LOCATION BELLECHESTER MN+WIEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Sandy, mixed, mesic Entic Hapludolls
TYPICAL PEDON: Bellechester sand, on a southwest-facing, concave slope of 32 percent, in a pasture. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)
A1--0 to 18 centimeters; very dark brown (10YR 2/2) sand, dark gray (10YR 4/1) dry; single grain; loose; many roots; slightly alkaline; gradual wavy boundary. (14 to 31 centimeters thick)
A2--18 to 41 centimeters; very dark gray (10YR 3/1) sand, dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) dry; single grain; loose; many roots; slightly alkaline; clear irregular boundary. (14 to 31 centimeters thick)
BA--41 to 58 centimeters; very dark gray (10YR 3/1) and brown (10YR 4/3) sand, dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) rubbed; single grain; loose; common roots; about 5 percent rock fragments consisting mostly of hard dolomite channers; slightly alkaline; clear irregular boundary. (0 to 31 centimeters thick)
Bw--58 to 71 centimeters; yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) sand with some masses of dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2), dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) rubbed; single grain; loose; about 10 percent flagstones consisting mostly of sandstone and dolomite; moderately alkaline; slightly effervescent; clear wavy boundary. (9 to 26 centimeters thick)
BC--71 to 107 centimeters; yellowish brown (10YR 5/8) sand; single grain; loose; stone line in upper part and about 10 percent flagstones consisting mostly of sandstone and dolomite in lower part; slightly alkaline; slightly effervescent; clear wavy boundary. (0 to 52 centimeters thick)
Cr--107 to 203 centimeters; white (10YR 8/1) soft sandstone: slightly acid.
TYPE LOCATION: Major Land Resource Area (MLRA) 105-Northern Mississippi Valley Loess Hills, Goodhue County, Minnesota subset; about 2 miles south and 9 miles east of Red Wing; located about 790 feet east and 330 feet south of the northwest corner of section 11, T. 112 N., R. 13 W.; USGS Maiden Rock topographic quadrangle; lat. 44 degrees 31 minutes 34 seconds N. and long. 92 degrees 20 minutes 47 seconds W., NAD 83.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Thickness of the mollic epipedon--30 to 49 centimeters
Depth to carbonates--50 to 100 centimeters
Depth to contact with soft sandstone--100 to 180 centimeters
Clay content in the particle-size control section (weighted average)--1 to 10 percent
Sand content in the particle-size control section (weighted average)--75 to 95 percent, more than 5 percent medium and coarse sand
Rock fragment content--2 to 35 percent throughout, dolomite, sandstone or limestone, mostly greater than 76 millimeters in size
A horizon:
Hue--7.5YR or 10YR
Value--2 or 3
Chroma--1 or 2
Texture--sand, fine sand, loamy sand, loamy fine sand, sandy loam, or the channery or flaggy analogues of these textures
Clay content--2 to 15 percent
Sand content--70 to 95 percent
Reaction--moderately acid to moderately alkaline
BA horizon (when present):
Hue--7.5YR or 10YR
Value--2 to 4
Chroma--1 to 3
Texture--sand, fine sand, loamy sand, loamy fine sand or the channery or flaggy analogues of these textures
Clay content--2 to 10 percent
Sand content--70 to 95 percent
Reaction--moderately acid to moderately alkaline
Bw horizon:
Hue--7.5YR or 10YR
Value--4 to 8
Chroma--4 to 8
Texture--sand, fine sand, loamy sand, loamy fine sand or the channery or flaggy analogues of these textures
Clay content--2 to 10 percent
Sand content--75 to 95 percent
Reaction--moderately acid to moderately alkaline
Some pedons have masses with either lower value or chroma or both
BC and C horizon (when present):
Hue--7.5YR or 10YR
Value--5 to 8
Chroma--1 to 8
Texture--sand, fine sand, or the channery or flaggy analogues of these textures
Clay content--1 to 10 percent
Sand content--90 to 100 percent
Reaction--neutral to moderately alkaline
Cr horizon:
Soft to weakly cemented sandstone bedrock, Jordan and St. Peter formations
COMPETING SERIES: These are the
Finchford,
Fruitfield,
Hawick,
Hononegah,
Komro,
Lasa,
Sparta,
Trempe, and
Zumbro series.
