LOCATION MINSTER OH+IN

Established Series
Rev. NHM-DNM-TJE
11/2021

MINSTER SERIES

The Minster series consists of very deep, poorly drained or very poorly drained soils formed in clayey lacustrine deposits. These soils are on lake plains and in depressions on till plains. Slope ranges from 0 to 1 percent. Mean annual temperature is about 11.1 degrees C (52 degrees F), and mean annual precipitation is about 1016 mm (40 inches).

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine, mixed, active, mesic Typic Endoaquolls

TYPICAL PEDON: Minster silty clay loam, in a slightly concave depression in a cultivated field at an elevation of about 291 meters (955 feet) above MSL. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)

Ap1--0 to 15 cm (6 inches); very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) silty clay loam, grayish brown (10YR 5/2) dry; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; firm; many distinct very dark gray (10YR 3/1) organic stains on faces of peds; slightly acid; clear smooth boundary.

Ap2--15 to 31 cm (6 to 12 inches); very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) silty clay loam, grayish brown (10YR 5/2) dry; moderate medium prismatic structure parting to moderate medium angular blocky; firm; common distinct very dark gray (10YR 3/1) organic stains on faces of peds; neutral; clear smooth boundary. [Combined thickness of the A horizon is 25 to 46 cm (10 to 18 inches).]

Bg1--31 to 56 cm (12 to 22 inches); dark gray (2.5Y 4/1) silty clay; moderate medium prismatic structure parting to moderate medium subangular blocky; firm; many distinct very dark gray (10YR 3/1) organic stains on faces of peds; common medium prominent yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) and few fine prominent yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) masses of oxidized iron; common medium distinct black (10YR 2/1) manganese masses; 2 percent 2 to 25 mm charcoal fragments; neutral; clear wavy boundary.

Bg2--56 to 83 cm (22 to 33 inches); grayish brown (2.5Y 5/2) silty clay; moderate medium prismatic structure parting to moderate medium angular blocky; firm; common distinct dark gray (10YR 4/1) pressure faces on faces of peds and common distinct very dark gray (2.5Y 3/1) organic stains on faces of peds; many medium distinct yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) and common medium prominent strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) masses of oxidized iron; common medium distinct very dark gray (10YR 3/1) manganese masses; neutral; clear smooth boundary.

Bg3--83 to 142 cm (33 to 56 inches); gray (10YR 5/1) silty clay; moderate medium prismatic structure parting to moderate coarse angular blocky; firm; common distinct pressure faces on faces of peds; common medium distinct yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) and prominent yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) masses of oxidized iron, and distinct dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) masses of oxidized iron-manganese; common fine and medium distinct black (10YR 2/1) manganese masses; neutral; gradual wavy boundary.

Bg4--142 to 165 cm (56 to 65 inches); gray (2.5Y 5/1) silty clay; moderate medium prismatic structure parting to moderate medium subangular blocky; firm; common distinct dark gray (10YR 4/1) pressure faces on faces of peds; many medium prominent yellowish brown (10YR 5/4 and 10YR 5/6) masses of oxidized iron; common medium prominent black (10YR 2/1) manganese masses; neutral; gradual wavy boundary. [Combined thickness of the Bg horizon is 51 to 140 cm (20 to 55 inches).]

BCg--165 to 204 cm (65 to 80 inches); gray (2.5Y 5/1) silty clay; weak coarse prismatic structure; very firm; common distinct dark gray (10YR 4/1) pressure faces on faces of peds; many coarse prominent yellowish brown (10YR 5/4 and 10YR 5/6) masses of oxidized iron; common medium prominent black (10YR 2/1) manganese masses; neutral. [0 to 41 cm (16 inches) thick]

TYPE LOCATION: Darke County, Ohio; about 2.0 miles east of Burkettsville; in Wabash Township; 840 feet west and 300 feet south of the intersection of Coates Road and Darke Mercer County Line Rd.; sec. 1, T. 12 N., R. 2 E.; USGS North Star, Ohio topographic quadrangle; lat. 40 degrees 21 minutes 3.20 seconds N. and long. 84 degrees 36 minutes 9.60 seconds W.; UTM Zone 16, 703594.1 easting and 4469462.3 northing, NAD 1983.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Depth to the base of the cambic horizon: 123 to more than 204 cm (48 to more than 80 inches)
Thickness of the mollic epipedon: 25 to 46 cm (10 to 18 inches)
Particle-size control section: averages 40 to 50 percent clay and 2 to 10 percent sand

