LOCATION FLAGG IL+WIEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-silty, mixed, superactive, mesic Typic Hapludalfs
TYPICAL PEDON: Flagg silt loam on a west-facing, convex, moderately eroded, 8 percent slope at an elevation of 256 meters (840 feet). (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)
Ap--0 to 18 cm (0 to 7 inches); brown (10YR 4/3) silt loam, pale brown (10YR 6/3) dry; moderate medium granular structure; friable; slightly alkaline; abrupt smooth boundary. [5 to 18 cm (2 to 7 inches thick)]
BE--18 to 40 cm (7 to 16 inches); dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) silt loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; friable; neutral; gradual smooth boundary. [0 to 20 cm (0 to 9 inches thick)]
Bt1--40 to 83 cm (16 to 33 inches); dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) silt loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; friable; common distinct brown (10YR 4/3) clay films on faces of peds; neutral; clear wavy boundary. [36 to 76 cm (14 to 30 inches)]
2Bt2--83 to 103 cm (33 to 41 inches); brown (7.5YR 4/4) silty clay loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; firm; common distinct brown (7.5YR 4/3) clay films on faces of peds; 5 percent pebbles; moderately acid; gradual wavy boundary.
2Bt3--103 to 120 cm (41 to 48 inches); brown (7.5YR 4/4) silty clay loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; firm; common distinct brown (7.5YR 4/3) clay films on faces of peds; 5 percent pebbles; slightly acid; clear wavy boundary.
2Bt4--120 to 165 cm (48 to 66 inches); yellowish red (5YR 4/6) silty clay loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; firm; common distinct reddish brown (5YR 4/4) clay films on faces of peds; 5 percent pebbles; neutral; gradual wavy boundary.
2Bt5--165 to 200 cm (66 to 80 inches); strong brown (7.5YR 4/6) silty clay loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; firm; common distinct brown (7.5YR 4/4) clay films on faces of peds; 5 percent pebbles; neutral; gradual wavy boundary.
2Bt6--200 to 220 cm (80 to 88 inches); strong brown (7.5YR 4/6) clay loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; firm; common distinct brown (7.5YR 4/4) clay films on faces of peds; 5 percent pebbles; slightly acid; clear wavy boundary. [Combined thickness of the 2Bt horizon is greater than 25 cm (10 inches)]
2BC--220 to 272 cm (88 to 108 inches); reddish brown (5YR 4/4) sandy clay loam; weak medium subangular blocky structure; friable; few distinct reddish brown (5YR 4/3) clay films on faces of peds; 5 percent pebbles; neutral.
TYPE LOCATION: Stephenson County, Illinois; about 2 miles northwest of Ridott; 2,600 feet north and 850 feet east of the southwest corner of sec. 20, T. 27 N., R. 9 E.; USGS Ridott topographic quadrangle; lat. 42 degrees 19 minutes 25 seconds N. and long. 89 degrees 29 minutes 31 seconds W., NAD 83.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: The solum thickness is greater than 152 cm (60 inches). The loess thickness ranges from 76 to 127 cm (30 to 50 inches) thick. The solum ranges from very strongly acid to neutral except for Ap horizons that have been limed are neutral or slightly alkaline. The particle-size control section averages 25 to 35 percent clay.
The A horizon has hue of 10YR, value of 2 or 3, and chroma of 2. In cultivated areas the Ap horizon typically has hue of 10YR, value of 4 or 5, and chroma of 2 or 3. It is silt loam.
The E horizon, where present, typically has colors similar to the Ap horizon. It is silt loam. It typically averages less clay percentage than the A horizon.
The BE horizon has hue of 10YR or 7.5YR, value of 4 or 5, and chroma of 3 or 4. it is silt loam or silty clay loam
The Bt horizon, formed in loess, has hue of 7.5YR or 10YR, value of 4 or 5, and chroma of 3 to 5. It is silty clay loam or silt loam. It averages 0 to 5 percent fine sand or coarser material.
