horizons.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Myrtle soils are on undulating to steep glacial till plains and moraines. Slope gradient ranges from 2 to 20 percent. These soils formed in 76 to 127 cm (30 to 50 inches) of loess and late Sangamon reddish paleosols that formed in sandy loam, loam or clay loam Illinoian glacial till. These soils have continental climate with hot summers and cold winters. Mean annual temperature is between 7.2 and 13.9 degrees C (45 and 57 degrees F), and mean annual precipitation is between 710 and 965 mm (28 and 38 inches).
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the competing
Argyle,
Flagg,
Ogle,
Pecatonica and
Westville soils. Myrtle soils are the intergrade member of a biosequence with the well drained Flagg (Alfisol) and Ogle (Mollisol) soils on similar landscapes. Argyle, Pecatonica, and Westville soils have thinner loess mantles and are on similar positions nearby. In addition, the Pecatonica and Westville soils have surface layers less than 15 cm (6 inches) thick that have moist color value of 3 or less.
DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY: Well drained. medium or high runoff. Saturated hydraulic conductivity is moderately high to high (4.23 to 14.11 micrometers per second). Permeability is moderate.
USE AND VEGETATION: The Myrtle soils are used mostly for cultivated crops such as corn, small grain, and meadow crops. Some areas are used for pasture. Native vegetation is probably mixed prairie grass and hardwood trees.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Major land resource area (MLRA) 95B, 105, 108A, and 108B in northwestern Illinois and southwest Wisconsin. Known extent is small.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Indianapolis, Indiana
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Stephenson County, Illinois, 1969.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon include:
chric epipedon -- the zone from the surface to a depth of 36 cm (14 inches) (Ap and E horizons).
Albic horizon -- the zone from 20 to 36 cm (8 to 14 inches) (E horizon).
Argillic horizon -- the zone from 36 to 203 cm (14 to 80 inches) (Bt1, Bt2, Bt3, Bt4, and 2Bt5 horizons).
National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.