LOCATION ULEN ND+MN SD
Established Series
RBH-CJH-KMD
07/2015
ULEN SERIES
The Ulen series consists of very deep, somewhat poorly drained soils that formed in sandy glaciolacustrine deposits on glacial lake plains. Permeability is rapid. Slopes range from 0 to 3 percent. Mean annual precipitation is about 51 centimeters. Mean annual air temperature is about 5 degrees C.
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Sandy, mixed, frigid Aeric Calciaquolls
TYPICAL PEDON: Ulen fine sandy loam on a 1 percent east facing slope. When described the soil was moist throughout. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated)
A--0 to 23 centimeters; black (10YR 2/1) fine sandy loam, very dark gray (10YR 3/1) dry; weak medium subangular blocky structure; slightly hard and very friable; nonsticky and nonplastic; common very fine and few fine roots; slight effervescence; moderately alkaline; clear smooth boundary.
Ak--23 to 33 centimeters; very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) loamy fine sand, dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) dry; weak medium subangular blocky structure; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; common very fine and few fine roots; strong effervescence; moderately alkaline; clear wavy boundary. (Combined A horizons 25 to 51 centimeters thick)
Bk1--33 to 51 centimeters; dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) loamy fine sand, grayish brown (10YR 5/2) dry; few fine distinct dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) redoximorphic concentrations; weak medium subangular blocky structure; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; few very fine and fine roots; strong effervescence; moderately alkaline; gradual wavy boundary.
Bk2--51 to 107 centimeters; grayish brown (10YR 5/2) loamy fine sand, light brownish gray (2.5Y 6/2) dry; weak medium subangular blocky structure; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; few very fine and fine roots; strong effervescence; moderately alkaline; gradual wavy boundary. (Combined Bk horizons 10 to 76 centimeters thick)
C--107 to 200 centimeters; light olive brown (2.5Y 5/4) fine sand, light yellowish brown (2.5Y 6/4) dry; few medium distinct dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) redoximorphic concentrations; single grain; loose, nonsticky and nonplastic; slight effervescence; moderately alkaline.
TYPE LOCATION: Foster County, North Dakota; about 9 miles south and 3 miles east of Glenfield, 792 meters north and 183 meters west of the southeast corner of sec. 36, T. 147 N., R. 62 W.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Thickness of the mollic epipedon ranges from 18 to 51 centimeters. Where the texture is loamy fine sand it is more than 25 centimeters thick.
Rock fragments - none above a depth of 102 centimeters. However, strata up to 15 cm thick with up to 5 percent rock fragments are allowed in the C horizon above a depth of 102 cm.
Average texture of control section - fine sand or loamy fine sand or sand or loamy sand with appreciable amounts of fine sand or finer particles or both.
Sand content of control section - 5 to 30 percent medium and coarser sand. The depth to loamy fine sand or coarser textures is less than 25 inches
Reaction - moderately alkaline or slightly alkaline throughout
Content of calcium carbonate in the A horizon and/or upper Bk horizon - 5 to 20 percent and calcareous throughout
A horizons:
Hue - 10YR
Value - 2 or 3
Chroma - 1 or 2
Texture - loamy fine sand or fine sandy loam, but, sandy loam or very fine sandy loam are within the range
ABk horizon is present in some pedons
Bk horizons:
Hue - 10YR or 2.5Y, hue of 5Y occurs in the lower part of the Bk horizon in some pedons
Value - 4 to 6
Chroma - 1 to 4
Texture - loamy sand, loamy fine sand, fine sand, sandy loam or fine sandy loam
BCk horizon is present in some pedons.
Cg horizons:
Hue - 10YR, 2.5Y or 5Y
Value - 4 to 6
Chroma - 2 or 6, colors with chroma of 2 are mostly in the lower profile
Texture - fine sand or loamy fine sand; but sand, coarse sand, or very fine sand subhorizons are in some pedons. Also, it has loamy, clayey or silty layers below depths of 102 centimeters inches in some pedons
Redoximorphic features - common
COMPETING SERIES: These are the
Karlsruhe and
Wyrene series. The Karlsruhe and Wyrene soils contain more than 30 percent medium sand and coarser in the particle-size control section.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Landform - plane to slightly convex slopes on glacial lake plains
Parent material - thick glaciolacustrine deposits that are dominated by fine sand
Slope - 0 to 3 percent
Elevation - 198 to 716 meters above sea level
Mean annual air temperature - 2 to 7 degrees C
Mean annual precipitation - 38 to 61 centimeters
Frost-free period - 90 to 155 days
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the
Arveson,
Flaming,
Fossum,
Hamar,
Hecla and
Rosewood soils. These soils are in a drainage sequence with Ulen.
Flaming and
Hecla - are moderately well drained and are on slightly higher lying positions
Arveson,
Fossum,
Hamar and
Rosewood - are poorly drained or very poorly drained, and they commonly are on nearby flats or depressions
Garborg - slightly higher landscape position and lacks a calcic horizon within 40 centimeters
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY:
Drainage class - somewhat poorly drained
Runoff - negligible or very low
Permeability - rapid
Depth to an apparent seasonal high water table - 46 to 110 centimeters at some time during the period of April through June in most years
USE AND VEGETATION: Soils are mostly cropped to small grains. In some places, potatoes, corn, and hay are important crops. A small amount of the Ulen soil is used for permanent pasture or is idle. Native vegetation was mostly tall grass prairie. An encroachment of trees, most commonly quaking aspen, has occurred on some areas.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT:
Physiographic Division-Interior Plains
Physiographic Province-Central Lowland
Physiographic section-Western Lake section
MLRAs - Red River Valley of the North (56);
Rolling Till Prairie (102A);
Northern Black Glaciated Plains (55A)
Central Black Glaciated Plains (55B)
Northern Minnesota Gray Drift (57)
Primarily in the eastern edge of the glacial Lake Agassiz basin of northwestern and west-central Minnesota and in eastern North Dakota and northeastern South Dakota
Extent - extensive
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: St. Paul, Minnesota
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Reconnaissance of the Red River Valley Area, Minnesota, in 1933.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized are:
Mollic epipedon - the zone from the surface to a depth of 33 centimeters (Ap and Ak horizons) Calcic horizon - the zone from 23 to 107 centimeters (Ak, Bk1 and Bk2 horizons)
Aquic moisture regime
Aeric subgroup due to 10YR hue and high chroma of 2 below mollic epipedon (Bk1 horizon).
Where correlated as moderately well drained phase or with slopes of more than 3 percent, a new series should be established (Aquic Calciudolls).
ADDITIONAL DATA: Laboratory analysis: S67MN107-003 and S67MN107-006 (in S67-Minn-54.5 - Lincoln Laboratory) and S92ND073-003. Also included are University of Minnesota lab data pedons; 74MN027(1880), 1976MN027-000(2261), and 1976MN113-007(2406).
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National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.