Official Series Description - COLAND Series (2024)

LOCATION COLANDIA+MN MO

Established Series
Rev. KDV-ECS-RJB
06/2015

The Coland series consists of very deep, poorly drained soils formed in alluvium. These soils are on floodplains and alluvial fans in river valleys and upland drainageways in dissected till plains. Slope ranges from 0 to 5 percent. Mean annual air temperature is about 10 degrees C. Mean annual precipitation is about 900 millimeters.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, mixed, superactive, mesic Cumulic Endoaquolls

TYPICAL PEDON: Coland silty clay loam, on a level floodplain, in a bluegrass pasture. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)

Ap--0 to 20 centimeters; black (N 2/0) silty clay loam, very dark gray (10YR 3/1) dry; high content of sand; moderate very fine granular structure; friable; slightly acid; clear smooth boundary.

A1--20 to 41 centimeters; black (N 2/0) silty clay loam, very dark gray (10YR 3/1) dry; moderate content of sand; moderate very fine and fine granular structure; friable; slightly acid; gradual smooth boundary.

A2--41 to 81 centimeters; black (N 2/0) silty clay loam, very dark gray (10YR 3/1) dry; moderate content of sand; moderate very fine subangular blocky structure; firm; slightly acid; gradual smooth boundary. (Combined thickness of the A horizon is 60 to 90 centimeters.)

AB--81 to 102 centimeters; black (5Y 2/1) clay loam, very dark gray (5Y 3/1) dry; weak fine prismatic structure parting to weak medium subangular blocky; firm; few medium prominent dark reddish brown (5YR 3/3) redoximorphic concentrations; slightly acid; clear smooth boundary. (0 to 30 centimeters thick)

Bg1--102 to 112 centimeters; gray (5Y 5/1) sandy loam; moderate fine prismatic structure; friable; slightly acid; clear smooth boundary.

See Also

LandIS - Land Information System

Cg horizon:
Hue--10YR to 5Y, or is neutral
Value--2 to 6
Chroma--0 to 2
Texture--clay loam, loam, or sandy loam
Clay content--12 to 30 percent
Sand content--30 to 60 percent
Reaction--slightly acid to slightly alkaline

Some pedons have thin strata of silty clay to loamy sand

Some pedons have sandy or gravelly sediments below a depth of 150 centimeters

COMPETING SERIES: These are the Comfrey, Delft, Excello, Gielow, Glencoe, Gus, James Canyon, Keddie, Kimmerling, Konner, Lundlake, McClave, Peoh, Romnell, Roundval, Shandep, and Wenas series.
Comfrey--have mollic epipedons between 60 to 90 centimeters thick and have carbonates within depths of 46 to 152 centimeters
Delft--have a rock fragment content of 1 to 10 percent in the lower third of the series control section
Excello--have a frequently saturated zone between the surface of the soil and a depth of 0.9 meter during the wettest portions of years when precipitation is within one standard deviation of the 30 year mean of annual precipitation (see remarks)
Gielow--have a clay content that averages 18 to 27 percent clay in the particle-size control section
Glencoe--have a rock fragment content of 2 to 8 percent in the lower third of the series control section
Gus--have mollic epipedons from 60 to 90 centimeters thick
James Canyon--have a rock fragment content of 15 to 35 percent in the particle-size control section
Keddie--have a clay content that averages 18 to 27 percent in the particle-size control section
Kimmerling--have an aridic moisture regime during the growing season in normal years
Konner--are in areas that have a mean annual precipitation range of 380 to 560 millimeters and have a frequently saturated zone below a depth of 0.3 meter during the wettest portions of years when precipitation is within one standard deviation of the 30 year mean of annual precipitation
Lundlake--have a rock fragment content of 1 to 15 percent in the lower half of the series control section
McClave--are in areas that have a mean annual precipitation of about 410 millimeters
Peoh--have mollic epipedons 60 to 90 centimeters thick and are in areas that have a mean annual precipitation range of 380 to 640 millimeters
Romnell--have carbonates within depths of 76 to 140 centimeters and have a rock fragment content of 5 to 20 percent in the lower half of the series control section
Roundval--are in areas that have a mean annual precipitation range of 100 to 200 millimeters and have a mean annual air temperature range of 15 to 17 degrees C
Shandep--have a sand content of more than 70 percent in the lower third of the series control section
Wenas--are in areas that have a mean annual precipitation range of 200 to 300 millimeters and have a rock fragment content of 5 to 50 percent in the lower third of the series control section

