LOCATION WARBA MNEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, mixed, superactive, frigid Haplic Glossudalfs
TYPICAL PEDON: Warba very fine sandy loam, on a northeast-facing, convex slope of 4 percent, about 50 feet below the crest of a knoll, on a till plain, under northern hardwoods forest. This pedon represents the moderately well drained phase. (Colors are for moist soils unless otherwise noted.)
O--0 to 2 inches; dark reddish brown (5YR 2/2) forest litter derived from leaves, twigs and roots. (0 to 3 inches thick)
A--2 to 3 inches; very dark gray (10YR 3/1) very fine sandy loam, gray (10YR 5/1) dry; weak very fine granular structure; very friable; many fine and very fine roots; about 4 percent gravel; moderately acid; abrupt smooth boundary. (0 to 2 inches thick)
E1--3 to 8 inches; grayish brown (10YR 5/2) very fine sandy loam; light gray (10YR 7/2) dry; weak thin platy structure; very friable; many very fine and fine roots; few vesicular pores; about 5 percent gravel; strongly acid; clear wavy boundary.
E2--8 to 13 inches; light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) very fine sandy loam; light gray (10YR 7/1) dry; moderate thin platy structure; friable; many fine and very fine roots; common vesicular pores; about 3 percent gravel; moderately acid; abrupt wavy boundary. (Combined thickness of the E horizon is 5 to 13 inches.)
E/B--13 to 17 inches; 70 percent light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) very fine sandy loam (E); massive; friable; tongued into and surrounding 30 percent brown (10YR 4/3) clay loam (Bt); weak coarse subangular blocky structure; firm; many fine and very fine roots; few pores; about 3 percent gravel; moderately acid; clear wavy boundary.
B/E--17 to 20 inches; 75 percent brown (10YR 4/3) clay loam (Bt); moderate medium and coarse subangular blocky structure; firm; with 25 percent tongues of light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) loamy very fine sand (E); massive; friable; few fine and very fine roots; few pores; about 3 percent gravel; moderately acid; clear wavy boundary. (Combined thickness of the glossic horizon is 3 to 14 inches.)
Bt1--20 to 26 inches; light olive brown (2.5Y 5/4) clay loam; strong medium prismatic structure that parts to moderate medium angular blocky structure; firm; few very fine and fine roots; few pores; many distinct brown (10YR 4/3) clay films on faces of peds and in pores; few faint ped coats of E material; about 3 percent gravel; moderately acid; clear wavy boundary.
Bt2--26 to 31 inches; light olive brown (2.5Y 5/4) clay loam; moderate coarse prismatic structure parting to moderate medium angular blocky structure; firm; few very fine roots; few pores; many distinct thin brown (10YR 4/3) clay films on faces of peds and in pores; few clean sand grains on some of the vertical faces of peds; about 4 percent gravel; moderately acid; clear wavy boundary.
Bt3--31 to 39 inches; light olive brown (2.5Y 5/4) clay loam; weak very coarse prismatic structure; friable; few very fine roots; few pores; common distinct brown (10YR 4/3) clay films on faces of peds; very few fine soft manganese nodules; about 4 percent gravel; moderately acid; clear wavy boundary. (Combined thickness of the Bt horizon is 12 to 36 inches.)
C1--39 to 44 inches; light olive brown (2.5Y 5/4) loam; massive; friable; few very fine roots; few pores; few fine prominent yellowish red (5YR 5/6) Fe concentrations; about 5 percent gravel; neutral; clear wavy boundary.
C2--44 to 60 inches; light olive brown (2.5Y 5/4) loam; massive; friable; few very fine roots; few pores; few fine prominent yellowish red (5YR 5/6) Fe concentrations; about 6 percent gravel; slightly effervescent; slightly alkaline.
TYPE LOCATION: Cass County, Minnesota; in the Pike Bay Experimental Forest, about 3.5 miles east and 3.7 miles south of the community of Cass Lake; located about 990 feet north and 1,270 feet west of the southeast corner of sec. 31, T. 145 N., R. 30 W.; USGS Pike Bay topographic quadrangle; lat. 47 degrees 19 minutes 34 seconds N. and long. 94 degrees 31 minutes 42 seconds W., NAD 83.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Depth to carbonates ranges from 35 and 70 inches. The till has 2 to 12 percent by volume of rock fragments of mixed lithology, but typically high in gray, extremely hard, flat shale. Most pedons have a few cobblestones throughout the soil. The soil moisture control section is not dry in any part for as long as 90 cumulative days in most years. Many pedons have a mantle with a high content of coarse silt and very fine sand. It is as much as 20 inches thick. It has 0 to 5 percent by volume of rock fragments.
