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+++++++++++ +++++++++++ + 1+~+6+6+6+~+4+ ++ + +~+A+3+3+M+~+4+ ++ + +a NEME +~+ + ++ +0+~+~+~+~+,+++ + +++++++++++ CANADA - MANITOBA Soil Survey Soils of the Plum Lake Project Report D81 Government Gouvernement Government Gouvernement of Canada du Canada of Manitoba du Manitoba Q~7

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Page 1: Soils of the +++++++++++ Plum Lake Projectsis.agr.gc.ca/cansis/publications/surveys/mb/mbd81/mbd81_report.pdf · soils for agriculture and the growing competition for other uses of

++++++++++++++++++++++

+1+~+6+6+6+~+4+ ++++~+A+3+3+M+~+4+ ++++aNE ME +~+++++0+~+~+~+~+,+++ ++++++++++++

CANADA- MANITOBASoil Survey

Soils of thePlum Lake Project

Report D81

Government Gouvernement

Government Gouvernementof Canada

du Canada

of Manitoba

du Manitoba Q~7

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SOILS REPORT No . D81

SOILS OF THE PLUM LAKES PROJECT

by

W . MICHALYNA and E . ST . JACQUES

CANADA-MANITOBA SOIL SURVEY

For

OAK AND PLUM LAKES RESOURCE

MANAGEMENT TASK FORCE

1989

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PREFACE

This interim report and map of the detailed field and laboratory study ofthe soils of the Plum Lakes Project is one in a new series of such soil surveyreports covering special interest areas in southern Manitoba .

The land resource information included in this resurvey covers approximate-ly 15,400 ha of land in the vicinity of Oak Lake . It covers only a fractionof the area covered in the former reconnaissance surveys of Rossburn and Virden areas (Report No . 6) .

However, the projected more intensive use of thesoils for agriculture and the growing competition for other uses of land suchas wildlife and recreation in the areas has created a need for more up-to-date, more accurate and more detailed soil information .

The increased exami-nation of soils in the field, the use of current aerial photography, the useof improved methods of studying soils in the laboratory and the accumulatedknowledge of the properties and uses of soils over the years, have all con-tributed to the additional information contained in this report .

During the course of the resurvey of the map areas, a considerable volumeof site specific soil data was generated that for practical reasons cannot beincluded in this interim report .

These data are currently being input intothe Canada Soil Information System (CanSIS) data bank . This computerized sys-tem of data management permits automated manipulation and statistical evalua-tion of large volumes of data for soil characterization and interpretations .These data can be made available on request . In addition, the cartographicfile of CanSIS provides a capability to produce derived maps of various kinds .The types of derived maps that can be generated from the basic soil map in-clude the sixteen interpretations that are provided in tabular form in thisreport as well as a number of single feature maps for such characteristics asdrainage, texture of surface deposits, slope, stoniness and distribution ofsalinity .

A package of interpretive maps and single feature derivative maps can bemade available on request to : The Canada-Manitoba'Soil Survey, Dept . of SoilScience, Rm. 362, Ellis Bldg ., University of Manitoba, Winnipeg R3T 2N2 .

The Canada-Manitoba Soil Survey trusts that this report and accompanyingmap will be of value to all individuals and agencies involved with the use ofland within the, map area .

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Grateful acknowledgement is made to the following persons :

R .E . Smith, R .G . Eilers and G .F . Mills for reviewing the manuscript .

J . Griffiths for drafting maps and diagrams .

P . Haluschak, J . Madden, R . Mirza and K .C . Yeung for laboratory analysis .

Barbara Stupak for inputting the manuscript .

C .A . Aglugub and Diane Sandberg for providing the computer output of inter-pretation tables and legends .

The field work was conducted by E . St . Jacques and W . Michalyna, and as-sisted by D . Thomlinson .

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HOW TO USE THIS SOIL REPORT

This soil report contains information on the soils of the area, their ori-gin, formation, classification and potential for dryland agriculture, irriga-tion, engineering and recreati -onal land uses . The report is presented in fourparts :

Part 1 provides a general description of the area ; Part 2 describesthe soil mapping and sampling methodology ; Part 3 discusses the classificationand morphology of soils and Part 4 is an interpretive section on soils forvarious uses . The soil map(s) is/are presented on aerial photographic bases .

In order to assist the user in retrieving soil information quickly, thefollowing steps are suggested :

Step 1

Consult the map section .

Select the appropriate map sheet(s) andspecific area of interest .

Step 2

Note the map unit symbols that occur in the area of interest .

Com-pound symbols have their percentile composition in the numerator .The denominator indicates associated landscape features of erosion,topography, stoniness and salinity, respectively .

Step 3

Consult the "Interpretation of Map Unit Symbols and IdentificationLegend" .

Symbols are listed alphabetically, giving soil name, soiltexture, drainage and subgroup . The soil name associated with a mapdelineation is not absolute but provides a judgement that the prop-erties of the majority of the area are associated or approximatedwithin the limits of the designated series .

Step 4

Consult the appropriate tables and corresponding guides in Part 4for interpretive information of identified soil types .

Step 5

For additional information on individual soils, consult Part 3 wherethe soils are listed in alphabetical order according to soil name .

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CONTENTS

PREFACE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

HOW TO USE THIS SOIL REPORT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . i v

PART page

1 . GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE PLUM LAKES PROJECT AREA . . . . . . . . . . 1

Location and Extent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1Present Land Use . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1Physiography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1Bedrock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1Surface Deposits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6Relief . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6Surface and Subsurface Hydrology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8Soil Salinity and Type of Soluble Ions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8Climate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9Ecoregion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

2 . METHODOLOGY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Field Investigations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15Units of Mapping and Symbology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15Sampling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

3 . SOIL LEGENDS AND DESCRIPTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Soil Legends ."

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18Descriptions of the Soils . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Cameron Series (CMR) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21Cranmer Series (CME) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21Cromer Series (CRM) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22Cromer, sandy substrate variant (CRM1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22Emblem Series (EBL) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22Grande-Clairiere Series (GDC) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23Hartney Series (HRY) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24Lyleton Series (LYT) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24Marsh Complex (MHC) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25Martinville Series (MNV) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25Oak Lake Series (OKL) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26Pipestone Series (PPT) . .

". . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Pipestone, sand substrate variant (PPT1) . . . . . . . . . . . . 27Plum Lake Series (PAK) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

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LIST OF FIGURES

Fiqure page

1 . Location of Plum Lakes Project in South West Manitoba . . . . . . . . . 3

2 . Physiographic Setting of Plum Lakes Study Area . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

3 . Underlying Bedrock Geology of the Plum Lakes Area and vicinity . . . . 5

4 . Surficial Deposits of the Plum Lakes Map Area . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

5 . Hydraulic Profile and Surface Deposits of the Oak Lake Aquifer(Ref : Water Resources Branch-Oak Lake Hydrogeology 1986) . . . . . . 11

6 . Distribution of Soil Salinity in the Plum Lakes Map Area . . . . . . . 12

7 . Family particle-size classes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72

8 . Soil Textural Classes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72

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1 .1

LOCATION AND EXTENT

The Plum Lakes study area is lo-cated in the municipality of Siftonin southwest Manitoba within theTownships 7, 8 and 9, Ranges 24 and25W (Figure 1) . It covers an area ofapproximately 15,400 ha (60 squaremiles) to the southwest, south, andeast of Oak Lake .

1 .2

PRESENT LAND USE

GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE PLUM LAKES PROJECT AREA

Present land use of the area isdominantly agriculture and wildlifemanagement, with limited area of recreation on the east side of Oak Lake .Agricultural land use occurs on theperiphery of the study area with thedominant enterprise of cow-calf pro-duction . Lands on the periphery thatare above the long term flood zoneprovide most of the improved pasture,some cereal and forage production,and natural woodland grazing on up-land sandy areas . Natural grazingoccurs on the transitional areas thatare prone to periodic flooding ; mixedgrasses and sedges are the dominantspecies .

Areas that are saturatedduring the spring and early summerare used for native hay production ;usually the hay is cut and baled inlate summer or early fall dependingon accessibility to the areas, weath-er conditions, or wildlife agree-ments . Wildlife management is mainlyrestricted to open water bodies andmarsh areas that remain saturatedthroughout the summer and fall .These areas provide habitat for wat-

PART 1

erfowl and fur bearing animals suchas muskrat and mink . The extent ofmarsh and open bodies varies with wa-ter levels ; during drier years whenwater levels were low,

such as 1980and 1961, the periphery of open shal-low water bodies become populatedwith cattail, bullrush and whitetop .Once established they persist for anumber of years even though the waterlevels may be maintained at somehigher level .

1 .3 PHYSIOGRAPHY

The Plum Lakes Project area occurswithin the Antler River-Lake SourisPlain subsection of the SaskatchewanPlain Physiographic division (Figure2) . The area is characterized bylevel to undulating landscapes withlocalized areas of hummocky, stabi-lized dune areas and various wetlandsand water bodies of which Oak andPlum Lakes are dominant .

1 .4 BEDROCK

The bedrock underlying the surfacedeposits is cretaceous shale of theRiding Mountain Formation (Klassen etal 1970), which occur at a depth of100 to 120 m below the surface .

TheMillwood Member (14a)

consists of asoft greenish grey bentonitic shalewhich underlies the surface depositsin the immediate Oak Lake vicinity .The Odanah member (14b)

is a hardgrey siliceous shale which underlies

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the surface deposits on the west andsouthern portions of the project area(Figure 3) . The surface of the Mill-wood member occurs near or below 366

masl ; while the bedrock surface ofthe Odanah occurs above this eleva-tion .

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MOT

.T26

Sifton Municipality

Study Areo

it 24

Figure 1 : Location of Plum Lakes Project in South West Manitoba .

R.22 R. 20

TP6

..~.

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MAPLELAKE

HART Y

R. 26

R. 24

R. 22

R. 20

R-18

DIVISION

SECTION

SUBSECTION

Uplands

E2 Tiger Hills Upland

Plains

E7 Pembina River Plain

. I Boissevain Plain

ES Souris

River

Plain

. I

Antler

River -LakeSouris Plain

.2 Souris Plain

E9 Assiniboine River Plain

.I Pipestone Plain

.2 Newdole Plain

.3 St. Lazare Plain

Figure 2 : Physiographic Setting of Plum Lakes Study Area .

River

E7.1

E9.2

.4 Brandon LakesPlain

.5 Upper AssiniboineDelta

TP l0

TP8

TP. 6

E9.1~E94

1`SRAA

pE8 .2

~STUO

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R. 26

R.24

R. 22

R.20

R. l8

13c

Vermillion River Formation - Pembina Member (noncolcareous

shale

and

bentonite)

14a

Riding Mountain

Formation - Millwood

Member (greenish

grey

bentonitic

shale)

14b

Riding

Mountain

Formation - Odanah

Member (hard

grey siliceous

shale)

o- -o

Cross -section

F - F/

Figure 3 : Underlying Bedrock Geology of the Plum Lakes Area and Vicinity .

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1 .5

SURFACE DEPOSITS

The general stratigraphic sequenceof the Plum Lake area consists ofthin lacustrine and fluvial sedimentsof dominantly clay and silts, usuallyless than 2 m thick, overlying sandylacustrine sediments, that vary inthickness from 10 to 15 m thick . Thesilt and clay occur as a thin veneeror blanket in level to depressionalareas within the extensive Lake Sour-is sand plain (Figure 5 (Water Re-sources Branch - Oak Lake Hydrogeolo-gy 1986) .

Silty sediments with layers of

loamy sediments are less than 100 cm(designated 2a in Figure 4) while fewareas of silts are thicker than 1 m(2b) . Clayey veneers occur in thewestern part of the project area withthe areas of clay sediments of lessthan 1 m designated as 3a and areaswith clay sediments greater than 1 mas 3b .

Areas designated as Marsh (M) mayhave thin peat layers, generally lessthan 20 cm thick and a variable shallow depth of silty sediments overly-ing sandy sediments . Below the sur-face water (ZZ) areas, the underlyingsediments would be similar to theMarsh areas .

1 .6 RELIEF

The Plum Lakes area varies in re-lief from approximately 435 m a .s .l .(1425 ft .)

in the periphery of thestudy area in upland sandy areas to428 m a .s .l . (1407 ft .), the lowestwater levels in marsh and open waterbodies in the fall of the year, al-though in drier years (1961) waterlevels in open water bodies of thePlum Lakes have been recorded at428 .2 m a .s .l . (1405 ft .) . In someyears, high water levels in thespring can reach 430 m a .s .l . (1411)and result in flooding of approxi-mately 3/4 of the map area .

LYT occur at an elevation above 430 .5m a .s .l . (1412 ft .) . Imperfectlydrained soils such as CME, HRY, PPT,SOU and WWS commonly occur at eleva-tion of 429 .7 to 430 .5 m a .s .l . (1410to 1412 ft .) .

Poorly drained soilssuch as CRM, MNV, OKL and PAK occurat elevations of 429 to 429 .7 ma .s .l . (1408 to 1410 ft .) .

Marshareas are commonly at elevations of428 .5 to 429 m a .s .l .

(1406 to 1408ft .) .

The western part of the map areaassociated with the clay veneer de-posits is very flat and has a slopegradient of less than .05 percent to-ward the Plum Lakes . The area to thesouth and east of Oak Lake also hasrelatively level relief, but is in-fluenced by micro hummocky topographycharacterized by up to 0 .6 m changein local relief over short distancesof 10 to 15 meters .

upper 1 toure 4 to

1 .5 m isshow the distribution

provided inofFig-the

clay and silty veneers within thesand plain . Most of the silts or

claythefrom 10to 30 munit ;laingraphic

underlie the lacustrine sands ;thickness of this unit varies

to 15 m . Lacustrine clay 20thick occurs below the silty

the lacustrine clay is under-by till . Additional strati-

information can be derived

Detailed contour maps of theare being prepared by theMapping and Survey Branch, andbe consulted for precise topographicelevation . However, for theof this report, the soil map unit

areaManitoba

should

purposede-

from : Klassen et al 1970 ; Ellis and lineation can provide a general guideShafer 1940 . to elevation differences . For exam-

ple, the well to moderately wellThe surface deposits within the drained soils mapped as GDC, STU and

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Figure 4 ; Surficial Deposits of the Plum Lakes Map Area .

3130191876

3229201785

3328211694

34272215103

35262314

2

3625241312

TOWNSHIPDIAGRAM

RGE . 25W

20i'Lh"

OAK

20'21 '22j23

17,16]15\ LAKELAKE

. 17 ; 16 15' I4

8 9 10

7 8 ;9 10'11

5 4 3 2 1 6 5~4j3 .2I32 3334 3536 31 32 133i34 ; 35136

27 2625 30129' 28 27 26 125

R.25W R.24W

OAK LAKE

IZZI

TP 9

TP 8

TP,7

RGE.24W

TP.9

TP. 8

F 1-1

ZZ

TP. 7

0

1 KILOMETRE

LEGENDSandy, deep, weakly to moderately calcareous fluvial and locustrinesediments with areas of wind- modification (aeolion) .a) relatively smooth,dominantly fluvial and IGCU5trine with slight

wind modification .

b) hummocky,dominantly,

stabilized aeolion .a Loamy, moderately to strongly calcareous fluvial and lacustrinesediments overlying coarser textured lacustrine sediments .a) shallow (<IOOcm) loamy sediments overlying dominantly sandy

sediments.

b) loamy sediments, >IOOcm . thick,overlying dominantly sandysediments.

Clayey, moderately to strongly calcareous fluviol and lacustrinesediments overlying coarser textured lacustrine sediments .o) shallow clayey sediments usually

< 100cm . overlying mainlysandy sediments .

b) clayey sediments, >IOOcm . thick,overlying mainly sandysediments .

Dominantly marsh areas with thin peat, <20cm.,and a variabledepth of loamy sediments over sand ; similar to 2. above .

Dominantly permoment water bodies with minor areas of marshwith underlying sediments ; similar to 2 . above .

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1 .7

SURFACE AND SUBSURFACEHYDROLOGY

In the Plum Lakes study area, thenatural surface drainage is towardthe central water bodies from thesurrounding higher areas on the east,north, west and south ; the only natu-ral outlet is Plum Creek . Oak Lakereceives waters from Pipestone Creekand the Pipestone Creek Diversion .The lake levels are maintained at 430m a .s .l . (1410 ft .) during years ofadequate precipitation and runoff ;any additional water flows throughthe control structure at the southend into the Plum Lakes . Surface wa-ter flows into Plum Lakes from thesouthwest through the Bell Creek .Water control dams have been in-stalled at two locations in the PlumLakes system ; one is north of Findlayin SE 31-7-24W and the other north-east of Deleau in S-35-7-24W .

Subsurface hydrology is influencedby the moderately rapid permeabilityof the sandy sediments .

Surface waters in the surrounding sandy areasinfiltrate into the near surfacegroundwater and flows laterally to-ward the Oak Lake-Plum Lakes area .This is illustrated in Figure 5 wherethe potentiometric surface nearP .T .H . No . 2 south of the lakes isobviously higher than the water lev-els in the Oak Lake and Plum Lakes .Another local effect is created dur-ing the summer, fall and winter whenthe water levels in Oak Lake may beas much as 1 .5 to 2 m above the sur-rounding soils and water in the PlumLakes ; this condition could cause alocal seepage flow (and salt move-ment) to adjacent soil areas .

High salt contents in the ground-water to the east, south and west ofthe Plum Lakes was encountered duringthe soil investigation .

The sourceof the higher salt levels in the nearsurface groundwater of saline soilarea is assumed to be from upward

flow of groundwater from deeper stra-ta .

1 .8

SOIL SALINITY AND TYPE OFSOLUBLE IONS

An overview of the level of saltsin the soils is provided in Figure 6based on EM38 readings of soil conductance, electrical conductivity onsoil samples and the profile typesrecognized during mapping . Non sa-line areas occur on the edges of theproject area where the lands are athigher elevation generally above 432m a .s .l .,

and the soil drainage isdominantly well to imperfect, and notsubject to flooding . Below this ele-vation, the soils vary from weakly tostrongly saline .

Land areas below an elevation of431 m a .s .l . are prone to floodingand ponding ; Those areas between429 .5 to 431 m a .s .l . have very slowrunoff following the flooding perioddue to the level terrain . Most ofthe soil water in the root zone islost through evapotranspiration . Thelevel of salinity in the root zone isaffected by the salinity in thegroundwater .

Salts are moved upwardto the soil surface by capillarityand accumulate in the root zone or onthe ground surface as this water islost by evaporation .

The higher thesalt in the groundwater, the higherthe level that could concentrate inthe root zone above the water level .A number of electrical conductivitymeasurements of water in the saturat-ed zone of strongly saline soils wererecorded as follows :

16.5 dS/m insection 31-7-24W, 20 .0 dS/m in NW28-8-24W and 17 .8 dS/m in SW15-8-25W .

Strongly saline soils occur insection 27 and 34 in Twp . 7, Rge . 25Win poorly drained areas that have aclayey veneer over sandy sediments ;

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in localized areas of 27-8-25W ondominantly poorly drained sandy soilsand marsh ; and in 32-7-24W and6-8-24W, where poorly drained loamyveneer over sandy sediments occur .

Analysis of the water taken at thesaturation zone during soil examina-tion are provided in Table 1 .

Thewater samples range in electricalconductivity from 3 .8 to 20 .0 dS/m .The main anion is sulfate with minoramounts of bicarbonate and chloride .The cations are dominantly magnesiumand sodium with usually less amountsof calcium . With the dominant anionof sulfate, it is expected that thesoluble calcium would be low due tothe precipitation as gypsum (CaS04) .

The sodium cation is considerableand could have an effect on thestructure of the soil .

The SAR (sodium adsorption ratio)

provides arelative measure of the sodium con-centration in relation to calcium andmagnesium ; the SAR values in the soilwater from weakly to strongly salineareas range from 3 .5 to 13 .8 . A num-ber of Solonetz profiles were ob-served in Range 25W on the clay de-posits, indicating that thedispersive action of sodium was suf-ficient to cause the strong columnarstructure .

A Bn horizon on a BlackSolonetz soil within a strongly sa-line Pipestone clay area had an ex-changeable Ca/Na ratio of 1 .7, indi-cative of a dominant sodium effect(exchangeable cations in m .e ./100 gwere as follows : Ca 9 .2, Mg 29 .5, Na5 .4, and K 1 .0) . The cation exchangecapacity was 33 .1 m .e ./100 g andelectrical conductivity of the satu-rated extract was 0 .9 dS/m .

1 .9 CLIMATE

The climate of the Plum Lakes areais cool, subhumid continental charac-terized by cold winter and warm summer temperatures .

The mean annualtemperature is approximately 2 .0 to2 .5 degrees C ; mean January tempera-ture is approximately -18 .2 to -19 .1degrees C and mean July temperatureis approximately 19 .1 to 19 .5 degreesC, based on weather data recorded atVirden, Souris and Reston (Table 2) .The mean annual precipitation is ap-proximately 455 mm with June beingthe wettest month with mean monthly

The map area lies within theGrassland transition (GO) ecoregioncharacterized by grassland and aspenoak areas .

The hummocky landscapesat approximately 435 m a .s .l . (1425ft .)

consist of natural areas ofmixed grasses and tree species, domi-nantly aspen and bur oak .

The vege-tation in the landscapes below thetreed areas consist of grasses andshrubs and grade to more water-toler-ant grasses, sedges, reeds and cat-tails in proximity to flood prone andwater body areas .

Some intermediateareas below 435 m a .s .l . (1425 ft .),and not subject to frequent or peri-odic flooding, have been cultivated .

Orthic and Rego Blacks are thedominant genetic soil types of wellto imperfectly drained landscape positions, while Rego Humic Gleysolsare characteristic of the poorlydrained positions . More detailed de-scriptions of the soils in the map

precipitation78 mm .variableand 121

of approximatelyMean frostfor the areadays at Souris,

72 tofree period iswith 103, 118

Reston andVirden, respectively . Degree daysabove 5 degrees C is approximately1700 .

1 .10 LCGREGI9N

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area are contained in Part 3 of this

report .

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440

1400

E- 1360WWWz 1320z0F

1280WJW1240

1200

A

0

Miles

APPROXIMATE POSITION OFGROUNDWATER DIVIDE

Figure 5 : Hydraulic Profile and Surface Deposits of the Oak Lake Aquifer

(Ref : Water Resources Branch-Oak Lake Hydrogeology 1986) .

A, W

0 N

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Figure 6 : Distribution of Soil Salinity in the Plum Lakes Map Area .

Fn---s

SOIL SALINITYNON SALINE, 0-4dS/M

WEAKLY SALINE, 4-8dS/M

MODERATELY SALINE,8-15dS/M

STRONGLY SALINE,>15dS/M

NON to WEAKLY SALINE (MARSH AREAS)

RGE.25W

0

0

OAK LAKE

(ZZ)

1 MILE1

I1 KILOMETRE

RGE.24W

TP. 9

TP. 8

R.25W R.24W

3130191876

3229201785

3328211694

34

22

352623

15 14

362524l3

1011111232I

TP 7

TOWNSHIPDIAGRAM

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Table 1 .

Soluble Anions and Cations in the Water from theSaturation Zone of Weakly to Strongly Saline Soils

*

surface water in Marsh Area

** saturation extract on C horizon

Soluble Cations and Anions SARE .C . m . e .

