LOCATION ELLA WI+IAEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-silty, mixed, superactive, mesic Mollic Hapludalfs
TYPICAL PEDON: Ella silt loam, on a plane slope of 2 percent, in a cultivated field, at an elevation of about 241 meters above sea level. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)
Ap--0 to 20 centimeters; very dark gray (10YR 3/1) silt loam, gray (10YR 5/1) dry; moderate medium granular structure; friable; many fine and medium roots; slightly alkaline; abrupt smooth boundary. (15 to 23 centimeters thick)
Bt1--20 to 64 centimeters; brown (10YR 4/3) silt loam; moderate fine and medium subangular blocky structure; friable; many fine and medium roots; few faint dark brown (10YR 3/3) clay films on faces of peds and in pores; neutral; clear smooth boundary.
Bt2--64 to 109 centimeters; dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) silt loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; friable; common fine roots; common faint brown (10YR 4/3) clay films on faces of peds and in pores; neutral; clear smooth boundary.
Bt3--109 to 140 centimeters; dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) silt loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; friable; common faint brown (10YR 4/3) clay films on faces of peds and in pores; many prominent strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) masses of iron accumulation; neutral; gradual smooth boundary. (Combined thickness of the Bt horizon is 89 to 140 centimeters.)
2Bt4--140 to 163 centimeters; mostly brown (7.5YR 4/3) stratified silt loam and sandy loam with thin strata of brown (7.5YR 4/4) fine sand; weak fine and medium subangular blocky structure; friable; breaks to weak thick plates along depositional strata; few faint brown (7.5YR 4/3) clay films on face of peds and in pores; many prominent strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) masses of iron accumulation; neutral; gradual smooth boundary.
2Bt5--163 to 183 centimeters; brown (7.5YR 5/4) silt loam with strata of brown (7.5YR 5/4) fine sand; weak fine and medium subangular structure; friable; breaks to weak thick plates along depositional strata; few faint brown (7.5YR 4/3) clay films on face of peds and in pores; common distinct strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) masses of iron accumulation; neutral; abrupt smooth boundary. [Combined thickness of the 2Bt horizon is 0 to 64 centimeters (0 to 25 inches).]
2C--183 to 203 centimeters; brown (10YR 5/3) silt loam with very thin strata of silt and very fine sand; massive; friable; breaks to weak thick plates along depositional strata; common fine irregular very pale brown (10YR 8/2) soft threads of calcium carbonate; slightly effervescent; moderately alkaline.
TYPE LOCATION: Major Land Resource Area (MLRA) 105-Northern Mississippi Valley Loess Hills; Pepin County, Wisconsin subset; about 3/4 miles north of Arkansaw; about 2,600 feet south and 1,250 feet east of the northwest corner of section 13, T. 25 N., R. 14 W.; USGS Arkansaw quadrangle; lat. 44 degrees 38 minutes 51 seconds N. and long. 92 degrees 1 minute 45 seconds W., NAD 83.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Depth to stratified deposits--102 to 203 centimeters
Depth to carbonates--152 to more than 203 centimeters
Depth to redoximorphic accumulations--100 to 183 centimeters
Mean annual soil temperature at a depth of 50 centimeters--9 to 12 degrees C
Content of clay in the particle-size control section (weighted average)--18 to 30 percent
Content of fine sand or sand coarser than fine sand in the particle-size control section (weighted average)--5 to 15 percent, total sand content ranges from 3 to 30 percent
Rock fragment content--0 percent
Ap or A horizon:
Hue--10YR
Value--2 or 3
Chroma--1 to 3
Texture--silt loam
Clay content--10 to 25 percent
Sand content--5 to 15 percent
Reaction--strongly acid to neutral
E horizon (when present):
Hue--10YR or 2.5Y
Value--4 to 6
Chroma--2 or 3
Texture--silt loam
Clay content--10 to 25 percent
Sand content--5 to 15 percent
Reaction--strongly acid to neutral
BE horizon (when present):
Hue--10YR or 2.5Y
Value--4 to 6
Chroma--3 or 4
Texture--silt loam
Clay content--10 to 25 percent
Sand content--5 to 15 percent
Reaction--strongly acid to neutral
Bt horizon:
Hue--7.5YR or 10YR
Value--4 or 5
Chroma--3 or 4
Texture--silt loam or silty clay loam
Clay content--18 to 30 percent
Sand content--5 to 15 percent
Reaction--strongly acid to neutral
2Bt horizon:
Hue--5YR, 7.5YR, or 10YR
Value--4 or 5
Chroma--3 or 4
Texture--stratified silt loam, silty clay loam, loam, very fine sandy loam, fine sandy loam, or sandy loam with thin, less than 8 centimeters (3 inches) thick, strata of coarser textures
Clay content--10 to 30 percent
Sand content--15 to 60 percent
Reaction--strongly acid to neutral
2C horizon:
Hue--5YR, 7.5YR, or 10YR
Value--4 to 7
Chroma--3 to 8
Texture--stratified silt loam, silty clay loam, loam, very fine sandy loam, fine sandy loam, or sandy loam, loamy sand, or sand
Clay content--10 to 30 percent
Sand content--15 to 90 percent
Reaction--strongly acid to moderately alkaline
COMPETING SERIES: These are the
Batavia,
Bowes,
Churchtown,
Deroin,
Downs,
Festina,
Frankville,
Gladek,
Greenbush,
Harvard,
Hersey,
Knox,
Luana,
Mannon,
Massbach,
Mellott,
Mt. Carroll,
Myrtle,
Nasset,
Newhouse,
Watkins,
Waubeek, and
Yutan series.
