LOCATION BELINDA            IA+MO

BELINDA SERIES

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine, smectitic, mesic Vertic Albaqualfs

TYPICAL PEDON: Belinda silt loam, on a slope of about 1 percent, in a cultivated field. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise noted.)

Ap--0 to 15 centimeters; very dark gray (10YR 3/1) silt loam, gray (10YR 5/1) dry; weak very thin platy and weak very fine granular structure; friable; few distinct gray (10YR 6/1) dry silt coats on faces of peds; neutral; clear smooth boundary. (15 to 25 centimeters thick)

E1--15 to 23 centimeters; dark gray (10YR 4/1) silt loam, gray (10YR 6/1) dry; kneaded dark gray (10YR 4/1); moderate medium platy structure; friable; many distinct light gray (10YR 7/1) dry silt coats on faces of peds; few fine dark reddish brown (5YR 2/2) accumulations (oxides); neutral; clear smooth boundary.

E2--23 to 38 centimeters; grayish brown (10YR 5/2) silt loam, light gray (10YR 7/2) dry; moderate thin platy structure parting to weak very thin platy; friable; few very fine dark reddish brown (5YR 2/2) and dark brown (7.5YR 3/2) accumulations (oxides); many distinct light gray (10YR 7/1) dry silt coats on faces of peds; slightly acid; clear smooth boundary.

E3--38 to 46 centimeters; grayish brown (2.5Y 5/2) and light brownish gray (2.5Y 6/2) silt loam, light gray (2.5Y 7/2) dry; weak medium platy structure; friable; few very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) coats on faces of peds; common distinct white (10YR 8/1) dry silt coats on faces of peds; few fine dark reddish brown (5YR 2/2) and dark brown (7.5YR 3/2) concretions; strongly acid; abrupt smooth boundary. (Combined thickness of the E horizon is 20 to 36 centimeters.)

BE--46 to 51 centimeters; dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) silty clay loam; moderate fine subangular blocky structure; firm; common distinct grayish brown (10YR 5/2) coats on faces of peds; common distinct light gray (10YR 7/1) dry silt coats on faces of peds; few fine dark reddish brown (5YR 2/2) and dark brown (7.5YR 3/2) concretions; strongly acid; abrupt smooth boundary. (0 to 5 centimeters thick)

Btg1--51 to 58 centimeters; dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) silty clay; strong very fine subangular blocky structure; very firm; many distinct clay films on faces of peds; very dark gray (10YR 3/1) and very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) coats on faces of peds; few fine dark reddish brown (5YR 2/2) concretions; few fine distinct olive brown (2.5Y 4/4) redoximorphic concentrations; strongly acid; gradual smooth boundary.

Btg2--58 to 84 centimeters; dark grayish brown (2.5Y 4/2) silty clay; strong fine subangular blocky structure; very firm; many distinct clay films on faces of peds; very dark grayish brown (2.5Y 3/2) faces of peds; few black (10YR 2/1) clay fills along surfaces of root channels; few fine dark reddish brown (5YR 2/2) and dark brown (7.5YR 3/2) concretions; few fine distinct olive brown (2.5Y 4/4) redoximorphic concentrations; moderately acid; gradual smooth boundary.

Btg3--84 to 104 centimeters; grayish brown (2.5Y 5/2) silty clay; weak fine prismatic structure parting to moderate fine subangular blocky; firm; many distinct clay films on faces of peds; few distinct dark grayish brown (2.5Y 4/2) and very dark gray (10YR 3/1) coats on some peds; few very dark gray (10YR 3/1) clay-filled channels; common fine and medium dark reddish brown (5YR 2/2) concretions; common fine distinct dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) and yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) redoximorphic concentrations, which increase in abundance as depth increases; moderately acid; gradual smooth boundary.

Btg4--104 to 152 centimeters; mottled yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) and olive gray (5Y 5/2) silty clay loam; weak medium prismatic structure; firm; common distinct very dark gray (10YR 3/1) and dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) clay films on faces of prisms; common black (10YR 2/1) or very dark gray (10YR 3/1) clay along surfaces of pores becoming more numerous with depth; common fine and medium dark reddish brown (5YR 2/2) concretions; moderately acid; gradual smooth boundary. (Combined thickness of the Btg horizon is 80 to 135 centimeters.)

Cg--152 to 178 centimeters; light olive gray (5Y 6/2) silty clay loam; massive; firm; common fine dark reddish brown (5YR 2/2) concretions; common fine and medium prominent yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) and strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) redoximorphic concentrations; slightly acid.

