LOCATION WAGEN PRAIRIE MNEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, mixed, superactive, mesic Oxyaquic Argiudolls
TYPICAL PEDON: Wagen Prairie silt loam, on a southeast-facing, linear slope of 10 percent, in a pasture, at an elevation of about 328 meters above sea level. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)
A--0 to 25 centimeters; very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) silt loam, dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) dry; moderate fine and medium granular structure; very friable; slightly acid; clear wavy boundary. (25 to 48 centimeters thick)
Bt1--25 to 46 centimeters; dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) silt loam; moderate medium and fine subangular blocky structure; friable; common distinct clay films on faces of peds; moderately acid; gradual wavy boundary.
Bt2--46 to 66 centimeters; yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) silt loam; weak coarse subangular blocky structure parting to moderate medium subangular blocky; friable; few distinct clay films on faces of peds; moderately acid; abrupt wavy boundary. (Combined thickness of Bt horizon is 13 to 48 centimeters.)
2BC--66 to 94 centimeters; light olive brown (2.5Y 5/4) clay loam; weak coarse and medium subangular blocky structure; firm; about 14 percent gravel; common medium prominent strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) masses of iron accumulation; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline; abrupt wavy boundary. (0 to 58 centimeters thick)
3Cr--94 to 152 centimeters; olive (5Y 5/3) and greenish gray (10GY 5/1) clay shale; common coarse prominent red (2.5YR 5/6) mottles; weak very thick platy inherited rock structure; very firm; about 5 percent limestone channers and flags; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline.
TYPE LOCATION: Major Land Resource Area (MLRA) 104 - Eastern Iowa and Minnesota Till Prairies, Goodhue County, Minnesota subset; about 2 1/4 miles northeast of Wangs; located about 2,565 feet north and 640 feet east of the southwest corner of section 11, T. 111 N., R. 18 W.; USGS Sogn topographic quadrangle; lat. 44 degrees 26 minutes 07 seconds N. and long. 92 degrees 57 minutes 24 seconds W., NAD 83.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Depth to paralithic contact of shale--50 to 100 centimeters
Depth to till (when present)--38 to 69 centimeters
Depth to carbonates--50 to 100 centimeters
Clay content in the particle-size control section (weighted average)--20 to 28 percent
Sand content in the particle-size control section (weighted average)--15 to 45 percent
Special feature--some pedons have a loamy residual or colluvial layer, 15 to 43 centimeters thick of loam, clay loam or silty clay loam and their channery analogues at the base of the till or at the base of the silty mantle if till is absent
A or Ap (when present) horizon:
Hue--10YR
Value--2 or 3
Chroma--1 to 3
Texture--silt loam, loam or silty clay loam
Clay content--15 to 30 percent
Sand content--10 to 45 percent
Reaction--moderately acid to neutral
Bt horizon:
Hue--10YR
Value--4 or 5
Chroma--3 or 4
Texture--silt loam, silty clay loam, or loam
Clay content--22 to 32 percent
Sand content--15 to 30 percent
Reaction--strongly acid to slightly acid
2Bt horizon (when present):
Hue--10YR or 2.5Y
Value--4 or 5
Chroma--4 to 6
Texture--loam or clay loam
Clay content--20 to 30 percent
Sand content--25 to 45 percent
Reaction--strongly acid to neutral
Rock fragment content--2 to 15 percent
2BC horizon (when present):
Hue--10YR or 2.5Y
Value--4 to 6
Chroma--4 to 8
Texture--loam or clay loam
Clay content--18 to 30 percent, mean of 22 percent
Sand content--35 to 50 percent, mean of 44 percent
Reaction--slightly acid to moderately alkaline
Rock fragment content--2 to 15 percent
Moist bulk density--1.75 to 1.90 g/cc
3Cr horizon:
Hue--5Y, 10Y, 10GY or 5GY
Value--4 to 6
Chroma--1 to 4
Texture--silty clay shale or clay shale
Clay content--40 to 80 percent
Sand content--10 to 35 percent
Reaction--slightly alkaline to moderately alkaline
Rock fragment content--2 to 15 percent, primarily limestone fragments
Some pedons do not have carbonates in the upper part of the 3Cr horizon
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Balmoral, Barce, Mona, and Symerton series. None of these series have a paralithic contact with shale within a depth of 100 centimeters.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Parent material--50 to 100 centimeters of silty or loamy sediments and the underlying shale; generally the uppermost material is eolian, the material in the middle of the profile is till and the underlying material is Decorah shale, but some pedons have a thin layer of colluvium or residuum above the shale
Landform--side slopes on dissected bedrock-controlled uplands
Slope--6 to 35 percent
Elevation--200 to 400 meters above sea level
Mean annual air temperature--6 to 10 degrees C
Mean annual precipitation--735 to 965 millimeters
Frost-free period--145 to 205 days
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are
Colo,
Kenyon, and
Wangs soils.
Colo--are at lower landscape positions in flat to concave drainageways and are frequently saturated at the surface of the soil during the wettest periods in normal years
Kenyon--are at higher landscape positions on upper side slopes and summits and do not have a paralithic or lithic contact within a depth of 200 centimeters
Wangs--are at landscape positions similar to those of the Wagen Prairie soils on convex side slopes and have a paralithic contact with shale within a depth of 50 centimeters
DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY:
Drainage class--moderately well drained--a frequently saturated zone occurs at a depth of 0.75 meter during April to June in normal years and is perched on the shale
Saturated hydraulic conductivity--1.00 to 10.00 micrometers per second in the silty or loamy eolian sediments, 0.10 to 1.00 micrometers per second in the till, and 0.01 to 1.00 micrometers per second in the shale
Surface runoff potential--medium or high
USE AND VEGETATION:
Most areas are cultivated. The principal crops are small grains and hay. Some areas are pastured. Native vegetation is mixed big bluestem, little bluestem, switchgrass and other grasses of the tall grass prairie, or oak savanna.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT:
Physiographic Division--Interior Plains
Physiographic Province--Central Lowland
Physiographic sections--Dissected till plains and Wisconsin driftless section
MLRAs--Eastern Iowa and Minnesota Till Prairies (104) and Northern Mississppi Valley Loess Hills (105)
LRR M; southeast Minnesota
Extent--small
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Indianapolis, Indiana
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Goodhue County, Minnesota, 2007. The name is coined.
REMARKS:
Particle-size control section--the zone from a depth of 25 to 66 centimeters (Bt1, and Bt2 horizons);
series control section--the zone from the surface to a depth of 150 centimeters (A, Bt1, Bt2, 2BC, and 3Cr horizons).
Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon include:
mollic epipedon--the zone from the surface to a depth of 25 centimeters (A horizons);
argillic horizon--the zone from a depth of 25 to 66 centimeters (Bt1 and Bt2 horizons);
lithologic discontinuities--at the upper boundary of the 2BC and 3Cr horizons;
paralithic contact--the contact with the 3Cr horizon at a depth of 94 centimeters;
udic moisture regime.
Cation-exchange activity class is inferred from lab data from similar soils in the surrounding area.
The paralithic contact is Decorah Shale. Commonly there are isolated or thin beds of channers and flags of limestone in the shale matrix.
Taxonomy version--Keys to Soil Taxonomy, tenth edition, 2006.