Batavia--have a clay content of 27 to 35 percent in the particle-size control section and are not frequently saturated within a depth of 1.8 meters in normal years
Bowes--have a clay content of 25 to 35 percent in the particle-size control section, have a rock fragment content of 15 to 75 percent in the lower third of the series control section, and are not frequently saturated within a depth of 1.8 meters in normal years
Churchtown--have a sand content of 10 to 55 percent in the upper half of the series control section and have a sand content of less than 10 percent in the lower half of the series control section
Deroin--have a clay content of 27 to 35 percent in the particle-size control section and are not frequently saturated within a depth of 1.8 meters in normal years
Downs--have a sand content of less than 10 percent in the lower third of the series control section and are not frequently saturated within a depth of 1.8 meters in normal years
Festina--have a clay content of 24 to 29 percent in the particle-size control section and are not frequently saturated within a depth of 1.8 meters in normal years
Frankville--have a lithic contact with limestone between depths of 51 to 102 centimeters
Gladek--have carbonates within depths of 76 to 152 centimeters
Greenbush--have a sand content of less than 10 percent in the lower third of the series control section
Harvard--have a clay content of 27 to 35 percent in the particle-size control section and are not frequently saturated within a depth of 1.8 meters in normal years
Hersey--have a rock fragment content of 2 to 15 percent in the lower third of the series control section
Knox--have a sand content of less than 5 percent in the lower third of the series control section and are in areas that have mean annual air temperature range of 12 to 14 degrees C
Luana--have a rock fragment content of 10 to 35 percent in the lower third of the series control section
Mannon--have a sand content of less than 10 percent in the lower third of the series control section
Massbach--have a paralithic contact with calcareous silty clay or clay shale within depths of 102 to 152 centimeters
Mellott--have carbonates within depths of 102 to 152 centimetersand have a rock fragment content of 3 to 10 percent in the lower third of the series control section
Mt. Carroll--have a sand content of less than 15 percent in the lower third of the series control section and are not frequently saturated within a depth of 1.8 meters in normal years
Myrtle--have a rock fragment content of 1 to 5 percent in the lower third of the series control section and are not frequently saturated within a depth of 1.8 meters in normal years
Nassett--have a lithic contact with limestone between depths of 102 to 152 centimeters
Newhouse--have 5 to 35 percent chert and sandstone fragments in the lower third of the series control section and are not frequently saturated within a depth of 1.8 meters in normal years
Watkins--have a clay content of 27 to 32 percent in the lower third of the series control section
Waubeek--have a rock fragment of 2 to 10 percent in the lower third of the series control section
Yutan--have a sand content of less than 15 percent in the lower third of the series control section
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Parent material--102 to 203 centimeters of silty alluvium, or a combination of loess and silty alluvium, and in the underlying stratified slackwater deposits
Landform--treads and low risers on dissected stream terraces in valleys
Slope--0 to 12 percent
Elevation--183 to 274 meters above sea level
Mean annual air temperature--8 to 11 degrees C
Mean annual precipitation--700 to 850 millimeters
Frost-free period--135 to 160 days
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the
Bearpen and
Plumcreek soils.
Bearpen--are at lower elevations and have a frequently saturated zone within a depth of 0.3 meter during the wettest periods of normal years
Plumcreek--are at lower elevations soils on stream terrace risers, are not frequently saturated within a depth of 1.8 meters in normal years, and have a sand content of more than 15 percent in the particle-size control section
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY:
Drainage class--moderately well drained--a frequently saturated zone occurs at a depth of 1 meter during October to June in normal years and is considered perched
Saturated hydraulic conductivity--1.00 to 10.00 micrometers per second (moderately high)
Surface runoff potential--negligible to medium
Flooding--rarely flooded for brief duration
USE AND VEGETATION:
Most areas are cultivated. The principal crops are corn, soybeans, small grain, and hay. The native vegetation is deciduous forest (oak and hickory) with prairie grass (big bluestem, little bluestem, switchgrass, and other grasses of the tall grass prairie) openings.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT:
Physiographic Division--Interior Plains
Physiographic Province--Central Lowland
Physiographic sections--Wisconsin driftless section, Dissected till plains
MLRAs--Eastern Iowa and Minnesota Till Prairies (104), Northern Mississippi Valley Loess Hills (105), and Illinois and Iowa Deep Loess and Drift (108)
LRR M; eastern Iowa and west-central Wisconsin
Extent--small
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Indianapolis, Indiana
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Pepin County, Wisconsin, 1998
REMARKS:
Particle-size control section--the zone from a depth of 20 to 70 centimeters (Bt1 and Bt2 horizons);
series control section--the zone from the surface to a depth of 183 centimeters (Ap, Bt1, Bt2, Bt3, 2Bt4, and 2Bt5 horizons).
Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon:
ochric epipedon--the zone from the surface to a depth of 20 centimeters (Ap horizon);
argillic horizon-the zone from a depth of 20 to 183 centimeters (Bt1, Bt2, Bt3, 2Bt4, and 2Bt5 horizons);
udic moisture regime.
Ella soils were formerly identified as Jackson, Bertrand and Toddville series.
Cation-exchange activity class is inferred from lab data from similar soils in the surrounding area.
Taxonomy version--Keys to Soil Taxonomy, tenth edition, 2006.
ADDITIONAL DATA:
Soil Interpretation Record - WI0575.