LOCATION MORCONICK               IA

Established Series
Rev. BCJ-RAL-DJP
07/2018

MORCONICK SERIES

The Morconick series consists of very deep, well drained soils that formed in 20 to 40 centimeters of loamy alluvium and the underlying sandy alluvium. These soils are on flood plains. Slope ranges from 0 to 2 percent. Mean annual air temperature is about 9 degrees C. Mean annual precipitation is about 735 millimeters.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Sandy, mixed, mesic Mollic Udifluvents

TYPICAL PEDON: Morconick fine sandy loam, on a 1 percent slope, in a cultivated field, at an elevation of 323.8 meters above sea level. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)

Ap--0 to 18 centimeters; very dark grayish brown (2.5Y 3/2) fine sandy loam, olive gray (5Y 5/2) dry; weak fine granular structure; friable; common fine roots; few fine tubular pores; strongly effervescent; slightly alkaline; clear smooth boundary. (14 to 24 centimeters thick)

C1--18 to 33 centimeters; dark grayish brown (2.5Y 4/2) loam; thin strata of very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2); massive with weak thin alluvial stratification; friable; few fine roots; few fine tubular pores; strongly effervescent; slightly alkaline; abrupt smooth boundary. (7 to 19 centimeters thick)

2C2--33 to 46 centimeters; stratified dark grayish brown (2.5Y 4/2) fine sand and olive brown (2.5Y 4/4) and grayish brown (2.5Y 5/2) very fine sandy loam; single grain; loose; strongly effervescent; slightly alkaline; clear smooth boundary.

2C3--46 to 58 centimeters; stratified olive brown (2.5Y 4/4) and grayish brown (2.5Y 5/2) fine sand and grayish brown (2.5Y 5/2) very fine sandy loam; single grain; loose; strongly effervescent; slightly alkaline; clear smooth boundary.

2C4--58 to 74 centimeters; alternating layers of olive brown (2.5Y 4/4) and grayish brown (2.5Y 5/2) fine sand; few fine prominent brown (7.5YR 4/4) and strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) redoximorphic concentrations; single grain; loose; strongly effervescent; slightly alkaline; clear smooth boundary.

2C5--74 to 104 centimeters; dark grayish brown (2.5Y 4/2) fine sand; single grain; loose; few fine prominent strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) redoximorphic concentrations; strongly effervescent; slightly alkaline; clear smooth boundary.

2C6--104 to 132 centimeters; grayish brown (2.5Y 5/2) fine sand; single grain; loose; few fine prominent strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) redoximorphic concentrations; strongly effervescent; slightly alkaline; clear smooth boundary.

2C7--132 to 145 centimeters; dark grayish brown (2.5Y 4/2) very fine sand; single grain; loose; strongly effervescent; slightly alkaline; clear smooth boundary.

2C8--145 to 200 centimeters; grayish brown (2.5Y 5/2) sand; single grain; loose; strongly effervescent; slightly alkaline.

TYPE LOCATION: Land Resource Unit (LRU) 107B-Iowa and Missouri Deep Loess Hills; Monona County, Iowa; about 1 mile south and 5 miles west of Sloan; about 2,250 feet west and 80 feet south of the northeast corner of sec. 4, T. 85 N., R. 47 W.; USGS Albaton topographic quadrangle; lat. 42 degrees 12 minutes 53 seconds N. and long. 96 degrees 19 minutes 05 seconds W., NAD 83.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Depth to carbonates--0 to 25 centimeters
Depth to sandy alluvium--20 to 40 centimeters
Clay content in the particle-size control section (weighted average)--2 to 10 percent
Sand content in the particle-size control section (weighted average)--60 to 95 percent fine sand and sand coarser than fine sand

A or Ap horizon:
Hue--10YR or 2.5Y
Value--2, 2.5, or 3
Chroma--2 or 3
Texture--fine sandy loam, silt loam or loam
Clay content--5 to 20 percent
Sand content--35 to 75 percent
Reaction--slightly alkaline or moderately alkaline

C horizon:
Hue--10YR or 2.5Y
Value--4 or 5
Chroma--2 or 3
Texture--silt loam, loam or very fine sandy loam
Clay content--5 to 20 percent
Sand content--35 to 75 percent
Reaction--slightly alkaline or moderately alkaline

