LOCATION MARSHAN                 MN+IA IL WI

Established Series
Rev. GAP-SRS-RJB
06/2015

MARSHAN SERIES

The Marshan series consists of very deep, poorly and very poorly drained soils that formed in 50 to 100 centimeters of loamy sediments and the underlying sandy and gravelly outwash. Marshan soils are on plane or slightly concave positions along narrow drainageways on outwash plains, valley trains, and stream terraces. Slope ranges from 0 to 5 percent. Mean annual precipitation is about 800 millimeters. Mean annual air temperature is about 9 degrees C.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy over sandy or sandy-skeletal, mixed, superactive, mesic Typic Endoaquolls

TYPICAL PEDON: Marshan silty clay loam, on a plane slope on a terrace along a small stream in a cultivated field. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)

Ap--0 to 25 centimeters; black (N 2/0) silty clay loam, very dark gray (10YR 3/1) dry; weak very fine granular structure; slightly sticky; neutral; abrupt wavy boundary. (17 to 29 centimeters thick)

A--25 to 36 centimeters; black (N 2/0) silty clay loam, very dark gray (10YR 3/1) dry; weak fine subangular blocky structure; slightly sticky; common medium continuous vertical tubular pores; neutral; clear wavy boundary. (7 to 26 centimeters thick)

AB--36 to 46 centimeters; very dark grayish brown (2.5Y 3/2) silty clay loam, dark grayish brown (2.5Y 4/2) dry; common very dark gray (5Y 3/1) coats on peds; weak fine subangular blocky structure; slightly sticky; and common medium faint black (N 2/0) tubular fillings; many fine and very fine continuous vertical tubular pores; neutral; clear wavy boundary. (0 to 16 centimeters thick)

Bg1--46 to 58 centimeters; dark gray (5Y 4/1) silty clay loam high in content of sand; weak fine subangular blocky structure, slightly sticky; very dark gray (5Y 3/1) fillings; neutral; clear wavy boundary.

Bg2--58 to 76 centimeters; olive gray (5Y 5/2) loam; moderate fine subangular blocky structure; slightly sticky; common medium distinct very dark gray (5Y 3/1) tubular fillings; common very fine to large continuous vertical tubular pores; many fine prominent yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) redoximorphic concentrations; slightly acid; abrupt wavy boundary. (Combined thickness of the Bg horizon is 12 to 55 centimeters thick.)

2Cg--76 to 102 centimeters; grayish brown (10YR 5/2) sand; single grain; about 5 percent gravel; many coarse distinct yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) redoximorphic concentrations; slightly acid; abrupt wavy boundary.

2C--102 to 152 centimeters; yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) gravelly sand; single grain; loose; about 20 percent gravel; slightly acid.

TYPE LOCATION: Major Land Resource Area (MLRA) 105-Northern Mississippi Valley Loess Hills, Olmsted County, Minnesota subset; about 1 mile north and 2.5 miles west of Dover; located about 1,850 feet north and 1,850 feet east of the southwest corner of section 18, T. 106 N., R. 11 W.; USGS Eyota topographic quadrangle; lat. 43 degrees 58 minutes 57 seconds N. and long. 92 degrees 11 minutes 29 seconds W., NAD 83.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Thickness of the mollic epipedon--30 to 60 centimeters
Depth to the sandy and gravelly outwash--50 to 100 centimeters
Depth to carbonates--100 to 190 centimeters
Content of clay in the upper half of the particle-size control section (weighted average)--18 to 35 percent
Content of clay in the lower half of the particle-size control section (weighted average)--0 to 10 percent
Content of sand in the upper half of the particle-size control section (weighted average)--15 to 40 percent
Content of sand in the lower half of the particle-size control section (weighted average)--70 to 98 percent

Some pedons, in uncultivated areas, have an O horizon up to 11 centimeters thick

Ap or A horizon:
Hue--10YR to 5Y, or is neutral
Value--2 or 3
Chroma--0 to 2
Texture--silty clay loam, silt loam, clay loam, or loam
Clay content--18 to 35 percent
Sand content--10 to 55 percent
Rock fragment content--0 to 5 percent
Reaction--moderately acid to neutral

Bg horizon:
Hue--7.5YR to 2.5Y
Value--4 to 6
Chroma--1 to 8
Texture--clay loam, loam, silty clay loam, silt loam, or sandy loam
Clay content--18 to 35 percent
Sand content--15 to 55 percent
Rock fragment content--0 to 5 percent
Reaction--moderately acid to neutral

The 7.5YR and 10YR hues, and higher value and chroma is thought to be indicative of a high content of hydrated iron oxides

