LOCATION MENOMIN WIEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy over sandy or sandy-skeletal, mixed, superactive, mesic Mollic Hapludalfs
TYPICAL PEDON: Menomin silt loam - on a plain 1 percent slope in idle cropland at an elevation of 890 feet. (Colors are for moist soils unless otherwise stated.)
Ap--0 to 9 inches; dark brown (10YR 3/3) silt loam, brown (10YR 5/3) dry; weak medium subangular blocky structure; friable; many very fine to medium roots; slightly acid; abrupt smooth boundary. (6 to 9 inches thick)
Bt1--9 to 28 inches; brown (7.5YR 4/4) loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; friable; many very fine to medium roots; common faint brown (7.5YR 4/3) clay films on faces of peds and in pores; slightly acid; clear smooth boundary.
Bt2--28 to 32 inches; brown (7.5YR 4/4) sandy loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; friable; common very fine to medium roots; common faint brown (7.5YR 4/3) clay films on faces of peds and in pores; slightly acid; clear smooth boundary. (Combined thickness of the Bt horizon ranges from 16 to 34 inches.)
2BC1--32 to 43 inches; brown (7.5YR 4/4) loamy sand; weak coarse subangular blocky structure; very friable; few very fine and fine roots; slightly acid; gradual smooth boundary.
2BC2--43 to 55 inches; brown (7.5YR 5/4) coarse sand; single grain; loose; few very fine and fine roots; about 2 percent gravel; slightly acid; gradual smooth boundary. (Combined thickness of the 2BC ranges from 7 to 30 inches.)
2C--55 to 72 inches; strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) coarse sand; single grain; loose; common medium and coarse distinct strong brown (7.5YR 5/8) masses of iron accumulation; about 2 percent gravel; slightly acid.
TYPE LOCATION: Dunn County, Wisconsin; about 3 miles east of Rusk; about 1250 feet north and 300 feet west of the southeast corner of sec. 13, T. 28 N., R. 12 W. USGS Rusk, WI quad.; lat. 44 degrees, 54', 12" N.; long. 91 degrees, 46', 27" W.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Thickness of the loamy alluvium and depth to sandy outwash range from 20 to 40 inches. The weighted average clay content of the upper part of the particle-size control section ranges from 18 to 27 percent. Free carbonates are absent to 80 inches or more. Volume of gravel ranges from 0 to 15 percent in the loamy alluvium and from 0 to 35 percent in the sandy outwash. Volume of cobbles ranges from 0 to 5 percent throughout the pedon. Redox accumulations occur below a depth of 35 inches. In some pedons, redox depletions occur below 40 inches. Saturation occurs at 40 to 72 inches for 1 month or more per year in 6 or more out of 10 years.
The Ap horizon has hue of 7.5YR or 10YR, value of 2 or 3, and chroma of 1 to 3. Uncultivated pedons have an A horizon with color like the Ap except the chroma is 1 or 2. The Ap or A horizon is silt loam or loam. Reaction naturally ranges from strongly acid to slightly acid but ranges to neutral, where the soil is limed.
Some pedons have an E horizon with hue of 7.5YR or 10YR, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 2 or 3. It is silt loam, loam, or sandy loam.
The Bt horizon has hue of 7.5YR or 10YR, value of 4 or 5, and chroma of 4 to 6. It is typically loam, sandy loam, or sandy clay loam but is silt loam in the upper part in some pedons. Reaction naturally ranges from strongly acid to slightly acid but ranges to neutral in the upper part, where the soil is limed.
Some pedons have a 2Bt horizon with hue of 7.5YR or 10YR, value of 4 or 5, and chroma of 3 to 6. It is loamy sand, coarse sand, sand, loamy coarse sand, or the gravelly analogs. Reaction ranges from strongly acid to slightly acid.
The 2BC horizon has color, texture, and reaction like the 2Bt horizon described above.
The 2C horizon has hue of 7.5YR or 10YR, value of 5 to 7, and chroma of 3 to 6, or it is multicolored. It is coarse sand, sand, or the gravelly analogs. Content of coarse and very coarse sand ranges from 15 to 50 percent. Reaction ranges from strongly acid to slightly acid.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Dresden, Gardenvale, Meridian, Merimod, Merit, and Sattre series. None of these soils, except Merimod, have redox features or saturation in the series control section. Merimod soils have siliceous mineralogy in the sandy alluvium in the lower part of the series control section.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Menomin soils are on outwash terraces of valley trains. Slope gradients range from 0 to 3 percent. These soils formed in loamy alluvium and in the underlying sandy outwash. Mean annual precipitation ranges from 28 to 33 inches. Mean annual air temperature ranges from 46 to 51 degrees F. The frost free period ranges from 135 to 160 days. Elevation ranges from 600 to 1000 feet.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Meridian and Rusktown(T) soils. The well drained Meridian soils form a drainage sequence with Menomin soils. The moderately well drained Rusktown soils are in landscape positions similar to those of Menomin soils where there is less clay and more sand in the loamy mantle.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Moderately well drained. Runoff is slow. Permeability is moderate in the loamy alluvium and rapid or very rapid in the sandy outwash. Menomin soils have an apparent seasonal high water table at a depth of 3.5 to 6 feet for 1 month or more per year at some time during the period October to June in 6 or more out of 10 years.
USE AND VEGETATION: Most areas of Menomin soils are used for cropland. Corn, soybeans, small grain, and hay are the principal crops. Some areas are used for pastureland. A few small areas remain in native vegetation which is a mixture of deciduous trees and prairie grasses.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Western Wisconsin. These soils are of small extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: St. Paul, Minnesota
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Dunn County, Wisconsin, 2003. Source of name is Lake Menomin in Dunn County.
REMARKS: Prior to 1993 this soil was mapped as a moderately well drained phase of the Meridian series. The Meridian series will be redefined as well drained only.
Diagnostic horizons and other features recognized in this pedon: ochric epipedon (darker than Typic) - 0 to 9 inches (Ap); argillic horizon - 9 to 28 inches (Bt1, Bt2).
Lab data from similar soils indicate that Menomin soils are likely to have base saturation of 50 percent or more (by NH4OAc) in all horizons between the upper boundary of the argillic and a depth of 125 cm. However, it is suspected that the very low CEC in the sandy outwash results in drastic changes in base saturation with the addition of few bases from fertilization in cropland areas. These soils may be Ultic in their natural state.
ADDITIONAL DATA: Soil Interpretation Record - WI0313.