LOCATION GLADEK MNEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-silty, mixed, superactive, mesic Mollic Hapludalfs
TYPICAL PEDON: Gladek silt loam on an 11 percent convex slope in a cultivated field. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)
Ap--0 to 10 inches; very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) silt loam, light olive brown (2.5Y 5/3) dry; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; friable; neutral; abrupt smooth boundary. (5 to 10 inches thick)
Bt1--10 to 18 inches; dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/6) silt loam; moderate medium prismatic parting to moderate fine angular blocky structure; few distinct dark brown (10YR 3/3) clay films; friable; neutral; clear smooth boundary.
Bt2--18 to 25 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) silty clay loam; moderate medium prismatic parting to moderate fine angular blocky structure; few distinct dark brown (10YR 3/3) clay films; friable; neutral; clear wavy boundary.
Bt3--25 to 32 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) silt loam; moderate medium angular blocky structure; few fine prominent strong brown (7.5YR 4/6) relic mottles; few distinct dark brown (10YR 3/3) clay films; friable; neutral; clear smooth boundary.
Bt4--32 to 39 inches; dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/6) silt loam; moderate medium prismatic parting to moderate fine angular blocky structure; common medium prominent strong brown (7.5YR 4/6) relic mottles; few prominent very dark brown (10YR 2/2) clay films; friable; neutral; clear smooth boundary. (Combined thickness of the Bt horizons is 25 to 45 inches.)
C1--39 to 46 inches; dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) silt loam; moderate medium platy parting to moderate fine angular blocky structure; common medium prominent strong brown (7.5YR 4/6) relic mottles; few fine masses of calcium carbonates on ped interiors; few fine dark brown (10YR 3/3) pipestems; friable; strongly effervescent; slightly alkaline; clear smooth boundary.
C2--46 to 68 inches; light olive brown (2.5Y 5/4) very fine sandy loam; moderate fine platy parting to moderate very fine angular blocky structure; few medium distinct strong brown (7.5YR 4/6) relic mottles; strong effervescence; slightly alkaline; clear smooth boundary.
C3--68 to 80 inches; light olive brown (2.5Y 5/4) silt loam; massive parting to laminar plates; common medium distinct brown (7.5YR 4/4) relic mottles; few fine reddish brown (5YR 4/4) iron concretions in channels; friable; strong effervescence; slightly alkaline.
TYPE LOCATION: Freeborn County, Minnesota; located 2,400 feet south and 500 feet west of the northeast corner of sec. 22, T. 102 N., R. 22 W.; USGS Emmon quadrangle; lat. 43 degrees 37 minutes 18 seconds N., long. 93 degrees 26 minutes 57 seconds W.; NAD27.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Thickness of the mollic epipedon: 7 to 10 inches. Depth to carbonates: 30 to 60 inches or more. Rock fragments are typically not present in the profile.
The Ap horizon has hue of 10YR, value of 2 or 3, and chroma of 2 or 3. It is silt loam. Reaction is slightly acid or neutral.
The Bt horizon has hue of 10YR, value of 4 through 6, and chroma of 3 through 6. It is silt loam or silty clay loam with some thin bands of very fine sandy loam allowed. The reaction is slightly acid or neutral.
The C horizon has hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 4 through 6, and chroma of 3 or 4. It is silt loam, silty clay loam or very fine sandy loam. The reaction is mildly alkaline or moderately alkaline.
A 2C horizon is present in some pedons consisting of loam glacial till.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Ashton, Batavia, Bowes, Downs, Festina, Frankville, Harvard, Juda, Knox, Luana, Massbach, Mellott, Mt. Carroll, Myrtle, Nassett, Newhouse, Shelbyville, Watkins, and Waubeek series. Ashton, Festina, Juda, Myrtle, Watkins, and Waubeek soils do not allow free carbonates in the lower part of the series control section. Ashton soils have hue redder than 10YR in the B horizon and are formed in alluvial sediments. Batavia, Downs, Knox, and Mt. Carroll soils formed in loess. Bowes soils have greater than 5 percent coarse materials and 90 percent sand in the lower 1/4 of the control section. Frankville, Massbach, and Nassett soils have a lithic or paralithic contact in the lower part of the series control section. Harvard soils have 10 to 15 percent coarse fragments by volume in the lower part of the series control section. Luana soils have lithic contact within 40 inches. Myrtle soils formed partly in paleosols. Mt. Carroll soils have less than 15 percent sand in the Bt horizon. Newhouse soils have subhorizons with as much as 60 percent clay in the lower part of the series control section. Shelbyville soils contain more than 40 percent clay in the lower part of the series control section.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Gladek soils are on convex summits and backslopes of lake plains and moraines. Slope gradients range from 6 to 12 percent. The soils formed in lacustrine sediments of Wisconsin age. Average annual temperature is 45 to 50 degrees F. Average annual precipitation is 26 to 32 inches. Frost-free days range from 124 to 165. Elevation above sea level ranges from 900 to 1100 feet.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Barrington and Madelia soils. Barring soils are moderately well drained and occur most commonly on slope gradients of 1 to 3 percent. The Madelia soils are poorly drained and on nearly level positions in lower parts of the landscape.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained. Permeability is moderate. Runoff is medium.
USE AND VEGETATION: Most areas are cultivated. Primary crops are corn, soybeans, and small grain. Native vegetation is mixed prairie and hardwoods.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: South-central and Southeastern Minnesota. This soil is of small extent in MLRA-103.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: St. Paul, Minnesota
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Waseca County, Minnesota, 2001.
REMARKS: In 1975 this soil was correlated as Grays in Blue Earth and Freeborn Counties in Minnesota. However, Grays has been reclassified as Oxyaquic Hapludalfs. Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are mollic epipedon - the zone from the surface of the soil to a depth of 10 inches (Ap); argillic horizon 10 to 39 inches (Bt1, Bt2, Bt3 and Bt4); Udic moisture regime.