Location dS/m Ca Mg Na EC03 Cl S04

SW32-07-24W 3 .8 6 .6 24 .3 17 .3 12 .3 2 .0 38 .8 4 .4

SE09-08-24W 6 .8 13 .5 74 .9 50 .3 8 . .3 9 .6 126 .0 7 .5

SW10-08-24W 5 .5 16 .7 70 .0 43 .4 8 .7 9 .2 123 .4 6 .6

SW15-08-24W 4 .7 7 .2 78 .4 54 .8 7 .1 9 .0 133 .9 8 .4

SE28-08-24W 5 .0 13 .2 32 .0 20 .8 11 .8 6 .3 48 .5 4 .9

NW28-08-24W 20 .0 29 .5 266 .5 167 .0 8 .5 38 .2 430 .4 13 .8

S1415-08-25W 17 .3 32 .5 192 .0 117 .0 11 .1 22 .6 318 .2 11 .0

S6'15-03-25W* 5 .7 12 .7 32 .1 16 .6 2 .6 2 .6 60 .1 3 .5

NW27-07-25W** 16 .5 41 .0 152 .0 130 .0 2 .7 6 .5 308 .9 13 .3

SE32-07-25W** 5 .7 17 .1 28 .0 41 .5 2 .2 1 .0 89 .5 8 .8

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Table 2 . Climatic Parameters for Virden, Souris and Reston

References Canadian Climatic Normals 1951-1980 (Environment Canada, 1982)

Refer-ence Virden Souris Reston

1 Mean Annual Temp . oC 2 .0 2 .3 2 .5Jan . -19 .1 -18 .5 -18 .2

1 Mean Monthly Summer Temp . June 16 .3 16 .9 16 .7July 19 .3 19 .5 19 .1Aug . 17 .7 17 .9 17 .9

2 Mean Annual Precipitation(mm) 461 .7 455 .6 455 .4Monthly Precipitation(mm) Apr . 29 .7 32 .9 28 .5

May 45 .1 46 .2 49 .1June 72 .0 78 .6 77 .0July 67 .9 68 .1 70 .3Aug . 66 .4 66 .3 73 .9Sept . 49 .0 45 .2 49 .2

3 Last Spring Frost oC Probability 10,°;(1 in 10) June 3 June 7 June 925%(1 in 4) May 27 May 26 May 2850%(1 in 2) May 18 May 17 May 2275%(3 in 4) May 13 May 9 May 8

First Fall Frost oC Probability 10,°;(1 in 10) Sept . 5 Aug . 31 Sept . 425%(1 in 4) Sept . 11 Sent . 6 Sent . 9507(1 in 2) Sept . 18 Sent . 10 Sent . 1475,°(3 in 4) Sept . 25 Sept . 21 Sept . 17

3 Frost Free Period Probability 10% 104 76 97(equal to or less than period 25°! 109 94 105indicated in days) 50% 121 103 118

75% 130 121 124901; 138 126 132

4 Degree Days Above 50 C 1702 1697

Degree Days Above 100C 912 917

l . Volume 2 Temperatures2 . Volume 3 Precipitation3 . Volume 6 Frost4 . Volume 4 Degree Days

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2 .1

FIELD INVESTIGATIONS

Soil mapping was conducted in sev-eral phases in 1987 due to the com-plexity and accessibility of thearea . During initial correlation andmap legend development, it was ob-served that salinity levels in thesoil as well as general profile andstratigraphic characterization wouldbe necessary to compile an adequatesoil resource base for the area .

During the summer, soils were ex-amined along selective traversesthrough the central portion of thearea of dominantly poorly drainedsoils and marsh, using an Argo all-terrain vehicle . Conductance read-ings using an EM38 instrument weretaken at each observation site andthe electrical conductivity of thesaturated soil zone was read using aportable meter . Samples for saltanalysis were taken from selectedsites .

During the fall, soil mapping wascontinued by examining soil profilesto depth of 1 to 1 .2 m along selectedtraverses, through selected sections,along accessible trails and at quar-ter mile intervals around accessiblesections . At each site, the soil andterrain characteristics were recordedand conductance measurements weretaken with the EM38 instrument . Sam-ples from selected sites were takenfor laboratory measurement of elec-trical conductivity and soluble ionanalysis . Approximately 325 site in-spections were made within the 15,500ha area (or 1 in 47 ha) .

PART 2

METHODOLOGY

Boundaries delineating map unitsin the survey area were compiled onan aerial photo base at a scale of1 :20,000 (1 cm = 0 .21 km) .

2 .2

UNITS OF MAPPING AND SYMBOLOGY

The taxonomic category used toclassify soils is the soil series .It is defined as a naturally occurring soil body such that any profilewithin the body has a similar numberand arrangement of horizons, whosecolor, texture, structure, consis-tence, thickness, reaction and compo-sition are within a narrowly definedrange ;

they are given a 3-lettercode : e .g . SOU - Souris Series . Soilprofiles varying only slightly fromdescribed series are sometimes en-countered .

If significant acreagesof these soils are encountered,

asoil series variant is established .The soil variant is named after thesoil series it resembles as well asits differentiating feature ; a numer-ic value is given following the se-ries code, e .g .

PPT1 indicates thePipestone, sandy substrate variant .

The delineation of map units,whether described by one, two orthree soil series, is not exact . Mapunits vary with local topography,drainage, erosion and soil profileproperties . The decision to outlineand label any given area is based oninterpretation and extrapolation ofobserved soil and landscape featuresand air photo interpretation .

Thedelineation of soil boundaries servesto separate soils having properties

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and conditions which are significantfor potential use as field managementunits .

There are two kinds of map unitsused in the resurvey of soils in Man-itoba . They are simple map units andcompound map units .

Simple map units usually containone dominant soil series, the proper-ties of which vary within narrow limits . The map unit can also contain asmall proportion, usually less than15 percent, of related but unlikesoils and phases . The proportion ofsuch undescribed inclusions tends toincrease as soil inspection densitydecreases or where soil variabilityhas no obvious predictable occur-rence . Simple map units are normallynamed after the dominant series .

Compound map units usually containsignificant proportions of two ormore unlike soil series . These soilsare related geographically but cannotbe delineated separately because ofthe intricacy of soil pattern, thecartographic limitations of map scaleand survey effort . i n many compoundmap units differences in soils andtheir related characteristics arestrongly contrasting . Dominant, sub-dominant and minor (if strongly con-trasting) soil series are identified,and their percentile proportionswithin each map delineation is speci-fied .

A user must refer to two ormore named soil series in the soillegend and soil report to obtain acomplete description of a compoundmap unit .

Additional information is indicat-ed by map unit symbol, such as varia-tions in soil properties or landscapefeatures likely to affect soil man-agement, and includes erosion, slopeclass, stoniness and salinity . Theeffect of each one of these fourproperties or features are indicatedaccording to the degree or magnitude

and designated in the following man-ner :

Erosion

x - none or only very slight ero-sion

1 - weakly eroded2 - moderately eroded3 - severely eroded0 - overblown

Slope Class

x - slope classes a-b, i .e . lessthan 2 percent slope isconsidered normal for thesoil series

c - 2 to 5 percent sloped - 5 to 9 percent slopee - 9 to 15 percent slopef - 15 to 30 percent slopeg - 30 to 45 percent slope

Stoniness

x - non stony1 - slightly stony2 - moderately stony3 - very stony4 - exceedingly stony5 - excessively stony

Salinity

x - non salines - weakly salinet - moderately salineu - strongly saline

The convention employed to indi-cate these features in the map symbolis as follows :

If none of the above propertiesare observed to be significant, themap unit symbol representing the pureor unaffected soil series is usedwithout modifiers .

If one or more phase features areused, the appropriate letter or num-ber is placed below the soil series

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symbol in one of four designated lo-cations in the map unit symbol .

Thedesignated order is erosion,

slopeclass, stoniness and finally, salini-ty .

If a particular feature is notobserved to be significant,

an x isused in its appropriate designatedlocation in the map symbol .

For example, the compound map unitsymbols coded :

:70 percent of the delineated areahas properties most appropriatelycharacterized by the Stanton series(STU) with little or minimal erosion(x), on slopes of 2 to 5 percent (c),no stones (x),

and minimal salinity

:30 percent has properties of theCromer, sandy substrate variant, withminimal erosion (x), less than 2 percent slopes (x), no stones (x), andweakly saline (s) .

2 .3 SAMPLING

ings were taken with the EM38 instru-ment and recorded . Selected sampleswere taken from areas with apprecia-ble salts at depths of 10 to 25 cmand 50 to 60 cm for electrical con-ductivity determinations and solublesalt analysis .

7 3STU - CRM1

During the course of field inves-tigations and mapping, soil sampleswere collected at selected locationsfor soil characterization and salini-

xcxx xxxs ty level . At each observation site,notes on the soil properties andlandscape were recorded on daily

indicates that : field forms ; soil conductance read-

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3 .1

SOIL LEGENDS

In similar climatic zones orecoregions, soils vary considerablybecause of differences in texture andmineralogical composition of the pa-rent materials and the natural drain-age or moisture regime .-

In the PlumLakes Project,

soil variability isconsiderable due to the range in tex-ture from sand to clay and in naturaldrainage from excessive in the sandyuplands to very poor in the lands ad-jacent to water bodies .

The soil parent material,

soilprofile type,

and related moistureregimes become the dominant featuresused in classifying and mappingsoils .

These features can be organ-ized readily to show their relation-ship in a formal legend as in Table3, based on a description of the var-ious soil materials and the varioussoils developed within them .

A moreconcise guide to the soils of thearea and the relative properties interms of brief notations of parentmaterial, soil drainage and subgroup(profile type) is provided in Table4 .

PART 3

SOIL LEGENDS AND DESCRIPTION

3 .2

DESCRIPTIONS OF THE SOILS

The soil series of the study areaare described in alphabetic order andinclude a general description of thesoil profile, soil texture, parentmaterial characteristics, topographyand natural drainage .

Information on the suitability andmanagement of each soil for agricul-ture, engineering, urban and recreational uses is given in Part 4 of thereport .

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Table 3 . Key to the Soils Mapped in the Plum Lakes Study Area Based on ParentMaterial, Soil Drainage, and Genetic Soil Tvpe

1 . Soils developed on sandy (LFS, FS), weakly to moderatelycalcareous wind modified lacustrine and fluvial sediments .

Symbol

a) Rapidly to well drainedi) Grande Clairiere Series (Orthic Regosol)

CDCii) Stanton Series (Orthic Black)

STUiii) Scarth Series (Rego Black)

SCH

b) Imperfectly drainedi) Ralston Series (Gleyed Regosol)

RTOii) Souris Series (Gleyed Rego Black)

SOUiii) Oak Lake (Rego Humic Gleysol)

OKL

2 . Soils developed on coarse loamv (VFS, LVFS, FSL) calcareous,lacustrine and fluvial sediments .

a) Well drainedi) Lyleton Series (Orthic Black)

LYT

b) Imperfectly drainedi) Switzer Series (r.leyed Rego Black)

SWZ

c) Poorly drainedi) Plum Lake Series (Rego Humic rlevsol)

PAK

3 . Soils developed on loamy (VFSL, SiL, L) stratified,moderately to strongly calcareous, lacustrine and fluvialsediments .

a) Moderately well drainedi) Cameron Series (Orthic Black)

CMR

b) Imperfectly drainedi) Hartney Series (Gleyed Rego Black)

HRY

c) Poorly drainedi) Emblem Series (Rego Humic Gleysol)

EBL

4 . Soils developed on fine loamy (SCI, CL, SiCL), moderatelyto strongly calcareous, lacustrine and fluvial sediments .

a) Imperfectly drainedi) Cranmer Series (Gleyed Rego Black)

CME

5 . Soils developed on thin veneer (<90 cm) of loamy, moderatelyto strongly calcareous lacustrine and fluvial sedimentsoverlying sandy sediments .

a) Imperfectly drainedi) Wawanesa Series (Gleyed Rego Black)

MIS

b) Poorly drainedi) Martinville Series (Rego Humic Glevsol)

PRN

6 . Soils developed on clay (SiC, C), somewhat stratified,moderately to strongly calcareous lacustrine and fluvialsediments ; in this study, sandy sediments may occurwithin a depth of 1 meter .

a) Imperfectly drainedi) Pipestone Series (Gleyed Rego Black)

PPTii) Pipestone, sandy substrate

PPT1

b) Poorly drainedi) Cromer Series (Rego Humic Gleysol)

CRMii) Cromer, sandy, substrate

CRM1

7 . Undifferentiated

a) very poorly drainedi) Marsh Complex

MHCii) Open Water

ZZ

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Table 4 . Guide to the Soil Series According to Drainage, Subgroup and Parent Material

O .BL = Orthic Black ; R.BL = Rego Black ; O .R = Orthic Regosol ; GLR .BL = Gleyed Rego Black ;

GL.R = Gleyed Regosol ; R .HG = Rego Humic Gleysol ; R .G = Rego Gleysol

Parent Materials

Aeolian Lacustrine

coarse coarse mod . coarse medium mod . fine fine medium over

Soil Sub- coarse

Drainage group non-weak calc . mod .-str . calc . mod .-str . calc . sty . calc . sty . calc . sty . calc . sty . calc .

O .BL Stanton Lyleton Cameron(STU) (LYT) (CMR)

Well R .BL Scarth(SCH)

O .R Grande-Clairiere(GDC)

GLR .BL Souris Switzer Hartney Cranmer Pipestone Pawanesa

Imperfect (SOU) (SWZ) (HRY) (CME) (PPT)

GL .R Ralston(RTO)

Poor R .HG Oak Lake Plum Lake Emblem Cromer Martinville(OKL) (PAK) (EBL) (CRM) (MNV)

V . Poor R.G -- Marsh --(MHC)

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Cameron Series (CMR)

The Cameron series is character-ized by Orthic Black soil profiles,moderately well to well soil drainage, and parent material of greaterthan 100 cm of strongly calcareous,loamy lacustrine and fluvial sedi-ments . These soils occur on mid toupper slope topographic positions invery gently sloping to gently undu-lating landscapes . Surface condi-tions are usually nonstony ; surfacerunoff is moderately slow .

Seasonalwater table may be at or below 2 mduring the growing season .

Perme-ability is moderate in all horizons .Native vegetation was tall prairiegrasses and shrubs . Present land useis agricultural, mainly cereal pro-duction . These soils are susceptibleto wind erosion if the surface isleft unprotected .

These soils arenon-saline .

A representative soil profile var-ies from 30 to 45 cm thick, and con-

gray Cca horizon 7 to 12 cm thickcommonly underlies the solum . Theparent material is olive yellow .

The Cameron soils are the welldrained member of the Cameron Associ-ation as described in the BoissevainMelita Report 1978 ; the phytomorphicassociate medium textured members ofthe Carroll Association or Souris As-sociation in the South-Western Re-port, 1940 ; and Blackearth member ofthe Carroll loams - Carroll Associa-tion in the Rossburn-Virden Report1956 .

Cranmer Series (CME)

The Cranmer series is character-ized by Gleyed Rego Black, (carbonat-ed), soil profiles,

imperfect soildrainage, and parent material ofgreater than 100 cm of strongly cal-careous, fine loamy lacustrine andfluvial sediments . These soils occuron mid to lower slope topographic po-sitions in nearly level to undulatinglandscapes . Surface conditions areusually nonstony ; surface runoff isslow .

Seasonal water table may bewithin 1 m during the growing season .Permeability is moderatelty slow tomoderate ; frost layers may impede wa-ter movement in April and May .

Na-tive vegetation was tall prairiegrasses and shrubs . Present land useis agricultural,

mainly for cerealproduction .

These soils have lowsusceptibility to erosion .

They arenormally non-saline ; some areas mayhave appreciable salts (saline phas-es)

18 to 25 cm thick .

The parent ma-terial is brown to yellowish brown ;in most areas, the deposition isquite uniform, but can be occasional-ly stratified and banded (former bur-ied surface layers) .

The Cranmer soils are a member ofthe Elva Association as described inthe Boissevain-Melita Report, 1978 ;or part of the clay loam to fine loamgroup of the Carroll Association inthe South Western Soil Report, 1940 ;or intermediately drained, Black-earth-Meadow member of the CarrollAssociation (clay loams) of the Ross-burn and Virden Soil Report 1956 .

sists of a black Ap horizon 5 to 15cm thick, commonly loam in texture ; a

A representative soil profile var-ies from 30 to 40 cm thick, and con-

very dark gray Ah horizon 5 to 12 cm sists of a black Ap horizon 10 to 20thick ; and a dark grayish brown Bm cm thick, dominantly clay loam tex-horizon 15 to 20 cm thick . A light ture ; a black to dark gray AC horizon

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Cromer Series (CRM)

The Cromer series is characterizedby Rego Humic Gleysol soil profiles,poor to very poor soil drainage, andparent material of greater than 100cm of weakly to moderately calcareousclayey (fine textured) stratified la-custrine and fluvial sediments .These soils occur on level to depres-sional topographic positions in near-ly level,

flat landscapes or alongstream meanders .

Surface conditionsare usually nonstony ; surface runoffis very slow to ponded . Seasonal wa-ter table may be at or near the soilsurface during the growing season,unless adequately drained .

Perme-ability is very slow in all horizons .Native vegetation is hydrophytic withsedge, cattails and bullrushes .Present land use is mainly native hayand limited grazing ;

some areas re-main as wetland for wildlife .

Thesesoils are not susceptible to erosion .Salinity is variable from non tostrongly saline .

A representative soil profile var-ies from 25 to 35 cm thick, and con-sists of brown organic layer, OM toOh horizon 5 to 10 cm thick ; a blackto very dark gray Ah horizon 5 to 10cm thick of clay texture ; and an AChorizon usually less than 10 cmthick . Under cultivation the Ap(mixture of Oh and Ah) is usually 15to 20 cm thick . The parent materialis olive to olive gray with some yel-lowish brown to strong brown mottles .

Salinity can be a problem in thesesoils ; degree of salts varies fromone area to another depending ongroundwater conditions .

Many Cromersoils occur in local groundwater dis-chargeareas . If salt in the ground-water is high, soluble salts accumu-late in the soil profile insufficient concentration to severelylimit the growth of plants that havelow salt tolerance .

Areas with lev-els of salinity greater than 4 dS/m

- 22-

have been mapped as the saline phas-es .

Cromer , sandy substrate variant(CRMl )

The Cromer, sandy substrate vari-ant identifies similar soils to Crom-er that have a sandy substrata within100 cm of the surface . The solumproperties are similar to the Cromerseries . The sandy substrata commonlyoccurs at 75 to 100 cm . Saline phas-es have also been recognized .

The Cromer soils are the poorlydrained, gleyed member of the Pipe-stone Association as described in theBoissevain-Melita Report 1978 ; thepoorly drained associate, wet meadowsoil, of the Pipestone Association ofthe South Western Soil Report 1940 ;and the poorly drained member (Mead-ow) of the Pipestone Association ofthe Rossburn-Virden Map Sheet 1956 .

Emblem Series (BBL)

The Emblem series is characterizedby Rego Humic Gleysol soil profiles,poor soil drainage, and parent material of greater than 100 cm,strongly calcareous, loamy lacustrinesediments . These soils occur on low-er slope to depressional topographicpositions in very gently sloping toundulating landscapes and along mean-dering drainage channels . Surfaceconditions are usually nonstony ; sur-face runoff is very slow to ponded .Seasonal water table may be at orabove the surface in spring and with-in 0 .5 m during the growing seasonunless drainage has been improved .Permeability is moderate to moderate-ly slow .

Native vegetation is domi-nantly hydrophytic with sedge, cat-tail and bullrush .

Present land useconsists of native hayland and limit-

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ed grazing ; some areas remain as wet-land for wildlife . These soils arenot susceptible to erosion . Salinityis variable from non to strongly sa-line .

A representative soil profile var-ies from 25 to 40 cm thick, and con-sists of a brown to dark brown organic Om or Oh horizon 5 to 10 cm thick ;a very dark gray to black Ah (Ahk)horizon 8 to 15 cm thick of dominant-ly loam texture ; and a dark gray togray AC horizon 5 to 10 cm thick .The parent material is olive gray tolight gray with mottles of yellowishbrown to strong brown along formerroot channels .

The Emblem soils are the poorlydrained members of the Cameron Asso-ciation as described in the Boissevain-Melita Report 1978 ; the fineloamy, hydromorphic associate of theSouris Association ; or salinized andcarbonated meadow-prairie of the Car-roll Association in the South WesternReport 1940 ; or the poorly drainedCalcic Meadow of the Carroll loams inthe Rossburn-Virden Report, 1956 .

Salinity can be a problem in thesesoils ; the degree of salts variesfrom one area to another depending onthe groundwater conditions . Many Em-blem soils are situated in localgroundwater discharge areas . If thelevel of soluble salts in the ground-water is high, they may accumulate inthe soil profile in sufficient con-centration to severely limit thegrowth of plants that have low salttolerance .

Areas with levels of sa-linity greater than 4 dS/m have beenmapped as saline phases .

Grande-Clairiere Series (GDC)

The Grande-Clairiere series ischaracterized by Orthic Regosol soilprofiles, rapid soil drainage, andparent material of greater than 2 mweakly calcareous to noncalcareoussandy aeolian sediments . These soilsoccur on lower to upper topographicpositions in undulating to stronglyrolling (2-30% slopes), complex, hum-mocky duned landscapes . Surface con-ditions are usually non-stony ; sur-face runoff is negligeable . Seasonalwater table may be greater than 2 mduring the growing season .

Perme-ability is rapid .

Native vegetationconsists of groves of dominantlytrembling aspen, with understory ofhazelnut, poison oak, creeping juni-per and grasses .

Present land useconsists of woodland grazing .

Thesesoils have high susceptibility toerosion if surface cover is removed .These soils are non saline .

A representative soil profile var-ies from 5 to 10 cm thick, and con-sists of thin leaf and organic layer(L-H) 2 to 5 cm thick ; and a gray todark gray, weakly developed Ahej ho-rizon less than 3 cm thick, usuallyof fine sand texture . The parent ma-terial is dominantly fine sand withthin strata of medium sand ; color isbrownish yellow to light yellowishbrown .

The Grande-Clairiere is the domi-nant member of the Grande-ClairiereAssociation of the Boissevain-MelitaReport 1978 ; the excessively drainedassociate - Sand Dunes, of the SourisAssociation in the South Western Re-port 1940 ; and the sandy regosolicsoils of Duned sand in the Rossburn-Virden Report 1956 .

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Hartney Series (HRY)

The Hartney series is character-ized by Gleyed Rego Black, (carbonat-ed) soil profiles, imperfect soildrainage, and parent material ofgreater than 100 cm of strongly cal-careous, loamy lacustrine sediments .These soils occur on lower to midslope topographic positions in levelto complex undulating landscapes .Surface conditions are usually non-stony ; surface runoff is slow . Sea-sonal water table may be near 1 mduring the growing season and greaterthan 2 m during fall and winter .Permeability is moderate ; frost layermay impede water movement in Apriland May . Native vegetation was domi-nantly tall prairie grasses . Presentland use is agricultural, primarilyfor cereal crop production .

Thesesoils are susceptible to wind erosionif adequate surface cover or trash isnot provided .

Salinity is variablefrom non to strongly saline .

A representative soil profile var-ies from 25 to 35 cm thick, and con-sists of a black Apk horizon 10 to 15cm thick, dominantly loam texture ; ablack to very dark gray Ahk horizon 4to 10 cm thick ; and an AC horizon of8 to 12 cm thick . A light olive grayCca horizon 7 to 10 cm thick commonlyoccurs below the solum . The parentmaterial is pale olive to pale yellowwith mottles of yellowish brown .

The Hartney soils are the imper-fectly drained members of the CameronAssociation as described in the Boissevain-Melita Report 1978 ; or the in-termediately drained associate of theCarroll loams in transition to Carbo-nated Meadow Prairie soil of theSouris fine loams in the South West-ern Report 1940 ; or the intermediate-ly drained member - Calcic Black-earth-Meadow of the Carroll loams inthe Rossburn-Virden Report 1956 .

