LOCATION KASSON MN+IAEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, mixed, superactive, mesic Mollic Oxyaquic Hapludalfs
TYPICAL PEDON: Kasson silt loam, on a east-facing, linear slope of 2 percent, in a cultivated field, at an elevation of about 390 meters above sea level. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)
Ap--0 to 20 centimeters; black (10YR 2/1) silt loam, dark gray (10YR 4/1) dry; moderate fine subangular blocky structure; friable; common fine and medium roots; slightly acid; abrupt smooth boundary. (12 to 24 centimeters thick)
BE--20 to 28 centimeters; brown (10YR 4/3) silt loam; few masses of very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2); moderate medium subangular blocky structure; friable; common fine and few medium roots; about 1 percent gravel; moderately acid; clear wavy boundary. (0 to 19 centimeters thick)
Bt1--28 to 51 centimeters; dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) loam; strong medium subangular blocky structure; friable; common very fine and fine roots; common faint brown (10YR 4/3) clay films on ped faces; about 1 percent gravel; moderately acid; abrupt wavy boundary. (0 to 39 centimeters thick)
2Bt2--51 to 71 centimeters; yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; friable; few fine and very fine roots; common distinct brown (10YR 4/3) clay films on ped faces; few fine faint dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/6) masses of iron accumulation; about 2 percent gravel; a thin stone line in upper part; strongly acid; clear wavy boundary.
2Bt3--71 to 104 centimeters; yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; friable; few fine and very fine roots; common distinct brown (10YR 5/3) and prominent dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) clay films on ped faces; common fine faint dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/6) masses of iron accumulation; common medium prominent grayish brown (10YR 5/2) masses of iron depletion; about 2 percent gravel; strongly acid; clear wavy boundary.
2Bt4--104 to 135 centimeters; dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) loam; weak medium subangular blocky; firm; very few fine and very fine roots between ped faces; few distinct grayish brown (10YR 5/2) clay films on ped faces; very few fine distinct very dark brown (10YR 2/2) manganese oxides coats on ped faces; common fine distinct dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/6) masses of iron accumulation; many medium distinct gray (10YR 5/1) masses of iron depletion; about 2 percent gravel; moderately acid; clear wavy boundary. (Combined thickness of the 2Bt horizon is 50 to 127 centimeters.)
2BC1--135 to 175 centimeters; yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) loam; moderate coarse prismatic structure parting to weak medium subangular blocky; firm; very few fine and very fine roots between ped faces; few fine distinct dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/6) masses of iron accumulation; many medium distinct gray (10YR 5/1) masses of iron depletion; about 2 percent gravel; moderately alkaline; clear wavy boundary.
2BC2--175 to 203 centimeters; yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) loam; moderate coarse prismatic structure dissected by few oblique fractures; very firm; common fine prominent white (10YR 8/1) carbonate threads; few fine distinct dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/6) masses of iron accumulation; many medium distinct gray (10YR 5/1) masses of iron depletion; about 4 percent gravel; slightly effervescent; moderately alkaline.
TYPE LOCATION: Major Land Resource Area (MLRA) 104-Eastern Iowa and Minnesota Till Prairies, Dodge County, Minnesota subset; about 3 miles southwest of Dodge Center; located about 3,080 feet east and 75 feet north of the southwest corner of section 6, T. 106 N., R. 17 W.; USGS Claremont topographic quadrangle; lat. 44 degrees 00 minutes 32.2 seconds N. and long. 92 degrees 54 minutes 46.6 seconds W., NAD 83.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Depth to till--30 to 75 centimeters
Depth to carbonates--100 to more than 200 centimeters
Content of clay in the particle-size control section (weighted average)--20 to 28 percent
Content of sand in the particle-size control section (weighted average)--25 to 45 percent
Special feature--some pedons have a stone line or thin layer, 2 to 13 centimeters thick, of gravelly and sandy materials at the base of the silty or loamy sediments
Ap or A horizon:
Hue--10YR
Value--2 or 3
Chroma--1 to 3
Texture--loam or silt loam
Clay content--18 to 24 percent
Sand content--5 to 50 percent
Reaction--moderately acid to neutral
Rock fragment content--1 to 10 percent
E horizon (when present):
Hue--10YR
Value--4 or 5
Chroma--2 or 3
