LOCATION RENSSELAER IN+IL MI OH
Established Series
Rev. GLH-RAB-DAG
11/2021
RENSSELAER SERIES
The Rensselaer series consists of very deep, poorly drained or very poorly drained soils formed in loamy sediments on till plains, stream terraces, outwash terraces, outwash plains, glacial drainage channels, and lake plains. Slope ranges from 0 to 2 percent. Mean annual precipitation is about 940 mm (37 inches), and mean annual temperature is about 10.0 degrees C (50 degrees F).
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, mixed, superactive, mesic Typic Argiaquolls
TYPICAL PEDON: Rensselaer loam, on a concave slope of less than 1 percent in a cultivated field at an elevation of 249 meters (817 feet) above mean sea level. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)
Ap--0 to 28 cm (11 inches); very dark gray (10YR 3/1) loam, gray (10YR 5/1) dry; moderate fine granular structure; friable; common fine roots throughout; neutral; clear smooth boundary.
A--28 to 38 cm (11 to 15 inches); very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) loam, grayish brown (10YR 5/2) dry; weak medium subangular blocky structure; friable; common fine roots throughout; common fine faint brown (10YR 4/3) masses of oxidized iron in the matrix; neutral; clear wavy boundary. [Combined thickness of the A horizon is 25 to 51 cm (10 to 20 inches).]
Btg1--38 to 66 cm (15 to 26 inches); dark gray (10YR 4/1) clay loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; firm; few fine roots between peds; many distinct very dark gray (10YR 3/1) organo-clay films on faces of peds; few fine prominent yellowish red (5YR 5/8) masses of oxidized iron in the matrix; slightly acid; clear wavy boundary.
Btg2--66 to 96 cm (26 to 38 inches); gray (10YR 6/1) clay loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; firm; few fine roots between peds; many distinct dark gray (10YR 4/1) clay films on faces of peds; common medium prominent yellowish red (5YR 5/8) and strong brown (7.5YR 5/8) masses of oxidized iron in the matrix; neutral; clear wavy boundary.
Btg3--96 to 107 cm (38 to 42 inches); gray (10YR 5/1) loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; friable; few fine and very fine roots between peds; common distinct dark gray (10YR 4/1) clay films on faces of peds; common medium prominent yellowish brown (10YR 5/8) masses of oxidized iron in the matrix; slightly effervescent; slightly alkaline; clear wavy boundary. [Combined thickness of the Btg horizon is 58 to 122 cm (23 to 48 inches).]
2Cg1--107 to 152 cm (42 to 60 inches); gray (10YR 6/1) silt loam; massive; friable; thin strata of fine sand; few medium prominent brownish yellow (10YR 6/8) masses of oxidized iron in the matrix; 10 percent fine gravel; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline; clear wavy boundary.
2Cg2--152 to 193 cm (60 to 76 inches); grayish brown (10YR 5/2) fine sand; single grain; loose; thin strata of loamy sand and sandy loam; massive; friable; common medium distinct yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) masses of oxidized iron in the matrix; 5 percent fine gravel; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline; clear wavy boundary. [Combined thickness of the 2Cg horizon is 25 to more than 102 cm (10 to more than 40 inches).]
3Cg3--193 to 203 cm (76 to 80 inches); gray (10YR 5/1) loam; massive; friable; 5 percent fine gravel; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline.
TYPE LOCATION: Marshall County, Indiana; about 3 miles east and 1.5 miles north of Bourbon; 1,150 feet east and 380 feet north of the southwest corner of sec. 9, T. 33 N., R. 4 E.; USGS Bourbon, IN topographic quadrangle; lat. 41 degrees 19 minutes 7.5 seconds N. and long. 86 degrees 4 minutes 23.2 seconds W., NAD 27; UTM Zone 16, 577576 easting and 4574562 northing, NAD 83.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Depth to the base of the argillic horizon: 102 to 152 cm (40 to 60 inches)
Particle-size control section: averages 20 to 35 percent clay and 25 to 35 percent fine sand or coarser
Ap or A horizon:
Hue: 10YR or N
Value: 2, 2.5, or 3
Chroma: 0 to 2
Texture: silt loam, loam, sandy loam, fine sandy loam, mucky loam, silty clay loam, mucky silty clay loam, or clay loam
Rock fragment content: 0 to 5 percent
Reaction: slightly acid or neutral
Btg horizon:
Hue: 10YR to 5Y, or N
Value: 4 to 6
Chroma: 0 to 2; some pedons have a 2Bt horizon with chroma of 3 or 4 in the lower part
Texture: clay loam, loam, or silty clay loam in the upper part and loam, sandy clay loam, clay loam, silt loam, sandy loam, or fine sandy loam in the lower part
Rock fragment content: 0 to 5 percent
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 0 to 10 percent
Reaction: slightly acid or neutral in the upper part and neutral or slightly alkaline in the lower part
2Cg horizon:
Hue: 10YR or 2.5Y, or N
Value: 4 to 6
Chroma: 0 to 2; some pedons have a 2C horizon with chroma of 3 in thin strata of sand
Texture: stratified fine sand, very fine sand, loamy sand, loamy fine sand, sandy loam, loam, or silt loam. Strata of fine sand are in all pedons and strata of coarse sand or sand 3 to 6 inches in thickness are present in some pedons.
