LOCATION PUTNEY SDEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-silty, mixed, superactive, frigid Calcic Hapludolls
TYPICAL PEDON: Putney silt loam - on a nearly level plane slope of less than 1 percent in a cultivated field. When described the soil was moist throughout. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise stated.)
Ap--0 to 8 inches; dark gray (10YR 4/1) silt loam, black (10YR 2/1) moist; weak fine granular structure; slightly hard, very friable; common fine roots; neutral; abrupt smooth boundary. (6 to 9 inches thick)
Bw--8 to 15 inches; grayish brown (10YR 5/2) silty clay loam, very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) moist; weak coarse prismatic structure parting to weak coarse and medium subangular blocky; hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common fine roots; slightly alkaline; abrupt wavy boundary. (4 to 11 inches thick)
Bkz1--15 to 20 inches; light gray (2.5Y 7/2) silty clay loam, light yellowish brown (2.5Y 6/4) moist; weak coarse prismatic structure parting to weak coarse subangular blocky; hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common fine and very fine roots; common fine pores; common fine nests and threads of salt; violent effervescence (35 percent calcium carbonate equivalent); moderately alkaline; clear wavy boundary.
Bkz2--20 to 25 inches; light gray (2.5Y 7/2) silt loam, light yellowish brown (2.5Y 6/4) moist; weak coarse subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, friable; few fine pores; many fine and common medium nests of gypsum crystals and other salts; violent effervescence (12 percent calcium carbonate equivalent); moderately alkaline; clear wavy boundary. (Combined Bkz horizons is 4 to 20 inches thick.)
C1--25 to 40 inches; pale yellow (2.5Y 7/4) silt loam, olive brown (2.5Y 4/4) moist; massive; slightly hard, very friable; strong effervescence; moderately alkaline; clear smooth boundary.
C2--40 to 60 inches; pale yellow (2.5Y 7/4) silt loam, light yellowish brown (2.5Y 6/4) moist; few fine distinct yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) moist redox concentrations; massive; slightly hard, very friable; 1 to 2 mm varves; few fine nests of gypsum and other salts; slight effervescence; moderately alkaline.
TYPE LOCATION: Brown County, South Dakota; about 3 miles south and 1/2 mile east of Putney; 1,660 feet north and 175 feet east of the southwest corner, sec. 27, T. 124 N., R. 61 W.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: The depth to free carbonates and accumulations of salt other than gypsum ranges from 10 to 20 inches. Gypsum accumulations typically are at a depth of 14 to 30 inches. The electrical conductivity ranges from 8 to 16 mmhos or more at a depth of 10 to 20 inches and from 4 to 12 mmhos or more below a depth of 20 inches.
The A horizon has value of 4 or 5 and 2 or 3 moist. It typically is silt loam, but is silty clay loam in some pedons. It is slightly acid to slightly alkaline.
The Bw horizon has hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 3 to 5 and 2 or 3 moist, and chroma of 1 or 2. It is silty clay loam or silt loam averaging between 18 and 30 percent clay. It is neutral to moderately alkaline.
The Bk horizon has hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 6 to 8 and 4 to 6 moist, and chroma of 1 to 4. It is silt loam or silty clay loam and slightly alkaline to strongly alkaline. It has disseminated carbonate and in some pedons accumulations of carbonate. The calcium carbonate equivalent percentage ranges from 10 to 40 percent. The Bk horizon has common to many accumulations of salt and gypsum.
The C horizon has hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 6 to 8 and 4 to 6 moist, and chroma of 1 to 4. It is silt loam or silty clay loam and typically is varved with very thin strata of very fine sand to clay. It is slightly alkaline to strongly alkaline. Varves range from 1 mm to 10 mm in thickness.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Brandt, Great Bend, Kranzburg, and Poinsett series in the same family. All soils contain less salts above a depth of 20 inches. In addition, Kranzburg soils have more than 15 percent fine sand or coarser in particle size control section between depths of 20 and 40 inches. Poinsett soils do not have accumulations of gypsum and other salts in the Bk horizons.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Putney soils are on nearly level to gently sloping glacial lake plains. Slope gradients are less than 2 percent. The soils formed in silty, calcareous glaciolacustrine sediments of silt sized particles but with thin lens of fine sand or clay sized particles. Mean annual air temperature ranges from 38 to 45 degrees F, and mean annual precipitation ranges from 16 to 20 inches. Growing season is about 125 to 135 days; average growing season precipitation ranges from 14 to 17 inches; and growing degree days are about 2600 to 3200.
GEOGRAPHIC ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the competing , Great Bend soils and the Aberdeen, Bearden, Beotia, Exline, Harmony, Huffton, Nahon, Tonka, Winship, and Zell soils. Beotia and Great Bend soils are on similar positions to Putney soils. Huffton and Zell soils are on the steeper slopes particularly along drainageways crossing the lake plain. Aberdeen, Exline, Harmony, and Nahon soils are on broad smooth flats. Aberdeen, Exline, and Nahon soils have a natric horizon, and Harmony soils have an argillic horizon. Beotia and Gardena soils have mollic epipedons greater than 16 inches thick. Doland soils are fine-loamy. The Eckman, Rothsay, and Zell soils are coarse-silty. Huffton soils are coarse-silty and have carbonates at the surface. Bearden soils have a calcic horizon and are at edges of swales and depressions. Tonka soils are in closed depressions and have a thick E horizon and an argillic horizon. Winship soils are in narrow shallow draws and have an argillic horizons.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained. Surface runoff is negligible to low. Permeability is moderate in the subsoil and moderate to slow in the underlying material.
USE AND VEGETATION: Soils are cropped to small grains, corn, sunflowers, and alfalfa. Native vegetation is big bluestem, little bluestem, green needlegrass, western wheatgrass, blue grama, sideoats grama, and needleandthread.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Northeastern South Dakota. The series is of moderate extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: St. Paul, Minnesota
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Brown County, South Dakota, 1987.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are: mollic epipedon - the zone from the surface of the soil to a depth of about 15 inches (Ap and Bw horizons).
ADDITIONAL DATA: NSSL Sample Nos. 83P13-18 and 83P 39-45