LOCATION ASHDALE IL+IA WI
Established Series
Rev. BWR-JWS-AAC
01/2015
ASHDALE SERIES
The Ashdale series consists of deep, well drained soils on uplands. These soils formed in loess and residuum weathered from limestone. Slopes range from 0 to 20 percent. Mean annual air temperature is about 8.3 degrees C (47 degrees F). Mean annual precipitation is about 890 mm (35 inches).
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-silty, mixed, superactive, mesic Typic Argiudolls
TYPICAL PEDON: Ashdale silt loam in a cultivated field at an elevation of about 288 meters (945 feet) above mean sea level. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)
Ap--0 to 18 cm (0 to 7 inches); black (10YR 2/1) silt loam, dark gray (10YR 4/1) dry; moderate fine and medium granular structure; friable; neutral; abrupt smooth boundary.
A1--18 to 25 cm (7 to 10 inches); black (10YR 2/1) silt loam, dark gray (10YR 4/1) dry; moderate medium and coarse granular structure; friable; neutral; clear smooth boundary.
A2--25 to 38 cm (10 to 15 inches); very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) silt loam, grayish brown (10YR 5/2) dry; moderate fine granular structure; friable; few distinct black (10YR 2/1) organic coatings on faces of peds; neutral; clear smooth boundary. [Combined thickness of the A horizon is 30 to 53 cm (12 to 21 inches) thick]
Bt1--38 to 58 cm (15 to 23 inches); brown (10YR 4/3) silty clay loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; firm; few faint brown (10YR 4/3) clay films on faces of peds; moderately acid; clear smooth boundary.
Bt2--58 to 84 cm (23 to 33 inches); dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) silty clay loam; moderate medium and coarse subangular blocky structure; firm; common faint brown (10YR 4/3) clay films on faces of peds; moderately acid; clear smooth boundary.
Bt3--84 to 109 cm (33 to 43 inches); dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) silty clay loam; moderate medium and coarse subangular blocky structure; firm; many faint brown (10YR 4/3) clay films on faces of peds; moderately acid; clear smooth boundary. [Combined thickness of the Bt horizon is 53 to 86 cm (21 to 34 inches).]
2Bt4--109 to 130 cm (43 to 51 inches); reddish brown (5YR 4/4) silty clay; weak coarse angular blocky structure; very firm; many faint dark reddish brown (5YR 3/4) clay films on faces of peds; slightly acid; abrupt smooth boundary. [5 to more than 61cm (2 to more than 24 inches) thick]
2R--130 cm (51 inches); brownish yellow (10YR 6/6) limestone bedrock.
TYPE LOCATION: Stephenson County, Illinois; about 2 1/2 miles east of Cedarville; 2,116 feet north and 45 feet west of the southeast corner of sec. 4, T. 27 N., R. 8 E.; USGS Freeport East topographic quadrangle; lat. 42 degrees 21 minutes 56 seconds N., and long. 89 degrees 34 minutes 27 seconds W., UTM Zone 16, easting 288,032, northing 4,693588, NAD 83.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Thickness of the solum: typically 114 to 140 cm (45 to 55 inches), but ranges from 102 to 152 cm (40 to 60 inches)
Thickness of the loess: 91 to 127 cm (36 to 50 inches)
Thickness of the residuum: commonly 5 to 30 cm (2 to 12 inches), but in some pedons it ranges to more than 61 cm (24 inches)
Depth to limestone bedrock, lithic contact: 102 to 152 cm (40 to 60 inches), lithic contact is deeper in some pedons that have thick residuum
Particle-size control section (weighted average): 27 to 35 percent clay
Reaction: moderately acid or strongly acid in the most acid part of the solum
Special features: In some pedons outwash material that contains a component of sand is between the loess and the residuum. It is below 102 cm (40 inches) but still within the solum.
A or Ap horizon:
Hue: 10YR
Value: 2 or 3
Chroma: 1 to 3
Texture: silt loam
Bt horizon:
Hue: 10YR
Value: 4 or 5
Chroma: 3 to 6
Texture: typically silty clay loam, but in some pedons the lower part of this horizon is silt loam.