TYPE LOCATION: Major Land Resource Area (MLRA) 109- Iowa and Missouri Heavy Till Plain, Monroe County, Iowa subset; about 3 miles south and 3 miles west of Albia; located about 420 feet north and 1,370 feet east of the southwest corner of section 31, T. 72 N., R. 17 W.; USGS Moravia topographic quadrangle; lat. 40 degrees 59 minutes 14 seconds N. and long. 92 degrees 51 minutes 51 seconds W., NAD 83.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Depth to carbonates--more than 150 centimeters
Content of clay in the particle-size control section (weighted average)--42 to 48 percent
Content of sand in the particle-size control section (weighted average)--less than 10 percent

Ap or A horizon:
Hue--10YR
Value--2 or 3
Chroma--1 or 2
Texture--silt loam
Clay content--16 to 24 percent
Sand content--less than 10 percent
Rock fragment content--0 percent
Reaction--moderately acid to neutral

E horizon:
Hue--10YR or 2.5Y
Value--4 to 6
Chroma--1 or 2
Texture--silt loam or silty clay loam
Clay content--18 to 32 percent
Sand content--less than 10 percent
Rock fragment content--0 percent
Reaction--very strongly acid to neutral

BE horizon (when present):
Hue--10YR or 2.5Y
Value--4 or 5
Chroma--2
Texture--silty clay loam
Clay content--27 to 35 percent
Sand content--less than 10 percent
Rock fragment content--0 percent
Reaction--very strongly acid to slightly acid

Btg horizon:
Hue--10YR, 2.5Y, or 5Y
Value--4 or 5
Chroma--1 or 2 in the upper part, 1 to 4 in the lower part
Texture--silty clay or silty clay loam
Clay content--35 to 52 percent
Sand content--less than 10 percent
Rock fragment content--0 percent
Reaction--very strongly acid to slightly acid

BCg (when present) or Cg horizon:
Hue--2.5Y or 5Y
Value--4 to 6
Chroma--1 or 2
Texture--silty clay loam or silt loam
Clay content--24 to 35 percent
Sand content--less than 10 percent
Rock fragment content--0 percent
Reaction--strongly acid to slightly acid

COMPETING SERIES: These are the Adco, Appanoose, Awbrig, Chariton, Dayton, Glensted, Putnam, Rubio, and Wagner series.
Adco--have dominant chroma of 3 or 4 in some part of the upper 50 centimeters of the argillic horizon
Appanoose--have a clay content that averages 48 to 55 percent in the particle-size control section
Awbrig--have a clay content that averages 50 to 60 percent in the particle-size control section
Chariton--have a clay content that averages 48 to 60 percent in the particle-size control section
Dayton--are in areas that have a mean annual precipitation range of 1,010 to 1,270 millimeters and have a lithologic discontinuity between depths of 30 and 60 centimeters
Glensted--have a rock fragment content (chert) of 1 to 30 percent within a depth of 75 centimeters
Putnam--have a clay content that averages 48 to 60 percent in the particle-size control section
Rubio--have a clay content that averages 35 to 42 percent in the particle-size control section
Wagner--have carbonates in the lower third of the series control section

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Parent material--loess
Landform--nearly level upland divides and stream terraces
Slope--0 to 2 percent
Elevation--240 to 335 meters above sea level
Mean annual air temperature--10 to 12 degrees C
Mean annual precipitation--780 to 900 millimeters
Frost-free period--155 to 180 days

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Beckwith, Haig and Pershing soils.
Beckwith--are in landscape positions similar to the Belinda soils and have surface layers with matrix color value of 4 or more (moist) or 6 or more (dry)
Haig--occur in landscape positions similar to the Belinda soils and have a mollic epipedon 50 to 90 centimeters thick
Pershing--are on slightly lower landscape positions on side slopes and have a frequently saturated zone at a depth of 0.3 meter during the wettest periods of normal years

DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY:
Drainage class--poorly drained--these soils are frequently saturated at the soil surface during the wettest portions of normal years
Saturated hydraulic conductivity--0.01 to 0.10 micrometers per second (low)
Surface runoff potential--negligible to high
Ponding--frequently ponded to depths of 0 to 0.15 meters during the wettest periods of normal years, after snowmelt or after significant rainfall events

USE AND VEGETATION:
Most areas are cultivated. The principal crops are corn, soybean, small grain, and grass-legume hay. The native vegetation is mixed big bluestem, little bluestem, switchgrass, other grasses of the tall grass prairie and deciduous trees (oak-hickory).

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT:
Physiographic Division--Interior Plains
Physiographic Province--Central Lowland
Physiographic section--Dissected till plains
MLRAs--Illinois and Iowa Deep Loess and Drift (108) and Iowa and Missouri Heavy Till Plain (109)
LRR M; southern Iowa and northern Missouri
Extent--small

MLRA OFFICE RESPONSIBLE: St. Paul, Minnesota

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Lucas County, Iowa, 1957.

REMARKS:
Particle-size control section--the zone from a depth of 51 to 101 centimeters;
series control section--the zone from the surface to a depth of 150 centimeters.

Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon include:
ochric epipedon--the zone from the surface to a depth of 51 centimeters (Ap, E1, E2, E3, and BE horizons);
albic horizon--the zone from 15 to 46 centimeters (E1, E2, and E3 horizons);
argillic horizon--the zone from 51 to 152 centimeters (Btg1, Btg2, Btg3, and Btg4 horizons);
aquic moisture regime.

Vertic subgroup based on linear extensibility greater than 6.0 centimeters between the surface and a depth of 100 centimeters.

Some pedons included in mapping do not have the 20 percent clay increase within 7 centimeters as required for abrupt clay increase, but the finest part of the Bt horizon contains at least double the amount of clay the E horizon contains.

Taxonomy version--Keys to Soil Taxonomy, tenth edition, 2006.

ADDITIONAL DATA:
Laboratory data--Iowa State University, Ames, IA - particle-size analysis of the typical pedon.