LOCATION LITCHFIELD MNEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Sandy, mixed, mesic Aquic Hapludolls
TYPICAL PEDON: Litchfield loamy fine sand in a bromegrass pasture. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)
Ap--0 to 9 inches; black (10YR 2/1) loamy fine sand, very dark gray (10YR 3/1) dry; weak fine granular structure; very friable; slightly acid; abrupt smooth boundary.
A--9 to 14 inches; very dark gray (10YR 3/1) loamy fine sand, dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) dry; weak fine granular structure; very friable; slightly acid; clear smooth boundary. (Combined thickness of the A horizons is 10 to 18 inches.)
AB--14 to 20 inches; very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) loamy fine sand, grayish brown (10YR 5/2) dry; weak medium subangular blocky structure; very friable; slightly acid; clear smooth boundary. (0 to 8 inches thick)
Bw--20 to 33 inches; dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) with about 10 percent dark brown (10YR 4/3) and 5 percent dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) fine sand; few fine faint grayish brown (10YR 5/2) Fe depletions; weak medium subangular blocky structure; very friable; slightly acid; clear smooth boundary. (10 to 24 inches thick)
BC--33 to 40 inches; light olive brown (2.5Y 5/4) and grayish brown (2.5Y 5/2) very fine sandy loam; few fine distinct light olive brown (2.5Y 5/6) Fe concentration; weak medium subangular blocky structure; very friable; few thin seams of loamy fine sand; slightly acid; clear wavy boundary. (0 to 18 inches thick)
C--40 to 80 inches; olive gray (5Y 5/2) and olive (5Y 5/3) loamy fine sand; many fine prominent dark reddish brown (5YR 3/3) Fe concentrations; massive; very friable; few lenses of fine sand; slightly acid.
TYPE LOCATION: Meeker County, Minnesota; approximately 4 miles east of Litchfield; 1,080 feet west and 1,280 feet south of the northeast corner of sec. 9, T. 119 N., R. 30 W.; USGS Forest City quadrangle; lat. 45 degrees 8 minutes 4 seconds N. and long. 94 degrees 26 minutes 41 seconds W., NAD27
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: The depth to free carbonates ranges from 40 to 60 inches or more. The profile typically lacks rock fragments. The mollic epipedon is 10 to 24 inches thick. The average texture of the control section is loamy fine sand or fine sand. Reaction in the A and B horizons ranges from strongly acid to neutral and from slightly acid to slightly alkaline in the C horizon.
The Ap or A horizon has hue of 10YR, value of 2 or 3, and chroma of 1 or 2. It is loamy fine sand, loamy sand, sandy loam or fine sandy loam.
The AB horizon has color and texture similar to the A or B horizon.
The Bw horizon has hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, with the 10YR hue only in the upper part, value of 4 or 5, and chroma of 2 to 4. Redox features are in the lower part and redox depletions with chroma of 2 or less and value of 4 or more are in the upper part with chromas of 3 or 4. The Bw horizon is stratified with finer textures commonly in the lower part below depths of 30 inches. The main part of the Bw horizon is fine sand or loamy fine sand, but sand or loamy sand is within the range if the content of coarse sand is less than 10 percent and the content of very coarse sand is less than 5 percent. The finer textured part of the Bw horizon is in the form of single or multiple strata with an aggregate thickness of 4 to 16 inches. Strata are very fine sand, loamy very fine sand, fine sandy loam, very fine sandy loam, or sandy clay loam. In most pedons significant differences exist between the ratios of fine sand to very fine sand between the finer textured and coarser textured B horizons.
The BC horizon has color and texture similar t the Bw or C horizon.
The C horizon has a hue of 2.5Y or 5Y, value of 5 or 6, and chroma of 1 to 3. It commonly has faint to prominent redox features. It is sand, fine sand, loamy sand, or loamy fine sand. In some pedons it is stratified and includes loamy very fine sand and very fine sandy loam. Finer textured glacial till or lacustrine sediments are at depths of 60 to 80 inches in some pedons.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the
Farrington(T),
Minneopa and
Watseka soils. Minneopa and Watseka soils do not have stratification in the B horizon.
Farrington series is not presently in the OSD file.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: These soils are on nearly level to gently sloping outwash plains, stream terraces or deltas. Slopes range from 0 to 3 percent. The soils formed mostly in sandy glaciofluvial deposits that have finer textured layers. These materials generally range from 5 to 10 feet thick and overlie medium textured drift or lacustrine deposits and are late Wisconsinan in age. Mean annual precipitation is 26 to 30 inches. Mean annual temperature is 45 degrees to 50 degrees F. Frost free days range from 124 to 165. Elevations above sea level range from 700 to 1400 feet.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: The most common associated soils are the Darfur, Dassel and Sparta soils. The poorly drained Darfur soils are on flats. The very poorly drained Dassel soils are in depressions. The excessively drained Sparta soils are on more sloping positions and/or are on higher lying terrain.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Moderately well drained. Permeability is moderately rapid or rapid. Surface runoff is low.
USE AND VEGETATION: Mostly cropped to corn and soybeans. Native vegetation was tall prairie grasses.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Central and southern Minnesota. Moderately extensive. SERIES ESTABLISHED: Hennepin County, Minnesota, December 5, 1969.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: St. Paul, Minnesota
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are: mollic epipedon-from the surface of the soil to a depth of 20 inches (Ap, A, and AB horizons); aquic subgroup-redox features between 20-40 inches.