LOCATION PINICON IA
Established Series
Rev. RJK-DBO
07/2022
PINICON SERIES
The Pinicon series consists of deep, somewhat poorly drained, moderately permeable soils formed in loamy sediments and the underlying loamy glacial till on uplands. Slopes range from 0 to 4 percent. Mean annual temperature is about 46 degrees F, and mean annual precipitation is about 32 inches.
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, mixed, superactive, mesic Aeric Endoaqualfs
TYPICAL PEDON: Pinicon silt loam on an east-facing one percent slope - in a cut over timbered area. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)
A--0 to 3 inches; very dark gray (10YR 3/1) silt loam (20 percent clay), gray (10YR 6/1) dry; moderate fine and very fine granular structure; friable; medium acid; clear smooth boundary. (2 to 5 inches thick)
E1--3 to 7 inches; grayish brown (10YR 5/2) silt loam (18 percent clay), light gray (10YR 7/2) dry; common fine faint dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) mottles; moderate fine platy structure; friable; many light gray (10YR 7/1) dry silt coatings on faces of peds; many fine pores; strongly acid; clear smooth boundary.
E2--7 to 11 inches; brown (10YR 5/3) silt loam (19 percent clay); faces of peds grayish brown (10YR 5/2); common fine faint brown (10YR 4/3) mottles; moderate thin platy structure; friable; light gray (10YR 7/1) dry silt coatings on peds; strongly acid; clear smooth boundary. (Combined thickness of the E horizons is 4 to 11 inches.)
BE--11 to 17 inches; mottled yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) and grayish brown (10YR 5/2) silt loam (22 percent clay); faces of peds dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2); weak medium subangular blocky structure parting to moderate very fine subangular blocky; friable; nearly continuous light gray (10YR 7/1) dry silt coatings on faces of peds; few fine yellowish red (5YR 5/8) oxides; very strongly acid; clear smooth boundary. (0 to 8 inches thick)
2Bt1--17 to 25 inches; mottled grayish brown (2.5Y 5/2) and strong brown (7.5YR 5/8) loam (26 percent clay); faces of peds grayish brown (2.5Y 5/2) and light brownish gray (2.5Y 6/2); weak coarse prismatic structure parting to weak medium subangular blocky; firm; light gray (10YR 7/2) dry silt coatings on faces of prisms and peds; few faint dark grayish brown (2.5Y 4/2) clay films on faces of prisms and in a few root channels and pores; few fine yellowish red (5YR 5/8) oxides; pebble band at 17 inches; very strongly acid; gradual smooth boundary.
2Bt2--25 to 35 inches; strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) clay loam (28 percent clay); faces of peds light brownish gray (2.5Y 6/2); common fine distinct grayish brown (2.5Y 5/2) mottles; moderate coarse prismatic structure parting to weak medium subangular blocky; firm; nearly continuous light gray (10YR 7/2) dry silt coatings on faces of peds; few faint dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) clay films on faces of prisms and peds and few distinct dark gray (10YR 4/1) clay films in root channels; few fine dark red (2.5YR 3/6) and dark reddish brown (5YR 2/2) oxides and few dark reddish brown (5YR 2/2) stains on faces of peds; few pebbles; very strongly acid; gradual smooth boundary.
2Bt3--35 to 44 inches; strong brown (7.5YR 5/8) loam (26 percent clay); faces of peds grayish brown (2.5Y 5/2); common fine prominent gray (5Y 5/1) mottles; weak coarse prismatic structure parting to weak medium subangular blocky; firm; common distinct dark gray (10YR 4/1) clay accumulations in root channels and pores; few dark reddish brown (5YR 2/2) and yellowish red (5YR 4/8) oxides; few pebbles; medium acid; gradual smooth boundary.
2Bt4--44 to 49 inches; mottled strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) and gray (10YR 5/1) loam (24 percent clay); weak coarse prismatic structure parting to very weak coarse subangular blocky; firm; few very dark gray (10YR 3/1) and dark gray (10YR 4/1) clay accumulations in root channels and pores; few dark reddish brown (5YR 2/2) oxides and ped stains; few pebbles; slightly acid; gradual smooth boundary. (Combined thickness of the Bt horizons is 26 to 44 inches.)
2BC--49 to 57 inches; mottled yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) and gray (5Y 5/1) loam (23 percent clay); very weak coarse prismatic structure; firm; few dark reddish brown (5YR 2/2) oxides and stains; few pebbles; neutral; clear wavy boundary. (0 to 10 inches thick)
2C--57 to 60 inches; mottled yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) and gray (5Y 5/1) loam (23 percent clay); massive; firm; few pebbles; few white (10YR 8/1) mycelia lime accumulations; strong effervescence; mildly alkaline.