Salinity can be a problem in these

- 2 4-

soils ; the degree of salinity variesfrom one area to another depending onthe groundwater conditions . ManyHartney soils are situated in localgroundwater discharge areas . Ifsalts in the groundwater is high, so-luble salt may accumulate in the soilprofile in sufficient concentrationto severely limit the growth ofplants that have low salt tolerance .Areas with levels of salinity greaterthan 4 dS/m have been mapped as sa-line phases .

Lyleton Series (LYT)

The Lyleton series is character-ized by Orthic Black soil profiles,moderately well to well soil drainage, and parent material of greaterthan 100 cm, moderately calcareouscoarse loamy lacustrine and fluvialsediments . These soils occur on midto upper slope topographic positionsin gently sloping to gently undulat-ing (1 .5-5% slopes), complex, undu-lating landscapes . Surface condi-tions are usually nonstony ; surfacerunoff is moderate .

Seasonal watertable may be greater than 2 m duringthe growing season .

Permeability ismoderately rapid to moderate . Nativevegetation was dominantly tall prai-rie grasses and shrubs . Present landuse is agricultural, primarily forcereal production .

These soils havemoderate susceptibility to erosion ;some areas have been weakly eroded .These soils are non saline .

A representative soil profile var-ies from 40 to 55 cm thick, and con-sists of a black to very dark brownAp horizon 12 to 15 cm thick withsandy loam to loamy very fine sandtexture ; a very dark gray to black Ahhorizon 18 to 25 cm thick ; and a verydark grayish brown Bm horizon 12 to18 cm thick . A light brownish grayCca horizon 15 to 20 cm thick common-ly occurs below the profile . The pa-

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rent material is light brownish grayand usually stratified .

The Lyleton soils are the welldrained member of the Lyleton Associ-ation as described in the BoissevainMelita Report 1978 ; the phytomorphicassociate, fine sandy loams of theSouris Association in the South-West-ern Report 1940 ; and the well drainedBlackearth-like of the Souris finesandy loams in the Rossburn-VirdenReport 1956 .

Marsh Complex (1+IIC)

The Marsh complex is characterizedby very poor soil drainage, and pa-rent material of less than 15 cm ofmoderately decomposed fen peat overmaterials of variable mineralogy andtexture . They are treated as miscel-laneous landscape types . They occuradjacent to water bodies or depres-sional topographic positions in flatto level, lacustrine landscapes .Surface conditions are usually non-stony, but may vary with the land-scape ; surface runoff is ponded .Seasonal water table may be 0 .5 mabove the surface during the growingseason and within 1 m of the surfacefor the balance of the year unlessdrainage has been improved .

Perme-ability is variable depending on theparent materials .

Native vegetationis reeds and sedges .

Present landuse consists of wetland habitat forwildlife .

These soils have neglige-able susceptibility to erosion .These areas are usually non to weaklysaline .

A representative soil profile var-ies from 10 to 20 cm thick, and con-sists of thin surface layer of eithermuck or mineral material high in or-ganic matter usually less than 15 cmthick ; and a black Ahg horizon 2 to 5cm thick . The parent material isstrongly gleyed with colors of olivegray to gray .

- 2 5-

The Marsh Complex correlates withthe Marsh Complex of the Boissevain-Melita Report 1978 ;

the very poorlydrained member recognized by a Marshsymbol in the South Western Report,1940 ; and very poorly drained marshand peaty meadow symbols within vari-ous associations in the Rossburn-Vir-den Report 1956 .

In the Oak-Plum Lakes Project, theunderlying parent material of theMarsh Complex is inferred to be thin,moderately decomposed fen peat lessthan 15 cm thick, over loamy lacust-rine or fluvial sediment 60 to 75 cmthick over sandy sediments . This in-terpretation is based on parent ma-terial characteristics of soils oc-curring immediately adjacent to marshcomplex areas .

Martinville Series (MNV)

The Martinville series is charac-terized by Rego Humic Gleysol soilprofiles, poor soil drainage, and parent material of 25 to 100 cm,strongly calcareous, loamy (mediumtextured) lacustrine sediments over-lying moderately calcareous, sandy(coarse textured) lacustrine sedi-ments .

These soils occur on toe anddepressional topographic positions ingently sloping to gently undulating(0 .5-2% slopes) landscapes .

Surfaceconditions are usually nonstony ; sur-face runoff is ponded to very slow .Seasonal water table may be near orabove the surface during the growingseason .

Permeability is moderate inthe loamy overlay and moderately rap-id in the sandy subsoil . Native veg-etation is hydrophytic with sedge andreeds .

Present land use consists ofnative hayland or native grazing .These soils have negligeable suscep-tibility to erosion under presentland use .

Salinity is variable fromnon to strongly saline .

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A representative soil profile var-ies from 25 to 45 cm thick, and con-sists of a moderately decomposed fenpeat layer (0m) of 3 to 10 cm ; astrongly calcareous, dark gray Ahkhorizon 15 to 30 cm thick ; and an AC0 to 20 cm thick . A prominent Cca isoften present,

25 to 50 cm thick .The parent material is dull coloredwith gray to light gray .

The Martinville soils are thepoorly drained members of the Wawane-sa Association as described in theBoissevain-Melita Report 1978 ; thesesoils would be the Meadow members ofthe Souris Association probably-asso-ciated with the fine sandy loams andfine loams reported in the South-Western Report 1940 ; and the poorlydrained Calcic Meadow of the SourisAssociation in the Rossburn-VirdenReport 1956 .

Salinity can be a problem in thesesoils ; the degree of salts variesfrom one area to another depending onthe groundwater conditions .

Some ofthe Martinville soils occur in localgroundwater discharge areas . Ifsalts in the groundwater are high,soluble salts accumulate in the soilprofile in sufficient concentrationto severely limit the growth ofplants that have low salt tolerance .Areas with levels of salinity greaterthan 4 dS/m have been mapped as sa-line phases .

Oak Lake Series (OKL)

The Oak Lake series is character-ized by Rego Humic Gleysol (carbonat-ed) soil profiles, poor soil drainage, and parent material of greaterthan 100 cm weakly to moderately cal-careous sandy lacustrine sediments .These soils occur in toe and depres-sional topographic positions withincomplex undulating landscapes withlevel to very gentle slopes . Surfaceconditions are usually nonstony ; sur-

- 2 6-

face runoff is ponded to very slow .Seasonal water table may be at ornear the surface during the growingseason, unless adequately drained .Permeability is moderately rapid inall horizons ; frost layers may impedewater movement in April and May . Na-tive vegetation is hydrophytic withsedges, cattails and grasses .

Pres-ent land use consists of native hay-land and pasture ; some areas are usedas wetland habitat for wildlife .These soils have negligeable suscep-tibility to erosion under presentconditions . Salinity is variablefrom non to strongly saline .

A representative soil profile var-ies from 25 to 50 cm thick, and con-sists of a moderately decomposed organic layer (0m) 2 to 10 cm thick ; ablack to very dark gray Ahk horizon15 to 20 cm thick of loamy fine sandtexture ; and a gray AC from 2 to 25cm . A lime accumulation layer (Cca)is not common, but in some landscapesmay be 15 to 25 cm thick . The parentmaterial is dominantly fine sand withthin strata of loamy fine sand or me-dium sand, dominantly gray brown incolor with prominent mottles and ironconcretions .

The Oak Lake soils are the poorlydrained member of the Souris Associa-tion as described in the BoissevainMelita Report 1978 ; the poorlydrained (H) associate or Meadow soilon the sands of the Souris Associa-tion reported in the South-WesternReport 1940, or the poorly drainedCalcic Meadow of the Souris loamyfine sand in the Rossburn-Virden Re-port 1956 .

Salinity can be a problem in thesesoils ; the degree of salts variesfrom one area to another depending onthe groundwater conditions . Many OakLake soils occur in local groundwaterdischarge areas . If salts in thegroundwater is high, soluble saltsmay accumulate in the soil profile in

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sufficient concentration to limit thegrowth of plants that have low salttolerance . Areas with levels of sa-linity greater than 4 dS/m have beenmapped as the saline phases .

PiDestone Series (PPT)

The Pipestone series is character-ized by Gleyed Rego Black soil pro-files, imperfect soil drainage, andparent material greater than 100 cmof weakly to moderately calcareousclayey (fine textured), stratifiedlacustrine and fluvial sediments .Sandy sediments occur at variabledepths ranging from 1 .2 to 3 m of thesurface . These soils occur onslightly better drained topographicpositions in level to very gently un-dulating landscapes .

Surface condi-tions are usually nonstony ; surfacerunoff is very slow .

Seasonal watertable may be within 1 m during thegrowing season . Permeability is mod-erately slow in soils with angularblocky structure to very slow insoils with solonetzic characteris-tics .

Native vegetation was tallprairie grasses . Present land use isagricultural, mainly cereal produc-tion and some forage .

These soilsare susceptible to erosion if leftrelatively free of surface cover,particularly in early spring . Salin-ity is variable from non to stronglysaline .

A representative soil profile var-ies from 25 to 40 cm thick, and con-sists of a black to very dark gray Aphorizon commonly 15 cm thick ; a blackto very dark gray Ah horizon 5 to 10cm thick ; and an AC horizon 10 to 15cm thick . The parent material isstratified with strata ranging fromsilty clay to fine clay .

The Pipestone series is the imper-fectly drained member of the Pipe-

- 27-

stone Association as described in theBoissevain-Melita Report 1978 ; theintermediately drained Meadow prairiesoil of the Pipestone Association ofthe South Western Report 1940 ; andthe intermediately drained Black-earth-Meadow of the Pipestone Associ-ation in the Rossburn-Virden Report1956 .

Salinity can be a problem in thesesoils ; the degree of salts variesfrom one area to another depending onthe groundwater conditions . ManyPipestone soils occur in localgroundwater discharge areas . Ifsalts in the groundwater are high,soluble salts can accumulate in thesoil profile in sufficient concentra-tion to severely limit the growth ofplants that have low salt tolerance .Areas with levels of salinity greaterthan 4 dS/m have been mapped as thesaline phases .

Within the present study,

soilswith weak solonetzic structure (Bnj)occur as inclusions with the Pipestone soils .

At a number of inspec-tion sites, the soils had a columnarB1 horizon and a saline, massive B2 .It appears as though some of thesesoils have undergone a resaliniza-tion .

Pipestone , sand substrate variant(PPTl)

The Pipestone, sandy substratevariant identifies similar soils tothe Pipestone that have a sandy substrata within 100 cm of the surface .Their soil profile properties aresimilar to the Pipestone series . Thesandy substrata commonly occurs at 75to 100 cm . Saline phases have alsobeen recognized .

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Plum Lake Series (PAR)

The Plum Lake series is character-ized by Rego Humic Gleysol (carbonat-ed) soil profiles, poor soil drainage, and parent material of greaterthan 100 cm moderately calcareous,coarse loamy lacustrine sediments .These soils occur on toe and depres-sional topographic positions in gen-tly sloping to gently undulating(0 .5-2% slopes), landscapes . Surfaceconditions are usually nonstony ; sur-face runoff is ponded to very slow .Seasonal water table may be near orabove the surface during the growingseason . Permeability is moderatelyrapid in the surface and subsoil ho-rizons, and moderate to moderatelyslow in horizons with appreciablesecondary carbonates . Native vegeta-tion is hydrophytic with sedges,reeds and grasses .

Present land useconsists of native hayland or nativegrazing .

These soils have neglige-able susceptibility to erosion underpresent land use . Some of thesesoils may be saline .

A representative soil profile var-ies from 25 to 40 cm thick, and con-sists of a moderately decomposed organic layer (0m) of 2 to 5 cm ; a verydark gray, Ahk horizon 15 to 25 cmthick ; and an olive gray AC horizon10 to 20 cm thick .

A lime accumula-tion layer 5 to 15 cm thick may bepresent .

The parent material is ol-ive to pale olive with yellowishbrown mottles .

The Plum Lake soils are the poorlydrained members of the Lyleton Asso-ciation as described in the Boissevain-Melita Report 1978 ;

the poorlydrained sandy loam Meadow of theSouris Association in the South West-ern Report 1940 ; and the poorlydrained Calcic Meadow of the Sourisfine sandy loam in the Rossburn-Vir-den Report 1956 .

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Ralston Series (RTO)

The Ralston series is character-ized by Gleyed Regosol soil profiles,imperfect soil drainage,

and parentmaterial of greater than 2 m weaklycalcareous to noncalcareous sandyaeolian sediments . These pedons oc-cur on lower concave topographic po-sitions in gently sloping complex,hummocky duned landscapes .

Surfaceconditions are usually nonstony ; sur-face runoff is slow to negligeable .Seasonal water table may be within 1m during the early part of the grow-ing season .

Permeability is rapid .Native vegetation is dominantly trem-bling aspen, with creeping juniper,rose, saskatoons and grasses .

Pres-ent land use consists of woodlandgrazing .

These soils have high sus-ceptibility to erosion if surface isremoved and left exposed . Thesesoils are non saline .

The feebly developed soil profilevaries from 5 to 15 cm thick, andconsists of a thin leaf and organiclayer (L-H) 5 to 10 cm thick ; and agray to dark gray Ah horizon 5 to 20cm thick, usually of fine sand tex-ture . The parent material is palebrown, dominantly fine sand with thinstrata of medium sand . In some loca-tions, a black to brown layer, com-monly 5 to 10 cm thick containingabundant iron and manganese concre-tions, mottles and stains may occurwithin 1 meter of the surface ; someof these layers may be 30 to 60 cmthick .

This layer appears to affectthe moisture regime since it is lesspermeable than the horizons above andbelow it .

The Ralston soil is the imperfect-ly drained member of the Grande-Clairiere Association as described inthe Boissevain-Melita Report 1978 ;they are inclusions within the SandDunes - Souris Association of theSouth Western Report 1940 ; and theyare inclusions within the Duned Sands

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local soil areas of the Rossburn-Vir-den Report 1956 .

Scarth Series (SCH)

The Scarth series is characterizedby Rego Black soil profiles, well tomoderately well soil drainage,

andparent material of greater than 100cm weakly to moderately calcareoussandy (coarse textured)

lacustrinesediments .

These soils occur on theapex and upper slope topographic po-sitions (2 to 9 percent slopes), inundulating to hummocky landscapes .Surface conditions are usually non-stony ; surface runoff is moderate .Seasonal water table may be greaterthan 2 m during the growing season .Permeability is moderately rapid torapid . Native vegetation is shortprairie grasses . Present land use isagricultural,

primarily for cerealand forage production .

These soilshave high susceptibility to erosionif sufficient surface cover is notprovided .

These soils are non sa-line .

The solum varies from 20 to 30 cmthick, and consists of a very darkgray Ap horizon 15 to 20 cm thick, offine sand to loamy fine sand texture ;and a dark gray to grayish brown AChorizon 5 to 15 cm thick . A lime ac-cumulation horizon 5 to 10 cm thickmay be present . The parent materialis grayish brown fine sand .

The Scarth soil is one of the welldrained members of the Souris Associ-ation as described in the BoissevainMelita Report 1978 ; the phytomorphicmember of the Souris Association inthe South Western Report 1940 ; andthe Blackearth-like (or Thin Black-earth) member of the Souris loamyfine sand in the Rossburn-Virden Re-port 1956 .

Some of the cultivated areas have

- 2 9-

been affected by wind erosion . Whereconsiderable soil has been lost fromthe surface horizon(s) or where addi-tions to the surface have occurred,erosion or overblown phase(s) havebeen mapped .

Souris Series (SOU)

The Souris series is characterizedby Gleyed Rego Black soil profiles,imperfect soil drainage,

and parentmaterial of greater than 100 cm ofweakly to moderately calcareous sandylacustrine sediments . These soilsoccur on lower to mid slope topo-graphic positions in level to com-plex, undulating landscapes . Surfaceconditions are usually nonstony ; sur-face runoff is slow . Seasonal watertable may be within 1 m during thegrowing season and at 2 m or moreduring fall and winter . Permeabilityis moderately rapid to rapid ; frostlayers may impede water movement inApril and May .

Native vegetation isdominantly tall prairie grasses andshrubs . Present land use is agricul-tural, primarily for cereal and for-age production . These soils are sus-ceptible to wind erosion ifsufficient surface cover is not pro-vided . Salinity is variable from nonto weakly saline .

A representative soil profile var-ies from 30 to 50 cm thick, and con-sists of a very dark gray Apk horizon15 to 20 cm thick, with fine sand toloamy fine sand texture ; a very darkgray Ahk, 5 to 10 cm thick ; and agray to grayish brown AC horizon 2 to15 cm thick . Secondary carbonate ac-cumulation in the A horizon (Aca),commonly 10 to 15 cm thick,

may bepresent in some areas .

The parentmaterial is yellowish brown,

withstrong brown to brownish yellow mot-tles .

A lime accumulation (Cca) maybe present below the AC in some are-as .

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The Souris soils are the imper-fectly drained members of the SourisAssociation as described in the Boissevain-Melita Report 1978 ; the inter-mediately drained, carbonated, Mead-ow-Prairie associate of the SourisAssociation of the South Western Re-port 1940 ; and the intermediatelydrained Blackearth-Meadow associateof the Souris loamy fine sands of theRossburn-Virden Report 1956 .

Salinity can occur in these soils ;the degree of salinity varies fromone area to another depending on thegroundwater salinity . If the ground-water has appreciable salts, they maymove upward in the soil profile insufficient quantity to influence thegrowth of plants that have low salttolerance . Areas with levels of sa-linity greater than 4 dS/m have beenmapped as saline phases .

Stanton Series (STU)

The Stanton series is character-ized by Orthic Black soil profiles,well to moderately well soil drainage, and parent material of greaterthan 100 cm, weakly to moderatelycalcareous, sandy . lacustrine sedi-ments .

These soils occur on mid toupper slope topographic positionswith a range from 2 to 15 percentslopes, on complex undulating land-scapes .

Surface conditions are usu-ally nonstony ; surface runoff is slowto moderate depending on slope condi-tions and rainfall conditions .

Sea-sonal water table may be greater than2 m during the growing season andgreater than 3 m during fall and win-ter . Permeability is moderately rap-id to rapid .

Native vegetation isdominantly grasses with few shrubs .Present land use is agricultural,primarily for cereal or forage pro-duction . These soils are susceptibleto wind erosion if sufficient surfacecover is not provided .

These soilsare nonsaline .

3 0 -

The solum varies from 30 to 75 cmthick, and consists of a very darkgray to black Ap horizon

15 to 20-cmthick, fine sand to loamy fine sandtexture ; very dark gray Ah horizon 5to 15 cm thick ; and a dark brown tobrown Bm horizon 25 to 50 cm thick .The parent material is stratified,grayish brown fine sand to loamy finesand .

The Stanton soil is one of thewell drained members of the SourisAssociation as described in the Boissevain-Melita Report 1976 ; the phyto-morphic member of the Souris Associa-tion in the South Western Report1940 ; and the Blackearth-like memberof the Souris loamy fine sand in theRossburn-Virden Report 1956 .

Some of the vultivated areas havebeen affected by wind erosion . Whereconsiderable soil has been lost fromthe surface horizons) or where addi-tions to the surface have occurred,the erosion or overblown phase(s)have been mapped .

Switzer Series (SWZ)

The Switzer series is character-ized by Gleyed Rego Black soil pro-files, imperfect soil drainage, andparent material of greater than 100cm moderately calcareous, coarse loa-my lacustrine sediments . These soilsoccur on lower to mid slope topo-graphic positions with slopes of lessthan 2 percent, on complex undulatinglandscapes . Surface conditions areusually nonstony ; surface runoff ismoderately slow .

Seasonal water ta-ble may be within 1 m during thegrowing season and greater than 2 min the fall and winter . Permeabilityis moderate ; frost layers may impedewater movement in April and May . Na-tive vegetation is tall prairiegrasses and shrubs . Present land useis agricultural, primarily for cerealand forage production .

These soils

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are susceptible to wind erosion ifsufficient surface cover is not pro-vided . These soils may be saline insome landscapes .

A representative soil profile var-ies from 25 to 30 cm thick, and con-sists of a black Apk horizon, 12 to15 cm thick, loamy very fine sand tofine sandy loam surface texture ; anda dark gray AC horizon 12 to 15 cmthick . A gray lime accumulation lay-er (Cca)

is commonly present belowthe solum .

The parent material isstratified and may grade to fine sandor loamy fine sand below 1 m .

The Switzer soils are the imper-fectly drained member of the Ly :etonAssociation as described in the Boissevain-Melita Report 1978 ; the inter-mediately drained (P-H) carbonatedMeadow-Prairie soils of the Sourissandy loams in the South Western Re-port 1940 ; and the intermediatelydrained Blackearth-Meadow associateof the Souris fine sandy loam of theRossuburn-Virden Report 1956 .

Salinity can occur in these soils ;the degree of salinity varies fromone area to another depending on thegroundwater salinity . If the ground-water has appreciable salts, they maymove upward in the soil profile insufficient quantity to influence thegrowth of plants that have low salttolerance . Areas with levels of sa-linity greater than 4 dS/m have beenmapped as saline phases .

Wawanesa Series (m)

The Wawanesa series is character-ized by Gleyed Rego Black (carbonat-ed) soil profiles, imperfect soildrainage, and parent materials of 25to 100 cm moderately to strongly cal-careous loamy (medium textured) la-custrine sediments overlying stronglycalcareous sandy (coarse textured)lacustrine sediments . These soils

occur on lower to mid slope topo-graphic positions with slopes usuallyless than 2 percent, in complex undu-lating landscapes . Surface condi-tions are usually nonstony ; surfacerunoff is slow . Seasonal water tablemay be within 1 m in the early partof the growing season and usuallygreater than 2 m in fall and winter .Permeability is moderate ; frost lay-ers may impede water movement inApril and May .

Native vegetation istall prairie grasses .

Present landuse is agricultural, primarily forcereal and forage production, or asnative hayland in poorly drained com-plexes .

These soils are susceptibleto wind erosion if adequate surfacecover is not provided .

These soilsmay vary in salinity from non tostrongly saline .

A representative soil profile var-ies from 20 to 50 cm thick, and con-sists of a very dark gray to blackAhk horizon 20 to 30 cm thick, siltloam to loam texture ; and a dark grayAC horizon ; considerable secondarycarbonates may be present in the pro-file . A lime accumulation (Cca) ho-rizon may also be present below theprofile . The parent material islight gray in the loamy sediments andyellowish brown with strong brown tobrownish yellow mottles in the sandysediments .

The Wawanesa soils have the char-acteristics of Wawanesa soils as de-scribed in the Boissevain-Melita Report 1978 ; the intermediately drainedcarbonated Meadow-Prairie associateof the Souris fine loams in the SouthWestern Report 1940 ; and as part ofthe intermediately drained Black-earth-Meadow associate within theSouris fine sandy loam of the Ross-burn-Virden Report 1956 .

Salinity can be a problem in thesesoils ; the degree of salts variesfrom one area to another depending onthe groundwater properties . Many

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wawanesa soils occur in local ground-water discharge areas . If salts inthe groundwater is high, solublesalts may accumulate in the soil pro-file in sufficient quantities to se-

verely limit the growth of plantsthat have low salt tolerance . Areaswith levels of salinity greater than4 dS/m have been mapped as salinephases .

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4 .1 INTRODUCTION

PART 4

USE AND MANAGEMENT INTERPRETATIONS OF SOILS

This section provides predictionsof performance or soil suitabilityratings for various uses of soilsbased on field observations of soiland landscape characteristics, labo-ratory data and on observations ofsoil behavior under specified condi-tions of land use and management .Suitability ratings or interpreta-tions are intended only to serve asguides for planners and managers .Caution, with an understanding of thelimitations of the soil map must beexercised when applying suitabilityratings to soil map units . The valueof any rating or interpretation de-pends upon the nature and compositionof individual map unit delineationswhich in turn depends on the scale ofmapping and intensity of groundtruthing employed in the survey .

