LOCATION BISCAY MN+IA
Established Series
Rev. JFC-TCJ-TWN
04/2014
BISCAY SERIES
The Biscay series consists of very deep, poorly drained and very poorly drained soils that formed in 50 to 100 centimeters of loamy glacial outwash and the underlying calcareous sandy and gravelly glacial outwash. These soils are on concave or slightly convex positions on glacial outwash plains, till plains, valley trains, stream terraces and flood plains. Slope ranges from 0 to 2 percent. The mean annual precipitation is about 760 millimeters. The mean annual air temperature is about 10 degrees C.
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy over sandy or sandy-skeletal, mixed, superactive, mesic Typic Endoaquolls
TYPICAL PEDON: Biscay loam, on a level slope, on an outwash plain, in a cultivated field. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise noted.)
Ap--0 to 18 centimeters; black (N 2/0) loam; very dark gray (10YR 3/1) dry; weak fine and medium subangular blocky structure; friable; neutral; abrupt smooth boundary.
A1--18 to 41 centimeters; black (10YR 2/1) loam; very dark gray (10YR 3/1) dry; moderate medium subangular blocky structure parting to weak very fine subangular blocky; friable; neutral; gradual wavy boundary.
A2--41 to 51 centimeters; very dark gray (10YR 3/1) loam; dark gray (10YR 4/1) dry; weak fine or very fine subangular blocky structure; friable; neutral; clear wavy boundary. (Combined thickness of the A horizon is 25 to 61 centimeters.)
Bg1--51 to 61 centimeters; olive gray (5Y 5/2) loam; weak fine subangular blocky structure; friable; many fine faint gray (5Y 5/1) iron depletions; neutral; clear wavy boundary.
Bg2--61 to 71 centimeters; olive gray (5Y 5/2) loam; weak fine subangular blocky structure; friable; few fine prominent light olive brown (2.5Y 5/4) iron concentrations; neutral; clear wavy boundary. (Combined thickness of the Bg horizon is 15 to 41 centimeters.)
2BCg--71 to 91 centimeters; olive (5Y 5/3) gravelly loam; weak fine subangular blocky structure; friable; about 15 percent gravel; slightly alkaline; clear wavy boundary. (0 to 20 centimeters thick)
2Cg--91 to 152 centimeters; dark gray (5Y 4/1) and olive gray (5Y 4/2) gravelly coarse sand; single grain; about 20 percent gravel; few medium prominent light olive brown (2.5Y 5/6) iron concentrations; slightly effervescent; slightly alkaline.
TYPE LOCATION: Major Land Resource Area (MLRA) 103-Central Iowa and Minnesota Till Prairies, Steele County, Minnesota subset; about 1 mile west and 4 miles north of Owatonna; located about 2,590 feet north and 1,520 feet west of the southeast corner of section 20, T. 108 N., R. 20 W.; USGS Medford West topographic quadrangle; lat. 44 degrees 08 minutes 46 seconds N. and long. 93 degrees 15 minutes 09 seconds W., NAD 83.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Thickness of the mollic epipedon--25 to 60 centimeters
Depth to the sandy and gravelly outwash--50 to 100 centimeters
Depth to carbonates--37 to 100 centimeters
Content of clay in the upper half of the particle-size control section (weighted average)--18 to 32 percent
Content of clay in the lower half of the particle-size control section (weighted average)--1 to 10 percent
Content of sand in the upper half of the particle-size control section (weighted average)--25 to 65 percent
Content of sand in the lower half of the particle-size control section (weighted average)--70 to 98 percent
Ap or A horizon:
Hue--10YR, 2.5Y, or is neutral
Value--2 or 3
Chroma--0 or 1
Texture--loam, clay loam, sandy clay loam, or silty clay loam
Clay content--18 to 30 percent
Sand content--10 to 55 percent
Rock fragment content--0 to 2 percent
Reaction--slightly acid to slightly alkaline
Some pedons, in uncultivated areas, may have a mucky loam surface layer up to 11 centimeters thick
Some pedons have an AB horizon
Bg horizon:
Hue--10YR, 2.5Y, 5Y, or 5GY
Value--4 or 5
Chroma--1 to 3
Texture--loam, sandy clay loam, clay loam, or silty clay loam
Clay content--18 to 30 percent
Sand content--15 to 65 percent
Rock fragment content--0 to 10 percent
Reaction--neutral or slightly alkaline
Some pedons have higher chroma in subhorizons
Some pedons have calcareous A1 horizons and non-calcareous Bg horizons
2BCg or BCg horizons (when present):
Hue--2.5Y, 5Y or 5GY
Value--4 to 6
Chroma--1 to 4
Texture--gravelly loam, gravelly sandy loam, gravelly coarse sandy loam or sandy loam
Clay content--10 to 27 percent
Sand content--45 to 70 percent
Rock fragment content--10 to 35 percent
Reaction--slightly acid to slightly alkaline
A positive reaction with alpha, alpha-dipyridyl is assumed
2Cg horizon:
Hue--2.5Y, 5Y or 5GY
Value--4 to 6
Chroma--1 or 2
Texture--loamy coarse sand, loamy sand, coarse sand, sand or the gravelly or very gravelly analogues of these textures
Clay content--1 to 10 percent
Sand content--75 to 95 percent
Rock fragment content--5 to 60 percent
Reaction--slightly alkaline or moderately alkaline
Some pedons have stratified textures
Some pedons may be leached of carbonates in the upper part of the 2Cg horizon
Some pedons have a loamy substratum (3Cg horizon) below a depth of 150 centimeters
3Cg horizon (when present):
Hue--2.5Y or 5Y
Value--4 or 5
Chroma--1 or 2
Texture--loam, clay loam, silty clay loam or sandy loam
Clay content--10 to 30 percent
Sand content--10 to 60 percent
Rock fragment content--1 to 15 percent
Reaction--slightly alkaline or moderately alkaline
COMPETING SERIES: These are the
Marshan,
Mudhen,
Niwot, and
Will series.
