LOCATION DAKOTA WI+IL MNEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy over sandy or sandy-skeletal, mixed, superactive, mesic Typic Argiudolls
TYPICAL PEDON: Dakota loam, on an east-facing slope of about 1 percent, in a corn field, at an elevation of about 255 meters above sea level. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)
Ap--0 to 23 centimeters; very dark brown (10YR 2/2) loam, dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) dry; moderate medium subangular blocky structure parting to moderate fine granular; friable; many medium and fine roots; neutral; abrupt smooth boundary.
A--23 to 36 centimeters; very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) loam, grayish brown (10YR 5/2) dry; moderate medium and coarse angular blocky structure parting to moderate fine granular; friable; many medium and fine roots; neutral; clear smooth boundary. (Combined thickness of the A horizon is 25 to 49 centimeters.)
Bt1--36 to 51 centimeters; dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; friable; few faint discontinuous brown (10YR 4/3) clay films on faces of peds and in pores; common medium and fine roots; about 1 percent pebbles by volume; neutral; clear smooth boundary.
Bt2--51 to 69 centimeters; brown (7.5YR 4/4) loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; friable; few faint patchy brown (7.5YR 4/4) clay films on faces of peds and in pores; common medium and fine roots; about 1 percent pebbles by volume; slightly acid; clear smooth boundary. (Combined thickness of the Bt horizon is 25 to 51 centimeters.)
2Bt3--69 to 79 centimeters; brown (7.5YR 4/4) sandy loam; weak medium subangular blocky structure; friable; sand grains bridged by clay in many places; common fine roots; about 1 percent pebbles by volume; strongly acid; clear wavy boundary. (0 to 11 centimeters thick)
2BC--79 to 91 centimeters; brown (7.5YR 4/4) loamy sand; weak coarse subangular blocky structure; friable; few fine roots; about 5 percent pebbles by volume concentrated at top of horizon; strongly acid; gradual wavy boundary. (0 to 13 centimeters thick)
2C--91 to 152 centimeters; dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/6) sand; single grain; loose; few fine roots in upper part; about 1 percent pebbles by volume; strongly acid.
TYPE LOCATION: Major Land Resource Area (MLRA) 105-Northern Mississippi Valley Loess Hills, Sauk County, Wisconsin subset; about 1 1/2 miles north of Prairie du Sac; located about 90 feet south from the center of the highway and 2,320 feet east from the center of section 26, T. 10 N., R. 6 E.; USGS Sauk City topographic quadrangle; lat. 43 degrees 18 minutes 52 seconds N. and long. 89 degrees 44 minutes 25 seconds W., NAD 83
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Thickness of the mollic epipedon--25 to 49 centimeters
Depth to sandy outwash--50 to 100 centimeters
Depth to carbonates--100 to more than 150 centimeters
Clay content of the upper half of the particle-size control section (weighted average)--18 to 27 percent
Clay content of the lower half of the particle-size control section (weighted average)--2 to 15 percent
Sand content of the upper half of the particle-size control section (weighted average)--10 to 50 percent
Sand content of the lower half of the particle-size control section (weighted average)--75 to 95 percent
A or Ap horizon:
Hue--7.5YR or 10YR
Value--2 or 3
Chroma--1 to 3
Texture--fine sandy loam, sandy loam, loam or silt loam
Clay content--10 to 20 percent
Sand content--10 to 55 percent
Rock fragment content--0 to 15 percent, mixed lithology
Reaction--strongly acid to neutral
AB or BA horizon (when present):
Hue--7.5YR or 10YR
Value--3 or 4
Chroma--2 or 3
Texture--loam, silt loam or sandy clay loam
Clay content--15 to 25 percent
Sand content--10 to 50 percent
Rock fragment content--0 to 15 percent, mixed lithology
Reaction--strongly acid to neutral
Bt horizon:
Hue--7.5YR or 10YR
Value--4 or 5
Chroma--3 or 4
Texture--loam, sandy clay loam, clay loam, sandy loam, silt loam or silty clay loam
Clay content--15 to 35 percent
Sand content--10 to 50 percent
Rock fragment content--0 to 15 percent, mixed lithology
Reaction--strongly acid to neutral
2Bt and 2BC horizon (when present):
Hue--7.5YR or 10YR
Value--4 or 5
Chroma--3 or 4
Texture--loamy sand, loamy coarse sand, sand, coarse sand or the gravelly or very gravelly analogs of these textures
Clay content--5 to 15 percent
Sand content--80 to 95 percent
Rock fragment content--0 to 35 percent, gravel of mixed lithology, individual strata may have up to 60 percent gravel, 0 to 5 percent cobbles
Reaction--strongly acid to slightly acid
2C horizon:
Hue--7.5YR or 10YR
Value--4 to 7
Chroma--2 to 6
Texture--sand, coarse sand, loamy sand, loamy coarse sand, or the gravelly or very gravelly analogs of these textures
Clay content--5 to 15 percent
Sand content--80 to 95 percent
Rock fragment content--0 to 35 percent, gravel of mixed lithology, individual strata may have up to 60 percent gravel, 0 to 5 percent cobbles
Reaction--strongly acid to slightly acid
In MLRA 104 and the western part of MLRA-105, the reaction is slightly acid to slightly alkaline with small amounts of calcium carbonate allowed in the range
COMPETING SERIES: These are the
Mantorville,
Trempealeau, and
Warsaw series.
