LOCATION TILFER                  IA+MN

Established Series
Rev. RLB-JDH-RJB
06/2015

TILFER SERIES

The Tilfer series consists of moderately deep, poorly and very poorly drained soils formed in 50 to 100 centimeters of loamy and silty alluvial sediments overlying limestone bedrock. These soils are on low stream terraces and flood plains in river valleys. Slope ranges from 0 to 2 percent. Mean annual precipitation is about 760 millimeters. Mean annual air temperature is about 8 degrees C.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, mixed, superactive, calcareous, mesic Typic Endoaquolls

TYPICAL PEDON: Tilfer silty clay loam, on a nearly level slope, in a flood plain, in a cultivated field. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)

Ap--0 to 20 centimeters; black (N 2/0) silty clay loam, black (10YR 2/1) dry; moderate medium and fine granular structure; friable; strongly effervescent; slightly alkaline; clear smooth boundary.

A--20 to 48 centimeters; black (N 2/0) silty clay loam, very dark gray (10YR 3/1) dry; weak medium subangular blocky structure parting to weak medium granular; friable; few fine prominent olive (5Y 5/3) redoximorphic concentrations in the lower 8 centimeters; slightly effervescent; slightly alkaline; clear wavy boundary.

Bg--48 to 69 centimeters; light olive gray (5Y 6/2) loam; weak medium subangular blocky structure; friable; accumulations of black (10YR 2/1) loam in some root channels; few fine prominent yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) redoximorphic concentrations; slightly effervescent; slightly alkaline; gradual smooth boundary

BCg--69 to 89 centimeters; olive gray (5Y 5/2) loam; weak coarse subangular blocky structure; friable; few fine prominent strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) redoximorphic concentrations; few small rounded limestone pebbles and a few small granitic pebbles; slightly effervescent; slightly alkaline; abrupt wavy boundary.

2R--89 centimeters; hard, fractured limestone bedrock.

TYPE LOCATION: Major Land Resource Area (MLRA) 104-Eastern Iowa and Minnesota Till Prairies, Worth County, Iowa subset; about 2 miles east and 1 mile south of Kensett; located about 1,000 feet east and 95 feet north of the southwest corner of section 36, T. 99 N., R. 20 W.; USGS Manly topographic quadrangle; lat. 43 degrees 20 minutes 33.8 seconds N. and long. 93 degrees 9 minutes 26.4 seconds W., NAD 83.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Depth to bedrock--50 to 100 centimeters
Depth to carbonates--0 to 10 centimeters
Calcium carbonate equivalent--5 to 30 percent
Clay content in the particle-size control section (weighted average)--24 to 30 percent
Sand content in the particle-size control section (weighted average)--greater than 15 percent fine sand or coarser

Ap or A horizon:
Hue--10YR or is neutral
Value--2
Chroma--0 or 1
Texture--silty clay loam, clay loam, or loam
Clay content--22 to 32 percent
Sand content--10 to 40 percent
Reaction--pH 7.4 to 8.4
Thickness--30 to 50 centimeters

Some pedons have an AB horizon 8 to 15 centimeters thick

Bg horizon:
Hue--2.5Y or 5Y
Value--4 to 6
Chroma--1 or 2
Texture--loam, clay loam, or silty clay loam
Clay content--16 to 30 percent
Sand content--10 to 40 percent
Reaction--pH 7.4 to 8.4
Thickness--10 to 30 centimeters

BCg horizon:
Hue--2.5Y or 5Y
Value--4 to 6
Chroma--1 to 3
Texture--loam or sandy loam
Clay content--10 to 20 percent
Sand content--40 to 70 percent
Reaction--pH 7.4 to 8.4
Thickness--0 to 25 centimeters

2BCg horizon:
Hue--10YR to 5Y
Value--4 to 6
Chroma--1 to 6
Texture--sand, loamy sand, or the gravelly analogs of these textures
Clay content--less than 10 percent
Sand content--75 to 95 percent
Rock fragment content--10 to 30 percent, pebbles and cobbles
Reaction--pH 7.4 to 8.4
Thickness--0 to 15 centimeters

COMPETING SERIES: These are the Canisteo, Hetz, Hooppole, Jeffers, and Kish series.
None of these series have limestone bedrock within a depth of 100 centimeters

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Parent material--50 to 100 centimeters of loamy and silty alluvial sediments overlying limestone bedrock
Landform--low stream terraces and floodplains in river valleys
Slope--0 to 2 percent
Elevation--300 to 400 meters above sea level
Mean annual air temperature--6 to 10 degrees C
Mean annual precipitation--585 to 940 millimeters
Frost-free period--155 to 200 days

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Faxon, Harcot, Kensett, and Marshan series.
Faxon--are on landscape positions similar to those of the Tilfer soils and do not have carbonates in all parts between depths of 25 and 50 centimeters
Harcot--are on landscape positions similar to those of the Tlfer soils and have a sand content of more than 75 percent in the lower part of the particle-size control section
Kensett--are on slightly higher landscape positions and have a frequently saturated zone between depths of 0.3 and 1 meter during the wettest periods of years when the precipitation is within one standard deviation of the 30 year mean of annual precipitation
Marshan--are on landscape positions similar to those of the Tilfer soils and have a sand content of more than 70 percent in the lower half of the particle-size control section

DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY:
Drainage class--poorly and very poorly drained--in undrained conditions, these soils are frequently saturated from the surface of the soil to a depth of 0.3 meters during the wettest periods of years when the precipitation is within one standard deviation of the 30 year mean of annual precipitation
Saturated hydraulic conductivity--1.00 to 10.00 micrometers per second
Flooding--not flooded to rarely or occasionally flooded for brief duration
Ponding--not ponded to frequently ponded for brief to long duration

USE AND VEGETATION:
Where drained, these areas are cultivated. The principal crops are corn, oats, and soybeans. Where not drained, these areas are pastured. The native vegetative cover is a herbaceous wetland community commonly inhabited with Bluejoint Grasses, Fowl Bluegrasses, Green Muhlies, Fox Sedges, Field Sedges, Dudleys Rushes, Torreys Rushes, Swamp Milkweeds, False Sneezeweeds, False Asters, New England Asters, White Panicled Asters, and Wild Mints.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT:
Physiographic Division--Interior Plains
Physiographic Province--Central Lowland
Physiographic Sections--Western lake section and Dissected till plains
MLRAs--Central Iowa and Minnesota Till Prairies (103) and Eastern Iowa and Minnesota Till Prairies (104)
LRR M; north central Iowa and south central Minnesota
Extent--small

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

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Worth County, Iowa, 1972.

REMARKS:
Particle-size control section--the zone from a depth of 25 to 89 centimeters;
series control section--the zone from the surface of the soil to a depth of 89 centimeters.

Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon include:
mollic epipedon--the zone from the surface to a depth of 48 centimeters (Ap and A horizons);
cambic horizon--the zone from a depth of 48 to 69 centimeters (Bg horizon);
aquic moisture regime.

Cation-exchange class is inferred from lab data from similar soils in the surrounding area.

Taxonomy version--Keys to Soil Taxonomy, tenth edition, 2006.

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National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.