2Bt horizon:
Hue: 5YR or 2.5YR, or less commonly 7.5YR or 10YR
Value: 3 to 5
Chroma: 3 to 6
Texture: silty clay or clay
Clay content: 55 to 75 percent
Other features:
In some pedons it contains a component of chert fragments. In some pedons the upper few inches of bedrock is partially disintegrated.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the
Broadwell,
Dinsdale,
Douglas,
Elkhart,
Elmont,
Healing,
Lycurgus,
Malcolm,
Meadowbank,
Mendota,
Mickle,
Ogle,
Osco,
Parkway,
Plano,
Proctor,
Richwood,
Ripon,
Sibley,
Sidell,
Tama,
Tecumseh,
Toddville,
Wakenda, and
Waupecan series. All of the series except Elmont and Ripon do not have clay or silty clay 2Bt horizons nor sola terminated by bedrock. Elmont series have less than 55 percent clay in the lower sola and have a paralithic contact with silty shale at depths of 102 to 152 cm (40 to 60 inches). Ripon series have thinner sola and are underlain by limestone bedrock at depths of 51 to 102 cm (20 to 40 inches).
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Ashdale soils are on nearly level and gently sloping ridgetops and strongly sloping to moderately steep convex slopes in dissected upland areas. Slope gradients commonly are 3 to 12 percent and range from 0 to 20 percent. These soils formed in 91 to 127 cm (36 to 50 inches) of loess and in a thin layer of residuum weathered from limestone bedrock. Summers are hot and winters are cold. Mean annual air temperature ranges from 7 to 12 degrees C (45 to 53 degrees F). Mean annual precipitation ranges from 71 to 102 cm (28 to 40 inches). Frost-free period ranges from 130 to 170 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the
Dodgeville,
Nasset,
Palsgrove,
Ogle,
Osco, and
Tama soils. Dodgeville soils are in a contrasting particle size family and are underlain by limestone bedrock at depths of 51 to 102 cm (20 to 40 inches). Dodgeville soils are on steeper side slopes in areas where Ashdale soils are on ridgetops. Ogle soils have limestone bedrock at depths greater than 203 cm (80 inches), glacial till at depths of 76 to 127 cm (30 to 50 inches), and are on similar landscape positions as the ashdale soils. Osco and Tama soils have limestone bedrock at depths greater than 203 cm (80 inches) , less clay in the lower subsoil and underlying material, and are on ridgetops in areas where Ashdale soils are on side slopes. Ashdale soils are in a biosequence with Nasset soils (Mollic Hapludalfs) and Palsgrove soils (Typic Hapludalfs).
DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY: Well drained. Saturated hydraulic conductivity is moderately high to high (4.23 to 14.11 micrometers per second) in the loess and moderately low to moderately high (0.42 to 1.41 micrometers per second) in the clayey residuum. Permeability is moderate in the loess and slow in the clayey residuum. Surface runoff potential is medium to high as related to slope.
USE AND VEGETATION: Most of the lesser sloping areas are cropped to corn, hay, legume-grass pasture, or small grains. Steeper slopes are mainly used for pasture. Native vegetation is probably tall prairie grasses, chiefly bluestem.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Northwestern Illinois, southwestern Wisconsin, and northeastern Iowa in unglaciated areas and glaciated areas where drift has not contributed significantly to the solum. LRRs K and M, MLRAs 95B, 104, 105, 108A, 108B, and 115C. The series is of moderate extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Lafayette County, Wisconsin, 1964.
REMARKS: The Ashdale series covers part of the former Dodgeville, deep phase and that part of Tama which was developed in more than 107 cm (42 inches) of loess but had B horizons continuing into residuum weathered from limestone.
Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Mollic epipedon - from a depth of 0 to 38 cm (0 to 15 inches) (Ap, A1, and A2 horizons);
Argillic horizon - from a depth of 38 to 130 cm (15 inches to 51 inches) (Bt1, Bt2, Bt3 and 2Bt4 horizons).
Lithic contact--a depth of 130 cm (51 inches)
Udic moisture regime; Mesic temperature regime.
National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.