LOCATION HERSEY             WI+MN
Established Series
Rev. TAM-HFG-TWN
03/2007

HERSEY SERIES


The Hersey series consists of very deep, moderately well drained soils formed in 100 to 200 centimeters of loess and in the underlying till. These soils are on remnants of ground moraines on dissected glaciated bedrock-controlled uplands. Slope ranges from 2 to 18 percent. Mean annual precipitation is about 850 millimeters. Mean annual air temperature is about 8 degrees C.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-silty, mixed, superactive, mesic Mollic Hapludalfs

TYPICAL PEDON: Hersey silt loam, on a convex, southwest-facing slope of 3 percent, in a cultivated field, at an elevation of about 355 meters above sea level. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)

Ap--0 to 20 centimeters; dark brown (10YR 3/3) silt loam, brown (10YR 5/3) dry; weak coarse subangular blocky structure; friable; few very fine to medium roots; moderately acid; abrupt smooth boundary. (12 to 26 centimeters thick)

Bt1--20 to 38 centimeters; dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) silt loam; moderate fine and medium subangular blocky structure; friable; few very fine and fine roots; few faint brown (10YR 4/3) clay films on faces of peds and in pores; few distinct light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) silt coats on vertical faces of peds; common dark brown (10YR 3/3) worm casts; moderately acid; clear smooth boundary.

Bt2--38 to 56 centimeters; dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) silt loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; friable; few very fine and fine roots; common faint brown (10YR 4/3) clay films on faces of peds and in pores; few distinct light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) silt coats on vertical faces of peds; strongly acid; clear smooth boundary.

Bt3--56 to 91 centimeters; dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) silt loam; moderate medium and coarse subangular blocky structure; friable; few very fine roots; common faint brown (10YR 4/3) clay films on faces of peds and in pores; few distinct light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) silt coats on vertical faces of peds; strongly acid; clear smooth boundary.

Bt4--91 to 147 centimeters; yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) silt loam; weak coarse subangular blocky structure; friable; few faint brown (10YR 4/3) clay films on faces of peds and in pores; common distinct light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) silt coats on vertical faces of peds; few medium prominent strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) masses of iron accumulation and few medium distinct grayish brown (10YR 5/2) iron depletions; strongly acid; gradual wavy boundary. (Combined thickness of the Bt horizon is 80 to 140 centimeters.)

2Bt5--147 to 224 centimeters; yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) loam; moderate very coarse subangular blocky structure; firm; common faint dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/6) clay films on faces of peds; common distinct light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) silt coats on vertical faces of peds; 3 percent gravel; moderately acid; gradual wavy boundary.

2Bt6--224 to 292 centimeters; light olive brown (2.5Y 5/4) loam; weak very coarse subangular blocky structure; firm; few faint olive brown (2.5Y 4/4) clay films on faces of peds; 3 percent gravel; slightly acid.

TYPE LOCATION: Major Land Resource Area (MLRA) 104-Eastern Iowa and Minnesota Till Prairies, Pepin County, Wisconsin subset; about 4.5 miles north of Pepin; located about 300 feet south and 1900 feet east of the northwest corner of section 1, T. 23 N., R. 15 W.; USGS Nerike Hill topographic quadrangle; lat. 44 degrees 30 minutes 36 seconds N. and long. 92 degrees 08 minutes 54 seconds W., NAD 83.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Depth to till--100 to 200 centimeters
Depth to carbonates--more than 200 centimeters
Clay content in the particle-size control section (weighted average)--18 to 27 percent
Sand content in the particle-size control section (weighted average)--less than 10 percent

A or Ap horizon:
Hue--7.5YR or 10YR
Value--2 or 3
Chroma--1 to 3
Texture--silt loam
Clay content--10 to 20 percent
Sand content--less than 10 percent
Rock fragment content--0 percent
Reaction--strongly acid to neutral

E horizon (when present):
Hue--10YR
Value--4 or 5
Chroma--2 or 3
Texture--silt loam
Clay content--5 to 15 percent
Sand content--less than 10 percent
Rock fragment content--0 percent
Reaction--strongly acid to neutral

Bt horizon:
Hue--7.5YR or 10YR
Value--4 or 5
Chroma--4 to 6
Texture--silt loam
Clay content--18 to 27 percent
Sand content--less than 10 percent
Rock fragment content--0 percent
Reaction--strongly acid to neutral

Redoximorphic features occur below a depth of 75 centimeters

2Bt horizon:
Hue--7.5YR, 10YR, or 2.5Y
Value--4 or 5
Chroma--4 to 6
Texture--loam, clay loam, or sandy clay loam
Clay content--15 to 30 percent
Sand content--20 to 50 percent
Rock fragment content--2 to 15 percent, gravel, 0 to 5 percent cobbles, mixed lithology
Reaction--very strongly acid to neutral

