LOCATION SERDEN ND+MN SDEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Mixed, frigid Typic Udipsamments
TYPICAL PEDON: Serden fine sand - on a crest of a hill on a southwest-facing convex slope of 4 percent in native grass. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated. Where described the soil was slightly moist throughout.)
A--0 to 5 inches; very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) fine sand, dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) dry; weak medium subangular blocky structure parting to single grain; loose, nonsticky and nonplastic; many fine and medium roots; neutral; clear wavy boundary. (1 to 6 inches thick)
C1--5 to 14 inches; brown (10YR 4/3) fine sand, brown (10YR 5/3) dry; single grain; loose, nonsticky and nonplastic; common fine and very fine roots; neutral; clear smooth boundary.
C2--14 to 80 inches; dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) fine sand, yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) dry; single grain; loose, nonsticky and nonplastic; few roots to 25 inches; neutral.
TYPE LOCATION: Ransom County, North Dakota; about 8 miles east and 2 miles south of Sheldon; 1050 feet north and 1030 feet west of the southeast corner, sec. 35, T. 136 N., R. 53 W. Latitude 46 degrees, 32 minutes, 45 seconds North and Longitude 97 degrees, 18 minutes, 19 seconds West. Coburn 1:24,000 quadrangle.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Depth to carbonates typically is greater than 60 inches, but is as shallow as 36 inches in some pedons. The soil has 1 percent or less rock fragments throughout.
The A horizon has hue of 10YR, value of 2 to 4 and 3 to 6 dry, and chroma of 1 or 2. It is sand, loamy sand, loamy fine sand or fine sand. It is slightly acid or neutral. Some pedons have an AC horizon up to 6 inches thick.
The C horizon has hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 3 to 6 and 5 to 7 dry, and chroma of 2 to 4. It averages fine sand, but the range includes horizons of sand. It is neutral or slightly alkaline. Thin dark layers and variation in texture due to wind sorting are in some pedons.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Abbeylake, Cantlin, Champlain, Claire, Corliss, Friendship, Grayling, Mahtomedi, Menahga, Nymore, Plainbo, Sartell, Shawano and Sunday series. Abbeylake soils have more than coarse and very coarse sand in the series control section. Cantlin soils have soil saturation within the series control section. Champlain soils have a Bw horizon and occur in areas of higher precipitation. Claire, Friendship, Menahga and Nymore soils are dominantly coarse, very coarse and medium sand in the particle-size control section. In addition, Nymore soils are moderately and strongly acid; and Friendship soils have distinct redoximorphic features at depths of about 36 inches. Corliss soils have less than 50 percent fine sand in the series control section. Grayling and Sartell soils are moderately to very strongly acid. Mahtomedi soils have 10 to 35 percent rock fragments in the particle-size control section. Plainbo soils have bedrock within depths of 20 to 40 inches. Shawano soils have Bw horizons with hue of 7.5YR and chroma of 4 or higher. Sunday soils are more acid throughout and occur in areas of greater precipitation.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Serden soils are on level to very steep, wind worked lake plains and outwash plains. They are hummocky in places. Slope gradients range from 0 to 50 percent and relief ranges from 5 to over 25 feet. The climate is subhumid, with short warm summers and long cold winters. Mean annual air temperature ranges from 36 to 45 degrees F., and mean annual precipitation ranges from 15 to 23 inches. Most of the precipitation comes in the spring and summer. Frost-free period ranges from 105 to 140 days. Elevation above sea level ranges from 650 to 2300 feet.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Arveson, Aylmer, Egeland, Embden, Hamar, Hecla, Maddock, Rosewood, Ulen, Wyndmere and Venlo soils. All of these soils, except Aylmer, have mollic epipedons. Arveson, Hamar, Rosewood and Venlo soils are in low basins and swales. They are poorly drained. Egeland, Embden, Hecla and Maddock soils are on nearby level to undulating areas. Ulen and Wyndmere soils are in lower lying areas. Egeland, Embden and Wyndmere soils are coarse-loamy. Rosewood and Ulen soils have a calcic horizon. Ulen soils are somewhat poorly drained. Aylmer soils are on lower positions on the landscape and have soil saturation within depths of 1.5 to 3.5 feet during the months of April through June.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Excessively drained. Runoff is negligible to low depending on slope. Permeability is rapid.
USE AND VEGETATION: Use for rangeland and pasture. Native vegetation is needleandthread, prairie sandreed, blue grama, sand bluestem, some forbs and shrubs.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Eastern North Dakota, northwestern Minnesota and northeastern South Dakota. The series is of large extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: St. Paul, Minnesota
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Richland County, North Dakota, 1970.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon: ochric epipedon - the zone from the surface of the soil to a depth of 5 inches (A horizon).
ADDITIONAL DATA: Laboratory sample number S54NDak-39-2 in Soil Survey Investigation Report No. 2 p. 156 (former type location).