In this section, interpretive soilinformation is provided for the fol-

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4 .2

SOIL CAPABILITY FOR AGRICULTURE

Drvland Agriculture

Soil capability classification fordryland agriculture is based on eval-uation of both internal and externalsoil characteristics that influencesoil suitability and limitations foragricultural use .

In this classifi-cation,

mineral soils are groupedinto capability classes, subclassesand units based on their limitationsfor dryland farming,

risk of damagewhen the soils are used and the waythey respond to management (ARDA,1965) .

There are seven capabilityclasses, each of which groups soilstogether that have the same relativedegree of limitation or hazard foragricultural use . The limitation be-comes progressively greater fromClass 1 to Class 7 .

Soil capability class indicatesthe general suitability of the soils

Soil Capability subclasses are di-visions within classes which groupsoils with similar kinds of limitations and hazards for agriculturaluse .

The various kinds of limita-

lowing land use evaluations : for agriculture . The first threeclasses are considered capable of

1 . Agriculture sustained production of common fieldcrops, the fourth is marginal for

a) dryland farming capability sustained arable culture, the fifthis suitable only for improved perma-

b) irrigation suitability nent pasture, the sixth is capable ofuse only for native pasture while the

2 . Engineering Uses seventh class is for soils and landtypes considered incapable of use for

3 . Recreation Uses arable agriculture or permanent pas-ture .

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tions recognized at the subclass lev-el are defined in Table 5 .

Soil capability units are divi-sions within the subclass categorythat groups soils together that willrespond similarly to a given manage-ment input .

The definition of the soil capa-bility classes and grouping of thesoils into the capability subclassesand units are as follows :

Class 1

Soils in this class have no impor-tant limitations for crop use . Thesoils have level or gently slopingtopography ; they are deep, well toimperfectly drained and have moderatewater holding capacity . The soilsare naturally well supplied withplant nutrients, easily maintained ingood tilth and fertility ; soils aremoderately high to high in productiv-ity for a wide range of cereal andspecial crops . The soils in thisclass include :

CMR Cameron

Class 2

Soils in this class have moderatelimitations that reduce the choice ofcrops or require moderate conservation practices .

The soils have goodwater holding capacity and are eithernaturally well supplied with plantnutrients or are highly responsive toinputs of fertilizer .

They are mod-erate to high in productivity for afairly wide range of crops . The lim-itations are not severe and good soil

management and cropping practices canbe applied without serious difficul-ty .

2M - These

are

moderately

welldrained to imperfectly drainedsoils developed on nearly levelto gently sloping sandy sedi-ments . They are easily tilledand are readily permeable toroots, air and moisture .

Theyhave a low to moderate organicmatter content, and moderatelylow moisture retention capaci-ty . They are somewhatdroughty, and if not protected,are susceptible to wind ero-sion . It is important to main-tain organic matter in thesesoils through the addition oforganic residues such as straw,barnyard manure, or green ma-nure crops to prevent wind ero-sion, to increase water reten-tion capacity and to build upfertility . These soils arevery responsive to additions ofnitrogen, phosphorus and insome cases, potassium fertiliz-ers . The soils are :

LYT Lyleton

2MT - These soils have similar prop-erties as 2M above, but haveundulating to gently undulatingtopography with 2-5 percentslopes . They have had somesurface erosion . The soilsare :

LYT/xcxxLYT/ocxxLYT/1cxx

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TABLE 5

Agricultural Capability Subclass Limitations

C -

Adverse climate : This subclass denotes a significant adverse climate forcrop production as compared to the "median" climate which is defined asone with sufficiently high growing season temperatures to bring fieldcrops to maturity, and with sufficient precipitation to permit crops tobe grown each year on the same land without a serious risk of partial ortotal crop failures .

D -

Undesirable soil structure and/or low permeability : This subclass isused for soils difficult tq till, or which absorb water very slowly orin which the depth of rooting zone is restricted by conditions otherthan a high water table or consolidated bedrock .

E -

Erosion : Subclass E includes soils where damage from erosion is a limitation to agricultural use .

Damage is assessed on the loss of produc-tivity and on the difficulties in farming land with gullies .

F -

Low fertility : This subclass is made up of soils having low fertilitythat either is correctable with careful management in the use of ferti-lizers and soil amendments or is difficult to correct in a feasible way .The limitation may be due to lack of available plant nutrients, high ac-idity or alkalinity, low exchange capacity, high levels of carbonates orpresence of toxic compounds .

I -

Inundation by streams or lakes :

This subclass includes soils subjectedto inundation causing crop damage or restricting agricultural use .

L -

Coarse wood fragments : In the rating of organic soils, woody inclusionsin the form of trunks, stumps and branches (>10 cm diameter) in suffi-cient quantity to significantly hinder tillage, planting and harvestingoperations .

M -

Moisture limitation :

This subclass consists of soils where crops areadversely affected by droughtiness owing to inherent soil characteris-tics . They are usually soils with low water-holding capacity .

N -

Salinity : Designates soils which are adversely affected by the presenceof soluble salts .

P -

Stoniness : This subclass is made up of soils sufficiently stony to significantly hinder tillage, planting, and harvesting operations .

Stonysoils are usually less productive than comparable non-stony soils .

R -

Consolidated bedrock :

This subclass includes soils where the presenceof bedrock near the surface restricts their agricultural use .

Consoli-dated bedrock at depths greater than 1 meter from the surface is notconsidered as a limitation, except on irrigated lands where a greaterdepth of soil is desirable .

T -

Topography :

This subclass is made up of soils where topography is alimitation .

Both the percent of slope and the pattern or frequency ofslopes in different directions are important factors in increasing thecost of farming over that of smooth land, in decreasing the uniformityof growth and maturity of crops, and in increasing the hazard of watererosion .

W -

Excess water :

Subclass W is made up of soils where excess water otherthan that brought about by inundation is a limitation to their use foragriculture .

Excess water may result from inadequate soil drainage, ahigh water table, seepage or runoff from surrounding areas .

X -

Cumulative minor adverse characteristics :

This subclass is made up ofsoils having a moderate limitation caused by the cumulative effect oftwo or more adverse characteristics which singly are not serious enoughto affect the class rating .

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2W1 - The soils in this class are im-perfectly drained, fine to mod-erately fine textured soils onlevel to very gently slopingtopography . They have a moder-ately high content of organicmatter .

They have a slow tovery slow permeability .

Themain soil management problemsare maintenance of tilth andgood aeration .

If cultivatedwhen they are too moist or dry,large massive lumps will re-sult, forming a poor seed bed .The soils take longer to warmup in the spring than medium tomoderately coarse texturedsoils and usually take longerto dry out following rains .Incorporation of stubble orgreen manure crops is a goodpractice to maintain good sur-face structure and improvepermeability .

Shallow surfacedrains should be planned to re-move any standing water .Drains and natural intermittentstreams or creeks should bemade saucer-shaped and seededdown to permanent grass to pre-vent siltation and to allow im-plement traffic .

The soils inthis subclass are :

CME CranmerPPT PipestonePPT1 Pipestone, sandy substrate

2W2 - The soils in this class are im-perfectly drained, moderatelycoarse to medium textured onlevel to very gently slopingtopography . Main soil manage-ment problems are maintenanceof tilth and good aeration .They are subject to short peri-ods of wetness or high watertable during the spring, fol-lowing heavy rains, or in yearsof above normal precipitation .Shallow surface drains shouldbe planned to remove excess wa-ter .

The soils in this sub-class are :

- 3 6 -

HRY HartneySWZ SwitzerWWS Wawanesa

2T - These are well to imperfectlydrained, medium to moderatelyfine textured soils on undulating to gently undulating topog-raphy . The conservation prac-tises of continuous croppingand returning the stubble isrecommended to minimize erosionlosses by wind and water .

Thesoils are :

CMR/xcxxCMR/1cxx

Class 3

Soils in this class have moderatelimitations that restrict the rangeof crops or require moderate conservation practices . The limitations inClass 3 are more severe than those inClass 2 and conservation practicesare more difficult to apply and main-tain . The limitations affect thetiming and ease of tillage, plantingand harvesting, the choice of cropsand maintenance of conservation prac-tices .

The limitations include oneor more of the following :

moderateclimatic limitation, erosion, struc-ture or permeability, low fertility,topography, overflow, wetness, lowwater holding capacity or slowness inrelease of water to plants, stoniness

very gently sloping, moderatelycoarse to coarse textured sandydeposits . They have rapidpermeability, low water reten-tion capacity, and low to mod-erate organic matter content .They are subject to droughti-

and depth of soil tobedrock . Under goodthese soils are fair tohigh in productivity for

consolidatedmanagement,moderatelya fairly

wide range of field crops .

3M - These soils occur on level to

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ness in the early summer duringperiods of low precipitation .Wind erosion is a problem ifthe land remains bare . Theyare relatively low in naturalfertility, but will respondwell to additions of nitrogen,phosphorus and potash . Organicresidues such as barnyard ma-nure, stubble, straw or greenmanure crops should be incorpo-rated into the soil regularlyto improve or maintain the or-ganic matter status, increasewater retention capacity, pre-vent erosion and to build upthe fertility . Under good man-agement, these soils willproduce good to excellent cropsof cereals, forage and hay .The soils in this subclass are :

SOU SourisSOU/xcxx

3ME - These are soils

similar toabove with slight erosion oroverblown layers .

Managementis similar to 3M soils .

SOU/1xxxSOU/Oxxx

3NM - These are imperfectly drained,slightly to moderately saline,coarse to moderately coarsetextured soils on level to verygently sloping topography .Crop growth is quite variablein these soils depending onmoisture conditions and amountof salts present . Managementproblems are similar to 3M and3NW soils . The soils are :

SOU/xxxs SourisSOU/xcxs

3NW1- These are imperfectly drained,slightly to moderately saline,fine textured soils on level tovery gently sloping topography .Crop growth is quite variable

- 3 7-

on these soils depending on themoisture conditions during theseason and the amount of saltspresent . Degree of salinity isquite variable not only in ahorizontal direction or at dif-ferent sites within an area,but also in a vertical direc-tion . Salts may also be tran-slocated either during the yearor over a period of years bycapillary rise of saline waterand subsequent evaporation re-sulting in a concentration ofsalts . The usual method to de-crease salinity in soils is toimprove drainage, avoid thepractice of summerfallow andgrow crops that will help maintain soil permeability .

Thesesoils are able to produce goodcrops of cereals, forage andhay crops under good manage-ment .

The soils in this unitare :

PPT/xxxs PipestonePPT1/xxxs

3NW2- These are imperfectly drained,slightly to moderately saline,moderately coarse to moderatelyfine textured soils on level tovery gently sloping topography .Degree of salinity is quitevariable throughout areas ofthese soils and the effect oncrops is also very variable de-pending on the type of cropgrown and moisture conditionsthroughout the growing season .These soils will produce goodcrops of cereals, forage andhay under good management andfertilizer practice . The soilsare :

HRY/xcxs HartneySWZ/xxxs SwitzerWWS/xxxs Wawanesa

3T - The topography on which these

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soils occur is undulating togently rolling . The major man-agement problem is to overcomethe complex topographic patternwhich imposes an obstacle tocultivation and runoff . Sincethese soils have shallower pro-file development, it is neces-sary to incorporate considerable crop residue,

manure orgreen manure crops as possibleto maintain good tilth .

Thesoils are :

LYT/xdxx Lyleton

Class 4

Soils in this class have severelimitations that, restrict the choiceof crops or require special conservation practices or both .

These soilshave such limitations that they areonly suited for a few crops, or theyield for a range of crops may below, or the risk of crop failure ishigh .

The limitations may seriouslyaffect such farm practices as thetiming and ease of tillage, plantingand harvesting, and the applicationand maintenance of conservation prac-tices . These soils are low to mediumin productivity for a narrow range ofcrops but may have higher productivi-ty for a specially adapted crop . Thelimitations include the adverse ef-fects of one or more of the follow-ing : climate, accumulative undesira-ble soil characteristics, lowfertility, deficiencies in the .stor-age capacity or release of soil mois-ture to plants, _structure or perme-ability, salinity, erosion,topography, overflow, wetness, stoni-ness, and depth of soil to consoli-dated bedrock .

4M - These are sandy to gravellycoarse textured, imperfectly towell drained soils that aredroughty . They are low in nat-ural fertility and low in or-ganic matter . Wind erosion isa hazard in cultivated areas .

- 38-

Organic residues such as barn-yard manure, stubble and greenmanure crops should be returnedto the soil to prevent erosion,build up nutrient levels, andincrease water retention capac-ity . These soils are suitablefor production of forage andcereal crops under good management .

The soils in this sub-class are :

RTO RutledgeSTU StantonSTU/1xxxSTU/OxxxSTU/xcxx

4ME - These soils are similar to the4M, and have had the surfacehorizon affected by erosion .Management should be similar to4M above, with greater precau-tion to minimize further ero-sion of the soil . The soilsare :

STU/lcxx

4N - These poorly

to imperfectlydrained, medium to fine tex-tured soils occur in depressional to level positions inthe landscape and are moderate-ly saline . They are also sub-ject to ponding for periods oftime during spring runoff andafter heavy summer rains .

Ifadequate artificial drainage isprovided, cereal grain and for-age crop production is possi-ble .

The soils in this classare :

PPT/xxxt PipestonePPT1/xxxtWWS/xxxt Wawanesa

4TM - These

are

moderately

welldrained, coarse textured soilsdeveloped on sandy deposits .These soils occur in undulatingto moderately rolling topogra-

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phy, and may be droughty andsusceptible to wind erosion indry seasons . Soil conservationpractices such as returningtrash to the soils is stronglyrecommended if these soils arecontinuously cultivated . Thesesoils are :

SCH/ldxx ScarthSTU/ldxx Stanton

Class 5

Soils in this class have very se-vere limitations that restrict theircapability to producing perennialforage crops, and improvement prac-tices are feasible . These soils havesuch serious soil, climatic or otherlimitations that they are not capableof use for sustained production ofannual field crops . However, theymay be improved by the use of farmmachinery for the production of na-tive or tame species of perennialforage plants .

Feasible improvementpractices include clearing of bush,cultivation, seeding, fertilizing andwater control .

soil conditions unlike those neededby the common crops .

5M - These coarse textured soils oc-cur on irregular, very gentlyto :moderately sloping topography .

They are rapidly drainedand are low in water-holdingcapacity . As a result of rapidpermeability, these soils aremoderately severely affected bydroughtiness . These soils are :

GDC/xcxx Grande-Clairiere

5N - These are imperfectly to some-what poorly drained fine and

- 3 9 -

medium textured soils on levelto very gently sloping terrain .Surface runoff is slow and in-ternal drainage is impeded byvery low permeability and ahigh water table in the spring .In addition, salinity condi-tions permit only salt tolerantforage crops to be grown . Thesoils are :

HRY/xcxu HartneyPPT/xxxu PipestoneWWS/xxxu Wawanesa

5W - These soils are slowly to veryslowly permeable and subject tofrequent ponding which may persist for considerable periodsof time . These soils occur inclosed depressional to levelareas and are rarely used forcereal crops .

In most seasonsnative hay may be put up onthese soils .

Where feasible,artificial drainage could im-prove these soils for cerealand forage production (rate as3W if drained adequately) .These soils are :

Cromer

Class 6

Soils in this class are capableonly of producing perennial foragecrops and improvement practices arenot feasible .

Class 6 soils havesome natural sustained grazing capac-ity for farm animals,

but have suchserious soil, climatic or other limi-tations as to make impractical theapplication of improvement practicesthat can be carried out on Class 5soils .

Soils may be placed in thisclass because their physical natureprevents the use of farm machinery,or because the soils are not respon-

Some soils in Class 5 can be usedfor cultivated field crops provided

CRMCRM/xxxs

unusually intensive management is CRM1used . Some of these soils are also CRM1/xxxsadapted to special crops requiring CRM1/xxxt

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sive to improvement practices, or be-cause stock watering facilities areinadequate .

6M - These are well drained, coarsetextured soils on moderate tosteep slopes which have verylow water holding capacities,and low fertility . The soilsare :

GDC/xdxx Grande-ClairiereGDC/xexxGDC/xfxx

6W - These are poorly drained de-pressional areas which are sat-urated or covered with waterfor much of the year . They arenot suitable for agriculturalcrops . They are only marginal-ly suitable for native hay un-less drainage can be improved .For the most part, they aresuited for native pasture .These soils are :

PAK

Plum Lake

6NW - These

are

poorly

drained,strongly saline soils on sandyto fine textured sediments occurring on nearly level to gen-tly undulating landscapes . Sa-linity conditions permit onlysalt tolerant species to grow .Utilization of these soils islimited to native hay or graz-ing . The soils are :

CRM/xxxu CromerEBL/xxxu EmblemMNV/xxxu MartinvilleOKL/xxxu Oak Lake

Class 7

Soils in this class have no capa-bility for arable culture or perma-nent pasture because of extremely severe limitations .

Bodies of watertoo small to delineate on the map areincluded in this class .

These soilsmay or may not have a high capability

CRM/xxxt Cromer for forestry, wildlife and recrea-CRMp/xxxt tion .EBL Emblem MHC MarshEBL/xxxs ZZ WaterMNV MartinvilleMNV/xxxs A summary of the soils showingMNV/xxxt their major characteristics and theirOKL Oak Lake interpretive classification for dry-OKL/xxxs land agriculture is presented in Ta-OKL/xxxt ble 6 .OKLp/xxxt

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TABLE . 6

AGRICULTURE CAPABILITY CLASSES FOR SOILS

Map Symboland Phase Soil Name

Total ExtentArea (ha)

AgriculturalCapability Class

IrrigationSuitability

CME Cranmer 16 2W 2DCMR Cameron 49 1 1CMR Cameron 13 1 1CMR /lcxx Cameron 50 2T 2TCRM Cromer 14 5W 4D

CRM /xxxs Cromer 151 5W 4DCRM /xxxt Cromer 458 6W 4DSCRMP /xxxt Cromer 110 6W 4DSCRM /xxxu Cromer 125 6NW 4DSCRM1 Cromer 22 5W 4D

CRM1 /xxxs Cromer 94 5W 4DCRM1 /xxxt Cromer 399 6W 4DSCRMl /xxxu Cromer 49 6NW 4DSEBL Emblem 23 6W 4DEBL /xxxs Emblem 55 6W 4D

EBL /xxxu Emblem 13 6NW 4DSGDC /xcxx Grande-Clairiere 363 5M 3SGDC /xdxx Grande-Clairiere 436 6M 4STGDC /xexx Grande-Clairiere 4 6M 4STGDC /xfxx Grande-Clairiere 230 6M 4ST

HRY Hartney 104 2W 2DHRY /xcxu Hartney 13 5N 4SDLYT Lyleton 47 2M 1LYT /xcxx Lyleton 233 2MT 2TLYT /Ocxx Lyleton 38 2MT 2T

LYT /lcxx Lyleton 20 2MT 2TLYT /xdxx Lyleton 35 3T 3TMHC Marsh Complex 1533 7W 4DMNV Martinville 863 6W 4DMNV /xxxs Martinville 599 6W 4D

MNV /xxxt Martinville 147 6W 4DSMNV /xxxu Martinville 94 6NW 4DSOKL Oak Lake 176 6W 4DOKL /xxxs Oak Lake 620 6W 4DSOKL /xxxt Oak Lake 263 6W 4DS

OKL /xxxu Oak Lake 10 6NW 4DSOKLp /xxxt Oak Lake 11 6W 4DSPAK Plum Lake 83 6W 4DPPT /xxxs Pipestone 266 3NW 4SPPT /xxxt Pipestone 68 4N 4S

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TABLE . 6

AGRICULTURE CAPABILITY CLASSES FOR SOILS

Mapand

SymbolPhase Soil Name

Total ExtentArea (ha)

AgriculturalCapability Class

IrrigationSuitability

PPT1 Pipestone 265 2W 4SPPT1 /xxxs Pipestone 179 3NW 4SPPT1 /xxxu Pipestone 25 5N 4SRTO Ralston 92 4M 3SSCH /ldxx Scarth 97 4TM 3ST

SOU Souris 774 4M 3SDSOU /lxxx Souris 103 3ME 3SDSOU /Oxxx Souris 13 3ME 3SDSOU /xxxs Souris 27 3NM 3SDSOU /xcxx Souris 507 3M 3SD

SOU /xcxs Souris 85 3NM 3SDSTU Stanton 208 4M 3SSTU /lxxx Stanton 118 4M 3SSTU /Oxxx Stanton 58 4M 3SSTU /xcxx Stanton 563 4M 3S

STU /lcxx Stanton 64 4ME 3SSTU /ldxx Stanton 23 4TM 3STSWZ Switzer 88 2W 2DSWZ /xxxs Switzer 84 3NW 3SWWS Wawanesa 951 2W 2S

WWS /xxxs Wawanesa 103 3NW 3SDWWS /xxxt Wawanesa 21 4N 4SDWWS /xxxu Wawanesa 8 5N 4SDZZZ Water 3023 7W 4D

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4.3

IRRIGATION SUITABILITY

Irrigation suitability of soils isa relative rating to indicate theirlimitation for sustained production,risk of damage or crop losses, andthe ability to maintain favorablesoil properties under long term irri-gation use . Since the land wasmapped on the series-phase basis, arating for a particular member isprovided using pertinent guidelinesof Land Classification for Irriga-tion .

The classification of land for ir-rigation suitability involves anevaluation of physical, economic andsociological factors of the area .Physical factors such as soil, water,and climate determine the potentialof an area to produce crops . The ec-onomic factors determine the kind ofcrops grown, and the monetary returnthat might be expected . The lesstangible sociological factors includethe available human resources and theinfluences that intensive and spe-cialized cultural practises may haveon the community .

However, from thestandpoint of determining the suit-ability of soil for irrigation, onlythe physical factors of the land re-source will be considered in this re-port .

Soil classification, as a system-atic procedure for identifying genet-ic soil variability, provides a soundbasis for assessing the suitabilityof land resources for irrigation .The irrigation suitability classifi-cation for land is based on pre-dictions of soil behavior under con-trolled conditions of soil moistureand intensive cultural practises . Itrequires a comprehensive knowledge ofexisting soil properties such as thenatural soil water regime and the de-gree of salinity . These two factorsare particularly important because oftheir affect on plant growth and be-cause they are the properties most

- 4 3-

susceptible to change under drasti-cally altered soil water regimes .For irrigation purposes, both salini-ty and drainage must be appraised interms of the anticipated effects onfuture productivity .

It is emphasized that, at thisstage, the properties of the seriesand phases are rated, not the land inrelation to other soil units in thelandscape . This rating is a firstapproximation for general use to beused in conjunction with adjacentsoil members, drilling results, andland use evaluation in order to makea final land classification ratingdetermined by evaluating the natureof both the internal and externalcharacteristics (PFRA 1964 ; Michalynaand Smith 1972) . The classificationof soils for irrigation suitabilityconsists of two categories :

classand subclass .

The suitability class groups soilshaving the same relative suitabilityor degree of limitation or hazard forirrigation use . Four classes areutilized grading from 1, which isvery good to 4, which is poor . Thefour classes are :

1 - very good :

These are soils offine sandy loam to clay loamtexture which are well suitedfor irrigation use .

The soilshave good water retention capac-ity, good permeability, low saltcontent, good drainage and lowgeneral gradient of land sur-face .

2 - Good :

These are soils of loamyfine sand to light clay texturewhich are moderately well suitedfor irrigation use . Slight lim-itation to use results from soilfactors such as water holdingcapacity, permeability, depth ofmaterial, salt content, topo-graphic factors such as slopeand pattern or drainage restric-

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tions arising from surfacedrainage and depth to water ta-ble .

