LOCATION NORDNESS IA+MNEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy, mixed, superactive, mesic Lithic Hapludalfs
TYPICAL PEDON: Nordness silt loam, on a convex slope of about 11 percent, in a wooded pasture. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise noted.)
A--0 to 10 centimeters (0 to 4 inches); very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) silt loam; moderate fine granular structure; friable; common fine roots; neutral; clear smooth boundary. [2 to 15 centimeters (1 to 6 inches) thick]
BE--10 to 18 centimeters (4 to 7 inches); brown (10YR 4/3) silt loam; moderate fine subangular blocky structure; friable; common very fine roots; neutral; clear smooth boundary. [8 to 13 centimeters (3 to 5 inches) thick]
Bt1--18 to 33 centimeters (7 to 13 inches); dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) silt loam; moderate fine and medium subangular blocky structure; friable; common very fine roots; common distinct brown (10YR 4/3) clay films on faces of peds; neutral; abrupt smooth boundary. [10 to 18 centimeters (4 to 7 inches) thick]
2Bt2--33 to 41 centimeters (13 to 16 inches); brown (7.5YR 4/4) clay; strong fine and medium subangular blocky structure; firm; common very fine roots; many distinct brown (7.5YR 4/3) clay films on faces of peds; neutral; abrupt smooth boundary. [0 to 15 centimeters (0 to 6 inches) thick]
3R--41 centimeters (16 inches); limestone bedrock.
TYPE LOCATION: Major Land Resource Area (105); Winneshiek County, Iowa; about 7 miles of northeast of Decorah; about 77 meters (254 feet) north and 309 meters (1,015 feet) west of the southeast corner of section 12, T. 99 N., R. 8 W; USGS Highlandville quadrangle; lat. 43 degrees 24 minutes 2.3 seconds N. and long. 91 degrees 44 minutes 3.1 seconds W., NAD 83.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Depth to lithic contact of limestone--20 to 51 centimeters (8 to 20 inches)
Content of clay in the particle-size control section (weighted average)--22 to 35 percent
Content of sand in the particle-size control section (weighted average)--less than 15 percent
A or Ap horizon:
Hue--10YR
Value--3 or 4
Chroma--1 to 3
Texture--silt loam or loam
Clay content--18 to 24 percent
Sand content--10 to 30 percent
Reaction--moderately acid to neutral
E horizon (if present):
Hue--10YR
Value--4 or 5
Chroma--2 or 3
Texture--silt loam or loam
Clay content--18 to 24 percent
Sand content--10 to 30 percent
Reaction--moderately acid to neutral
In cultivated areas the E horizon frequently is incorporated into the Ap horizon
BE horizon:
Hue--10YR
Value--4 or 5
Chroma--3 or 4
Texture--silt loam, silty clay loam, clay loam, or loam
Clay content--20 to 30 percent
Sand content--10 to 30 percent
Reaction--moderately acid to neutral
Bt horizon:
Hue--10YR
Value--4
Chroma--4
Texture--silt loam or silty clay loam
Clay content--22 to 30 percent
Sand content--less than 15 percent
Reaction--moderately acid to neutral
2Bt horizon (if present):
Hue--5YR or 7.5YR
Value--3 to 5
Chroma--2 to 6
Texture--silty clay loam, silty clay or clay
Clay content--30 to 55 percent
Sand content--less than 15 percent
Reaction--moderately acid to neutral
3R horizon:
Hard fractured limestone bedrock
Some pedons have clay material, properties similar to 2Bt horizon, interbedded between the slabs of rock within depths of 15 to 102 centimeters (6 to 40 inches) of the rock contact
COMPETING SERIES: This is the
Ritchey series.
Ritchey--have a sand content of 15 to 50 percent in the particle-size control section
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Parent material--loamy or silty material and a paleosol over limestone bedrock
Landform--high structural benches, crests, and convex side slopes on uplands
Slopes--2 to 40 percent
Elevation--198 to 411 meters (650 to 1350 feet) above sea level
Mean annual air temperature--8 to 9 degrees C (46 to 49 degrees F)
Mean annual precipitation--81 to 86 centimeters (32 to 34 inches)
Frost-free period--135 to 160 days
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the
Dubuque,
Fayette,
Frankville, and
Jacwin soils.
Dubuque--are at higher elevations on side slopes and interfluves and have a lithic contact of limestone within depths of 51 to 102 centimeters (20 to 40 inches)
Fayette--are at higher elevations on interfluves and side slopes and do not have a lithic contact within the series control section
Frankville--are at higher elevations on crests of narrow interfluves and convex side slopes and have a lithic contact of limestone within depths of 51 to 102 centimeters (20 to 40 inches)
Jacwin--are at lower elevations on structural benches, have mollic epipedons 30 to 61 centimeters (12 to 24 inches) thick, carbonates within depths of 38 to 91 centimeters (15 to 36 inches), and have residuum from calcareous shale within depths of 76 to 102 centimeters (30 to 40 inches)
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY:
Drainage class--well drained--saturation does not occur within a depth of 1.8 meters (6 feet) during the wettest periods of normal years
Saturated hydraulic conductivity--moderately high in the loamy or silty materials, moderately low in the paleosol, and low to moderately high in the limestone bedrock depending on the amount of weathered rock
Surface runoff potential--low to high
USE AND VEGETATION:
Most areas are wooded or pastured. The less sloping areas are cultivated. The principal crops are corn, oats, and grass-legume meadows. The native vegetation is deciduous trees, dominantly hickory and oak.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT:
Physiographic Division--Interior Plains
Physiographic Province--Central Lowland
Physiographic section(s)--Wisconsin driftless section, Dissected till plains
MLRA(s)--Eastern Iowa and Minnesota Till Prairies (104), Northern Mississippi Valley Loess Hills (105), Illinois and Iowa Deep Loess and Drift (108), and Iowa and Missouri Heavy Till Plain (109)
LRR M; eastern Iowa and southeastern Minnesota
Extent--moderate
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: St. Paul, Minnesota
SERIES ESTABLISHED:
Winneshiek County, Iowa, 1970.
REMARKS:
Particle-size control section--the zone from a depth of 18 to 41 centimeters (7 to 16 inches) (Bt1 and 2Bt2 horizons);
series control section--the zone from the surface to a depth of 41 centimeters (0 to 16 inches) (A, BE, Bt1, and 2Bt2 horizons).
Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon:
ochric epipedon--the zone from the surface to a depth of 10 centimeters (4 inches) (A horizon);
argillic horizon--the zone from a depth of 18 to 41 centimeters (7 to 16 inches) (Bt and 2Bt horizons);
udic moisture regime.
Cation-exchange activity class is inferred from lab data from similar soils in the surrounding area.
The type location has been moved to better typify the central concept of the series.
Taxonomy version--Keys to Soil Taxonomy, ninth edition, 2003.