Texture--loam or silt loam
Clay content--18 to 24 percent
Sand content--20 to 50 percent
Reaction--strongly acid to neutral
Rock fragment content--1 to 10 percent
Thickness--0 to 10 centimeters
EB or BE horizon (when present):
Hue--10YR
Value--4 or 5
Chroma--3 to 6
Texture--loam or silt loam
Clay content--18 to 24 percent
Sand content--20 to 50 percent
Reaction--strongly acid to neutral
Rock fragment content--1 to 10 percent
Bt horizon (when present):
Hue--10YR
Value--4 or 5
Chroma--3 or 4
Texture--silt loam, silty clay loam or loam
Clay content--20 to 32 percent
Sand content--15 to 45 percent
Reaction--very strongly acid to moderately acid
Rock fragment content--0 to 10 percent
2Bt horizon:
Hue--10YRor 2.5Y
Value--4 or 5
Chroma--3 to 6
Texture--loam or clay loam
Clay content--20 to 28 percent
Sand content--25 to 45 percent
Reaction--very strongly acid to neutral
Rock fragment content--2 to 15 percent
2BC horizon:
Hue--10YR or 2.5Y
Value--4 to 6
Chroma--4 to 8
Texture--loam
Clay content--18 to 27 percent, mean of 22 percent
Sand content--35 to 50 percent, mean of 44 percent
Reaction--slightly acid to moderately alkaline
Rock fragment content--2 to 12 percent
Moist bulk density--1.75 to 1.90 g/cc
COMPETING SERIES: There are no competing series in this family.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Parent material--30 to 75 centimeters of silty or loamy sediments and the underlying till
Landform--interfluves and side slopes on dissected till plains
Slope--1 to 9 percent
Elevation--300 to 400 meters above sea level
Mean annual air temperature--7 to 10 degrees C
Mean annual precipitation--735 to 940 millimeters
Frost-free period--160 to 195 days
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the
Bassett,
Oran,
Racine, and
Skyberg soils.
Bassett--are at slightly higher elevations on side slopes and have a frequently saturated zone at a depth of 1 meter during the wettest periods of normal years
Oran--are at lower elevations on interfluves and have a frequently saturated zone at a depth of 0.3 meter during the wettest periods of normal years
Racine--are on higher elevations on side slopes and shoulder slopes and do not have a frequently saturated zone within a depth of 1.8 meters in normal years
Skyberg--are at lower elevations in flat to concave drainageways, are frequently saturated at the soil surface 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 0.6 meter during in the wettest periods of normal years and both perched and apparent saturation can occur on this soil based on the season and intensity of rainfall during a given period of time
Saturated hydraulic conductivity--1.00 to 10.00 micrometers per second in the silty or loamy sediments and 0.01 to 1.00 micrometers per second in the till
Surface runoff potential--negligible to medium
USE AND VEGETATION:
Most areas are cultivated. The principal crops are corn, small grains, soybeans, and hay. The native vegetation is big bluestem, little bluestem, switchgrass, other grasses of the tall grass prairie and mixed deciduous trees.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT:
Physiographic Division--Interior Plains
Physiographic Province--Central Lowland
Physiographic section--Dissected till plains
MLRA--Eastern Iowa and Minnesota Till Prairies (104)
LRR M; northeast Iowa and southeast Minnesota
Extent--moderate
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Indianapolis, Indiana
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Fillmore County, Minnesota, 1955.
REMARKS:
Particle-size control section--the zone from a depth of 28 to 78 centimeters (Bt1, 2Bt2, and 2Bt3 horizons);
series control section--the zone from the surface to a depth of 150 centimeters (Ap, BE, Bt1, 2Bt2, 2Bt3, 2Bt4, and 2BC1 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 28 to 135 centimeters (Bt1,2Bt2, 2Bt3, and 2Bt4 horizons);
udic moisture regime.
Some pedons have vertical seams or wedges of sand or loamy sand about 5 to 30 centimeters wide and about 0.9 to 1.2 meters deep extending downward from the stone line into the till.
Cation-exchange activity class is inferred from lab data from similar soils in the surrounding area.
Oxyaquic subgroup based on a zone of saturation within 100 centimeters for 20 or more consecutive days or 30 or more cumulative days in normal years.
Taxonomy version--Keys to Soil Taxonomy, tenth edition, 2006.
The change to bulk density of 1.75 to 1.90 g/cc and low to moderately low saturated hydraulic conductivity was based on field and lab data and supported by the MLRA 104 steering committee.
ADDITIONAL DATA:
Refer to MN Agr. Exp. Sta. Central File Code No. 1276 for results of some analyses of a representative pedon.
Laboratory data--National Soil Survey Laboratory, Lincoln, Nebraska-user pedon ID 70MN039002, (http://ssldata.sc.egov.usda.gov/).