The O horizons have hue of 10YR to 5YR, value of 2 to 4, and chroma of 1 to 3. It is Oa, Oe or Oi. It is comprised of accumulated forest litter of deciduous tree leaves, coniferous tree needles and remains of forest floor flora.
The A horizon has value of 2 or 3 and chroma of 1 or 2. The E horizon has value of 4 to 6 and chroma of 2 or value of 6 and chroma of 3. The A and E horizons are very fine sandy loam, silt loam, fine sandy loam or loam. They are strongly acid to slightly acid. Some pedons have an Ap horizon with dry value of 5 or higher.
The glossic horizon consists of an E/B or B/E or both. The E and Bt material each occupy 15 percent or more of the horizon. Colors and textures are similar to E and Bt horizons respectively.
The Bt horizon has matrix hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 4 to 6, and a typical chroma of 3 or 4. Some pedons have a minor amount of chroma of 2 beginning 10 inches or more below the upper boundary of the Bt horizon. It is clay loam, loam or sandy clay loam having 20 to 35 percent of clay. It typically has 30 to 40 percent of fine sand and coarser sand. It averages less than 45 percent sand. It commonly is moderately acid to neutral but may be strongly acid in the upper part. It has manganese oxide nodules in the lower part in some pedons. Some pedons have a Bk horizon.
The C horizon has hue of 2.5Y or 10YR, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 3 or 4. Most pedons have high chroma Fe concentrations. It is loam, sandy clay loam, or clay loam. It is neutral to moderately alkaline. Below the upper few inches it has calcium carbonate equivalent in the range of about 5 to 15 percent.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Bamfield, Cushing, Duluth, Lozeau, and Sol series. The Cushing soils average less than 25 percent clay and greater than 45 percent total sand in the Bt and C horizon. The Bamfield and Duluth soils have hue of 7.5YR or redder in the middle and lower third of the series control section. Lozeau soils have a paralithic contact above a depth of 40 inches. The Sol soils have less than 18 percent clay in the lower one-third of the series control section and have more than 45 percent sand in the argillic horizon and below.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: The Warba soils have convex and plane slopes on moraines. Slope ranges from 1 to 25 percent, mainly 1 to 6 percent. They formed in calcareous loamy till in the late Wisconsinan glaciation. Mean annual air temperature ranges from 36 to 42 degrees F. Mean annual precipitation ranges from 22 to 28 inches. Frost-free period ranges from 88 to 135 days. Elevation ranges from 1,000 to 1,600 feet above sea level.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are Stuntz and Talmoon soils, members of a hydrosequence with Warba soils. The somewhat poorly drained Stuntz soils are less sloping with slightly concave slopes and the very poorly drained Talmoon soils are in shallow depressions. Cathro, Greenwood, Lupton, Mooselake, and Seelyeville are organic soils in adjacent depressions.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Moderately well and well drained. Permeability is moderate to moderately rapid in the upper part and moderately slow in the lower part. Runoff is moderately low to high depending upon slope. The moderately well drained phase has an apparent water table at 3.5 to 6.0 feet at some time during April to May in normal years.
USE AND VEGETATION: Most of this soil is forested. Main trees are basswood, quaking aspen, red oak, sugar maple, and white spruce. A minor amount is cleared for the production of hay, pasture, and small grains.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: North-central Minnesota. Extensive.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: St. Paul, Minnesota
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Itasca County, Minnesota, 1982.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are: ochric epipedon - the zone from the mineral soil surface to 15 inches (A, E1, E2, E/B horizons); albic horizons - the zones from 1 to 15 inches (E1, E2, and E/B horizons); glossic horizon - the zone from 6 to 15 inches (E/B and B/E horizons); argillic horizon - the zone from 15 to 37 inches (B/E, Bt1, Bt2 and Bt3 horizons); Base saturation above 60 percent in all parts of argillic horizon.
The moderately wet phase needs field study to determine if it does or does not qualify as an Oxyaquic subgroup of Glossudalfs.
ADDITIONAL DATA: Refer to MAES Central File Code No. 879 for results of some laboratory analyses of the typifying pedon and to Nos. 733 and 796 for data on two other pedons. Soil Interpretation Record numbers are MN0140 and MN0708, moderate wet phase.