LOCATION BEOTIA                  SD+MN ND

Established Series
Rev. LDS-WJB-ARG
01/2014

BEOTIA SERIES


The Beotia series consists of very deep, well drained or moderately well drained soils formed in silty glaciolacustrine deposits on lake plains. Saturated hydraulic conductivity is moderately high in the solum and moderately high to moderately low in the underlying material. Slopes range from 0 to 6 percent. Mean annual air temperature is 43 degrees F, and mean annual precipitation is about 19 inches.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-silty, mixed, superactive, frigid Pachic Hapludolls

TYPICAL PEDON: Beotia silt loam - on a plane slope of less than 1 percent in a cultivated field. When described the soil was dry to 53 inches and moist below. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise stated.)

Ap--0 to 7 inches; dark gray (10YR 4/1) silt loam, black (10YR 2/1) moist; weak fine granular structure; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common fine roots; neutral; abrupt smooth boundary.

A--7 to 11 inches; dark gray (10YR 4/1) silt loam, black (10YR 2/1) moist; weak medium subangular blocky structure parting to weak fine granular; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common fine roots; neutral; clear smooth boundary. (Combined A horizons are 8 to 16 inches thick.)

Bw1--11 to 16 inches; grayish brown (10YR 5/2) silty clay loam, very dark gray (10YR 3/1) moist; weak medium prismatic structure parting to weak medium subangular blocky; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common fine roots; neutral; clear smooth boundary.

Bw2--16 to 20 inches; grayish brown (10YR 5/2) silt loam, very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) moist; weak medium prismatic structure parting to weak medium subangular blocky; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common fine roots; neutral; abrupt wavy boundary. (Combined Bw horizons are 8 to 28 inches thick.)

Bk1--20 to 32 inches; pale yellow (2.5Y 7/4) silt loam, light olive brown (2.5Y 5/4) moist; weak coarse prismatic structure; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; few fine roots; common fine pores; few fine accumulations of carbonate; violent effervescence (34 percent calcium carbonate); moderately alkaline; gradual smooth boundary.

Bk2--32 to 42 inches; pale yellow (2.5Y 8/4) silt loam, light olive brown (2.5Y 5/4) moist; weak very coarse prismatic structure; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; few fine roots; many fine pores; few fine nests of gypsum and other salts; few fine accumulations of carbonate; violent effervescence (25 percent calcium carbonate); moderately alkaline; clear smooth boundary. (Combined Bk horizons are 10 to 29 inches thick.)

C--42 to 60 inches; pale yellow (2.5Y 8/4) silt loam, light olive brown (2.5Y 5/4) moist; common fine prominent yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) and strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) redox concentrations and common fine prominent gray (10YR 6/1) moist redox depletions; massive, varved; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; few fine mostly horizontal pores; slight effervescence; moderately alkaline.

TYPE LOCATION: Brown County, South Dakota; about 5 miles east of Bath; 2370 feet north and 125 feet east of southwest corner of sec. 18, T. 123 N., R. 61 W.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: The mollic epipedon ranges from 16 to 30 inches in thickness and extends into the Bw horizon. The control section typically is silt loam with between 18 and 27 percent clay. The depth to free calcium carbonate ranges from 16 to about 30 inches.

The A horizon has value of 3 or 4 and 2 or 3 moist, and chroma of 1.5 or less. It ranges from slightly acid to slightly alkaline.

The Bw horizon has hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 4 to 6 and 2 to 4 moist, and chroma of 1 to 3. It is silt loam or silty clay loam. Reaction is slightly acid to slightly alkaline.

The Bk horizon has hue of 2.5Y or 10YR, value of 5 to 8 and 4 to 6 moist, and chroma of 2 to 4. It is silt loam or silty clay loam and is slightly or moderately alkaline. The calcium carbonate equivalent ranges from 20 to 35 percent. Few or common nests of gypsum and other salts are visible in the lower part of the Bk horizon in most pedons.

The C horizon has value of 6 to 8 and 4 to 6 moist, and chroma of 2 to 4. It is silt loam or silty clay loam and typically is varved with very thin strata of very fine sand, to clay. Varves range from less than 1 mm to 10 mm in thickness. Few or common nests of gypsum or other salts are visible in the C horizon of some pedons. It is slightly alkaline or moderately alkaline. Few to many, faint or distinct redox features are in the lower part of the C horizon in most pedons. Sand and gravel are below a depth of 40 inches in some pedons. Other pedons may have loamy glacial till below a depth of 40 inches.

COMPETING SERIES: These are the Brookings, Overly, Tara, and Waubay series. Similar soils are the Athelwold, Estelline, Gardena, Grassna, Great Bend, LaDelle, and Sinai series. Brookings and Tara soils have loam or clay loam within depths of 40 inches. Overly soils contain more than 27 percent clay in the series control section. Waubay soils formed have mottles within depths of 40 inches. Athelwold and Estelline soils have sand and gravel within depths of 40 inches. Gardena soils are coarse-silty. Grassna soils have a drier soil moisture control section for longer periods. Great Bend soils have mollic epipedons less than 16 inches thick. LaDelle soils have an irregular decrease in organic matter with depth. Sinai soils have a fine textured control section.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Beotia soils are on nearly level to gently sloping lake plains having plane and convex surfaces. Slope gradients typically are less than 4 percent but range from 0 to 6 percent. The soils formed in varved silty glaciolacustrine deposits with thin lenses of very fine sand to clay sized particles. Mean annual air temperature ranges from 38 to 45 degrees F, mean annual precipitation from 16 to 24 inches, and P-E indices from 38 to 50. Most of the precipitation comes in the spring and summer. Growing season is about 120 to 130 days; average growing season precipitation ranges from 14 to 18 inches; and growing degree days are about 2500 to 3000.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Aberdeen, Exline, Great Bend, Harmony, Nahon, Tonka, Winship, and Zell soils. The Aberdeen, Exline, Harmony, and Nahon soils have a fine textured series control section and are on the broad smooth flats. In addition, Aberdeen, Nahon, and Exline soils have a natric horizon, and Harmony soils have an argillic horizon. Great Bend soils are slightly higher on the landscape than the Beotia soils. The poorly drained Tonka soils have an ablic horizon and are in closed depressions. The somewhat poorly drained Winship soils have an argillic horizon and are in narrow shallow drainageways. Zell soils are coarse-silty and are on higher parts of the landscape mostly on steep valley sides bordering streams crossing the lake plain.

DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY: Moderately well drained or well drained. Surface runoff is negligible to high. Saturated hydraulic conductivity is moderately high in the solum and moderately high to moderately low in the underlying material

USE AND VEGETATION: Largely cultivated; corn, soybeans, small grain and alfalfa are the principal crops. Native vegetation is big bluestem, little bluestem, western wheatgrass, green needlegrass, needleandthread, sideoats grama, blue grama, sedges, and forbs.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Northeastern South Dakota, southwestern Minnesota and southeastern North Dakota. The series is of moderate extent.

MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: St. Paul, Minnesota

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Day County, South Dakota, 1952.

REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are: mollic epipedon - the zone from the surface of the soil to a depth of about 20 inches (Ap, A, Bw1, Bw2 horizons); calcic horizon - the zone from about 20 to 42 inches (Bk1 and Bk2 horizons).

ADDITIONAL DATA: NSSL typical pedon sample No. 74L1020-7.


National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.