LOCATION BELINDA                 IA+MO

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

BELINDA SERIES

The Belinda series consists of very deep, poorly drained soils formed in loess. These soils occur on nearly level upland divides and stream terraces. Slope ranges from 0 to 2 percent. Mean annual air temperature is about 11 degrees C. Mean annual precipitation is about 840 millimeters.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine, smectitic, mesic Vertic Albaqualfs

TYPICAL PEDON: Belinda silt loam, on a slope of about 1 percent, in a cultivated field. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise noted.)

Ap--0 to 15 centimeters; very dark gray (10YR 3/1) silt loam, gray (10YR 5/1) dry; weak very thin platy and weak very fine granular structure; friable; few distinct gray (10YR 6/1) dry silt coats on faces of peds; neutral; clear smooth boundary. (15 to 25 centimeters thick)

E1--15 to 23 centimeters; dark gray (10YR 4/1) silt loam, gray (10YR 6/1) dry; kneaded dark gray (10YR 4/1); moderate medium platy structure; friable; many distinct light gray (10YR 7/1) dry silt coats on faces of peds; few fine dark reddish brown (5YR 2/2) accumulations (oxides); neutral; clear smooth boundary.

E2--23 to 38 centimeters; grayish brown (10YR 5/2) silt loam, light gray (10YR 7/2) dry; moderate thin platy structure parting to weak very thin platy; friable; few very fine dark reddish brown (5YR 2/2) and dark brown (7.5YR 3/2) accumulations (oxides); many distinct light gray (10YR 7/1) dry silt coats on faces of peds; slightly acid; clear smooth boundary.

E3--38 to 46 centimeters; grayish brown (2.5Y 5/2) and light brownish gray (2.5Y 6/2) silt loam, light gray (2.5Y 7/2) dry; weak medium platy structure; friable; few very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) coats on faces of peds; common distinct white (10YR 8/1) dry silt coats on faces of peds; few fine dark reddish brown (5YR 2/2) and dark brown (7.5YR 3/2) concretions; strongly acid; abrupt smooth boundary. (Combined thickness of the E horizon is 20 to 36 centimeters.)

BE--46 to 51 centimeters; dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) silty clay loam; moderate fine subangular blocky structure; firm; common distinct grayish brown (10YR 5/2) coats on faces of peds; common distinct light gray (10YR 7/1) dry silt coats on faces of peds; few fine dark reddish brown (5YR 2/2) and dark brown (7.5YR 3/2) concretions; strongly acid; abrupt smooth boundary. (0 to 5 centimeters thick)

Btg1--51 to 58 centimeters; dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) silty clay; strong very fine subangular blocky structure; very firm; many distinct clay films on faces of peds; very dark gray (10YR 3/1) and very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) coats on faces of peds; few fine dark reddish brown (5YR 2/2) concretions; few fine distinct olive brown (2.5Y 4/4) redoximorphic concentrations; strongly acid; gradual smooth boundary.

Btg2--58 to 84 centimeters; dark grayish brown (2.5Y 4/2) silty clay; strong fine subangular blocky structure; very firm; many distinct clay films on faces of peds; very dark grayish brown (2.5Y 3/2) faces of peds; few black (10YR 2/1) clay fills along surfaces of root channels; few fine dark reddish brown (5YR 2/2) and dark brown (7.5YR 3/2) concretions; few fine distinct olive brown (2.5Y 4/4) redoximorphic concentrations; moderately acid; gradual smooth boundary.

Btg3--84 to 104 centimeters; grayish brown (2.5Y 5/2) silty clay; weak fine prismatic structure parting to moderate fine subangular blocky; firm; many distinct clay films on faces of peds; few distinct dark grayish brown (2.5Y 4/2) and very dark gray (10YR 3/1) coats on some peds; few very dark gray (10YR 3/1) clay-filled channels; common fine and medium dark reddish brown (5YR 2/2) concretions; common fine distinct dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) and yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) redoximorphic concentrations, which increase in abundance as depth increases; moderately acid; gradual smooth boundary.

Btg4--104 to 152 centimeters; mottled yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) and olive gray (5Y 5/2) silty clay loam; weak medium prismatic structure; firm; common distinct very dark gray (10YR 3/1) and dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) clay films on faces of prisms; common black (10YR 2/1) or very dark gray (10YR 3/1) clay along surfaces of pores becoming more numerous with depth; common fine and medium dark reddish brown (5YR 2/2) concretions; moderately acid; gradual smooth boundary. (Combined thickness of the Btg horizon is 80 to 135 centimeters.)

Cg--152 to 178 centimeters; light olive gray (5Y 6/2) silty clay loam; massive; firm; common fine dark reddish brown (5YR 2/2) concretions; common fine and medium prominent yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) and strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) redoximorphic concentrations; slightly acid.