3 - Fair :

These are coarse or finetextured soils which are fair tomarginally suitable because ofsome unfavourable characteris-tics that limit production andcause management problems underirrigation use . Soil, topo-graphic or drainage factors aremore restrictive than in Class2 .

4 - Poor :

These are soils that areconsidered poor to unsuitablefor irrigation use because ofsevere drainage problems,

im-permeable geologic material, sa-linity, very low water holdingcapacity, very rapid permeabili-ty, topography or a combinationof these problems .

The suitability subclass identi-fies soils with similar kinds of lim-itations and hazards related to bothinternal and external soil character-istics . The characteristics are Sfor soil factors, T for external andtopographic factors, and D for drain-age or drainability constraints .

S - Soil factors are texture, waterholding capacity, hydraulic con-ductivity (or permeability),uniformity and depth of geolog-ical deposits, depth to impervi-ous or slowly permeable layer,level of soluble salts and rela-tive sodium level (SAR) .

T - External features are those thataffect the transport of waterand any obstructions to operation of equipment or affect ade-quate size of land . These fac-tors are the type of topographyand slope gradients,

degree ofstones or rock . (The size andshape of field,

surface level-ling requirement and vegetative

- 4 4-

covering are not included in therating at this point, but areconsidered at the next step ofland classification) .

D - Drainage is rated on the basisof the implied internal and sur-face wetness of the soil seriesand phase at this stage . (For aland classification, the drain-ability of the land area in con-junction with a satisfactoryoutlet are considered) .

The land classification criteriafor irrigation are summarized in Ta-ble 7 . The soils are evaluated forirrigation suitability in Table 6 .

4 .4

SOIL SUITABILITY FOR SELECTEDENGINEERING USES

This section provides informationwhich can be used by engineers andland use planners concerned with engineering and related geotechnicalaspects of soil . It is intended tosupplement the information on thesoil map with additional data on en-gineering properties of soils .

The criteria used to evaluate soilsuitability for selected engineeringand related recreational uses areadopted from guides found in Coen, etal . (1977), and from guidelines de-veloped by the Soil Conservation Ser-vice, United States Department of Ag-riculture (1971), and the Canada SoilSurvey Committee (1973) .

Definition of Soil SuitabilityClasses

Evaluation of soil suitability forengineering and recreation uses isbased on both internal and externalsoil characteristics . Four soilsuitability classes are used to eval-

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uate both mineral and organic soilsand hence, mapping units for selecteduses . These ratings express relativedegrees of suitability or limitationfor potential uses of natural or es-sentially undisturbed soils . Thelong term effects of the potentialuse on the behavior of the soil areconsidered in the rating .

The four suitability class ratingsare defined as follows :

G-Good :

Soils in their presentstate have few or minorlimitations that wouldaffect the proposeduse . The limitationswould easily be over-come with minimal cost .

F-Fair :

Soils in their presentstate have one or moremoderate limitationsthat would affect theproposed use . Thesemoderate limitationswould be overcome withspecial construction,design, planning ormaintenance .

P-Poor :

Soils in their presentstate have one or moresevere limitations thatwould severely affectthe proposed use . Toovercome these severelimitations would re-

quire the removal ofthe limitation or dif-ficult and costly al-teration of the soil orspecial design or in-tensive maintenance .

V-Very Poor : Soils have one or morefeatures so unfavorablefor the proposed usethat the limitation isvery difficult and ex-pensive to overcome orthe soil would requiresuch extreme alterationthat the proposed useis economically imprac-tical .

Soil Sui tability Subclasses

The subclasses indicate the basicsoil properties that singly or incombination with others commonly af-fect soil suitability for selectedengineering properties and recreationuses . The properties and their re-spective codes are provided in Table8 . These subclass designations serveto identify the kind of limitation orhazard for a particular use .

Example : "Pai" for permanentbuildings with basements - indicatesa soil rating of poor (P) due to subgrade properties (a) and floodinghazard (i) .

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Class 3 - Fair

Sand to permeableclay

25 to 75 sat . Z> 7 .5cm storage in 1.2m<17 .5cm/hr . hydrauliccond .

.Sm or more of sandyloam or heavier, or .6mplus of loamy sand

> lm of permeablematerial

< 8 me/cm in 0- .6m<15 me/cm below .6m<12 S .A.R .

Light to heavy clearing

<5% in generalgradient(5-10Z slope)

Moderate to severedrainage problemanticipated but maybe improved by ex-pensive but feasiblemeasures

within 1.5m mostof year

Class 4 - Poor

Gravel toclay

<25 or >75 sat . Z< 7 .5cm storage in 1 .2m> 17 .5cm/hr . hydrauliccond .

< .5m of sandy loamor heavier, or .6mof loamy sand orsand

<lm of permeablematerial

> 8 me/cm in 0- .6m>15 ms/cm below .6m>12 S .A.R .

Excessively stony

>5% in general*gradient(>10% slope)**

Drainage improve-ment not consideredfeasible

1 If sufficient gypsum is present in the soil, the S .A.R . may be lowered by leaching thesoil (a very slow process), and the hydraulic conductivity may then improve .

2 The degree of salinity may vary widely within short distances, and there may be no clearindication of the area occupied by each salinity class . Unless a very detailed mappingand sampling program is carried out, it is impossible to estimate the acreage occupiedlow.

w%

b

e

y cNo. 00, go

WW_

W&

KW so asI

no

* Criteria for gravity (flood) irrigation requirements .** Estimated adjustments to slope criteria for overhead

or sprinkler type irrigation methods .

within lm mostof year

Table 7 . Land Classification Standards for Irrigation'Suitability .

Land Characteristics Subclass Class 1 - Very Good Class 2 - Good

SOILS STexture

very coarse textured v Fine sandy loamy to Loamy fine sand tovery fine textured h clay loamy light clay

Water holding capacitylow available moisture capacity q 40 to 60 sat . Z 35 to 65 sat . %

> 15cm storage in 1.2m >12 .5cm storage in 1 .2m< 10cm/hr . hydraulic < 12 .5cm/hr . hydrauliccond . cond .

Geological Depositshallow deposit over sand or .9m or more of fine .6m or more of finegravel k sandy loam or sandy loam or

heavier heavier, or .75m plusof loamy fine sandor sandy loam

i shallow deposit over >3m of permeable >12m of permeable.a impervious substrata b material material

i Salinity and Alkalinityl ,2 a < 4 me/cm in 0- .6m <4 me/cm in 0- .6m<8 me/cm below .6m <12 me/cm below .6m<6 S .A.R . <8 S .A.R .

EXTERNAL FEATURESStones - rock clearing r None to light Light to medium clearing

clearingTopography T g <12 and 0 .1% in <3% in general

Slope general gradient gradientexcess gradient (0-3% slope) (3-5Z slope)

DRAINAGE Drestricted outlet No problem Moderate drainage

anticipated problem anticipatedbut may be improvedat relatively low cost

water table below 2 .4m most could be above 1.5m forof year a short period, then

recedes to 2 .4m orlower

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Codes utilized to identify limitations in evaluating soil suitability forselected Engineering and Recreational Uses

a subgrade properties

b thickness of topsoil

c coarse fragments on surface

d depth to bedrock

e erosion or erodibility

TABLE 8

f susceptibility to frost hazard

g contamination hazard of groundwater

h depth to seasonal water table

i flooding or inundation

thickness of slowly permeablematerial

k permeability or hydraulicconductivity

1 shrink-swell properties

m moisture limitations or deficit

n salinity or sulphate hazard

o organic matter

p stoniness

q depth to sand or gravel

r rockiness

s surface texture

t topographic slope class

u moist consistence

w wetness or soil drainage class

z permafrost

- 4 7-

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Guides for Assessing Soil Suitabilityfor Engineering Uses

The assessment of soil suitabilityfor ten engineering related land usesare based on the Guidelines as reported by Coen et al 1977, andU .S .D .A . 1971 . In assessing soilsuitability for various engineeringuses, the degree of suitability wasdetermined by the most restrictive ormost severe rating assigned to anyone of the listed soil properties .For example, if the suitability was"Good" for all but one soil propertywhich was estimated to be "VeryPoor", then the overall rating of thesoil for that selected . use was "VeryPoor" . Suitability of individualsoil properties, if estimated to be"Fair" or "Poor",

can be cumulativein their effect for a particular use .Judgement was required to determinewhether the severity of the combinedeffects of several soil properties onsuitability for a particular use willresult in downgrading an evaluation .This was left to the discretion ofthe interpreter .

It is incorrect toassume that each of the major soilproperties influencing a particularuse has an equal effect .

Class lim-its established for rating the suit-ability of individual soil propertiestake this into account .

For a se-lected use,

therefore, only thosesoil properties which most severelylimit that use are specified .

Engineering descriptions and esti-mated properties significant to engi-neering for all soils are provided inTable 9 .

These data, in addition toinformation contained in other sec-tions of the report have been used torate the soils according to theirsuitability for ten selected engi-neering uses in Table 10 . When usingthese interpretations, considerationmust be given to the following as-sumptions :

- 4 8-

1 . Interpretations are based on pre-dictions of soil behavior underdefined conditions of use andmanagement as specified in thepreamble to each of the GuidelineTables referenced .

2 . Soil ratings do not include sitefactors such as nearness to townsand highways ; wateraesthetic values, etc .

supply,

3 . Soil ratings are based on natu-ral, undisturbed soil .

4 . Soil suitability ratings are usu-ally given for the entire soil,but for some uses, they may bebased on the limitations of anindividual soil horizon or otherearthy layer, because of its ov-erriding importance . Ratingsrarely apply to soil depthsgreater than 1 .5 to 2 meters, butin some kinds of soils, reason-able estimates can be given forsoil material at greater depths .It should be noted here that theterm "soil" has been usedthroughout the report in the pe-dologic sense and differs in con-cept from that commonly used byengineers .

5 . Poor and very poor soil ratingsdo not imply that a site cannotbe changed to remove, correct ormodify the soil limitations . Theuse of soils rated as poor de-pends on the nature of the limi-tations, whether or not the soillimitation can be altered suc-cessfully-and economically, andon the scarcity of good sites .

6 . Interpretations of map units donot eliminate the need for on-site evaluation by qualified professionals .

Due to the variablenature of soils, and the scale ofmapping, small, unmappable inclu-sions of soils with differentproperties may be present in an

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area where a development isplanned . The need for or impor-tance of on-site studies dependson the use to be made of the soiland the kinds of soil and soilproblems involved .

4 .5

SOIL SUITABILITY FOR SELECTEDRECREATION USES

This section provides interpreta-tions of the soil suitability forrecreational development .

All typesof soil can be used for recreationalactivities of some kind .

Soils and their properties deter-mine to a large degree, the type andlocation of recreational facilities .Wet soils are not suitable for camp-sites, roads, playgrounds or picnicareas . Soils that pond and dry outslowly after heavy rains presentproblems where intensive use is con-templated .

it is difficult to main-

tain grass cover for playing fieldsand golf courses on droughty soils .The feasibility of many kinds of out-door activities are determined byother basic soil properties such asdepth to bedrock, stoniness, topogra-phy or land pattern, and the abilityof the soil to support vegetation ofdifferent kinds as related to itsnatural fertility .

The suitability of the varioussoil series and phases for selectedrecreation uses is shown in Table 11according to four classes, Good,Fair, Poor and Very Poor defined pre-viously in the section on EngineeringUses . Subclasses are employed toidentify the kind of limitation orhazard for a particular use .

An ex-planation of subclass symbols areprovided in Table 8 .

The ratings were judged accordingto guidelines for various recreationuses as presented in the report byCoen et al 1977 .

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Table 9.Engineering Description of Soils and Their Estimated Properties Significant to Engineering Uses

Soil Depth Textural Classification % Passing Sieve Disturbed Reaction Elec- Sulphate Shrink- Depth toMapSeries (cm) Hydraulic (pH) trical Hazard Swell SeasonalSym- USDA Unified AASHO No . 10 No . 40 No . 200 Conductivity Conduc- Poten- Waterbol Name 2 .0 mm 0 .42 mm 0 .074 mm (cm/hr) tivity tial Table (m)

(ms/cm)

0-25 L-CL OL - 100 100 95-100 1 .5-5 7 .4-7 .8 <1 .6 low mod . <1C14E Cranmer25-100+ SiCL CL A-7-6 100 100 95-100 .5-5 7 .8-8 .2 <1 .6 low mod .

0-25 L OL - 100 100 75-85 1 .5-5 7 .0-7 .8 <0 .5 low lowCMR Cameron25-100 L ML A-4 t00 100 75-85 1 .5-5 7 .8-8 .2 <1 .6 low low >2

0-30 C OH - 100 100 100 .15- .5 7 .4-7 .8 <1 .6 low high seasonalCRM Cromer30-100+ C CH A-7-6 100 100 100 < .15 7 .8-8 .2 <4 low-mod . high at

surface

0-30 C OH - 100 100 100 .15- .5 7 .4-7 .8 >4 high high seasonalCRM Cromersaline 30-100+ C CH A-7-6 100 100 100 < .15 7 .8-8 .2 >4 high high ats,t,u surface

0-30 C OH - 100 100 100 .15- .5 7 .4-7 .8 <1 .6 low high seasonalCRMI Cromersandy 30-90 C CH A-7-6 100 100 100 < .15 7 .8-8 .2 <4 low-mod . high ats,t,usubstrate 90-100+ FS-LS SP A-3,A-2-4 100 85-95 5-35 5-15 7 .8-8 .2 <4 low-mod . neg . surface

0-30 C OH - 100 100 100 .15-5 7 .4-7 .8 >4 high high seasonalCRMI Cromersaline 30-90 C CH A-7-6 100 100 100 < .15 7 .8-8 .2 >4 high high atss,

s,t,u 90-100+ FS-LS SP A-3,A-2-4 100 85-95 5-35 5-15 7 .8-8 .2 >4 high neg . surface

EBL Emblem 0-35 L-CL OL to OH - too 100 100 1 .5-5 7 .6-8 .2 <1 .6 low mod . seasonal35-100+ L ML A-4 100 100 85-95 1 .5-5 7 .8-8 .2 <4 low-mod . mod . at

surface

EHL Emblem 0-35 L-CL OL to OH - 100 100 100 1 .5-5 7 .8-8 .2 >4 severe mod . seasonals,u saline 35-100+ L ML A-4 100 100 65-95 1 .5-5 7 .8-8 .2 >4 severe mod . at

surface

GDC Grande 0-25 LFS SM - 100 100 25-35 15-50 5 .0-6 .2 0 .5 10w neg .Clairiere 25-100+ FS SP A-3 100 95-100 5-10 15-50 6 .2-6 .5 0 .5 low neg . >2

HRY Hartney 0-30 L OL - t00 100 75-85 1 .5-5 7 .6-6 .2 <1 .6 low low <130-100+ L-SiL ML to CL A-4,A-6 100 100 75-85 1 .5-5 7 .8-8 .2 <4 low-mod . low

HRY Hartney 0-30 L OL - 100 100 75-85 1 .5-5. 7 .8-8 .2 >4 high low <1s,t,u saline 30-100+ SiL ML to CL A-4,A-6 100 100 75-85 1 .5-5 7 .8-8 .2 >4 high low

LYT LyIeton 0-35 LVFS-VFSL OL - 100 100 50-70 1 .5-5 7 .0-7 .4 < .5 low low >235-100+ LVFS-VFS ML A-4 100 100 50-70 1 .5-5 7 .3-8 .0 <1 .6 low neg .

MHC Marsh 0-15 peaty Pt - - - - - 7 .5-6 .2 <2 low-mod . - aboveComplex 15-100 var . vac . vac . - - - - 7 .5-8 .2 <6 low-mod . var . surface

MNV Martinville 0-45 L OL - 100 100 50-60 1 .5-5 7 .4-7 .8 <1 .6 low low seasonal45-90 L Ml. A-4 100 100 50-60 1 .5-5 7 .8-8 .2 <4 low-mod . low at90-100+ FS-LFS SP A-2-4 100 100 10-20 5-15 7 .5-8 .2 <4 low-mod . neg . surface

MNV Martinville 0-45 L OL - 100 100 50-60 1 .5-5 7 .4-7 .8 >4 high low seasonals,t,u saline 45-90 L ML A-4 100 100 50-60 1 .5-5 7 .8-8 .2 >4 high low at

90-100+ FS-LFS SP A-2-4 100 100 10-20 5-15 7 .5-6 .2 >4 high neg . surface

OKL Oak Lake 0-50 LFS SM - 100 100 25-35 5-15 7 .6-8 .0 <1 .6 low neg . seasonal50-100+ FS SP A-3 100 95-100 5-10 5-15 7 .8-8 .2 <4 low-mod . neg . at

surface

PAK Plum Lake 0-40 LVFS OL - 100 100 50-60 5-15 7 .6-8 .0 <1 .6 low low seasonal40-100+ VFS SM A-2-4 100 100 25-35 5-15 7 .8-8 .2 <4 low-mod . neg . at

surface

PPT Pipestone 0-40 C ON - 100 100 too .15- .5 7 .0-7 .6 <1 .6 low high <140--100+ C CH A-7-6 100 100 100 < .15 7 .8-8 .2 <4 low-mod . high

PPT Pipestone 0-40 C 011 - 100 100 100 .15- .5 7 .0-7 .6 >4 high high <1s,t,u saline 40-100+ C CH A-7-6 100 100 100 < .15 7 .8-8 .2 >4 high high

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* Permeability of horizons or layers,is expressed in cm/hr

** Sulfate Hazard - relative degree of sulfate attack onconcrete based on criteria establishedby U .S . Bureau of Reclamation .

very rapid

>50 cm/hr

moderate

1 .5-5 cm/hrrapid

15-50 cm/hr

moderately slow

0 .5-1 .5 cm/hrmoderately rapid

5-15 cm/hr

slow

.15-0 .5 cm/hrvery slow

< .15

Abbreviations :mod . - moderatenag . - negligible

Table 9 Engineering Description of Soils and Their Estimated Properties Significant to Engineering Uses

Map Soil Depth Textural Classification % Passing Sieve Disturbed Reaction Elec- Sulphate Shrink- Depth toSym- Series (cm) Hydraulic (pH) trical Hazard Swell Seasonalbol Name USDA Unified AASHO No . 10 No . 40 No . 200 Conductivity Conduc- Poten- Water

2 .0 mm 0 .42 mm 0 .074 mm (cm/hr) tivity tial Table (m)(m5/cm)

PPT1 Pipestone 0-40 C OH - 100 100 100 .15- .5 7 .0-7 .6 <4 low high <1sandy 40-90 C CH A-7-6 100 100 100 < .15 7 .8-8 .2 <4 low-mod . highsubstrate 90-100+ FS-LS SP A-3,A-2-4 "00 65-95 5-15 5-15 7 .8-8 .2 <4 low-mod . nag .

PPTI Pipestone 0-40 C OH - 100 100 100 .15- .5 7 .0-7 .6 >4 high high <1s,t,u ss, 40-90 C CH A-7-6 100 100 100 < .15 7 .8-8 .2 >4 high high

saline 90-100+ FS-LS SP A-3,A-2-4 100 85-95 5-15 5-15 7 .8-8 .2 >4 high nag .RTO Ralston 0-25 1.F5 SM - 100 100 25-35 15-50 6 .5-7 .0 < .5 low nag . <I

25-100+ FS SP A-3 100 95-100 5-10 15-50 7 .0-7 .4 < .5 low nag .SCH Scarth 0-20 LFS SM to SP - 100 85-95 5-35 5-15 7 .4-7 .8 < .5 low nag . >220-100 FS-LS SM to SP A-3,A-2-4 100 85-95 3-15 5-15 7 .8-8 .2 <1 .6 low nag .SOU Souris 0-35 LFS SM - 100 100 25-35 5-15 7 .4-7 .8 <1 .6 low nag . <1

35-100+ FS SP A-3 100 95-100 5-10 5-15 7 .8-8 .2 <4 low-mod . nag .SOU Souris 0-35 LFS SM - 100 100 25-35 5-15 7 .8-8 .2 >4 high nag . <1s, saline 35-100+ FS SP A-3 100 95-100 5-10 5-15 7 .8-8 .2 >4 high nag .STU Stanton 0-60 LFS SM - 100 100 25-35 5-15 6 .5-7 .0 < .5 low nag . >2

60-100+ FS SP A-3 100 95-100 5-10 5-15 7 .6-8 .2 < .5 low nag .SWZ Switzer 0-35 LVFS-VFSL OL - 100 100 75-90 1 .5-5 7 .6-8 .2 <1 .6 low low <1

35-100+ LVFS-VFS ML A-4 100 100 75-85 1 .5-5 7 .6-8 .2 <4 low-mod . nag .SW2 Switzer 0-25 LVFS-VFSL OL - 100 100 75-90 1 .5-5 7 .8-8 .2 >4 high lows, saline 25-100+ LVFS-VFS ML A-4 too 100 5-85 1 .5-5 7 .8-8 .2 >4 high nag . <1

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TABLE . 10 SUITABILITY RATINGS OF SOILS FOR SELECTED ENGINEERING USES ' .

