LOCATION BOWSTRING MN+MI WIEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Euic, frigid Fluvaquentic Haplosaprists
TYPICAL PEDON: Bowstring muck, in a hummocky flood plain with a cover that is mostly sedges. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)
Oa1--0 to 18 inches; black (10YR 2/1) muck (sapric material); about 30 percent fiber unrubbed, 5 percent rubbed; weak medium subangular blocky structure; friable; mostly herbaceous fiber; moderately acid; gradual wavy boundary.
0a2--18 to 38 inches; black (N 2/0) broken face and rubbed muck (sapric material); with thin strata of sand; about 10 percent fiber unrubbed, 1 percent rubbed; massive; friable; mostly herbaceous fiber; moderately acid; gradual smooth boundary.
Cg--38 to 47 inches; dark gray (5Y 4/1) fine sand with thin strata of black (N 2/0) muck; massive; very friable; slightly acid; abrupt smooth boundary.
0'a1--47 to 80 inches; black (N 2/0) broken face and rubbed muck (sapric material); mixed with sand grains; about 1 percent fiber unrubbed; friable; massive; slightly acid. (Combined thickness of all Oa and O'a horizons is 16 to over 51 inches.)
TYPE LOCATION: Sherburne County, Minnesota; about 2,500 feet north and 2,485 feet west of the southeast corner of sec. 17, T.35N., R.26W.; USGS Princeton quadrangle; lat. 45 degrees 31 minutes 21 secones N., and long. 93 degrees 36 minutes 9 seconds W., NAD27.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Organic soil material extends from 16 inches to depths greater than 51 inches. Thin layers of mineral soil material are within the organic material. Herbaceous material is dominant, but woody material constitutes nearly 50 percent in some pedons. Content of woody fragments ranges from 0 to 10 percent. The organic soil material typically is sapric, but some pedons have hemic layers up to 10 inches cumulative thickness in the control section. Depth to the C horizon commonly is 24 to 40 inches but ranges from 2 to 48 inches. Reaction for the series ranges from moderately acid to moderately alkaline (pH 5.6 to 8.4 in water).
The Oa and O'a horizons (sapric material) have hue of 5YR, 7.5YR, or 10YR; value of 2 or 3; and chroma of 1 or 2 or is neutral with value of 2.
The C horizon has hue of 10YR, 7.5YR, 2.5Y, or 5Y; value of 2 to 6; and chroma of 1 to 3. It typically is sand, fine sand, or loamy sand; but all sandy or loamy textures are within the range. In some pedons the C horizon is stratified. Thin subhorizons in a few pedons have a high concentration of free carbonates.
COMPETING SERIES: There are no competing series.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Bowstring soils are on flood plains along small and medium sized streams in glacial moraines, glacial outwash plains, and glacial lake plains. Slopes are 0 to 1 percent. These soils formed in organic soil material greater than 51 inches thick which has one or more thin sandy or loamy alluvial strata. The organic material is derived primarily from herbaceous material but woody fragments are included. Mean annual precipitation ranges from 22 to 33 inches. Mean annual air temperature ranges from 36 to 45 degrees F. Frost-free days range from 90 to 145. Elevation above sea level ranges from 700 to 1600 feet.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Graycalm, Lupton, Menahga, Mooselake, Nebish, Pengilly, Warba, Winterfield, and Zimmerman soils. Graycalm, Menahga, and Zimmerman soils are all better drained and formed in sandy glacial outwash on adjacent upland landscapes. Lupton and Mooselake soils are in adjacent wooded bogs. The well drained Nebish soils and well drained and moderately well drained Warba soils are fine-loamy. Pengilly and Winterfield soils formed in sandy alluvial deposits.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Very poorly drained. Surface runoff is very low to ponded. Permeability is moderately slow to rapid. The apparent seasonal high water table is +1.0 to 0.5 feet at some time during October to June in most years. It is rare to frequently flooded for brief to long durations during the period of March through June in most years, and at other times following periods of intense rains.
USE AND VEGETATION: Almost all of this soil is in native vegetation which consists primarily of sedges with scattered willows and alders on some sites. Some areas have been developed for wild rice production.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Primarily northern Minnesota and northern Michigan, and possibly northern Wisconsin. These soils are of minor extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: St. Paul, Minnesota
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Itasca County, Minnesota, 1982.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizon and features recognized in this pedon are: sapric material from the surface to 38 inches (Oa1 and Oa2 horizons); fluvaquentic features at 38 to 47 inches (C horizon); sapric material from 47 to 80 inches (O' horizon).