TYPE LOCATION: Major Land Resource Area (MLRA) 109- Iowa and Missouri Heavy Till Plain, Monroe County, Iowa subset; about 3 miles south and 3 miles west of Albia; located about 420 feet north and 1,370 feet east of the southwest corner of section 31, T. 72 N., R. 17 W.; USGS Moravia topographic quadrangle; lat. 40 degrees 59 minutes 14 seconds N. and long. 92 degrees 51 minutes 51 seconds W., NAD 83.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Depth to carbonates--more than 150 centimeters
Content of clay in the particle-size control section (weighted average)--42 to 48 percent
Content of sand in the particle-size control section (weighted average)--less than 10 percent

Ap or A horizon:
Hue--10YR
Value--2 or 3
Chroma--1 or 2
Texture--silt loam
Clay content--16 to 24 percent
Sand content--less than 10 percent
Rock fragment content--0 percent
Reaction--moderately acid to neutral

E horizon:
Hue--10YR or 2.5Y
Value--4 to 6
Chroma--1 or 2
Texture--silt loam or silty clay loam
Clay content--18 to 32 percent
Sand content--less than 10 percent
Rock fragment content--0 percent
Reaction--very strongly acid to neutral

BE horizon (when present):
Hue--10YR or 2.5Y
Value--4 or 5
Chroma--2
Texture--silty clay loam
Clay content--27 to 35 percent
Sand content--less than 10 percent
Rock fragment content--0 percent
Reaction--very strongly acid to slightly acid

Btg horizon:
Hue--10YR, 2.5Y, or 5Y
Value--4 or 5
Chroma--1 or 2 in the upper part, 1 to 4 in the lower part
Texture--silty clay or silty clay loam
Clay content--35 to 52 percent
Sand content--less than 10 percent
Rock fragment content--0 percent
Reaction--very strongly acid to slightly acid

BCg (when present) or Cg horizon:
Hue--2.5Y or 5Y
Value--4 to 6
Chroma--1 or 2
Texture--silty clay loam or silt loam
Clay content--24 to 35 percent
Sand content--less than 10 percent
Rock fragment content--0 percent
Reaction--strongly acid to slightly acid

COMPETING SERIES: These are the Adco, Appanoose, Awbrig, Chariton, Dayton, Glensted, Putnam, Rubio, and Wagner series.
Adco--have dominant chroma of 3 or 4 in some part of the upper 50 centimeters of the argillic horizon
Appanoose--have a clay content that averages 48 to 55 percent in the particle-size control section
Awbrig--have a clay content that averages 50 to 60 percent in the particle-size control section
Chariton--have a clay content that averages 48 to 60 percent in the particle-size control section
Dayton--are in areas that have a mean annual precipitation range of 1,010 to 1,270 millimeters and have a lithologic discontinuity between depths of 30 and 60 centimeters
Glensted--have a rock fragment content (chert) of 1 to 30 percent within a depth of 75 centimeters
Putnam--have a clay content that averages 48 to 60 percent in the particle-size control section
Rubio--have a clay content that averages 35 to 42 percent in the particle-size control section
Wagner--have carbonates in the lower third of the series control section

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Parent material--loess
Landform--nearly level upland divides and stream terraces
Slope--0 to 2 percent
Elevation--240 to 335 meters above sea level
Mean annual air temperature--10 to 12 degrees C
Mean annual precipitation--780 to 900 millimeters
Frost-free period--155 to 180 days

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Beckwith, Haig and Pershing soils.
Beckwith--are in landscape positions similar to the Belinda soils and have surface layers with matrix color value of 4 or more (moist) or 6 or more (dry)
Haig--occur in landscape positions similar to the Belinda soils and have a mollic epipedon 50 to 90 centimeters thick
Pershing--are on slightly lower landscape positions on side slopes and have a frequently saturated zone at a depth of 0.3 meter during the wettest periods of normal years

DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY:
Drainage class--poorly drained--these soils are frequently saturated at the soil surface during the wettest portions of normal years
Saturated hydraulic conductivity--0.01 to 0.10 micrometers per second (low)
Surface runoff potential--negligible to high
Ponding--frequently ponded to depths of 0 to 0.15 meters during the wettest periods of normal years, after snowmelt or after significant rainfall events

USE AND VEGETATION:
Most areas are cultivated. The principal crops are corn, soybean, small grain, and grass-legume hay. The native vegetation is mixed big bluestem, little bluestem, switchgrass, other grasses of the tall grass prairie and deciduous trees (oak-hickory). See Additional Data section for native vegetative cover in Iowa.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT:
Physiographic Division--Interior Plains
Physiographic Province--Central Lowland
Physiographic section--Dissected till plains
MLRAs--Illinois and Iowa Deep Loess and Drift (108) and Iowa and Missouri Heavy Till Plain (109)
LRR M; southern Iowa and northern Missouri
Extent--small

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

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Lucas County, Iowa, 1957.

REMARKS:
Particle-size control section--the zone from a depth of 51 to 101 centimeters;
series control section--the zone from the surface to a depth of 150 centimeters.

Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon include:
ochric epipedon--the zone from the surface to a depth of 51 centimeters (Ap, E1, E2, E3, and BE horizons);
albic horizon--the zone from 15 to 46 centimeters (E1, E2, and E3 horizons);
argillic horizon--the zone from 51 to 152 centimeters (Btg1, Btg2, Btg3, and Btg4 horizons);
aquic moisture regime.

Vertic subgroup based on linear extensibility greater than 6.0 centimeters between the surface and a depth of 100 centimeters.

Some pedons included in mapping do not have the 20 percent clay increase within 7 centimeters as required for abrupt clay increase, but the finest part of the Bt horizon contains at least double the amount of clay the E horizon contains.

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

ADDITIONAL DATA:
Laboratory data--Iowa State University, Ames, IA - particle-size analysis of the typical pedon.

In Iowa, the native vegetative cover is a mixed herbaceous and woody community commonly inhabited with Green Ashes, American Elms, Common Hackberries, Eastern Cottonwoods, American Sycamores, Silky Dogwoods, Black Willows, Wild Black Currants, Riverbank Grapes, Grays Sedges, Hop Sedges, Virginia Wildryes, Stiff Bedstraws, White Avens, Wood Nettles, False Nettles, Canadian Clearweeds, and Common Bonesets. Source: Iowa State Office, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Des Moines, IA.

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National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.