Clay content: 2 to 20 percent
Rock fragment content: 0 to 10 percent and is dominantly fine and medium gravel
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 5 to 25 percent
Reaction: slightly alkaline or moderately alkaline
3Cg horizon: (where present)
Hue: 2.5YR or 10YR, or N
Value: 4 to 6
Chroma: 0 to 2
Texture: loam or fine sandy loam
Clay content: 10 to 20 percent
Rock fragment content: 1 to 10 percent
Reaction: slightly alkaline or moderately alkaline
COMPETING SERIES: These are the
Barry,
Brookston,
Clackamas,
Cordova,
Forestcity,
Hamel,
Jameston,
Millgrove,
Navan,
Navunon,
Nosoni,
Radioville,
Tallmadge, and
Westland series. Barry soils average more than 35 percent fine sand or coarser in the particle-size control section. Brookston and Cordova soils do not have stratified materials in the lower part of the series control section. Clackamas, Millgrove, and Westland soils have more than 10 percent rock fragments in the lower part of the series control section. Forestcity, Hamel, and Nosoni soils have a mollic epipedon more than 20 inches thick.
Jamestown, Navan, and Radioville soils average more than 20 percent clay in the lower part of the series control section. Navunon and Tallmadge soils are less than 102 cm (40 inches) to the base of the argillic horizon.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Rensselaer soils are in depressions on till plains, stream terraces, outwash terraces, outwash plains, glacial drainage channels, and lake plains. Slope ranges from 0 to 2 percent. Rensselaer soils formed in loamy sediments. Mean annual precipitation ranges from 864 to 1118 mm (34 to 44 inches). Mean annual temperature ranges from 10.0 to 13.9 degrees C (50 to 57 degrees F). Frost-free period is 130 to 180 days. Elevation is 177 to 466 meters (580 to 1,530 feet) above mean sea level.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the
Brookston,
Crosier,
Martinsville, and
Whitaker soils. The poorly drained Brookston soils are in depressions similar to the Rensselaer soils. The somewhat poorly drained Crosier and Whitaker soils and the well drained Martinsville soils are on swells and knolls on till plains, stream terraces, outwash terraces, or outwash plains.
DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY: Poorly drained or very poorly drained. In undrained areas, depth to the top of an apparent seasonal high water table ranges from 61 cm (2 feet) above the surface to 15 cm (0.5 foot) below during the winter and spring in normal years. In drained areas, depth to the top of an apparent seasonal high water table ranges from 15 cm (0.5 foot) above the surface to 30 cm (1 foot) below the surface during the winter and spring in normal years. Potential for surface runoff is negligible. Saturated hydraulic conductivity is moderately high. Permeability is moderate.
USE AND VEGETATION: Soils are used to grow corn, soybeans, and small grain. Native vegetation is swamp grasses and deciduous hardwood forest.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: MLRAs 97, 98, 99, 110, 111A, 111B, 111C, 111D, 114B, and 115A in Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Ohio. The series is of large extent.
SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (SSRO) RESPONSIBLE: AMHERST, MASSACHUSETTS
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Newton County, Indiana, 1948.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Mollic epipedon: from the surface to a depth of 38 cm (15 inches) (Ap and A horizons).
Argillic horizon: from a depth of 38 to 107 cm (15 to 42 inches) (Btg1, Btg2, and Btg3).
Aquic conditions: redoximorphic features present in all horizons below a depth of 28 cm (11 inches).
Till substratum, sandy substratum, loamy substratum, and clay loam substratum phases, and a mucky surface phase are recognized, and may become new series when subset soil surveys with these phases are updated. In addition, an undrained phase is recognized.
NASIS Data Mapunit ID 155043 represents the typical pedon.
NASIS Data Mapunit ID 401579 represents the mucky loam surface phase.
ADDITIONAL DATA: Transect data (T98IN-099-001) for the typical pedon is on file in MLRA project office, Plymouth, Indiana. Transect shows 80 percent Rensselaer soils and 20 percent Brookston soils.
National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.