60 Aw Ma ~m oft., 1

Map Symboland Phase Soil Name

TopSoil

Sand &Gravel

RoadFill

Permanent Bldgs .With Basements

Local Roadsand Streets

SanitaryTrench

LandfillArea

CoverMaterial

SewageLagoons

SepticFields

CME Cranmer Fs Va Faw Pw Faw Pw Fw Fs Fk PhkCMR Cameron G Va Fa Fa Fa G G G Fa FkCMR Cameron G Va Fa Fa Fa G G G Fa FkCMR /lcxx Cameron Fb Va Fa Fa Fa G G G Fat FkCRM Cromer Ps Va Paw Vh Paw Vh Vh Psw G Vkh

CRM /xxxs Cromer Pan Va Paw Vh Paw Vh Vh Psw G VkhCRM /xxxt Cromer Vn Va Paw Vh Paw Vh Vh Psw G VkhCRMP /xxxt Cromer Vn Va Vwa Vh Paw Vh Vh Psw G VkhCRM /xxxu Cromer Vn Va Paw Vh Paw Vh Vh . Psw G VkhCRM1 Cromer Ps Pq Paw Vh Paw Vh Vh Psw Pi Vh

CRM1 /xxxs Cromer Psn Pq Paw Vh Paw Vh Vh Psw Pi VhCRMl /xxxt Cromer Vn Pq Paw Vh Paw Vh Vh Psw Pi VhCRM1 /xxxu Cromer Vn Pq Paw Vh Paw Vh Vh Psw Pi VhEBL Emblem G Va Pw Vw Pw Vw Pw Pw Vh VhEBL /xxxs Emblem Pn Va Pw Vw Pw Vw Pw Pw Vh Vh

EBL /xxxu Emblem Vn Va Vw Vh Vi Vh Vh Pw Vh VhGDC /xcxx Grande-Clairiere Vsb G G G G Vk Vk Vs Vk GgGDC /xdxx Grande-Clairiere Vsb G G G G Vh Vk Vs Vk GgGDC /xexx Grande-Clairiere Vsb G G Ft Ft Vk Vk Vs Vkt FtgGDC /xfxx Grande-Clairiere Vbt G Ft Pt Pt Vk Vk Vs Vkt Ptg

HRY Hartney G Va Faw Pw Faw Pw Fw G Fak . PhHRY /xcxu Hartney Vn Va Faw Fa Faw Pw Fw Fs Fa PhLYT Lyleton G Va Fa Fa Fa Pk Pk Fs Pk FkLYT /xcxx Lyleton G Va Fa Fa Fa Pk Pk Fs Pk FkLYT /Ocxx Lyleton G Va Fa Fa Fa Pk Pk Fs Pk Fk

LYT /lcxx Lyleton Fb Va Fa Fa Fa Pk Pk Fs Pk FkLYT /xdxx Lyleton Ft Va Fa Fa Fa Pk Fs Fs Pk FkMHC Marsh Complex Vw Va Vw Vw Vw Vw Vw Vw Vh VhMNV Martinville Fs Va Paw Vh Pwi Vh Vh Pw Vh VhMNV /xxxs Martinville Pn Va Paw Vh Pwi Vh Vh Pw Vh Vh

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TABLE .10 SUITABILITY RATINGS OF SOILS FOR SELECTED ENGINEERING USES

Nw

Map Symbol Top Sand & Road Permanent Bldgs . Local Roads Sanitary Landfill Cover Sewage Septicand Phase Soil Name Soil Gravel Fill With Basements and Streets Trench Area Material Lagoons Fields

MNV /xxxt Martinville Vn Va Paw Vh Pwi Vh Vh Pw Vh VhMNV /xxxu Martinville Vn Va Paw Vh Pwi Vh Vh Pw Vh VhOKL Oak Lake Ps Pa Paw Vw Pwi Vh Vh Pw Vkh VhOKL /xxxs Oak Lake Pn Pa Paw Vh Pwi Vh Vh Pw Vkh VhOKL /xxxt Oak Lake Vn Pa Paw Vh Pwi Vh Vh Pw Vkh Vh

OKL /xxxu Oak Lake Vn Pa Paw Vh Pwi Vh Vh Pw Vkh VhOKLp /xxxt Oak Lake Vn Pa Paw Vh Vw Vh Vh Vw Vkh VhPAK Plum Lake Ps Pa Paw Vw Pwi Vh Vh Pw Vh VhPPT /xxxs Pipestone Psn Va Pa Paw Pa Pw Fw Ps G PkPPT /xxxt Pipestone Vn Va Pa Paw Pa Pw Fw Ps G Pk

PPT1 Pipestone Ps Pq Faw Pw Pa Pw Vk Ps Pi PkPPT1 /xxxs Pipestone Psn Pq Faw Pw Pa Pw Vk Ps Pj PkPPT1 /xxxu Pipestone Vn Pg Faw Pw Pa Pw Vk Ps Pi PkRTO Ralston Fs Fa Fw Pw Fw Pkw Vk Vs Vk FhSCH /ldxx Scarth Psb Fa G G G Vk Vk Vs Vk Gg

SOU Souris Ps Pa Fw Pw Fw Vsk Vk Vs Vk PhSOU /lxxx Souris Ps Pa Fw Pw Fw Vsk Vk Vs Vk PhSOU /Oxxx Souris Ps Pa Fw Pw Fw Vsk Vk Vs Vk PhSOU /xxxs Souris Psn Fa Fw Pw Fw Vk Vk Vs Vk FhgSOU /xcxx Souris Psb Fa Fw Pw Fw Vk Vk Vs Vk Fhg

SOU /xcxs Souris Psb Fa Fw Pw Fw Vk Vk Vs Vk FhgSTU Stanton Ps Fa G G G Vs Vk Vs Vk GgSTU /lxxx Stanton Psb Fa G G G Vk Vk Vs Vk GgSTU /Oxxx Stanton Ps Fa G G G Vk Vk Vs Vk GgSTU /xcxx Stanton Ps Fa G G G Vk Vk Vs Vk Gg

STU /lcxx Stanton Psb Fa G G G Vs Vk Vs Vk GgSTU /ldxx Stanton Psb Fa G G G Vk Vk Vs Vk GgSWZ Switzer G Va Fw Pw Faw Pw Fw Fs Pk PhSWZ /xxxs Switzer Pn Va Fw Pw Faw Pw Fw Fs Pk PhWWS Wawanesa Fb Pq Fw Pw Faw Vk Vk Pw Vk FkWWS /xxxs Wawanesa Pn Pq Fw Pw Faw Vk Vk Pw Vk FkWWS /xxxt Wawanesa Vn Pq Fw Pw Faw Vk Vk Pw Vk PhWWS /xxxu Wawanesa Vn Pq Fw Pw Faw Vk Vk Pw Vk PhZZZ Water

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TABLE . 11

SUITABILITY RATINGS OF SOILS FOR RECREATIONAL USES

Mapand

SymbolPhase Soil Name

PlayGround

PicnicArea

CampArea

Path AndTrails

Permanent Bldgs .Without Basements

CME Cranmer Fsw Fsw Fsw Fsw FawCMR Cameron Fs Fs Fs Fs FaCMR Cameron Fs Fs Fs Fs FaCMR /lcxx Cameron Fst Fs Fs Fs FaCRM Cromer Pkw Psw Psw Psw Vh

CRM /xxxs Cromer Pkw Psw Psw Psw VhCRM /xxxt Cromer Pkw Psw Psw Psw VhCRMp /xxxt Cromer Vs Psw Psw Psw VhCRM /xxxu Cromer Psw Psw Psw Psw VhCRM1 Cromer Psw Psw Psw Psw Vh

CRM1 /xxxs Cromer Psw Paw Psw Psw VhCRM1 /xxxt Cromer Psw Psw Psw Psw VhCRM1 /xxxu Cromer Psw Psw Psw Psw VhEBL Emblem Pw Pw Pw Pw PwEBL /xxxs Emblem Pwn Pwn Pwn Pw Pw

EBL /xxxu Emblem Pw Pw Pw Psw VhGDC /xcxx Grande-Clairiere Vs Vs Vs Vs GGDC /xdxx Grande-Clairiere Vs Vs Vs Ps GGDC /xexx Grande-Clairiere Vst Vs Vs Ps FtGDC /xfxx Grande-Clairiere Vst Vs Vs Ps Pt

HRY Hartney Fsw Fsw Fsw Fsw FawHRY /xcxu Hartney Fsw Fs Ps Fs FaLYT Lyleton G G G G FaLYT /xcxx Lyleton Ft G G G FaLYT /Ocxx Lyleton Ft G G G Fa

LYT /lcxx Lyleton Ft G G G FaLYT /xdxx Lyleton Pt Ft G G FaMHC Marsh Complex Vw Vw Vw Vw VwMNV Martinville Pw Pw Pw Pw VhMNV /xxxs Martinville Pw Pw Pw Pw Vh

MNV /xxxt Martinville Pw Pw Pw Pw VhMNV /xxxu Martinville Pw Pw Pw Pw VhOKL Oak Lake Pw Pw Pw Pw VhOKL /xxxs Oak Lake Pw Pw Pw Pw VhOKL /xxxt Oak Lake Pw Pw Pw Pw Vh

OKL /xxxu Oak Lake Pw Pw Pw Pw VhOKLp /xxxt Oak Lake Vsw Vsw Vsw Pw VhPAK Plum Lake Pw Pw Pw Pw Vh

PPT /xxxs Pipestone Ps Ps Psw Ps Paw

PPT /xxxt Pipestone Ps Ps Psw Ps Paw

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TABLE .11

SUITABILITY RATINGS OF SOILS FOR RECREATIONAL USES

Mapand

SymbolPhase Soil Name

PlayGround

PicnicArea

CampArea

Path AndTrails

Permanent Bldgs .Without Basements

PPT1 Pipestone Ps Ps Psw Ps PawPPT1 /xxxs Pipestone Ps Ps Psw Ps PawPPT1 /xxxu Pipestone Ps Ps Psw Ps PawRTO Ralston Vs Vs Vs Vs FwSCH /ldxx Scarth Pst Fs Fs G G

SOU Souris Fsw Fsw Fsw Fw Fw

SOU /lxxx Souris Fsw Fsw Fsw Fw Fw

SOU /Oxxx Souris Fsw Fsw Fsw Fw Fw

SOU /xxxs Souris Fsw Fsw Fsw Fw Fw

SOU /xcxx Souris Fst Fsw Fsw Fw Fw

SOU /xcxx Souris Fst Fsw Fsw Fw FwSTU Stanton Fsm Fsm Fs G GSTU /lxxx Stanton Ps Fs Fs G G

STU /Oxxx Stanton Ps Fs Fs G GSTU /xcxx Stanton Ps Fs Fs G G

STU /lcxx Stanton Ps Fsm Fs G G

STU /ldxx Stanton Pst Fs Fs G GSWZ Switzer Fw Fw Fw Fw FwSWZ /xxxs Switzer Pwn Pwn Pwn Fwn FwWWS Wawanesa Fs Fsw Fsw Fw Fw

WWS /xxxs Wawanesa Fs Fsw Fsw Fw FwWWS /xxxt Wawanesa Fs Fsw Fsw Fw FwWWS /xxxu Wawanesa Fs Psw Fsw Fw FwZZZ Water

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ARDA, Department of Forestry . 1965 .Soil Capability Classification forAgriculture . The Canada LandInventory, Report No . 2, Ottawa,Canada .

Bernstein, L . 1974 . Crop Growth andSalinity . CH . 3 of Drainage forAgriculture, ion van Schilfgaarde,ed ., Agronomy No . 17, AmericanSociety of Agronomy . Madison,Wisconsin .

Canada Soil Survey Committee . 1973 .Proceedings of the Ninth Meetingof the Canada Soil SurveyCommittee . University ofSaskatchewan, Saskatoon . 357 pp .

Canada Soil Survey Committee,Subcommittee on SoilClassification . 1978 . TheCanadian System of SoilClassification . Can . Dept . Agric .Publ . 1646, Supply and ServicesCanada, Ottawa, Ont .

Coen, G .M ., Epp, P .F ., Tajek, J . andKnapik, L . 1977 . Soil Survey ofYoho National Park, Canada .Alberta Soil Survey Report No . 37 .208 pp . Alberta Institute ofPedology, University of Alberta,Edmonton, Alberta .

Ehrlich, W .A ., Pratt, L .E ., andPoyser . E .A . 1956 . Reconnaissanc eSoil Survey of Rossburn and VirdenMap Areas . Soil Report No . 6,Manitoba Dept . of Agriculture .

Eilers, R .G ., Hopkins, L .A ., andSmith, R .E . 1978 . Soils of theBoissevain-Melita Area, Report No .20 . Manitoba Department ofAgriculture .

BIBLIOGRAPHY

- 5 6-

Ellis, J .H . and Shafer, W .H . Reprint1974 . Reconnaissance Soil Surveyof South-Western Manitoba .Manitoba Soil Survey Report No . 3Manitoba Department ofAgriculture .

Environment Canada . 1982 . CanadianClimatic Normals 1951-1980 . 1 -Temperatures, Vol . 2 ; 2 -Precipitation, Vol . 3 ; 3 - Frost,Vol . 6 ; 4 - Degree Days, Vol . 4 .Atmospheric Environment,Downsview, Ontario .

Holmes, H .M . 1983 . Soil Salinity, AStudy in Crop Tolerance andCropping Practices . SaskatchewanAgriculture, Regina, Saskatchewan .

Klassen, R .W ., Wyder, J .E ., andBannatyne, B .B . 1970 . BedrockTopography and Geology of SouthernManitoba . Geol . Surv . of Canada,GSC Paper 70-51 . Ottawa .

Leeson, B . (compiler) . 1969 . AnOrganic Soil CapabilityClassification for Agriculture anda Study of the Organic Soils ofSimcoe County . Soil Sci . Dept .,Ontario Agricultural College,Guelph, Ontario .

Mass, E .V . and Hoffman, G .J . 1977 .Crop Salt Tolerance - CurrentAssessment . Journal of theIrrigation and Drainage Division,Proceedings of American Society ofCivil Engineers : 103 (No . IR2), p .115-134 .

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Michalyna, W . and Smith, R .E . 1972 .Soils of the Portage la PrairieArea . Soil Report No . 17 .Manitoba Department ofAgriculture .

PFRA . 1964 . Handbook for theClassification of Irrigated Landin the Prairie Provinces . PFRA,Regina, Sask .

United States Department ofAgriculture . 1971 . Guide forInterpreting Engineering Uses ofSoils . Soil Conservation Service,USDA, SCS-45, 87 pp .

Water Resources Branch . 1986 . OakLake Hydrogeology . Department ofMines, Resources and EnvironmentalManagement, Manitoba .

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AASHO classification (soil engineer-ing) - The official classifica-tion of soil materials and soilaggregate mixtures for highwayconstruction used by the AmericanAssociation of State Highway Of-ficials .

Acid soil - A soil having a pH lessthan 7 . See pH and Reaction,soil .

Alkaline soil - A soil having a pHgreater than 7 . See Reaction,soil .

Alluvium - A general term for all de-posits of rivers and streams .

Arable soil - Soil suitable for plow-ing and cultivation .

Association - A sequence of soils ofabout the same age, derived fromsimilar parent material, and occuring under similar climaticconditions but showing differentcharacteristics due to variationsin relief and in drainage .

1/3 Atmosphere Moisture - The mois-ture percentage on dry weight ba-sis of a soil sample that hasbeen air dried, screened, satu-rated and subjected to a soilmoisture tension of 345 cm of wa-ter through a permeable membranefor a period of 48 hours . It ap-proximates the soil moisture re-tention capacity .

Available nutrient - That portion ofany element or compound in the

Appendix A

GLOSSARY

- 5 8-

soil that can be readily absorbedand assimilated by growingplants .

Available soil moisture - The portionof water in a soil that can bereadily absorbed by plant roots :generally considered to be thatwater held in the soil up to ap-proximately 15 atmospheres pres-sure .

Bearing capacity - Capacity of soil(in moist to wet conditions) tosupport loads such as buildings,people, vehicles, and animals .

Bedrock - The solid rock that under-lies soil and regolith or that isexposed at the surface .

Boulders - Stones which are largerthan 60 cm in diameter .

Bulk density - The weight of oven drysoil (105 degrees C) divided byits volume at field moisture conditions, expressed in grams percubic centimeter .

Buried soil - Soil covered by an al-luvial, loessial, or other depos-it, usually to a depth greaterthan the thickness of the solum .

Calcareous soil - Soil containingsufficient calcium carbonate (of-ten with magnesium carbonate) toeffervesce visibly when treatedwith hydrochloric acid .

Calcium Carbonate Ecruivalent - Refersto the percent of carbonates in

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noncalcareous . . . . . . .<1%weakly calcareous . . . . 1-5%moderately calcareous . .6-15%strongly calcareous . . 16-25%v . strongly calcareous . 26-40%extremely calcareous . . . >40%

Capillary fringe - A zone of essen-tially saturated soil just abovethe water table .

The size distribution of the pores determinesthe extent and degree of the ca-pillary fringe .

Carbon - nitrogen ratio (C/N ratio) -The ratio of the weight of organ-ic carbon to the weight of totalnitrogen in a soil or in an or-ganic material .

Cation Exchange Capacity (CEC)

- Ameasure of the total amount ofexchangeable cations that can beheld by a soil .

Expressed inmilliequivalents per 100g ofsoil .

Clay - As a soil separate, the miner-al soil particles less than 0 .002mm in diameter : usually consisting largely of clay minerals . Asa soil textural class, soil ma-terials that contain 40 or morepercent clay, less than 45 per-cent sand and less than 40 per-cent silt .

Cobbles - Rock fragments 8 to 25 cmin diameter .

Color - Soil colors are compared witha Munsell color chart . The Mun-sell system specifies the relative degrees of the three simplevariables of color :

hue, valueand chroma .

For example : 10YR6/4 means a hue of 10YR, a valueof 6, and a chroma of 4 .

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ly intermixed in an area that itis impractical to separate themat the scale of mapping used .

Concretions - Hard grains, pellets ornodules from concentration ofcompounds in the soil that cementsoil grains together .

Conductivity , electrical - A physicalquantity that measures the readi-ness with which a medium (irrigation water and soil extracts)transmits electricity . It ex-presses the concentration of saltin terms of the conductance (re-ciprocal of the electric resis-tance in ohms) in milliSiemensper cm (or expressed as deciSie-mens per meter - dS/m) .

Consistence ( soil ) - The mutual at-traction of the particles in asoil mass, or their resistence toseparation or deformation . It isdescribed in terms such as loose,soft, friable, firm, hard,sticky, plastic or cemented .

Consumptive use factor (CU) - The ra-tio of consumptive use of waterby a crop to potential evapotranspiration . and transpiration .An actively growing crop thatcompletely covers the soil over alarge area and that has an amplesupply of readily available soilwater has a consumptive use fac-tor of 1 .0 .

Consumptive use of water - The sum ofthe depths of water transpired bythe plants and evaporated fromthe soil surface and from inter-cepted precipitation . It may beless or greater than potentialevapotranspiration .

the soil expressed on the basis Complex ( soil ) - A mapping unit usedof calcium carbonate . Terms used in detailed and reconnaissanceto express the carbonate contents soil surveys where two or moreof soils are : soil series that are so intimate-

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Contour - An imaginary line connect-ing points of equal elevation onthe surface of the soil .

Cover - This term generally has oneof the following meanings :

1 . Vegetation or other materialproviding protection

2 . In forestry, low growingshrubs and herbaceous plantsunder trees (i .e ., groundcover vs . tree cover)

3 . Any vegetation producing aprotective mat on or justabove the soil surface .

Creep ( soil ) - Slow mass movement ofsoil and soil material down rath-er steep slopes primarily underthe influence of gravity,

butaided by saturation with waterand by alternate freezing andthawing .

Decile portion - A one-tenth portion .As used in the soil map symbolA7-B3 means that the A soils cover seven tenths and the B soilscover three tenths of the mapunit .

Delta - A fluvial or glaciofluvialfan shaped deposit at the mouthof a river that empties into alake or sea .

Deflocculate - To separate or tobreak up soil aggregates into in-dividual particles by chemical orphysical means or both .

Degradation (of soils ) - The changingof a soil to a more highlyleached and more highly weatheredcondition, usually accompanied bymorphological changes such as thedevelopment of an eluviated lightcolored (Ae) horizon .

Dispers ion - Is rated high, moderate

- 6 0-

or low depending on how readilythe soil structure breaks down orslakes because of excess mois-ture . A rating of high indicatesthat soil aggregates slake readi-ly ; a rating of low indicatesthat aggregates are resistant todispersion and remain clumped to-gether .

Drainage ( soil ) - (1) The rapidityand extent of the removal of wa-ter from the soil by runoff andflow through the soil to under-ground spaces . (2) As a condi-tion of the soil, it refers tothe frequency and duration ofperiods when the soil is free ofsaturation .

Drainage in soil reports isdescribed on the basis of actualmoisture content in excess offield capacity and length of thesaturation period within theplant root zone . The terms areas follows :

Very rapidly drained - Water isremoved from the soil very rapid-ly in relation to supply . Excesswater flows downward very rapidlyif underlying material is pervi-ous . There may be very rapidsubsurface flow during heavyrainfall provided there is asteep gradient .

Soils have verylow available water storage ca-pacity (usually less than 2 .5 cm)within the control section andare usually coarse in texture, orshallow, or both .

Water sourceis precipitation .

Rapidly drained - Water is re-moved from the soil rapidly inrelation to supply . Excess waterflows downward if underlying ma-terial is pervious . Subsurfaceflow may occur on steep gradientsduring heavy rainfall . Soilshave low available water storagecapacity (2 .5-4 cm) within the

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control section, and are usuallycoarse in texture, or shallow, orboth . Water source is precipita-tion .

Well drained - Water is removedfrom the soil readily but notrapidly . Excess water flowsdownward readily into underlyingpervious material or laterally assubsurface flow . Soils have in-termediate available water stor-age capacity (4-5 cm) within thecontrol section, and are general-ly intermediate in texture anddepth .

Water source is precipi-tation . On slopes subsurfaceflow may occur for short dura-tions but additions are equaledby losses .

These soils are usu-ally free of mottles within 100cm of the surface but may be mot-tled below this depth .

Soil ho-rizons are usually bright col-ored .

Moderately well drained - Wateris removed from the soil somewhatslowly in relation to supply .Excess water is removed somewhatslowly due to low perviousness,shallow water table, lack of gra-dient, or some combination ofthese . Soils have intermediateto high water storage capacity(5-6cm) within the control sec-tion and are usually medium tofine in texture .

Soils are com-monly mottled in the 50 to 100 cmdepth .

Colors are dull brown inthe subsoil with stains and mot-tles .

Imperfectly drained - Water isremoved from the soil sufficient-ly slowly in relation to supplyto keep the soil wet for a sig-nificant part of the growing sea-son . Excess water moves slowlydownward if precipitation is major supply .

If subsurface wateror groundwater, or both, is themain source, flow rate may vary

but the soil remains wet for asignificant part of the growingseason . Precipitation is themain source if available waterstorage capacity is high ; contri-bution by subsurface flow orgroundwater flow, or both, in-creases as available water stor-age capacity decreases . Soilshave a wide range in availablewater supply, texture, and depth,and are gleyed phases of welldrained subgroups .

These soilsgenerally have mottling below thesurface layers and generally haveduller colors with depth, gener-ally brownish gray with mottlesof yellow and gray .

Poorly drained - water is removedso slowly in relation to supplythat the soil remains wet for acomparatively large part of thetime the soil is not frozen . Ex-cess water is evident in the soilfor a large part of the time .Subsurface flow or groundwaterflow, or both, in addition toprecipitation are main watersources ; there may also be aperched water table, with precip-itation exceeding evapotranspiration .

Poorly drained soils havea wide range in available waterstorage capacity,

texture, anddepth, and are gleyed subgroups,Gleysols, and Organic soils .

Very poorly drained - Water isremoved from the soil so slowlythat the water table remains ator on the surface for the greaterpart of the time the soil is notfrozen . Excess water is presentin the soil for the greater partof the time . Groundwater flowand subsurface flow are major wa-ter sources . Precipitation isless important except where thereis a perched water table withprecipitation exceeding evapotranspiration .

These soils havea wide range in available water

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storage capacity,

texture, anddepth, and are either Gleysolicor organic .

Dryland farming - The practice - ofcrop production in low rainfallareas without irrigation .

Eluvial horizon - A horizon fromwhich material has been removedin solution or in water suspen-sion .

Eolian - Soil material accumulatedthrough wind action .

Erosion - The wearing away of theland surface by detachment andtransport of soil and rock material through the action of mov-ing water, wind or other geolog-ical processes . The ratings oferosion are :

Erosion 1

slightly eroded -soil with a suffi-cient amount of the Ahorizon removed thatordinary tillage willbring up and mix theB horizon or otherlower lying horizonswith surface soil inthe plow layer .

Erosion 2 moderately eroded -soil with all of theA horizon and a partof the B or otherlower lying horizonsremoved . The plowlayer consists mainlyof the original hori-zons below the A orbelow the originalplow layer .

Erosion 3 severely eroded -soils have practical-

_

ly all of the origi-nal surface soil re-moved . The plowlayer consists mainlyof C horizon materi-

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al, especially onknolls and steep up-per slope positions .

Evapotranspiration - The combinedloss of water from a given area,and during a specific period oftime,

by evaporation from thesoil surface and transpirationfrom plants .

Field Moisture Equivalent - The mini-mum moisture content at which adrop of water placed on asmoothed surface of the soil willnot be absorbed immediately bythe soil, but will spread outover the surface and give it ashiny appearance .

Flood lain - The land bordering astream, built up of sedimentsfrom overflow of the stream andsubject to inundation when thestream is at flood stage .

Fluvial deposits - All sediments pastand present, deposited by flowingwater, including glaciofluvialdeposits .

Frost heave - The raising of the sur-face caused by ice in the sub-soil .

Friable - Soil aggregates that aresoft and easily crushed betweenthumb and forefinger .

Glaciofluvial deposits - Materialmoved by glaciers and subsequent-ly sorted and deposited bystreams flowing from the meltingice . These deposits are strati-fied and may occur in the form ofoutwash plains,

deltas, kames,eskers and kame terraces .

Gleyed soil - An imperfectly or poor-ly drained soil in which the ma-terial has been modified by reduction or alternating reductionand oxidation .

