LOCATION LOWLEIN MNEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Coarse-loamy, mixed, superactive, mesic Oxyaquic Hapludolls
TYPICAL PEDON: Lowlein sandy loam, on a north-facing slope of 2 percent, in a corn field, at an elevation of about 1,110 feet. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)
Ap--0 to 10 inches; black (10YR 2/1) sandy loam, very dark gray (10YR 3/1) dry; weak fine granular structure; friable; common roots; about 1 percent rock fragments; slightly acid; abrupt smooth boundary. (6 to 10 inches thick)
A--10 to 14 inches thick; very dark gray (10YR 3/1) sandy loam, dark gray (10YR 4/1) dry; weak fine and medium subangular blocky structure; friable; few roots; about 1 percent rock fragments; slightly acid; clear wavy boundary. (0 to 8 inches thick)
Bw1--14 to 24 inches; brown (10YR 4/3) sandy loam; weak fine subangular blocky structure; friable; about 2 percent rock fragments; slightly acid; clear wavy boundary. (4 to 12 inches thick)
2Bw2--24 to 31 inches; olive brown (2.5Y 4/4) loamy sand; weak fine subangular blocky structure; very friable; common medium distinct grayish brown (2.5Y 5/2) iron depletions; about 2 percent rock fragments; neutral; abrupt wavy boundary. (6 to 10 inches thick)
3C--31 to 60 inches; olive gray (5Y 5/2) loam; massive; friable; common medium distinct light olive brown (2.5Y 5/4) iron concentrations; about 3 percent rock fragments; slightly effervescent; slightly alkaline.
TYPE LOCATION: Kandiyohi County, Minnesota; about 3.5 miles east and 4 miles south of Willmar; located about 1,920 feet east and 760 feet south of the northwest corner of section 8, T. 118 N., R. 34 W.; USGS Little Kandiyohi Lake topographic quadrangle; lat. 45 degrees 03 minutes 03 seconds N. and long. 94 degrees 58 minutes 29 seconds W., NAD 83.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: The depth to loamy glacial till and depth to carbonates ranges from 24 to 40 inches. The mollic epipedon ranges from 10 to 18 inches in thickness. Content of rock fragments of mixed lithology ranges from 1 to 10 percent. Some pedons have a thin pebble band with as much as 60 percent rock fragments at the contact with the glacial till. The particle-size control section has 8 to 18 percent clay.
The A horizon has value of 2 or 3 and chroma of 1 or 2. It is loam, sandy loam, fine sandy loam or silt loam. It is neutral or slightly acid.
Some pedons have an AB horizon.
The Bw horizon has hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 4 or 5 and chroma of 3 or 4. It is sandy loam, fine sandy loam, or loam. The reaction is slightly acid or neutral.
The 2Bw horizon has hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 4 or 5 and chroma of 2 to 4. It is loamy sand, fine sand, sand or their gravelly analogues. The reaction is slightly acid to slightly alkaline.
Some pedons have a 3Bk horizon with colors and textures similar to the 3C horizon but have common or many threads or masses of carbonates.
The 3C horizon has hue of 2.5Y or 5Y, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 2 to 4. It is loam, clay loam, silt loam, or silty clay loam. It is slightly or moderately alkaline.
COMPETING SERIES: This is the Dawn series. Dawn soils have soft bedrock within depths of 20 to 40 inches.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Lowlein soils are on ground moraines, glacial lake plains and stream terraces. Slopes are smooth and plain to convex with gradients of 0 to 5 percent. These soils formed in outwash that is 24 to 40 inches thick overlying calcareous loam glacial till or lacustrine sediments of the Des Moines Lobe of the Late Wisconsinan glaciation. Mean annual air temperature ranges from 45 to 52 degrees F. Mean annual precipitation ranges from 22 to 28 inches.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Amiret, Clarion, Coriff, Corunna, Nicollet and Normania soils and the Clarion, Coriff, Corunna, Fieldon soils. The well drained Amiret, moderately well drained Clarion, somewhat poorly drained Nicollet, and moderately well drained Normania soils do not have an upper mantle of outwash. The poorly drained Coriff, Corunna, and Fieldon soils have yellower hues and/or lower chroma in the B horizon. In addition, Fieldon soils do not have loamy C horizons within a depth of 40 inches.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Moderately well drained. Surface runoff is low. Permeability is moderate. The depth to seasonal high saturation is 2.5 feet in March to June in normal years.
USE AND VEGETATION: Most areas are cultivated. The principal crops are corn, soybeans, hay, and small grains. Native vegetation is mixed tall grass prairie species.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: LRR M. MLRA 103. South central and southwestern Minnesota. This series is inextensive.
MLRA OFFICE RESPONSIBLE: St. Paul, Minnesota
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Stearns County, Minnesota, 1981.
REMARKS:
Particle-size control section--the zone from a depth of 10 to 40 inches (A, Bw1, 2Bw2, and 3C horizons);
series control section--the zone from the surface to a depth of 60 inches) (Ap, A, Bw1, 2Bw2, and 3C horizons).
Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon include:
mollic epipedon--the zone from the surface to a depth of 14 inches (Ap and A horizons);
cambic horizon--the zone from a depth of 14 to 31 inches (Bw1 and 2Bw2 horizons);
udic moisture regime.
Oxyaquic subgroup based on a zone of saturation within 100 centimeters (39 inches) for 20 or more consecutive days or 30 or more cumulative days in normal years.
Taxonomy version--Keys to Soil Taxonomy, ninth edition, 2003.