Marshan--do not have carbonates within a depth of 100 centimeters
Mudhen--have a paralithic contact in shale within a depth of 150 centimeters
Niwot--have a sand content that averages more than 55 percent in the upper half of the series control section and are in areas that have an average annual precipitation range of 300 to 460 millimeters
Will--not clearly differentiated at this time, however these soils have a rock fragment content range of 30 to 70 percent in the lower third of the series control section, and are in areas that have an average annual precipitation range of 740 to 1,020 millimeters
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Parent material--50 to 100 centimeters of loamy glacial outwash and the underlying calcareous sandy and gravelly glacial outwash
Landform--concave or slightly convex positions on glacial outwash plains, till plains, valley trains, stream terraces and flood plains
Slope--0 to 2 percent
Elevation--210 to 480 meters
Mean annual air temperature--7 to 13 degrees C
Mean annual precipitation--600 to 920 millimeters
Frost-free period--155 to 200 days
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are
Cylinder,
Mayer and
Wadena soils.
Cylinder--are at slightly higher landscape positions and have a frequently saturated zone at a depth of 0.3 meter during the wettest periods of normal years
Mayer--are at similar landscape positions as the Biscay soils and have carbonates in all layers between depths of 25 and 50 centimeters
Wadena--are at higher landscape positions and do not have a frequently saturated zone within a depth of 1.8 meters during the wettest periods of normal years
DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY:
Drainage class--very poorly or poorly drained--these soils are frequently saturated at the soil surface during the wettest periods of normal years and this saturation is considered apparent
Saturated hydraulic conductivity--1.00 to 10.00 micrometers per second in the loamy sediments and 10.00 to 100.00 micrometers per second in the underlying materials
Surface runoff potential--negligible to low
Ponding--rarely to frequently ponded for very brief to long duration
USE AND VEGETATION:
Most areas are artificially drained and cultivated. The principal crops are corn, soybeans, small grains, and legume hay. Reed canarygrass commonly dominates partially drained pasture. Native vegetation is predominantly wet-site tall prairie species such as prairie cordgrass, switchgrass, big bluestem, wooly sedge, giant goldenrod and Canada goldenrod. The native vegetation on very poorly drained ponded phases is herbaceous marsh species tolerant of excessive wetness such as, cattails, bulrushes, giant burreed, giant reed grass and hydrophytic sedges.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT:
Physiographic Division--Interior Plains
Physiographic Province--Central Lowland
Physiographic sections--Western lake section and Dissected till plains
MLRAs--Till Plains (102B),
Central Iowa and Minnesota Till Prairies (103),
Eastern Iowa and Minnesota Till Prairies (104), and
Iowa and Minnesota Loess Hills (107A)
LRR M; south-central Minnesota and north-central Iowa
Extent--moderate
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: St. Paul, Minnesota
SERIES ESTABLISHED: McLeod County, Minnesota, 1948.
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 51 centimeters (Ap, A1 and A2 horizons);
cambic horizon--the zone from a depth of 51 to 71 centimeters (Bg1, Bg2 and BCg horizons);
aquic moisture regime--a positive reaction with alpha, alpha-dipyridyl is assumed.
Cation-exchange class is inferred from lab data from similar soils in the surrounding area.
Taxonomy version--Keys to Soil Taxonomy, tenth edition, 2006.
ADDITIONAL DATA:
Laboratory data--Refer to MAES Central File Code Nos. 3303 and 3460 for results of some laboratory analysis of representative pedons of this series.
National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.