These soils have

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lower chromas or more prominentmottling or both in some horizonsthan the associated well-drainedsoil .

Gleysolic - An order of soils devel-oped under wet conditions andpermanent or periodic reduction .These soils have low chromas orprominent mottling or both, insome horizons .

Gravel - Rock fragments 2 mm to 7 .5cm in diameter .

Ground Moraine - An unsorted mixtureof rocks, boulders, sand, siltand clay deposited by glacialice . The predominant material istill ; most till is thought tohave accumulated under the ice bylodgment, but some till has beenlet down from the upper surfaceof the ice by ablation . Resort-ing and modification may havetaken place to some extent bywave-action of glacial melt wa-ters .

The topography is mostcommonly in the form of undulat-ing plains with gently slopinghills and enclosed depressions .

Groundwater - Water beneath the soilsurface, usually under conditionswhere the voids are completelyfilled with water (saturation) .

Halophytic vegetation - vegetationthat grows naturally in soilshaving a high content of varioussalts .

It usually has fleshyleaves or thorns and resemblesdesert vegetation .

Horizon ( soil ) - A layer in the soilprofile approximately parallel tothe land surface with more orless well-defined characteristicsthat have been produced throughthe operation of soil formingprocesses .

Horizon boundary - The lower boundary

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of each horizon is described byindicating its distinctness andform . The distinctness dependson the abruptness of verticalchange (thickness) . The form re-fers to the variation of theboundary plane .

Distinctness -abrupt - less than 2 cmclear

- 2 to 5 cmgradual - 5 to 15 cmdiffuse - more than 15 cm

Form -smooth - nearly plainwavy - pockets are wider thandeepirregular - pockets are deeperthan widebroken - parts of the horizon areunconnected with other parts

Humic layer - A layer of highly de-composed organic soil materialcontaining little fibre .

Hydraulic Conductivity - Refers tothe effective flow velocity ordischarge velocity in soil atunit hydraulic gradient .

It isan approximation of the perme-ability of the soil and is ex-pressed in cm per hour .

Theclasses are described in generalor specific terms as :

High

>15

Very rapid

>50Rapid 15-50

Medium 0 .5-15 Mod . rapid 5 .0-15Moderate 1 .5-5 .0Mod . slow 0 .5-1 .5

Low <0 .5 Slow 0 .15-0 .5Veryslow 0 .015-0 .15Extremelyslow < .015

Hydrologic cycle - The conditionsthrough which water naturallypasses from the time of precipitation until it is returned to

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the atmosphere by evaporation andis again ready to be precipitat-ed .

Hydrophyte - Plants growing in wateror dependent upon wet or saturat-ed soil conditions for growth .

Illuvial horizon - A soil horizon inwhich material carried from anoverlying layer has been precipitated from solution 'or deposited,from suspension .

The layer ofaccumulation .

Impeded drainage - A condition thathinders the movement of water bygravity through the soils .

Inclusion - Soil type

found within amapping unit that is not exten-sive enough to be mapped sepa-rately or as part of a complex .

Infiltration - The downward entry ofwater into the soil

irrigation - The artificial applica-tion of water to the soil for thebenefit of growing crops .

Irrigation requirement (IR) - Refersto the amount of water exclusiveof effective precipitation thatis required for crop production .

Lacustrine deposits - Material depos-ited by or settled out of lakewaters and exposed by lowering ofthe water levels or elevation ofthe land . These sediments rangein texture from sand to clay andare usually varved (layered annu-al deposits) .

Landforms - See Description of Land-forms

Landscape - All the natural featuressuch as fields,

hills, forest,water, etc .,

which distinquishone part of the earth's surfacefrom another part .

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Leaching - The removal from the soilof materials in solution .

Liquid limit (upper plastic limit ) -The water content correspondingto an arbitrary limit between theliquid and plastic states of con-sistency of a soil . The watercontent at this boundary is de-fined as that at which a pat ofsoil cut by a groove of standarddimensions will flow together fora distance of 1 .25 cm under theimpact of 25 blows in a standardliquid limit apparatus .

Lineal shrinkage - This is the de-crease in one dimension expressedas a percentage of the originaldimension of the soil mass whenthe moisture content is reducedfrom a stipulated percentage(usually field moisture equiva-lent) to the shrinkage limit .

Mapping Unit - Any delineated areashown on a soil map that is iden-tified by a symbol .

A mappingunit may be a soil unit, a mis-cellaneous land type, or a soilcomplex .

Marsh - Periodically flooded or con-tinually wet areas having thesurface not deeply submerged . Itis covered dominantly with sedg-es, cattails, rushes or other hy-drophytic plants .

Mature soil - A soil having well-de-veloped soil horizons produced bythe natural processes of soilformation .

Mesophyte - Plants requiring interme-diate moisture conditions and arenot very resistant to drought .

Microrelief - Small-scale, local dif-ferences in relief includingmounds, swales or hollows .

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Millieguivalent (me) - One-thousandthof an equivalent . An equivalentis the weight in grams of an ionor compound that combines with orreplaces one gram of hydrogen .The atomic or formula weight di-vided by valence .

Mottles - Irregularly marked spots orstreaks, usually yellow or orangebut sometimes blue . They are described in order of abundance(few, common, many), size (fine,medium, coarse) and contrast(faint, distinct, prominent) .Mottles in soils indicate pooraeration and lack of good drain-age .

Organic carbon - Carbon derived fromplant and animal residues .

Organic matter - The fraction of thesoil which consists of plant andanimal residues at various stagesof decomposition, cells and tis-sues of soil organisms and subs-tances synthesized by the soilpopulation . It is determined onsoils that have been sievedthrough a 2 .0 mm sieve .

It isestimated by multiplying the or-ganic carbon by a factor of 1 .72 .

Outwash - Sediments "washed out" be-yond the glacier by flowing waterand laid down in thin beds orstrata .

Particle size may rangefrom boulders to silt .

Ovendr

soil - Soil that has beendried at 105 degrees C until ithas reached constant weight .

Parent material - The unaltered oressentially unaltered mineral ororganic material from which thesoil profile develops by pedogen-ic processes .

Particle size , soil - The grain sizedistribution of the whole soilincluding the coarse fraction .

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It differs from texture,

whichrefers to the fine earth (lessthan 2mm) fraction only .

In ad-dition, textural classes are usu-ally assigned to specific hori-zons whereas soil familyparticle-size classes indicate acomposite particle size of a partof the control section that mayinclude several horizons .

SeeTextural Triangle at end of Glos-sary .

The particle-size classes forfamily groupings are as follows :

Fragmental Stones, cobbles andgravel, with too little fineearth to fill interstices largerthan 1 mm .

Sandy - skeletal Particles coarserthan 2 mm occupy 35% or more byvolume with enough fine earth tofill interstices larger than 1mm ; the fraction finer than 2 mmis that defined for the sandyparticle-size class .

Loamy skeletal Particles 2 mm-25cm occupy 35% or more by volumewith enough fine earth to fillinterstices larger than 1 mm ; thefraction finer than 2 mm is thatdefined for the loamy particle-size class .

Cla e -skeletal Particles 2 mm-25cm occupy 35% or more by volumewith enough fine earth to fillinterstices larger than 1 mm ; thefraction finer than 2 mm is thatdefined for the clayey particle-size class .

Sandy The texture of the fineearth includes sands and loamysands, exclusive of loamy veryfine sand and very fine sand tex-tures ; particles 2 mm- 25 cm oc-cupy less than 35% by volume .

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Loamy The texture of the fineearth includes loamy very finesand, very fine sand, and finertextures with less than 35% clay ;particles 2 mm-25 cm occupy lessthan 35% by volume .

Coarse-loamy .

A loamy particlesize that has 15% or more byweight of fine sand (0 .25-0 .1 mm)or coarser particles, includingfragments up to 7 .5 cm, and hasless than 18% clay in the fineearth fraction .

Fine- loamy . A loamy particlesize that has 15% or more byweight of fine sand (0 .25-0 .1 mm)or coarser particles, includingfragments up to 7 .5 cm, and has18-35% clay in the fine earthfraction .

Coarse-silty .

A loamy particlesize that has less than 15% offine sand (0 .25-0 .1 mm) or coar-ser particles, including frag-ments up to 7 .5 cm, and has lessthan 18% clay in the fine earthfraction .

Fine-silty . A loamy particlesize that has less than 15% offine sand (0 .25-0 .1 mm) or coar-ser particles, including frag-ments up to 7 .5 cm, and has18-35% clay in the fine earthfraction .

Clayey .

The fine earth contains35% or more clay by weight andparticles 2mm-25 cm occupy lessthan 35% by volume .

Fine -clayey .

A clayey particlesize that has 35-60% clay in thefine earth fraction .

Very- fine-clayey .

A clayey par-ticle size that has 60% or moreclay in the fine earth fraction .

Ped - An individual soil aggregate

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such as granule,

prism or blockformed by natural processes (incontrast with a clod which isformed artificially) .

Pedology - Those aspects of soil sci-ence involving constitution, dis-tribution, genesis and classifi-cation of soils .

Percolation - The downward movementof water through soil ; specifi-cally, the downward flow of waterin saturated or nearly saturatedsoil at hydraulic gradients of1 .0 or less .

Permafrost -

1 . Perennially frozen materialunderlying the solum .

2 . A perennially frozen soil ho-rizon .

Permafrost table - The upper boundaryof permafrost, usually coincidentwith the lower limit of seasonalthaw (active layer) .

Permeability - The ease with whichwater and air pass through thesoil to all parts of the profile .See hydraulic conductivity .

pH - The intensity of acidity andalkalinity, expressed as the neg-ative logarithm of the hydrogenion concentration .

A pH of 7 isneutral,

lower values indicateacidity and higher values alka-linity (see Reaction, soil) .

Phase , soil - A soil phase is used tocharacterize soil and landscape

calcareousness .

properties that are not usedcriteria in soil taxonomy .

asThe

major phase differentiae are :slope, erosion, deposition, sto-niness, texture, salinity, and

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Plastic Limit - The water contentcorresponding to an arbitrarylimit between the plastic and thesemisolid states of consistencyof a soil .

Plasticity Index - The numerical dif-ference between the liquid andthe plastic limit . The plasticity index gives the range of mois-ture contents within which a soilexhibits plastic properties .

Potential evapotranspiration (PE) -The maximum quantity of water ca-pable of being lost as water vapor, in a given climate,

by acontinuous stretch of vegetationcovering the whole ground andwell supplied with water .

Profile , soil - A vertical section ofthe soil through all its horizonsand extending into the parent ma-terial .

Reaction , soil - The acidity or alka-

Regolith - The unconsolidated mantleof weathered rock and soil ma-terial on the earth's surface .

Relief - The elevation of inequali-ties of the land surface whenconsidered collectively .

Runoff . - The portion of the totalprecipitation on an area thatflows away through stream chan-

- 6 7-

nels .

Surface runoff does notenter the soil .

Groundwater ru-noff or seepage flow from ground-water enters the soil beforereaching the stream .

Saline Soil - A nonalkali soil con-taining soluble salts in suchquantities that they interferewith the growth of most cropplants . The conductivity of thesaturation extract is greaterthan 4 millisiemens/cm (ms/cm),the exchangeable-sodium percent-age is less than 15, and the pHis usually less than 8 .5 .

Ap-proximate limits of salinityclasses are :

non-saline

0 to 4 ms/cmweakly saline

4 to 8 mS/cmmod . saline

8 to 15 ms/cmstrongly saline

>15 ms/cm

Salinization - The process of accumu-lation of salts in the soil .

Salt -Affected Soil - Soil that hasbeen adversely modified for thegrowth of most crop plants by thepresence of certain types of ex-changeable ions or of solublesalts . It includes soils havingan excess of salts, or an excessof exchangeable sodium or both .

Sand - A soil particle between 0 .05and 2 .0 mm in diameter . The tex-tural class name for any soilcontaining 85 percent or more ofsand and not more than 10 percentof clay .

Saturation Percentage - The moisturepercentage of a saturated soilpaste, expressed on an oven dryweight basis .

Seepage_ -

1 . The escape of water downwardthrough the soil .

linity of a soil .classes are characterizedlows :

Soil reactionas fol-

extremely acid pH <4 .5very strongly acid 4 .5 to 5 .0strongly acid 5 .1 to 5 .5medium acid 5 .6 to 6 .0slightly acid 6 .1 to 6 .5neutral 6 .6 to 7 .3mildly alkaline 7 .4 to 7 .8mod . alkaline 7 .9 to 8 .4strongly alkaline 8 .5 to 9 .0very stronglyalkaline >9 .0

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2 . The emergence of water fromthe soil along an extensiveline of surface in contrastto a spring where wateremerges from a local spot .

Series , soil - A category in the Can-adian System of Soil Classifica-tion .

It consists of soils thathave soil horizons similar intheir differentiating character-istics and arrangement in theprofile, except for surface tex-ture and are formed from a par-ticular type of parent material .

Shrinkage limit - This is the mois-ture content at which an equilib-rium condition of volume changeis reached and further reductionin moisture content will notcause a decrease in the volume ofthe soil mass .

Shrinkage ratio - This is the ratiobetween the volume change and acorresponding change in moisturecontent .

It equals the apparentspecific gravity of the driedsoil .

Silt - (a) Individual mineral parti-cles of soil that range in diame-ter between 0 .05 to .002 mm . (b)Soil of the textural class siltcontains greater than 80 percentsilt and less than 12 percentclay .

Slickenside - Smoothed surfaces alongplanes of weakness resulting fromthe movement of one mass of soilagainst another in soils dominat-ed by swelling clays .

Sodium-Adsorption Ratio (S .A .R .) - Aratio for soil extracts and irri-gation waters used to express therelative activity of sodium ionsin exchange reactions with othercations in the soil SAR =Na/((Ca+Mg)/2)'/2 where the ca-tion concentrations are expressedas milliequivalents per litre .

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Soil - The unconsolidated mineral ma-terial on the immediate surfaceof the earth that serves as anatural medium for the growth ofland plants . Soil has been sub-jected to and influenced by ge-netic and environmental factorsof : parent material, climate (in-cluding moisture and temperatureeffects), macro- and micro-organ-isms, and topography, all actingover a period of time .

Solum - The upper horizons of a soilabove the parent material and inwhich the processes of soil formation are active .

It usuallycomprises the A and B horizons .

Stones - Rock fragments greater than25 cm in diameter .

Stoniness - The percentage of landsurface occupied by stones . Theclasses of stoniness are definedas follows :

Stones 0 . Nonstony -- Land havingless than 0 .01% of surface occu-pied by stones .

Stones _1 . Slightly stony -- Landhaving 0 .01-0 .1% of surface occu-pied by stones .

Stones 15-30 cmin diameter, 10-30 m apart .

Thestones offer only slight to nohindrance to cultivation .

Stones 2 . Moderately stony --Landhaving 0 .1-3% of surface oc-cupied by stones .

Stones 15-30cm in diameter,

2-10 m apart .Stones cause some interferencewith cultivation .

Stones 3 . very stony -- Land hav-ing 3-15% of surface occupied bystones . Stones 15-30 cm in diam-eter, 1-2 m apart . There aresufficient stones to constitute aserious handicap to cultivation .

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Stones 4 .

Exceedingly stony --Land having 15-501 of surface occupied by stones .

Stones 15-30cm in diameter, 0 .7-1 .5 m apart .There are sufficient stones toprevent cultivation until consid-erable clearing has been done .

Stones 5 .

Excessively stony --Land having more than 50% of surface occupied by stones .

Stones15-30 cm in diameter, less than0 .7 m apart .

The land is toostony to permit cultivation .

Storage Capacity - Refers to the max-imum amount of readily availablewater that can be stored withinthe rooting zone of a crop in agiven soil .

For practical irri-gation purposes,

50 percent ofthe total soil water betweenfield capacity and wilting pointmay be considered as readilyavailable .

Stratified materials - Unconsolidatedsand, silt and clay arranged instrata or layers .

In stratifiedmaterials, a bed is a unit layerdistinctly separable from otherlayers and is one or more cmthick but a lamina is a similarlayer less than 1 cm thick .

Structure - The combination or ar-rangement of primary soil parti-cles into aggregates of secondarysoil particles,

units or peds,which are separated from eachother by surfaces of weakness .Structure is expressed in termsof grade,

size class and shapetype .

Grade refers to the dis-tinctness of aggregate develop-ment, and is described as struc-tureless, weak, moderate orstrong .

Structureless refers tothe absence of observable aggre-gation of definite orderly ar-rangement ; the term amorphous isused if soil is massive or cohe-rent, single-grained if noncohe-rent .

The weak to strong aggre-

- 6 9

gates vary in size and aredescribed by class as fine, medi-um, coarse, and very coarse de-pending on the shape types . Theshape types refers to the domi-nant configuration of the aggre-gates and the way they are accom-modated . The general shape typesare plate-like, block-like andprism-like . The terms are :

Platy - Having thin, plate-likeaggregates with faces mostly hor-izontal

Prismatic - Having prism-likeaggregates with tops- and edges,appear plane, level and somewhatangular .

Columnar - Having prism-likeaggregates with vertical edgesnear the top of columns, notsharp .

Granular - Having block-likeaggregates that appear as spher-oids or polyhedrons having planeor curved surfaces which haveslight or no accommodation to thefaces of the surrounding peds .

Blocky - Having block-likeaggregates with sharp, angularcorners

Subangular blocky - Havingblock-like aggregates with round-ed and flattened faces and round-ed corners .

By convention an aggregate isdescribed in the order of grade,class and type, e .g . strong, medium, blocky .

In the parent ma-terial of soils the material withstructural shapes may be desig-nated as pseudo-blocky,

pseudo-platy, etc .

Soil Survey - The systematic examina-tion, description, classifica-tion, and mapping of soil in anarea .

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Sulfate Hazard - Refers to the rela-tive degree of attack on concreteby soil and water containing various amounts of sulfate ions . Itis estimated from electrolytemeasurements and salt analysis onselected profiles and soil sam-ples, and by visual examinationof free gypsum within the profileduring the course of soil inves-tigation .

Swam - See Description of Landforms

Texture , soil - The relative propor-tions of the fine earth (lessthan 2 mm .)

fraction of a soil .Textural classes are usually as-signed to specific horizonswhereas family particle sizeclasses indicate a composite par-ticle size of a portion of thecontrol section that may includeseveral horizons . See TextureTriangle at end of Glossary .

The size range of the constit-

Till , glacial - Unstratified glacialdeposits consisting of clay,sand, gravel, and boulders inter-mingled in any proportion .

Tilth - The physical condition ofsoil as related to its ease oftillage, fitness as a seedbed,and its impedance to seedlingemergency and root penetration .

Topography - Refers to the percentslope and the pattern or frequen-cy of slopes in different direc-tions . A set of 10 slope classes

- 70-

are used to denote the dominantbut not necessarily most abundantslopes within a mapping unit .

Underground runoff - (or seep-age)-Water flowing towards streamchannels after infiltration intothe ground .

Unified Soil Classification System(engineering) - A classificationsystem based on the identification of soils according to theirparticle size, gradation, plas-ticity index and liquid limit .

Urban Land - Areas so altered or ob-structed by urban works or struc-tures that identification `ofsoils is not feasible .

Variant , soil - A soil whose proper-ties are believed to be suffi-ciently different from otherknown soils to justify a new se-ries name, but comprising such alimited geographic area that cre-ation of a new series is not jus-tified .

Varve - A distinct band representingthe annual deposit in sedimentarymaterials regardless of originand usually consisting of twolayers, one thick light coloredlayer of silt and fine sand laiddown in the spring and summer,and the other a thin, dark col-ored layer of clay laid down inthe fall and winter .

uent primary particlesfollows :

are as

Diameter (mm)very coarse sand . . . .2 .0-1 .0Coarse sand . . . . . .1 .0-0 .5Medium sand . . . . . 0 .5-0 .25Fine sand . . . . .0 .25-0 .10very fine sand . . . .0 .10-0 .05Silt . . . . . . . . 0 .05-0 .002Clay . . . . . . . . . .< 0 .002Fine clay . . . . . . < 0 .0002

Slope SlopeClass Name

Percentslope

Approx .degrees

1 level 0-0 .5 02 nearly level .5-2 .5 .3-1 .53 very gentle 2-5 1-34 gentle 6-9 3 .5-55 moderate 10-15 6-8 .56 strong 16-30 9-177 very strong 31-45 17-248 extreme 46-70 25-359 steep 71-100 35-4510 very steep >100 >45

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Water balance ,soil - Is the dailyamount of readily available waterretained by the soil .

The dailysoil-water balance is decreasedby the amount that the daily con-sumptive use exceeds the dailyrainfall .

when daily rainfallexceeds the consumptive use, thedaily balance increases by theamount of the difference unlessthe soil-water balance is atstorage capacity, in which casethe excess is assumed to be lostby runoff or deep percolation .

water table - (groundwater surface ;free water surface ; groundwaterelevation) Elevation at which the

pressure in the water is zerowith respect to the atmosphericpressure .

water - holding capacity - The abilityof a soil to hold water againstthe force of gravity in a freelydrained soil .

Weathering - The physical and chemi-cal disintegration, alterationand decomposition of rocks andminerals at or near the earth'ssurface by atmospheric agents .

Xerophyte - Plants capable of surviv-ing extended periods of soildrought .

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100

90

80

70r

60V

Z50

WU 40

a 30

20

10

Silty

I

(fine loamy

Coarse

Coarse loamy! .silty I sandy'00 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 e0 90 100

PER CENT SAND(and gravel where applicable)

QJVr-Z

too

90

80

70

60

50W

U 40aKWa 30

20

10

00 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

PER CENT SAND

Figure 7 : Family particle-size

Figure 8 : Soil Textural Classes .classes .

Texture Class ClassGroup Symbol Nome

Coarse S sandLS loamy sand

Moderately SL sandy loomcoarse LVFS loamy very fine

sand

Medium Si siltSiL silt loamL loamVFSL very fine sandy

loam

Moderately SCL sandy clay loamfine CL clay loam

SiCL silty clay loom

Fine SC sandy clayC claysic silty clay

Very fine HC heavy cloy

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ORGANIC HORIZONS

Organic horizons are found in Or-ganic soils, and commonly at the sur-face of mineral soils .

They may occur at any depth beneath the surfacein buried soils, or overlying geolog-ic deposits . They contain more than17% organic carbon (approximately 30%organic matter) by weight . Twogroups of these horizons are recog-nized, 0 horizons and the L, F, and Hhorizons .

0

This is an organic horizon devel-oped mainly from mosses, rushes,and woody materials .

Of The fibric horizon is theleast decomposed of all theorganic soil materials .

Ithas large amounts of well-preserved fiber that arereadily identifiable as tobotanical origin . A fibrichorizon has 40% or more ofrubbed fiber by volume and apyrophosphate index of 5 ormore .

If the rubbed fibervolume is 75% or more, thepyrophosphate criterion doesnot apply .

Om The mesic horizon is the in-termediate stage of decompos-tion with intermediateamounts of fiber, bulk densi-ty and water-holding capaci-ty . The material is partlyaltered both physically andbiochemically . A mesic hori-zon is one that fails to meetthe requirements of fibric orhumic .

Appendix B

SOIL HORIZON DESIGNATIONS

- 7 3-

Oh The humic horizon is the mosthighly decomposed of the or-ganic soil materials . i t hasthe least amount of fiber,the highest bulk density, andthe lowest saturated water-holding capacity . It is verystable and changes very lit-tle physically or chemicallywith time unless it isdrained . The humic horizonhas less than 10% rubbed fi-ber by volume and a pyro-phosphate index of 3 or less .

LFH These organic horizons developedprimarily from leaves, twigs,woody materials and a minor component of mosses under imperfect-ly to well drained forest condi-tions .