2Cg and 2C horizons:
Hue--10YR to 5Y
Value--4 to 6
Chroma--1 to 6
Texture--coarse sand, sand, loamy sand, stratified with these textures or the gravelly or very gravelly analogues of these textures
Clay content--0 to 10 percent
Sand content--75 to 98 percent
Rock fragment content--5 to 50 percent
Reaction--slightly acid or neutral

Some pedons have a 3C horizon, below a depth of 150 centimeters, with textures of loam or clay loam

COMPETING SERIES: These are the Biscay, Mudhen, Niwot, and Will series.
Biscay--have carbonates within a depth of 100 centimeters
Mudhen--have a paralithic contact in shale within a depth of 150 centimeters
Niwot--have sandy and gravelly sediments within a depth of 50 centimeters and are in areas that have a mean annual precipitation range of 300 to 460 millimeters
Will--have carbonates within a depth of 100 centimeters

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Parent material--50 to 100 centimeters of loamy sediments and the underlying sandy and gravelly outwash
Landform--plane or slightly concave positions along narrow drainageways on outwash plains, valley trains, and stream terraces
Slope--0 to 5 percent
Elevation--130 to 450 meters
Mean annual air temperature--4 to 13 degrees C
Mean annual precipitation--585 to 1,015 millimeters
Frost-free period--135 to 215 days

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Hayfield, Lawler, Saude, Udolpho, and Waukee soils.
Hayfield--are at higher landscape positions, have a saturated zone at a depth of 0.3 meter during the wettest periods of normal years and have an argillic horizon
Lawler--are at higher landscape positions and have a saturated zone at a depth of 0.3 meter during the wettest periods of normal years
Saude--are at higher landscape positions, do not have a saturated zone within a depth of 1.8 meters in normal years and have an average clay content of 8 to 15 percent in the particle-size control section
Udolpho--are at slightly higher landscape positions have a saturated zone at the soil surface during the wettest periods of normal years and have an argillic horizon
Waukee--are at higher landscape positions, do not have a saturated zone within a depth of 1.8 meters in normal years and have an average clay content of 18 to 25 percent in the upper part of the particle-size control section

DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY:
Drainage class--very poorly or poorly drained--these soils have a saturated zone between depths of 0.0 to 0.3 meter during March to June when precipitation is within one standard deviation of the 30 year mean of annual precipitation and this saturation is considered apparent
Saturated hydraulic conductivity--1.00 to 10.00 micrometers per second in the loamy sediments and 10.00 to 100.00 micrometers per second in the underlying materials
Surface runoff potential--negligible to low
Flooding--rarely to frequently flooded for very brief to long duration
Ponding--rarely to frequently ponded for very brief to long duration

USE AND VEGETATION:
Where undrained, the principal use is pasture. Where adequately drained, Marshan soils are cultivated. Corn, soybeans, and small grains are principal crops. Native vegetation is a wet-site community of the tall grass prairie. See Additional Data section for native vegetative cover in Iowa and Minnesota.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT:
Physiographic Division--Interior Plains
Physiographic Province--Central Lowland
Physiographic sections--Eastern lake section, Western lake section, Wisconsin driftless section, Till plains, and Dissected till plains
MLRAs--Wisconsin and Minnesota Sandy Outwash (91),
Southern Wisconsin and Northern Illinois Drift Plain (95B),
Central Iowa and Minnesota Till Prairies (103),
Eastern Iowa and Minnesota Till Prairies (104),
Northern Mississippi Valley Loess Hills (105),
Illinois and Iowa Deep Loess and Drift (108), and
Central Mississippi Valley Wooded Slopes (115)
LRR L and M; Iowa, southern Minnesota, northern Illinois, and southern Wisconsin
Extent--moderate

MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: St. Paul, Minnesota

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Dakota County, Minnesota, 1942.

REMARKS:
Particle-size control section--the zone from a depth of 25 to 100 centimeters;
series control section--the zone from the surface to a depth of 150 centimeters.

Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon include:
mollic epipedon--the zone from the surface to a depth of 46 centimeters (Ap, A and AB horizons);
cambic horizon--the zone from a depth of 46 to 76 centimeters (Bg1 and Bg2 horizons);
aquic suborder--5Y 4/1 matrix color in the zone from a depth of 46 to 58 centimeters (Bg1 horizon).

Cation-exchange class is inferred from lab data from similar soils in the surrounding area.

Taxonomy version--Keys to Soil Taxonomy, tenth edition, 2006.

ADDITIONAL DATA: In Iowa and Minnesota, native vegetative cover is a herbaceous wetland community commonly inhabited with Bluejoint Grasses, Fowl Bluegrasses, Green Muhlies, Fox Sedges, Field Sedges, Dudleys Rushes, Torreys Rushes, Swamp Milkweeds, False Sneezeweeds, False Asters, New England Asters, White Panicled Asters, and Wild Mints. Source: Iowa State Office, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Des Moines, IA.

---

National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.