LOCATION MELRUDE MNEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Coarse-loamy, mixed, superactive, nonacid, frigid Typic Endoaquepts
TYPICAL PEDON: Melrude loam with a 1 percent concave slope under mixed deciduous and coniferous forest on a lake plain at an elevation of about 405 meters. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)
A--0 to 8 cm; black (10YR 2/1) loam, dark gray (10YR 4/1) dry; weak fine granular structure; friable; many fine and medium roots and few coarse roots; very strongly acid; clear wavy boundary. (5 to 10 cm thick)
E--8 to 15 cm; dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) fine sandy loam, light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) dry; weak thick platy structure parting to weak fine subangular blocky; friable; common fine and medium roots and few coarse roots; common fine distinct yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) Fe concentrations; very strongly acid; clear wavy boundary. (0 to 38 cm thick)
Bw1--15 to 51 cm; brown (10YR 4/3) fine sandy loam; weak fine subangular blocky structure; friable; common fine and medium roots; common fine distinct yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) Fe concentrations; strongly acid; clear wavy boundary.
Bw2--51 to 76 cm; dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) sandy loam; weak medium subangular blocky structure; friable; few fine roots; many fine prominent strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) and common fine prominent yellowish red (5YR 4/6) Fe concentrations and few fine distinct grayish brown (10YR 5/2) Fe depletions; moderately acid; clear wavy boundary.
Bw3--76 to 97 cm; brown (10YR 5/3) loam; weak medium subangular blocky structure; friable; few fine roots; many fine prominent strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) Fe concentrations and few fine faint grayish brown (10YR 5/2) Fe depletions; about 3 percent gravel; moderately acid; clear wavy boundary.
Bw4--97 to 117 cm; brown (10YR 5/3) sandy loam; weak medium subangular blocky structure; friable; few fine roots; common fine distinct yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) Fe concentrations; about 1 percent gravel; moderately acid; clear wavy boundary.
Bw5--117 to 157 cm; stratified brown (7.5YR 5/4) silt loam (60 percent) and fine sandy loam (40 percent); weak thick and medium platy structure parting to weak medium subangular blocky; friable; common fine and medium distinct strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) and common fine and medium prominent yellowish red (5YR 4/6) Fe concentrations and few fine distinct brown (7.5YR 5/2) Fe depletions; about 1 percent gravel; slightly acid; clear wavy boundary. (combined thickness of the Bw horizons is 122 to 173 cm)
2BC--157 cm to 185 cm; brown (7.5YR 5/3) loam; weak medium and coarse subangular structure; friable; common fine distinct strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) Fe concentrations; about 4 percent gravel; neutral; clear wavy boundary. (0 to 30 cm thick)
2C--185 to 203 cm; brown (10YR 5/3) loam; massive with 2 to 3 millimeter vertical fractures 1 to 5 feet apart; firm; few light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) calcium carbonate threads and concretions; common fine distinct yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) and few fine prominent dark reddish brown (5YR 3/4) Fe concentrations and few fine distinct grayish brown (2.5Y 5/2) Fe depletions; about 5 percent gravel; slightly effervescent; slightly alkaline.
TYPE LOCATION: St. Louis County, Minnesota; about 5 miles east of Floodwood; 500 feet west and 1,900 feet south of the northeast corner of section 1, T. 51 N., R. 20 W.; USGS Mc Carty River Quadrangle; latitude 46 degrees 56 minutes 01 seconds N. and longitude 92 degrees 48 minutes 28 seconds W., NAD 27.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Depth to glacial till and free carbonates range from 152 to greater than 203 cm.
Some pedons have a thin O horizon (duff layer) up to 10 cm thick.
The A horizon has hue of 10YR, value of 2 to 4 and chroma of 1 to 3. It is loam, silt loam, fine sandy loam or sandy loam. Rock fragment content by volume ranges from 0 to 10 percent with 0 to 10 percent gravel, 0 to 2 percent cobbles and 0 to 1 percent stones. It is very strongly acid to slightly acid.
The E horizon has hue of 7.5YR, 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 4 or 5 and chroma of 1 to 3. It is fine sandy loam, sandy loam, or silt loam. Rock fragment content by volume ranges from 0 to 10 percent with 0 to 10 percent gravel, 0 to 2 percent cobbles and 0 to 1 percent stones. It is very strongly acid to slightly acid.
The Bw horizon has hue of 5YR, 7.5YR or 10YR value of 2 to 5 and chroma of 1 to 4. It is stratified with textures of fine sandy loam, sandy loam, loam, or silt loam. Rock fragment content by volume ranges from 0 to 10 percent with 0 to 10 percent gravel, 0 to 2 percent cobbles and 0 to 1 percent stones. It is strongly acid to neutral.
The 2BC horizon has hue of 5YR, 7.5YR or 10YR, value of 4 or 5 and chroma of 2 to 4. It is loam or clay loam. It averages between 20 to 45 percent sand with a clay content of 18 to 30 percent. Rock fragment content by volume ranges from 2 to 10 percent with 2 to 10 percent gravel, 0 to 2 percent cobbles and 0 to 1 percent stones. It is slightly acid to slightly alkaline.
The 2C horizon has hue of 5YR, 7.5YR or 10YR, value of 4 or 5 and chroma of 2 or 3. It is loam or clay loam. Rock fragment content by volume ranges from 2 to 10 percent with 2 to 10 percent gravel, 0 to 2 percent cobbles and 0 to 1 percent stones. It is slightly acid to slightly alkaline.
COMPETING SERIES: There are no competing series.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Melrude soils are on nearly level to slightly convex or concave slopes on lake washed plains. Slopes range from 0 to 2 percent. Melrude soils formed in stratified glaciofluvial deposits and the underlying till. The mean annual air temperature is 3 to 5 degrees C. Mean annual precipitation is 500 to 762 mm. Annual frost-free days range from 90 to 120 days. The elevation above sea level ranges from 300 to 400 meters.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Baden, Cathro, Ellsburg, Hellwig, and Schisler soils. The very poorly drained Baden soils are in closed depressions, swales and on edges of depressions of organic soils. The very poorly drained Cathro soils are organic and are in depressions and basins. The poorly drained Ellsburg, Hellwig and Schisler soils are on similar landscape positions. Ellsburg soils were formed in fine-loamy glacial till. Hellwig and Schisler soils are underlain by fine-loamy till at 102 cm.
DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY: Poorly drained. Surface runoff is negligible to very low. Saturated hydraulic conductivity is 4.23 to 14.11 (.6 to 2 inches per hour) in the mantle and .42 to 1.41 micrometers per second (.06 to .2 inches per hour) in the underlying glacial till. Melrude soils have an apparent seasonal high saturation as high as 15 cm below the surface during spring in normal years.
USE AND VEGETATION: This soil is forested. Overstory vegetation includes quaking aspen, paper birch, and balsam fir. Native vegetation is mixed deciduous and coniferous forest.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: MLRA-88. Northeastern Minnesota. Moderately extensive.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: St. Paul, Minnesota
SERIES ESTABLISHED: St. Louis County, Minnesota, (Duluth subset), 2007
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are: ochric epipedon - the zone from the surface to a depth of 8 cm (A horizon); albic horizon - the zone from 8 to 15 cm; cambic horizons - the zone from 15 to 147 cm (Bw horizons); aquic condition - based on a presumed positive reaction with alpha,alpha dipyridyl above a depth of 51 cm during some part of the year in most years.
These soils do not exhibit typical reduced colors normally associated with soil saturation.
ADDITIONAL DATA: Soil Interpretation Record number MN0794 (obsolete).