Mantorville--have lamellae in the lower third of the series control section
Trempealeau--have matrix hues of 2.5YR or 5YR in the middle third of the series control section and do not have rock fragments in the series control section
Warsaw--have a rock fragment content of 15 to 80 percent in the lower third of the series control section and have carbonates within a depth of 100 centimeters
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Parent material--50 to 100 centimeters of loamy alluvium and in the underlying sandy outwash
Landform--outwash plains, stream terraces, and valley trains
Slope--0 to 18 percent
Elevation--100 to 600 meters above sea level
Mean annual air temperature--7 to 14 degrees C
Mean annual precipitation--600 to 1,140 millimeters
Frost-free period--110 to 200 days
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the
Burkhardt,
Dickinson,
Lawler,
Pillot, and
Sparta soils.
Burkhardt--are in landscape positions similar to those of Dakota soils and have a clay content that averages less than 18 percent in the upper half of the particle-size control section
Dickinson--are in landscape positions similar to those of Dakota soils, do not have an argillic horizon, and have a clay content that averages 10 to 18 percent throughout the particle-size control section
Lawler--are at lower landscape positions, do not have an argillic horizon, and have a frequently saturated zone within a depth of 1 meter during the wettest periods of normal years
Pillot--are in landscape positions similar to those of Dakota soils and have a sand content that averages less than 10 percent in the upper two thirds of the particle-size control section
Sparta--are in landscape positions similar to those of Dakota soils, do not have an argillic horizon, and have a clay content that averages less than 18 percent throughout the particle-size control section
DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY:
Drainage class--well drained--a frequently saturated zone does not occur within a depth of 1.8 meters during the wettest periods of normal years
Saturated hydraulic conductivity--1.00 to 10.00 micrometers per second in the loamy alluvium and 10.00 to 705.00 micrometers per second in the sandy outwash
Surface runoff potential--negligible to medium
USE AND VEGETATION:
Most areas are cultivated. The principal crops are corn, soybeans, small grain, and hay. Some small areas remain in native vegetation and provide wildlife habitat and some areas are in urban use. The native vegetation is big bluestem, little bluestem, switchgrass, other grasses of the tall grass prairie with scattered oak groves.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT:
Physiographic Division--Interior Plains
Physiographic Province--Central Lowland
Physiographic sections--Eastern lake section, Western lake section, Dissected till plains, Wisconsin driftless section, and Till plains
MLRAs--Wisconsin and Minnesota Thin Loess and Till (90),
Wisconsin and Minnesota Sandy Outwash (91),
Southern Wisconsin and Northern Illinois Drift Plain (95B),
Central Iowa and Minnesota Till Prairies (103),
Eastern Iowa and Minnesota Till Prairies (104),
Northern Mississippi Valley Loess Hills (105),
Illinois and Iowa Deep Loess and Drift (108), and
Central Mississippi Valley Wooded Slopes (115)
LRR M; west-central and southwestern Wisconsin, southern Minnesota, northern Illinois
Extent--moderate
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: St. Paul, Minnesota
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Dakota County, Minnesota, 1941.
REMARKS:
Particle-size control section--the zone from a depth of 36 to 79 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 surface of soil to a depth of 36 centimeters (Ap and A horizons);
argillic horizon--the zone from a depth of 36 to 79centimeters (Bt1, Bt2 and 2Bt3 horizons);
udic moisture regime.
The base saturation in the sandy outwash has increased due to fertilization and liming.
Cation-exchange activity class is based on lab data from NSSL, Lincoln, Nebraska.
Taxonomy version--Keys to Soil Taxonomy, tenth edition, 2006.
The responsibility of the Dakota series was transferred from Minnesota to Wisconsin in June 1978, since pedons sampled in Minnesota did not have evidence of an argillic horizon. Data from Dakota pedons in Wisconsin indicate the presence of an argillic horizon.
ADDITIONAL DATA:
Laboratory data--National Soil Survey Laboratory, Lincoln, Nebraska - user pedon id numbers 77WI111001, 91WI033003, and 70MN047002 (http://ssldata.nrcs.usda.gov/).