LOCATION BRAINERD MNEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Coarse-loamy, mixed, superactive, frigid Aquic Hapludalfs
TYPICAL PEDON: Brainerd sandy loam on a convex slope of 3 percent in a cultivated field. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)
Ap--0 to 6 inches; very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) sandy loam, grayish brown (10YR 5/2) dry; weak fine subangular blocky structure; friable; about 5 percent gravel; moderately acid; abrupt smooth boundary. (4 to 8 inches thick)
E--6 to 11 inches; brown (10YR 5/3) sandy loam, light gray (10YR 7/2) dry; common fine distinct brown (7.5YR 4/4) mottles; weak thin platy structure; friable; about 5 percent gravel; moderately acid; clear wavy boundary. (4 to 14 inches thick)
Bt1--11 to 15 inches; brown (7.5YR 4/4) sandy loam; few fine distinct yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) mottles; weak fine subangular blocky structure; friable; common medium faint dark brown (7.5YR 4/2) clay films on faces of peds; about 10 percent gravel; moderately acid; clear wavy boundary.
Bt2--15 to 23 inches; brown (7.5YR 4/4) sandy loam; common fine faint reddish brown (5YR 4/4) and common medium faint brown (7.5YR 5/2) mottles; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; friable; common medium faint dark brown (7.5YR 4/2) clay films on faces of peds; about 10 percent gravel; slightly acid; clear wavy boundary. (Combined thickness of Bt horizons is 6 to 15 inches.)
BC--23 to 41 inches; brown (7.5YR 4/4) sandy loam; common medium distinct strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) and common medium faint brown (7.5YR 5/2) mottles; moderate thin platy structure; firm; about 14 percent gravel; slightly acid; gradual wavy boundary. (0 to 30 inches thick)
Cd--41 to 60 inches; brown (7.5YR 4/4) sandy loam; few fine distinct reddish brown (5YR 4/4) mottles; massive thin platy-like soil fragments; very firm; about 12 percent gravel; neutral.
TYPE LOCATION: Morrison County, Minnesota; about 6 miles north and 3 miles west of Pierz; 1225 feet east and 100 feet south of the northwest corner of sec. 5, T. 41 N., R. 30 W.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Depth to the till ranges from 20 to 50 inches. Content of rock fragments is 2 to 15 percent by volume in the upper part and 5 to 20 percent in the lower part. Rock fragments are of mixed lithology, mostly igneous in origin. Some areas have enough stones on the surface to recognize as a phase. The control section has 8 to 18 percent clay and 45 to 65 percent fine sand or coarser material.
The A horizon has hue of 10YR, value of 2 through 4, and chroma of 1 through 3. The A horizon commonly is sandy loam, but the range includes fine sandy loam or sandy loam. It is very strongly acid to moderately acid.
The E horizon has hue of 10YR or 7.5YR, value of 4 or 5, and chroma of 2 to 4. Texture is commonly sandy loam, but includes fine sandy loam. It is very strongly acid to moderately acid. Some pedons have thin EB or BE transitional horizons.
The Bt horizon has hue of 7.5YR or 10YR, value of 4 or 5, and chroma of 3 or 4. It is sandy loam or fine sandy loam and has faint to prominent mottles. It is strongly acid to slightly acid.
The BC horizon has hue of 7.5YR or 10YR, value of 4 or 5, and chroma of 3 to 5. It is sandy loam or fine sandy loam and has faint to prominent mottles. Clay films are on faces of peds or in pores in some pedons. It is strongly acid to neutral. This horizon is restrictive to root penetration due to the platy soil structure, which is a property of the dense till, but is not as restrictive as the Cd horizon.
The Cd horizon has hue of 7.5YR or 10YR, value of 4 or 5, and chroma of 3 to 5. It is sandy loam or fine sandy loam or gravelly analogues, and has faint to prominent mottles. It is moderately acid to neutral.
A bedrock substratum phase is recognized.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Growton, Karlstad, and Solona soils. Growton soils have lower bulk density of less than 1.8 and have free carbonates in the C horizon. Karlstad soils have sandy fine earth fraction in the C horizon. Mora soils have hues of 5YR or redder in the lower part of the series control section. Solona soils have a bulk density of less than 1.8 in the C horizon.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: These soils are on nearly level to gently sloping drumlins and ground moraines. Slope gradients range from 0 to 6 percent. Brainerd soils formed in noncalcareous dense loamy glacial till of Late Wisconsinan Age. Mean annual temperature is about 37 to 45 degrees F. Mean annual precipitation is about 24 to 28 inches. Frost-free days range from 90 to 145. The elevation above sea level ranges from 670 to 1400 feet.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are Flak, Nokay, Parent, and Prebish soils which form a drainage sequence with the Brainerd soils. The Flak soils are well drained and are on steeper and higher lying positions. Nokay soils are somewhat poorly drained soils on less sloping and lower lying positions. Parent soils are poorly drained soils on flats or swales. Prebish soils are very poorly drained and are in depressions.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Moderately well drained. Surface runoff is slow and medium. Permeability is moderate or moderately rapid in the upper part and very slow in the dense underlying till. A perched water table is at 2.0 to 3.0 feet from April to June in most years.
USE AND VEGETATION: Most areas of this soil are cropped to corn, oats, and hay. Native vegetation was mixed deciduous forest or mixed deciduous-coniferous forest.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Central Minnesota. This soil is extensive.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: St. Paul, Minnesota
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Crow Wing County, Minnesota, 1960.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are: ochric epipedon - the zone from the surface to 11 inches (Ap and E horizons); argillic horizon the zone from approximately 11 to 23 inches (Bt horizon); aquic subgroup; low chroma mottles in argillic horizon; no tonguing of E into Bt horizon; the Cd horizon is considered a paralithic contact.
ADDITIONAL DATA: Pedon S81MN-097-036 has data for a similar pedon.