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Parent material--alluvium
Landform--floodplains and alluvial fans in river valleys and upland drainageways in dissected till plains
Slope--0 to 5 percent
Mean annual air temperature--6 to 14 degrees C
Mean annual precipitation--585 to 1,220 millimeters
Elevation--100 to 520 meters above sea level
Frost-free period--150 to 230 days

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Marshan, Spillville, Turlin and Wapsie soils.
Marshan--are on landscape positions similar to those of the Coland soils and have a rock fragment content of 5 to 50 percent in the lower half of the series control section
Spillville--are on slightly higher landscape positions and have a clay content that averages 18 to 26 percent in the particle-size control section
Turlin--are on slightly higher landscape positions and have a frequently saturated zone within depths of 0.3 to 0.9 meter during the wettest portions of years when precipitation is within one standard deviation of the 30 year mean of annual precipitation
Wapsie--are on slightly higher landscape positions on stream terraces and have a sand content of more than 70 percent in the lower third of the series control section

DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY:
Drainage class--poorly drained--these soils are frequently saturated between the soil surface and a depth of 0.3 meter during the wettest portions of years when precipitation is within one standard deviation of the 30 year mean of annual precipitation and this saturation is considered apparent
Saturated hydraulic conductivity--1.00 to 10.00 micrometers per second
Flooding--rarely flooded to frequently flooded for brief to long periods during the months of February to November from precipitation events and snowmelt

USE AND VEGETATION:
Most areas are cultivated. The principal crops are corn and soybeans, small grains, and hay. A few areas are in permanent pasture with some scattered willow and cottonwood trees. The native vegetation is big bluestem, western wheatgrass, sedges, blue grama and other species of the tall grass prairie that are tolerant of excessive wetness. See Additional Data section for native vegetative cover in Iowa and Minnesota.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT:
Physiographic Division--Interior Plains
Physiographic Province--Central Lowland
Physiographic sections--Western lake section and Dissected till plains
MLRAs--Central Iowa and Minnesota Till Prairies (103), Eastern Iowa and Minnesota Till Prairies (104), Iowa and Minnesota Loess Hills (107A), Illinois and Iowa Deep Loess and Drift (108), and Central Mississippi Valley Wooded Slopes, Western Part (115B)
LRR M; Iowa, Missouri, and southern Minnesota
Extent--large

MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Indianapolis, Indiana

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Mitchell County, Iowa, 1971.

REMARKS:
Particle-size control section--the zone from a depth of 25 to 100 centimeters;
series control section--the zone from the surface to a depth of 150 centimeters.

Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon include:
mollic epipedon--the zone from the surface to a depth of 102 centimeters (Ap, A1, A2, and AB horizons);
cambic horizon--the zone from a depth of 102 to 132 centimeters (Bg1 and Bg2 horizons);
aquic moisture regime.

Cation-exchange class is inferred from lab data for similar soils in the surrounding area.

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

The differentia between Coland and Excello series needs further study.

ADDITIONAL DATA: In Iowa and Minnesota, the native vegetative cover is a herbaceous wetland community commonly inhabited with Prairie Cordgrasses, Bluejoint Grasses, Fox Sedges, Oval Sedges, Inland Rushes, New England Asters, Foxglove Penstemons, Cool Mountain Mints, Prairie Sundrops, Winged Loosestrifes, and Saw-Tooth Sunflowers. Source: Iowa State Office, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Des Moines, IA.

National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.