Ap and A horizon:
Hue: 10YR
Value: 2 or 3
Chroma: 1 or 2
Texture: silty clay loam or silty clay
Clay content: 32 to 48 percent
Sand content: 3 to 10 percent
Reaction: slightly acid or neutral

Upper Bg horizon:
Hue: 10YR to 5Y, or is neutral
Value: 4 to 6
Chroma: 0 to 2
Texture: silty clay
Clay content: 40 to 55 percent
Sand content: 0 to 10 percent
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 0 to 10 percent
Reaction: slightly acid to slightly alkaline

Lower Bg horizon, and BC or BCg horizon, where present:
Hue: 10YR to 5Y, or is neutral
Value: 4 to 6
Chroma: 0 to 6
Texture: silty clay or silty clay loam
Clay content: 35 to 50 percent
Sand content: 0 to 10 percent
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 0 to 30 percent
Reaction: neutral to moderately alkaline

C or Cg horizon:
Hue: 10YR to 5Y
Value: 4 to 6
Chroma: 1 to 4
Texture: commonly silty clay, silty clay loam, or clay loam, or is stratified with these textures, and includes thin strata of silt loam
Clay content: 28 to 50 percent
Sand content: 0 to 30 percent
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 15 to 35 percent
Reaction: slightly alkaline or moderately alkaline

Till substratum and gravelly substratum phases are recognized.

Till substratum:
Texture: clay loam or silty clay loam
Clay content: 27 to 40 percent
Sand content: 18 to 30 percent
Rock fragment content: 0 to 12 percent gravel
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 15 to 30 percent

Gravelly substratum:
Texture: gravelly sandy loam or gravelly loam
Clay content: 15 to 25 percent
Sand content: 30 to 60 percent
Rock fragment content: 15 to 30 percent gravel
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 5 to 35 percent

COMPETING SERIES: This is the Oceanhouse series. Oceanhouse soils formed under a wetter climate receiving greater than 1067 mm of mean annual precipitation.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Minster soils are on broad flats and in slight depressions of lake plains, and in deep depressions on till plains. Slope ranges from 0 to 1 percent. Minster soils formed in clayey lacustrine deposits. The mean annual temperature ranges from 10.0 to 12.2 degrees C (50 to 54 degrees F). Mean annual precipitation ranges from 965 to 1067 mm (38 to 42 inches.) Frost-free period is 140 to 170 days. Elevation is 244 to 305 meters (800 to 1100 feet).

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the somewhat poorly drained Del Rey, McGary, and Nappanee soils on lake plains; the somewhat poorly drained Blount soils and the Pewamo soils on till plains; and the Saranac soils on flood plains.

DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY: Poorly drained or very poorly drained. In undrained areas, depth to an intermittent apparent high water table ranges from 61 cm (2 feet) above the soil surface to 15 cm (0.5 foot) below the soil surface between October and June in normal years. In drained areas, depth to an intermittent apparent high water table ranges from 30 cm (1 foot) above the soil surface to 30 cm (1 foot) below the soil surface between November and May in normal years. The potential for surface water runoff ranges from negligible to low. Saturated hydraulic conductivity is moderately high or moderately low. Permeability is slow.

USE AND VEGETATION: Most areas of these soils are used to grow corn and soybeans. A few areas are used to grow wheat. Native vegetation is dominantly herbaceous wetland, mixed with deciduous hardwood trees.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: MLRA 111B in Indiana and Ohio. The series is of moderate extent.

SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (SSRO) RESPONSIBLE: AMHERST, MASSACHUSETTS

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Darke County, Ohio, 2011.

REMARKS: Soils in this series were previously correlated as Montgomery series in MLRA 111B. The Montgomery series has been reclassified to the Vertic subgroup to characterize soils in other MLRA's. Till substratum and gravelly substratum phases are presently recognized and may become new series when these map units phases are updated.

Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Mollic epipedon: from the surface to a depth of 31 cm (12 inches) (Ap horizons).
Cambic horizon: from a depth of 31 to 204 cm (12 to 80 inches) (Bg, BCg horizons).
Aquic conditions: redoximorphic features directly below the mollic epipedon and in all underlying horizons.

The following DMU Descriptions (Rec ID's) have been stored in NASIS for examples of component data for this series: FOH_SSO Minster sicl, 0-1% (576821); FOH_SSO Minster sicl, till sbstm, 0-1% (576822); FOH_SSO Minster sicl, grav sbstm, 0-1% (558182).

ADDITIONAL DATA: Characterization data available from The Ohio State University: AG-S2, HD-01, LG-31, MC-21, MC-24, and pending data from the National Soil Survey Laboratory (NSSL) S2010OH037001 (type location) and S2010OH065001.

National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.