TYPE LOCATION: Howard County, Iowa; about 3/4 mile north of Riceville; 1,500 feet north and 784 feet east of the southwest corner, sec. 19, T. 99 N., R. 14 W.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Solum thickness and depth to carbonates typically are greater than 40 inches and range from about 40 to 72 inches. The solum is strongly acid or very strongly acid in the most acid part.
The A horizon is very dark gray (10YR 3/1) or dark gray (10YR 4/1). Where present, the Ap horizon is dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2). The A or Ap horizon is loam or silt loam with a fine to coarse sand content of 15 to 35 percent.
The E horizon has hue of 10YR, value of 4 or 5, and chroma of 2 or 3. The E horizon is loam or silt loam with a fine to coarse sand content of 20 to 35 percent and a clay content of 18 to 22 percent.
The BE or Bt horizon, when present, has hue of 10YR, value of 4 or 5, and chroma of 2 to 6.
In most pedons, a pebble band is at the contact of materials 1 and 2. The 2Bt horizon has hue of 7.5YR, 10YR, or 2.5Y; value of 4, 5, or 6; and chroma of 2 to 8. The lower part of the 2Bt horizon has chroma ranging from 1 to 8. One or more horizons have chroma of 3 or more in at least half the matrix. The 2Bt horizon typically is loam or clay loam but ranges to include sandy clay loam. Clay content ranges from 24 to 28 percent. Tongues of sandy loam or loamy sand extend downward from the pebble band to depths of 3 to 5 feet in some pedons.
The 2BC and 2C horizons have hue of 7.5YR, 10YR, 2.5Y, or 5Y; value of 5 or 6; and chroma of 1 to 8. Texture of these horizons is loam with a clay content of about 22 to 26 percent. Reaction ranges from slightly acid to mildly alkaline.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the
Angola,
Appleton,
Aubbeenaubbee,
Ayrshire,
Burdett,
Capac,
Crosier,
Darien,
Digby,
Haskins,
Jimtown,
Luther,
Mitiwanga,
Ovid,
Shadeland,
Shebeon,
Sleeth, and
Whitaker soils in the same family. Angola, Mitiwanga, and Shadeland soils have bedrock at depths less than 40 inches. Appleton soils have more coarse fragments throughout the soil. Aubbeenaubbee soils have a higher sand content in the upper part of the solum. Ayrshire soils also have a higher sand content and formed from eolian sands. Burdett and Darien soils have from 5 to 30 percent or more by volume of shale fragments in their sola. Capac, Crosier, and Shebeon soils have a thinner solum and are shallower to carbonates. Digby, Jimtown, and Sleeth soils are underlain by stratified outwash high in sand and gravel. Haskins soils have more clay in the lower part of the B horizon and C horizon. Luther soils have a higher average clay content in the Bt horizons and lack a lithologic discontinuity. Ovid soils have redder hue in the B horizons. Whitaker soils contain more illite clay and are developed in and underlain by stratified outwash or lacustrine sediments.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Pinicon soils are on uplands on the Iowan Erosion Surface. They are on convex or slightly concave ridgetops and weakly defined sideslopes of 0 to 4 percent gradient. Pinicon soils formed in 14 to 24 inches of loamy sediments containing about 15 to 35 percent fine to coarse sand and the underlying loamy glacial till. In most pedons, a thin pebble band is at the boundary between the two materials. Mean annual temperature ranges from about 45 to 49 degrees F, and mean annual precipitation ranges from about 30 to 34 inches.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the
Bassett,
Coggon,
Clyde,
Floyd,
Oran, and
Schley soils. Bassett and Coggon soils are on steeper slopes and have browner upper B horizons. Clyde, Floyd, and Schley soils are down-slope and are derived from stratified materials 2 to 3 feet thick. Pinicon soils form a biosequence with the Oran and
Readlyn soils. Oran soils have a thicker A horizon. Readlyn soils have a mollic epipedon. Pinicon soils also form a partial hydrosequence with the moderately well drained Coggon soils.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Somewhat poorly drained. Surface runoff is medium to slow. Permeability is moderate.
USE AND VEGETATION: Cleared areas are dominantly cultivated with the major crops being corn, soybeans, small grain, and legume hay. Some are still in timber. Native vegetation was deciduous trees.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Northeastern Iowa in the Iowan Erosion Surface area and possibly in southern Minnesota. The series is of minor extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Indianapolis, Indiana
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Howard County, Iowa, 1969.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are: ochric epipedon--zone from the surface to a depth of approximately 11 inches (A, E1, and E2 horizons); argillic horizon--the zone from approximately 17 to 49 inches (2Bt1, 2Bt2, 2Bt3, 2Bt4 horizon); an aquic soil moisture regime.
National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.