Some pedons have bedrock below a depth of 150 centimeters

COMPETING SERIES: These are the Batavia, Bowes, Churchtown, Deroin, Downs, Ella, Festina, Frankville, Gladek, Greenbush, Harvard, Knox, Luana, Mannon, Massbach, Mellott, Mt. Carroll, Myrtle, Nasset, Newhouse, Oak Center, Watkins, Waubeek, and Yutan series.
Batavia--have a clay content that averages 27 to 35 percent in the particle-size control section
Bowes--have a rock fragment content of more than 15 percent in the lower third of the series control section
Churchtown--have 10 to 55 percent sand in the upper half of the series control section
Deroin--have a clay content that averages 27 to 35 percent in the particle-size control section
Downs--have a sand content of less than 10 percent throughout the series control section
Ella--do not have rock fragments in the series control section
Festina--have a sand content that averages more than 10 percent throughout the series control section
Frankville--have a lithic contact with limestone within a depth of 100 centimeters
Gladek--have carbonates within a depth of 150 centimeters
Greenbush--have a sand content of less than 10 percent throughout the series control section
Harvard--have a clay content that averages 27 to 35 percent in the particle-size control section
Knox--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 throughout the series control section
Massbach--have a paralithic contact with calcareous silty clay or clay shale within a depth of 150 centimeters
Mellott--have carbonates within a depth of 150 centimeters
Mt. Carroll--have a sand content of less than 15 percent throughout the series control section
Myrtle--have a matrix hue of 2.5YR, 5YR or 7.5YR in the lower third of the series control section
Nasset--have a lithic contact with limestone within a depth of 150 centimeters
Newhouse--have a rock fragment content of 5 to 35 percent in the upper two thirds of the series control section
Oak Center--have a sand content of more than 50 percent in the lower third of the series control section
Watkins--have a clay content that averages 30 to 35 percent in the particle-size control section
Waubeek--have a sand content of more than 30 percent in the upper two thirds of the series control section
Yutan--have a clay content of 35 to 40 percent in the ochric epipedon

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Parent material--100 to 200 centimeters of loess and in the underlying till
Landform--remnants of ground moraines on dissected glaciated bedrock-controlled uplands
Slope--2 to 18 percent
Elevation--200 to 400 meters above sea level
Mean annual air temperature--6 to 10 degrees C
Mean annual precipitation--735 to 965 millimeters
Frost-free period--145 to 205 days

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Pepin, Seaton, and Vasa soils.
Pepin--are on slightly lower landscape positions on summits and shoulders and have a clay content of 35 percent or more within a depth of 150 centimeters
Seaton--are in landscape positions similar to those of Hersey soils and do not have rock fragments in the series control section
Vasa--are at lower landscape positions and are frequently saturated at adepth of 0.75 meter during the wettest periods of normal years

DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY:
Drainage class--moderately well drained--a frequently saturated zone occurs at a depth of 1.1 meters during the wettest periods of normal years and is considered perched
Saturated hydraulic conductivity--1.00 to 10.00 micrometers per second
Surface runoff potential--low or medium

USE AND VEGETATION:
Most areas are cultivated. The principal crops are corn, soybeans, small grain, and hay. Some areas are pastured or forested. The native vegetation is mixed deciduous forest with prairie openings. Common tree species are northern red oak, sugar maple, basswood, American elm, white ash, and green ash.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT:
Physiographic Division--Interior Plains
Physiographic Province--Central Lowland
Physiographic sections--Wisconsin driftless section and Dissected till plains
MLRAs--Eastern Iowa and Minnesota Till Prairies (104) and Northern Mississippi Valley Loess Hills (105)
LRR M; southeastern Minnesota and west-central Wisconsin
Extent--moderate

MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Indianapolis, Indiana

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Pepin County, Wisconsin, 1998. Source of name is the local name for this pre-Illinoian glacial till.

REMARKS:
Particle-size control section--the zone from a depth of 20 to 70 centimeters (Bt1, Bt2, and Bt3 horizons);
series control section--the zone from the surface to a depth of 292 centimeters.

Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon include:
ochric epipedon--the zone from the surface of the soil to a depth of 20 centimeters (Ap horizon);
argillic horizon--the zone from a depth of 20 to 292 centimeters (Bt1, Bt2, Bt3, Bt4, 2Bt5 and 2Bt6 horizons);
udic moisture regime.

Cation-exchange activity class is supported by lab data from National Soil Survey Laboratory, Lincoln, Nebraska.

Taxonomy version--Keys to Soil Taxonomy, tenth edition, 2006.

This soil was formerly mapped with the Otterholt and Spencer series in this part of Wisconsin. The loamy glacial till is of pre-Illinoian age and is locally referred to as the "Hersey" till. It is oxidized and leached of carbonates in the upper part.

ADDITIONAL DATA:
Laboratory data--National Soil Survey Laboratory, Lincoln, Nebraska user pedon ID numbers 93WI091009, 93WI091011, and 93WI093003 (http://ssldata.sc.egov.usda.gov/).


National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.