LOCATION BECKER MNEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Coarse-loamy, mixed, superactive, mesic Pachic Hapludolls
TYPICAL PEDON: Becker loam, on a nearly level slope of less than 1 percent, on a flood plain, in a cultivated field. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)
Ap--0 to 23 centimeters; black (10YR 2/1) loam; very dark gray (10YR 3/1) dry; weak very fine granular structure; very friable; about 2 percent rock fragments; slightly acid; abrupt wavy boundary.
A1--23 to 41 centimeters; black (10YR 2/1) sandy loam; very dark gray (10YR 3/1) dry; moderate very fine granular structure; very friable; about 2 percent rock fragments; moderately acid; clear wavy boundary.
A2--41 to 51 centimeters; very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) sandy loam, dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) dry; moderate fine subangular blocky structure; very friable; continuous black (10YR 2/1) organic stains on faces of peds; about 5 percent rock fragments; moderately acid; abrupt wavy boundary. (Combined thickness of A horizon is 40 to 90 centimeters.)
AB--51 to 76 centimeters; very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) sandy loam, dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) dry; weak medium subangular blocky structure; very friable; continuous black (10YR 2/1) organic stains on faces of peds; about 15 percent rock fragments; moderately acid; clear wavy boundary. (0 to 30 centimeters thick)
2Bw--76 to 91 centimeters; brown (10YR 4/3) gravelly loamy coarse sand; massive; loose; common very dark brown (10YR 2/2) organic masses; about 20 percent rock fragments; slightly acid; abrupt wavy boundary. (0 to 50 centimeters thick)
2C--91 to 152 centimeters; grayish brown (10YR 5/2) gravelly coarse sand; single grain; loose; about 15 percent rock fragments; slightly effervescent; slightly alkaline.
TYPE LOCATION: Major Land Resource Area (MLRA) 104-Eastern Iowa and Minnesota Till Prairies, Olmsted County, Minnesota subset; about 4 miles southwest of Rochester, Minnesota; located about 2,440 feet south and 1,020 feet east of the northwest corner of section 1, T. 105 N., R. 15 W.; USGS Salem Corners topographic quadrangle; lat. 43 degrees 55 minutes 42 seconds N. and long. 92 degrees 34 minutes 27 seconds W., NAD 83.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Thickness of the mollic epipedon--50 to 100 centimeters
Depth to sandy and gravelly sediments--50 to 100 centimeters
Depth to carbonates--75 to more than 180 centimeters
Clay content of the particle-size control section (weighted average)--5 to 18 percent
Sand content of the particle-size control section (weighted average)--40 to 75 percent
Ap or A horizon:
Hue--10YR
Value--2 or 3
Chroma--1 or 2
Texture--loam, sandy loam, fine sandy loam, very fine sandy loam, loamy sand, or loamy fine sand
Clay content--5 to 18 percent
Sand content--35 to 80 percent
Rock fragment content--0 to 10 percent, mixed lithology
Reaction--moderately acid to neutral
AB or BA (when present) horizon:
Hue--10YR
Value--2 or 3
Chroma--1 to 3
Texture--loam, sandy loam, fine sandy loam, very fine sandy loam, loamy sand, or loamy fine sand
Clay content--5 to 18 percent
Sand content--35 to 80 percent
Rock fragment content--0 to 10 percent, mixed lithology
Reaction--moderately acid to neutral
Some pedons have a Bw horizon with texture of sandy loam, fine sandy loam, or loam
2Bw (when present) horizon:
Hue--10YR or 2.5Y
Value--3 to 5
Chroma--2 to 4
Texture--loamy coarse sand, loamy sand, loamy fine sand, or the gravelly analogs of these textures
Clay content--2 to 10 percent
Sand content--70 to 85 percent
Rock fragment content--0 to 35 percent, mixed lithology
Reaction--slightly acid to slightly alkaline
Some pedons have redoximorphic features
2BC (when present) or 2C horizon:
Hue--10YR or 2.5Y
Value--4 or 5
Chroma--1 to 4
Texture--coarse sand, sand, fine sand, loamy coarse sand, loamy sand, loamy fine sand, or the gravelly analogs of these textures
Clay content--1 to 10 percent
Sand content--80 to 95 percent
Rock fragment content--0 to 35 percent, mixed lithology
Reaction--slightly acid to slightly alkaline
COMPETING SERIES: This is the
Carmi series.
Carmi--have organo-clay films on ped faces and clay bridging between sand grains throughout the cambic horizon
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Parent material--50 to 100 centimeters of postglacial alluvial sediments and in the underlying sandy and gravelly sediments
Landform--slightly concave to slightly convex slopes on flood plains
Slope--0 to 2 percent
Elevation--205 to 470 meters above sea level
Mean annual air temperature--3 to 10 degrees C
Mean annual precipitation--585 to 965 millimeters
Frost-free period--120 to 205 days
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the
Kalmarville,
Radford,
Spillville, and
Zumbro soils.
Kalmarville--are at lower landscape positions on flood plains and have a frequently saturated zone from the surface of the soil to a depth of 0.3 meter during the wettest parts of years when precipitation is within one standard deviation of the 30 year mean of annual precipitation
Radford--are at slightly lower landscape positions on flood plains and have a clay content that averages 18 to 27 percent in the particle-size control section
Spillville--are on landscape positions similar to those of the Becker soils and have a clay content that averages 18 to 26 percent in the particle-size control section
Zumbro--are on landscape positions similar to those of the Becker soils and have a sand content that averages more than 75 percent in the particle-size control section
DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY:
Drainage class--well drained--a frequently saturated zone occurs within depths of 1.0 to 1.8 meters in years when precipitation is within one standard deviation of the 30 year mean of annual precipitation
Saturated hydraulic conductivity--10.00 to 100.00 micrometers per second in the alluvial sediments and 10.00 to 705.00 micrometers per second in the underlying materials
Flooding--very rarely flooded to occasionally flooded for very brief or brief duration
USE AND VEGETATION:
Most areas are cultivated. The principal crops are corn and soybeans. The native vegetation was mixed deciduous forest, and big bluestem, indiangrass, switchgrass, and other grasses of the tall grass prairie.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT:
Physiographic Division--Interior Plains
Physiographic Province--Central Lowland
Physiographic sections--Dissected till plains, Wisconsin driftless section, and Western lake section
MLRAs--Wisconsin and Minnesota Thin Loess and Till, Southern Part (90B),
Central Minnesota Sandy Outwash (91A),
Wisconsin and Minnesota Sandy Outwash (91B),
Central Iowa and Minnesota Till Prairies (103),
Eastern Iowa and Minnesota Till Prairies (104), and
Northern Mississippi Valley Loess Hills (105)
LRRs K and M; central and southeastern Minnesota
Extent--small
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Indianapolis, Indiana
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Wright County, Minnesota, 1965.
REMARKS:
Particle-size control section--the zone from a depth of 25 to 100 centimeters;
series control section--the zone from the surface to a depth of 150 centimeters.
Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon include:
mollic epipedon-the zone from the surface to a depth of 76 centimeters (Ap, A1, A2, and AB horizons);
cambic horizon--the zone from a depth of 76 to 91 centimeters (2Bw horizon);
udic moisture regime.
Pachic subgroup based on less than 0.3 percent organic carbon at a depth of 125 centimeters and a regular decrease in organic-carbon content from a depth of 25 to 125 centimeters.
Cation-exchange activity class is inferred from lab data from similar soils in the surrounding area.
Taxonomy version--Keys to Soil Taxonomy, tenth edition, 2006.