Finchford--do not have carbonates within a depth of 200 centimeters
Fruitfield--do not have carbonates within a depth of 150 centimeters
Hawick--do not have a contact with sandstone within a depth of 200 centimeters
Hononegah--do not have a contact with sandstone within a depth of 200 centimeters
Komro--have a frequently saturated zone within a depth of 1.8 meters during the wettest periods in years when precipitation is within one standard deviation of the 30 year mean of annual precipitation
Lasa--have a medium sand content of less than 5 percent in the series control section and do not have rock fragments in the series control section
Sparta--do not have carbonates within a depth of 200 centimeters
Trempe--do not have carbonates within a depth of 200 centimeters and do not have rock fragments in the series control section
Zumbro--have a mollic epipedon 60 to 127 centimeters thick
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Parent material--100 to 180 centimeters of sandy colluvium and residuum from sandstone overlying soft sandstone bedrock (Jordan and St. Peter formations)
Landform--concave, south-facing to west-facing, lower back slopes on valley sides in maturely dissected terrain
Slope--12 to 90 percent
Elevation--200 to 400 meters above sea level
Mean annual air temperature--6 to 10 degrees C
Mean annual precipitation--735 to 965 millimeters
Frost-free period--145 to 205 days
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the
Brodale,
Copaston,
Eyota, and
Marlean soils.
Brodale--are at higher landscape positions on upper side slopes and have carbonates within a depth of 30 centimeters
Copaston--are at higher landscape positions on shoulders and have a lithic contact of limestone within a depth of 50 centimeters
Eyota--are at lower landscape positions on base slopes and have a mollic epipedon 60 to 127 centimeters thick
Marlean--are at higher landscape positions on upper side slopes and have a clay content that averages 12 to 30 percent in the particle-size control section
DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY:
Drainage class--excessively drained--these soil do not have a saturated zone within a depth of 1.8 meters during the wettest periods 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 sandy colluvium and residuum and 1.00 to 100.00 micrometers per second in the sandstone bedrock, depending on the degree of fracturing
USE AND VEGETATION:
Most areas are in permanent pasture or in open stands of red cedar. The native vegetation is big bluestem, indiangrass, switchgrass, other grasses of the tall grass prairie with a few scattered trees such as bur oak, hazel, red cedar, and sumac.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT:
Physiographic Division--Interior Plains
Physiographic Province--Central Lowland
Physiographic sections--Dissected till plains and Wisconsin driftless section
MLRAs--Eastern Iowa and Minnesota Till Prairies (104) and Northern Mississippi Valley Loess Hills (105)
LRR M; southeastern Minnesota and southwestern Wisconsin
Extent--moderate
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: St. Paul, Minnesota
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Goodhue County, Minnesota, 1972.
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 107 centimeters.
Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon include:
mollic epipedon--the zone from the surface to a depth of 41 centimeters (A1 and A2 horizons);
cambic horizon--the zone from a depth of 41 to 107 centimeters (BA, Bw, and BC horizons);
udic moisture regime.
Entic subgroup based on presence of carbonates throughout the cambic horizon.
This soil is usually 100 to 150 centimeters to bedrock but may range to 180 centimeters. The representative value (RV) in NASIS will be a value between 100 and 150 centimeters and interpretations for this series will be based on less than 150 centimeters to soft bedrock.
Taxonomy version--Keys to Soil Taxonomy, tenth edition, 2006.
ADDITIONAL DATA:
Refer to Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station Central File Code No. 1381 for results of some laboratory analyses of the typical pedon.