2C horizon:
Hue--10YR or 2.5Y
Value--4 to 6
Chroma--2 to 4
Texture--very fine sandy loam, fine sandy loam, very fine sand, fine sand, sand, loamy fine sand, or loamy sand or is stratified with these textures
Clay content--2 to 20 percent
Sand content--70 to 95 percent
Reaction--slightly alkaline or moderately alkaline

COMPETING SERIES: This is the Wathena series.
Wathena--are in areas with more than 820 millimeters of mean annual precipitation and mean annual air temperature that is greater than 11 degrees C

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Parent material--20 to 40 centimeters of loamy alluvium and the underlying sandy alluvium
Landform--flood plains
Slope--0 to 2 percent
Elevation--213 to 366 meters above sea level
Mean annual air temperature--8 to 11 degrees C
Mean annual precipitation--650 to 820 millimeters
Frost-free period--145 to 175 days

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Albaton, Grable, Haynie, Lossing, Sarpy, Scroll, and Vore soils.
Albaton--are in the lower landscape positions, are frequently saturated at the soil surface during the wettest portions of normal years, and have a clay content of 50 to 60 percent in the particle-size control section
Grable--are in landscape positions similar to those of the Morconick soils and have silty alluvium 45 to 75 centimeters thick over sandy alluvium
Haynie--are in the slightly lower landscape positions and have a clay content of 15 to 18 percent in the particle-size control section
Lossing--are in the slightly lower landscape positions and have a clay content of 18 to 35 percent throughout the particle-size control section
Sarpy--are in landscape positions similar to those of the Morconick soils and do not have silty alluvial sediments
Scroll--are in landscape positions similar to those of the Morconick soils, have sandy alluvial sediments within depths of 25 to 40 centimeters, and have a clay content of 27 to 35 percent in the upper third of the particle-size control section
Vore--are in the slightly lower landscape positions, have sandy alluvial sediments within a depth of 40 to 75 centimeters, and have a clay content of 28 to 35 percent in the upper third to upper half of the particle-size control section

DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY:
Drainage class--well drained--a frequently saturated zone does not occur within a depth of 1.8 meters during April to June in normal years
Saturated hydraulic conductivity--1.00 to 100.00 micrometers per second in the loamy alluvium and 10.00 to 100.00 micrometers per second in the underlying sandy alluvium
Surface runoff potential--negligible to low
Flooding--rarely to frequently flooded for brief to long periods during the months of February to November in normal years resulting from precipitation events and snowmelt, flooding from river channel overflow is limited where these soils are protected by dams and levees

USE AND VEGETATION:
Most areas are cultivated. The principal crops are corn, soybeans and small grains. Some areas are irrigated. The native vegetation is big bluestem, little bluestem, switchgrass, indiangrass and other grasses of the tall grass prairie and deciduous trees.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT:
Physiographic Division--Interior Plains
Physiographic Province--Central Lowland
Physiographic section--Dissected till plains
LRU--Iowa and Missouri Deep Loess Hills (107B)
LRR--M; flood plains of the Missouri River in western Iowa, and possibly in Missouri, Nebraska, and South Dakota
Extent--small

MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Indianapolis, Indiana.

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Monona County, Iowa, 1995.

REMARKS:
Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon include:
Particle-size control section--the zone from a depth of 25 to 100 centimeters (C1, 2C2, 2C3, 2C4, and 2C5 horizons).
Series control section--the zone from the surface to a depth of 150 centimeters (Ap, C1, 2C2, 2C3, 2C4, 2C5, 2C6, 2C7, and 2C8 horizons).
Ochric epipedon--the zone from the surface to a depth of 18 centimeters (Ap horizon).
Udic moisture regime.

Taxonomy version--Keys to Soil Taxonomy, Twelfth Edition, 2014.

Redoximorphic features in this profile are believed to be relict features related to the moisture status of the materials at the time of deposition. These features are believed not to be related to present day saturation.

Morconick soils were included with Grable, Carr, Sarpy and Mixed Alluvial Lands in previous soil surveys.

ADDITIONAL DATA:
Laboratory data--National Soil Survey Laboratory, Lincoln, Nebraska pedon S91IA-133-1 (http://ssldata.nrcs.usda.gov/).

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National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.