The 2Bt horizon has hue of 2.5YR, 5YR, or 7.5YR, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 4 to 6. It has a Hue of 5YR or redder on faces of peds or in the matrix in at least one subhorizon of the 2Bt horizon. Many of the properties of the 2Bt horizon are believed to have been inherited from a paleosol of late Sangamon Age. It is silty clay loam, clay loam, sandy clay loam or loam.
The 2C horizon, where present, is loam, clay loam, or sandy loam. It is neutral or slightly alkaline and in some pedons contains free carbonates.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Bertrand, Blackhammer, Camden, Dodge, Dubuque, Fayette, Greenridge, Hackers, Jackson, Jemerson, Knowles, La Farge, Lambeau, Lomira, , Martinsburg, Menfro, , Middletown, Navlys, Palermo, Palsgrove, Pepin, Piscasaw, Ridgway, Rozetta, Ruma, Rush, Russell, Seaton, St. Charles, Stookey, Sylvan, Thebes, and Yellowriver soils in the same family. The, Fayette, Jemerson, Menfro, Navlys, Palermo, Rozetta, Seaton, and Stooky soils contain less sand in the lower part of the sola and are formed in loess. Dubuque, Knowles, La Farge, Palsgrove, and Pepin soils have a lithic contact within the series control section. Bertrand, Camden, Hackers, Jackson, Ridgeway, St. Charles, and Thebes soils contain more sand in the lower sola and are stratified in the lower B horizons and C horizons. Blackhammer soils commonly have more chert and sandstone rock fragments in the lower part of the solum. Dodge, Russell, and Yellowriver soils have thinner sola and do not have 2Bt horizons formed in paleosols. Lambeau, Lomira, Middletown, and Rush soils have coarser textures in the lower part of the solum and underlying material. Greenridge soils have hues yellower than 10YR in the 2Bt horizons. Martinsburg soils have thicker E horizons. Piscasaw soils average more than 20 percent clay in the 2C horizons. Ruma soils have finer textures in the lower part of the solum and underlying material.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Flagg soils are on nearly level to moderately steep till plains and moraines. Slope gradient ranges from 0 to 20 percent. These soils formed in 76 to 127 cm (30 to 50 inches) of loess and late Sangamon paleosols formed in sandy loam, loam, or clay loam Illinoian till. Summers are hot and winters are cold. Mean annual temperature is between 7 to 14 degrees C (45 and 57 degrees F), and mean annual precipitation ranges from 710 to 1020 mm (28 to 40 inches).
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Myrtle, Ogle, Pecatonica, and Westville soils. The Myrtle and Ogle form a biosequence with the Flagg soils. Pecatonica and Westville soils have thinner mantles of loess than Flagg soils and are found down slope from Flagg.
DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY: Well drained. Saturated hydraulic
conductivity is 4.23 to 14.11 micrometers per second (moderate permeability). Surface runoff is low or medium.
USE AND VEGETATION: The soils are used mostly for cultivated crops such as corn, small grain, and meadow. Native vegetation was hardwood trees.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Northwestern Illinois and possibly extreme eastern Iowa, southeastern Minnesota, and southwestern Wisconsin; LRRs K and M, MLRAs: 95B, 105, and 108B. The series is of moderate extent.
MLRA OFFICE RESPONSIBLE: Indianapolis, Indiana
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Stephenson County, Illinois, 1969.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon -- from a depth of 0 to 41 cm (0 to 16 inches) (A and BE horizons)
argillic horizon -from a depth of 41 to 224 cm (16 to 88 inches) (Bt and 2Bt horizons)
Udic soil moisture regime; Mesic temperature regime
Particle-size control section -- from a depth of 41 to 91 cm (16 to 36 inches) (Bt1 and 2Bt2 horizons)
Series control section -- from a depth of 0 to 200 cm (0 to 80 inches) (A, BE, Bt1, 2Bt2, 2Bt3, 2Bt4, and 2Bt5 horizons)