L

This is an organic horizoncharacterized by an accumula-tion of organic matter inwhich the original structuresare easily discernible .

F

This is an organic horizoncharacterized by an accumula-tion of partly decomposed organic matter .

The originalstructures in part are diffi-cult to recognize . The hori-zon may be partly comminutedby soil fauna as in moder, orit may be a partly decomposedmat permeated by fungal hy-phae as in mor .

H

This is an organic horizoncharacterized by an accumula-tion of decomposed organic

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matter in which the originalstructures are indiscernible .This material differs fromthe F horizon by its greaterhumification chiefly throughthe action of organisms . Itis frequently intermixed withmineral grains, especiallynear the junction with themineral horizon .

MASTER MINERAL HORIZONS

Mineral horizons are those thatcontain less than 30% organic matter

B

This is a mineral horizon or ho-rizons characterized by one ormore of the following :

1 . an enrichment in silicateclay, iron, aluminum, or hu-mus, alone or in combination

- 7 4-

(Bt,Bf,Bfh,Bhf, and Bh) ;

2 . a prismatic or columnarstructure that exhibits pro-nounced coatings or stainingsand significant amount of ex-changeable Na (Bn) ;

3 . an alteration by hydrolysis,reduction, or oxidation togive a change in color orstructure from horizons aboveor below, or both, and doesnot meet the requirements of1) and 2) above (Bm,Bg) .

C

This is a mineral horizon or ho-rizons comparatively unaffectedby the pedogenic processes opera-tive in A and B,

excepting (i)the process of gleying, and (ii)the accumulation of calcium andmagnesium carbonates and more so-luble salts (Cca,Csa,Cg, and C) .Marl and diatomaceous earth areconsidered to be C horizons .

This is consolidated bedrock thatis too hard to break with thehands or to dig with a spade whenmoist and that does not meet therequirement of a C horizon . Theboundary between the R layer andoverlying unconsolidated materialis called a lithic contact .

This is a layer of water in Gley-solic, organic, or Cryosolicsoils . It is called a hydriclayer in Organic soils .

OWER-CASE SUFFIXES

Buried soil horizon .

A cemented (irreversible) pedo-genic horizon . The ortstein of aPodzol, and a layer cemented bycalcium carbonate and a duripanare examples .

by weight as specified for organichorizons .

A This is a mineral horizon or ho-rizons formed at or near the sur-face in the zone of leaching orremoval of materials in solutionand suspension or of maximum insitu accumulation of organic mat-ter, or both . Included are :

R1 . horizons in which organic

matter has accumulated as aresult of biological activity(Ah) ;

2 . horizons that have been elu-viated of clay, iron, alumi-num, or organic matter, orall of them (Ae) ; W

3 . horizons having characteris-tics of 1) and 2) above buttransitional to underlying Bor C (AB or A and B) ;

4 . horizons markedly disturbedby cultivation or pasture

Lb(Ap) .

c

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the upper boundary and becomesyellower with depth . When moist,the chroma is higher than 3 orthe value is 3 or less . It con-tains 0 .6% or more pyrophosphate-extractable Al+Fe in texturesfiner than sand and 0 .4% or morein sands (coarse sand, sand, finesand, and very fine sand) .

Theratio of pyrophosphate-extracta-ble Al+Fe to clay (less than0 .002mm) is more than 0 .05 andorganic C exceeds 0 .5% .

Pyro-phosphate-extractable Fe is atleast 0 .3%, or the ratio of or-ganic C to pyrophosphate-extrac-table Fe is less than 20, or both

- 7 5

are true .

It is used with Balone (Bf), with B and h (Bhf),with B and g (Bfg), and with other suffixes .

The criteria for"f" do not apply to Bgf horizons .The following horizons are dif-ferentiated on the basis of or-ganic carbon content :

Bf - 0 .5%to 5% organic carbon .

Bhf-morethan 5% organic carbon .

A horizon characterized by graycolors, or prominent mottling, orboth, indicative of permanent orperiodic intense reduction .Chromas of the matrix are gener-ally 1 or less . It is used withA and e (Aeg) ; with B alone (Bg) ;with B and f (Bfg) ; with B, h,and f (Bhfg) ; with B and t (Btg) ;with C alone (Cg) ;

with C and k(Ckg) ; and several others .

Insome reddish parent materials,matrix colors of reddish hues andhigh chromas may persist despitelong periods of reduction .

Inthese soils, horizons are desig-nated as g if there is gray mot-tling or if there is markedbleaching on ped faces or alongcracks .

Aeg

This horizon must meet thedefinitions of A,e, and g .

Bg

These horizons are analo-gous to Bm horizons butthey have colors indicativeof poor drainage and peri-odic reduction . They in-clude horizons occurringbetween A and C horizons inwhich the main features are(i) colors of low chroma,that is :

chromas of 1 orless,

without mottles onped surfaces or in the ma-trix if peds are lacking ;or chromas of 2 or less inhues of 10YR or redder, onped surfaces or in the ma-trix if peds are lacking,accompanied by more promi-

ca A horizon with secondary carbo-nate enrichment where the concen-tration of lime exceeds thatpresent in the unenriched parentmaterial . It is more than 10 cmthick, and if it has a CaC03equivalent of less than 15 per-cent it should have at least 5percent more CaC03 equivalentthan the parent material (IC) .If it has more than 15 percentCaC03 equivalent it should have 91/3 more CaC03 equivalent thanthe IC . If no IC is present,this horizon is more than 10 cmthick and contains more than 5percent by volume of secondarycarbonates in concretions orsoft, powdery forms .

cc Cemented (irreversible) pedogenicconcretions .

e A horizon characterized by theeluviation of clay, iron, alumi-num, or organic matter alone orin combination . When dry, it isusually higher in color value by1 or more units than an underly-ing B horizon . It is used with A(Ae) .

f A horizon enriched with amorphousmaterial, principally Al and Fecombined with organic matter . Itusually has a hue of 7 .5YR orredder or its hue is 10YR near

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nent mottles than those inthe C horizon ; or huesbluer than 10Y, with orwithout mottles on ped sur-faces or in the matrix ifpeds are lacking . (ii)colors indicated in (i) anda change in structure fromthat of the C horizons .(iii) color indicated in(i) and illuviation of claytoo slight to meet the re-quirements of Bt ; or accu-mulation or iron oxide tooslight to meet the limitsof Bgf . (iv) colors indi-cated in (i) and removal ofcarbonates . Bg horizonsoccur in some Orthic HumicGleysols and some OrthicGleysols .

Bfg, Bhfg, Btg, and others . Whenused in any of these combi-nations the limits set forf, hf, t, and others mustbe met .

Bgf The dithionite-extractableFe of this horizon exceedsthat of the IC by 1% ormore . Pyrophosphate-ext-ractable Al + Fe is lessthan the minimum limitspecified for 'f' horizons .This horizon occurs in FeraGleysols and Fera HumicGleysols, and possibly be-low the Bfg of gleyed Pod-zols . It is distinguishedfrom the Bfg of gleyed Pod-zols on the basis of theextractability of the Feand Al .

The Fe in the Bgfhorizon is thought to haveaccumulated as a result ofthe oxidation of ferrousiron . The iron oxideformed is not associatedintimately with organicmatter or with Al,

and itis sometimes crystalline .The Bgf horizons are usual-ly prominently mottled,

- 7 6

with more than half of thesoil material occurring asmottles of high chroma .

Cg,

Ckg, Ccag, Csg, Csag . Wheng is used with C alone, orwith C and one of the lower-case suffixes k, ca, s,or sa, it must meet the di-finition for C and for theparticular suffix .

h

A horizon enriched with organicmatter .

It is used with A alone(Ah) ; or with A and e (Ahe) ; orwith B alone (Bh) ; or with B andf (Bhf) .

Ah

A horizon enriched with or-ganic matter that eitherhas a color value at leastone unit lower than the un-derlying horizon or con-tains 0 .5% more organiccarbon than the IC, orboth . It contains lessthan 17% organic carbon byweight .

Ahe

An Ah horizon that has un-dergone eluviation as evi-denced, under natural conditions, by streaks andsplotches of differingshades of gray and often byplaty structure . It may beoverlain by a darker-col-ored Ah and underlain by alighter-colored Ae .

Bh

This horizon contains morethan 1% organic carbon,less than 0 .3% pyrophosphate-extractable Fe, andhas a ratio of organic car-bon to pyrophosphate-ext-ractable Fe of 20 or more .Generally the color valueand chroma are less than 3when moist .

Bhf

Defined under 'f' .

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j

Used as a modifier of the suffix-es e, f, g, n, and t to denote anexpression of, but failure tomeet, the specified limits of thesuffix it modifies . It must beplaced to the right and adjacentto the suffix it modifies .

Forexample Bfgj means a Bf horizonwith weak expression of gleying ;Bfjgj means a B horizon with weakexpression of both 'f' and 'g'features .

Aej

It denotes an eluvial hori-zon that is thin, discon-tinuous or slightly discer-nible .

Btj

It is a horizon with someilluviation of clay,

butnot enough to meet the lim-its of Bt .

k

m

- 7 7-

1 . Evidence of alteration in oneof the following forms :

a) Higher chromas and redderhues than the underlyinghorizons .

b) Removal of carbonates, ei-ther partially (Bmk) orcompletely (Bm) .

2 . Illuviation, if evident, tooslight to meet the require-ments of a Bt or a podzolicB .

3 . Some weatherable minerals .

4 . No cementation or indurationand lacks a brittle consis-tence when moist .

This suffix can be used as Bm, Bmgj,Bmk, and Bms .

A horizon in which the ratio ofexchangeable Ca to exchangeableNa is 10 or less . It must alsohave the following distinctivemorphological characteristics :prismatic or columnar structure,dark coatings on ped surfaces,and hard to very hard consistencewhen dry .

It is used with B, asBn or Bnt .

A horizon disturbed by man's ac-tivities,

such as cultivation,logging, habitation, etc .

It isused with A and 0 .

A horizon with salts, includinggypsum, which may be detected ascrystals or veins, as surfacecrusts of salt crystals, by de-pressed crop growth, or by thepresence of salt-tolerant plants .It is commonly used with C and k(Csk), but can be used with anyhorizon or combination of horizonand lowercase suffix .

A horizon with secondary enrich-

Btgj, Bmgj . Horizons that aremottled but do not meet the ncriteria of Bg .

Bfj It is a horizon with someaccumulation of pyrophosp-hate-extractable Al and Febut not enough to meet thelimits of Bf .

Bntj or Bnj . Horizons in whichdevelopment of solonetzic Bproperties is evident but pinsufficient to meet thelimits for Bn or Bnt .

Denotes the presence of carbo-nate, as indicated by visible ef- sfervescence when dilute HC1 isadded . Most often it is usedwith B and m (Bmk) or C (Ck), andoccasionally with Ah or Ap (Ahk,Apk), or organic horizons (Ofk,Omk) .

A horizon slightly altered by hy-drolysis, oxidation, or solution,or all three, to give a change incolor or structure, or both . It sahas :

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ment of salts more soluble thancalcium and magnesium carbonates,in which the concentration ofsalts exceeds that present in theunenriched parent material . Thehorizon is 10 cm or more thick .The conductivity of the satura-tion extract must be at least 4ms/cm and must exceed that of theC horizon by at least one-third .

t

An illuvial horizon enriched withsilicate clay . It is used with Balone (Bt),

with .B

and g (Btg),with B and n (Bnt), etc .

Bt

It usually has a higher ra-tio of fine clay to totalclay than IC. It has thefollowing properties :

1 . if any part of an elu-vial horizon remainsand there is no lithologic discontinuity be-tween it and the Bt ho-rizon, the Bt horizoncontains more total andfine clay than the elu-vial horizons, as fol-lows :

a) If any part of theeluvial horizon hasless than 15% totalclay in the fineearth fraction (2mm)the Bt horizon mustcontain at least 3%more clay, e .g .,Ae10% clay-Bt minimum13% clay .

b)

- 7 8-

the fine earth frac-tion, the ratio ofthe clay in the Bthorizon to that inthe eluvial horizonmust be 1 .2 or more,e .g ., 20% clay in-crease in the Btover Ae .

c) If the eluvial hori-zon has more than40% total clay inthe fine earth frac-tion, the Bt horizon

least 5 cm thick .

Insome sandy soils whereclay accumulation oc-curs in the lamellae,the total thickness ofthe lamellae should bemore than 10 cm in theupper 150 cm of theprofile .

3 . In massive soils the Bthorizon should haveoriented clays in somepores and also asbridges between thesand grains .

4 . If peds are present, aBt horizon shows clayskins on some of thevertical and horizontalped surfaces and in thefine pores, or showsoriented clays in 1% ormore of the cross sec-tion, as viewed in thinsection .

5 . If a soil shows alithologic discontinu-ity between the eluvial

If the eluvial hori-zon has more than15% and less than40% total clay in

A Bt horizon iscontains illuvial

one thatlayer-

must contain atleast 8% more claythan the eluvial ho-

lattice clays . It forms rizon, e .g . Ae 50%below an eluvial horizon, clay ; Bt at leastbut may occur at the sur- 58% clay .face of a soil that hasbeen partially truncated . 2 . A Bt horizon must be at

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horizon and the Bt ho-rizon, or if only aplow layer overlies theBt horizon, the Bt ho-rizon need show onlyclay skins in somepart, either in somefine pores or on somevertical and horizontalped surfaces . Thinsections should showthat some part of thehorizon has about 1% ormore of oriented claybodies .

Btj, Btj, and Btg are definedunder j and g ..

u

A horizon that is markedly dis-rupted by physical or faunal pro-cesses other than cryoturbation .Evidence of marked disruptionsuch as the inclusion of materialfrom other horizons, absence ofthe horizon, etc . must be evidentin at least half of the crosssection of the pedon .

Such tur-bation can result from blowdownof trees, mass movement of soilon slopes, and burrowing animals .It can be used with any horizon

x

A horizon of fragipan character .A fragipan is a loamy subsurfacehorizon of high bulk density andvery low organic matter content .When dry, it has a hard consis-tence and seems to be cemented .When moist,

it has moderate toweak brittleness .

It frequentlyhas bleached fracture planes andis overlain by a friable B hori-zon . Air dry clods of fragic ho-rizons slake in water .

Y

or subhorizon with the exceptionof A or B alone ; e .g . Aeu, Bfu,BCu .

A horizon affected by cryoturba-tion as manifested by disruptedand broken horizons,, incorpora-tion of materials from other ho-rizons and mechanical sorting inat least half of the cross sec-tion of the pedon . It is usedwith A, B, and C alone or in com-bination with other subscripts,e .g . Ahy, Ahgy, Bmy, Cy, Cgy,Cygj, etc .

z

A frozen layer .

It may be usedwith any horizon or layer, e .g .Ohz, Bmz, Cz, Wz .

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C .1

GENETIC MATERIALS

Unconsolidated mineral component

The unconsolidated mineral compo-nent consists of clastic sedimentsthat may or may not be stratified,but whose particles are not cementedtogether . They are essentially ofglacial or post-glacial origin butinclude poorly consolidated andweathered bedrock .

Anthropoaenic - Man-made or man-modi-fied materials, including thoseassociated with mineral exploita-tion and waste disposal .

Colluvial - Massive to moderatelywell stratified, nonsorted topoorly sorted sediments with anyrange of particle sizes from clayto boulders and blocks that havereached their present position bydirect, gravity-induced movement .

They are restricted to prod-ucts of mass-wasting whereby thedebris is not carried by wind,water, or ice (excepting snow av-alanches) .

Eolian - Sediment, generally consist-ing of medium to fine sand andcoarse silt particle sizes, thatis well sorted, poorly compacted,and may show internal structuressuch as cross bedding or ripplelaminae, or may be massive . In-dividual grains may be roundedand show signs of frosting .

These materials have been

Appendix C

DESCRIPTION OF LANDFORMS

- 8 0-

transported and deposited by windaction .

Fluvial - Sediment generally consist-ing of gravel and sand with a mi-nor fraction of silt and clay .The gravels are typically roundedand contain interstitial sand .Fluvial sediments are commonlymoderately to well sorted anddisplay stratification, but mas-sive,, nonsorted fluvial gravelsdo occur . These materials havebeen transported and deposited bystreams and rivers .

Finer tex-tured Fluvial deposits of modernrivers are termed Alluvium .

Lacustrine - Sediment generally con-sisting of either stratified finesand, silt, and clay deposited onthe lake bed ; or moderately wellsorted and stratified sand andcoarser materials that are beachand other nearshore sedimentstransported and deposited by waveaction .

These are materials that ei-ther have settled from suspensionin bodies of standing fresh wateror have accumulated at their mar-gins through wave action .

Marine - Unconsolidated deposits ofclay, silt, sand, or gravel thatare well to moderately well sorted and well stratified to moder-ately stratified (in some placescontaining shells) . They havesettled from suspension in saltor brackish water bodies or have

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accumulated at their marginsthrough shoreline processes suchas wave action and longshoredrift .

Morainal - Sediment generally con-sisting of well compacted materi-al that is nonstratified and contains a heterogeneous mixture ofparticle sizes, often in a mix-ture of sand, silt, and clay thathas been transported beneath, be-side, on, within and in front ofa glacier and not modified by anyintermediate agent .

Saprolite - Rock containing a highproportion of residual silts andclays formed by alteration,chiefly by chemical weathering .

The rock remains in a coherentstate, interstitial grain rela-tionships are undisturbed and nodownhill movement due to gravityhas occurred .

Undifferentiated - A layered sequenceof more than three types of ge-netic material outcropping on asteep erosional escarpment .

Volcanic - Unconsolidated pyroclasticsediments . These include volcan-ic dust, ash, cinders, and pum-ice .

Qualifying Descriptors

These have been introduced toqualify the genetic materials and tosupply additional information aboutthe mode of formation or depositionalenvironment .

Glacial - Used to qualify nonglacialgenetic materials or process mod-ifiers where there is direct evidence that glacier ice exerted astrong but secondary or indirectcontrol upon the mode of originof the materials or mode of oper-

8 1

ation of the process . The use ofthis qualifying descriptor im-plies that glacier ice was closeto the site of the deposition ofa material or the site of opera-tion of a process .

Glaciofluvial - Fluvial materialsshowing clear evidence of havingbeen deposited either directly infront of or in contact with gla-cier ice .

Glaciolacustrine - Lacustrine materi-als deposited in contact withglacial ice .

Glaciomarine - Materials of glacialorigin laid down in a marine en-vironment, as a result of settling from melting, floating iceand ice shelves .

Organic component

The organic component consists ofpeat deposits containing >30% organicmatter by weight that may be as thinas 10 cm if they overlie bedrock butare otherwise greater than 40 cm andgenerally greater than 60 cm thick .The classes and their definitionsfollow .

B BogN FenS Swamp

Bog - A bog is a peat-covered orpeat-filled area, generally witha high water table .

Since thesurface of the peatland isslightly elevated, bogs are ei-ther unaffected or partly affect-ed by nutrient-rich groundwatersfrom the surrounding mineralsoils . The groundwater is gener-ally acidic and low in nutrients(ombrotrophic) . The dominantpeat materials are sphagnum andforest peat, underlain, at times,by fen peat .

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Fen - A fen is a peat-covered orpeat-filled area with a high wa-ter table,

which is usually atthe surface .

The dominant ma-terials are shallow to deep, wellto moderately decomposed fenpeat . The waters are mainly richin nutrients (minerotrophic) andare derived from mineral soils .The peat materials are thereforehigher in both nutrients and pHthan the peats associated withbogs .

Swam - A swamp is a peat-covered orpeat-filled area . The peat sur-face is level or slightly concavein cross section .

The water ta-ble is frequently at or above thepeat surface .

There is strongwater movement from margins orother mineral sources .

The mi-crorelief is hummocky, with manypools present .

The waters areneutral or slightly acid .

Thedominant peat materials are shal-low to deep mesic to humic forestand fen peat .

C .2 GENETIC KATERIAL MODIFIERS

Material modifiers are used toqualify unconsolidated mineral andorganic deposits . Particle-sizeclasses serve to indicate the size,roundness, and sorting of unconsoli-dated mineral deposits . Fiber class-es indicate the degree of decomposi-tion and fiber size of organicmaterials .

Particle size classes forunconsolidated mineral materials

Blocky : An accumulation of angularparticles greater than 256mm in size .

Bouldery :An accumulation of roundedparticles greater than 256

- 8 2-

mm in size .

Clayey : An accumulation of particleswhere the fine earth frac-tion contains 35% or moreclay (<0 .002 mm)

by weightand particles greater than 2mm are less than 35% by vol-ume .

Cobbly : An accumulation of roundedparticles having a diameterof 64-256 mm .

Gravelly :An accumulation of roundedparticles ranging in sizefrom pebbles to boulders .

Loamy :

An accumulation of particlesof which fine earth fractioncontains 35% or less clay(<0 .002 mm)

by weight andparticles greater than 2 mmare less than 35% by volume .

Pebbly : An accumulation of roundedparticles having a diameterof 2-64 mm .

Rubbly : An accumulation of angularfragments having a diameterof 2-256 mm .

Sandy :

An accumulation of particlesof which the fine earthfraction contains more than70% by weight of fine sandor coarser particles . Par-ticles greater than 2 mm oc-cupy less than 35% by vol-ume .

Silty :

An accumulation of particlesof which the fine earthfraction contains less than15% of fine sand or coarserparticles and has less than35% clay . Particles greaterthan 2 mm occupy less than35% by volume .

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Fiber classes for organic materials

The amount of fiber and its dur-ability are important characterizingfeatures of organic deposits in thatthey reflect on the degree of decom-position of the material . The preva-lence of woody materials in peats isalso of prime importance .

Fibric :The least decomposed of allorganic materials ; there is alarge amount of well-preservedfiber that is readily identi-fiable as to botanical origin .Fibers retain their characterupon rubbing .

Mesic : Organic material in an inter-mediate stage of decompostion ;intermediate amounts of fiberare present that can be iden-tified as to their botanicalorigin .

Humic : Highly decomposed organic ma-terial ; small amounts of fiberare present that can be identified as to their botanicalorigin . Fibers can be easilydestroyed by rubbing .

Woody : Organic material containingmore than 50% of woody fibers .

C .3

STJRPAC8 EXPRESSION

The surface expression of geneticmaterials is their form (assemblageof slopes)

and pattern of forms .Form as applied to unconsolidated de-posits refers specifically to theproduct of the initial mode of originof the materials .

When applied toconsolidated materials,

form refersto the product of their modificationby geological processes . Surface ex-pression also indicates the manner inwhich unconsolidated genetic materi-als relate to the underlying unit .

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Consolidated and Unconsolidatedmineral surfaceclasses

Apron - A relatively gentle slope atthe foot of a steeper slope andformed by materials from thesteeper, upper slope .

Blanket - A mantle of unconsolidatedmaterials thick enough to maskminor irregularities in the underlying unit but still conform-ing to the general underlying to-pography .

Fan - A fan-shaped form similar tothe segment of a cone and havinga perceptible gradient from theapex to the toe .

Hummocky - A very complex sequence ofslopes extending from somewhatrounded depressions or kettles ofvarious sizes to irregular toconical knolls or knobs . Thereis a general lack of concordancebetween knolls or depressions .Slopes are generally 9-70% (5-35degrees) .

Inclined - A sloping, unidirectionalsurface with a generally constantslope not broken by marked irregularities . Slopes are 2-70%(1-35 degrees) . The form of in-clined slopes is not related tothe initial mode of origin of theunderlying material .

Level - A flat or very gently slop-ing, unidirectional surface witha generally constant slope notbroken by marked elevations anddepressions . Slopes are general-ly less than 2% (1 degree) .

Rolling - A very regular sequence ofmoderate slopes extending fromrounded, sometimes confined concave-depressions to broad, round-ed convexities producing a wave-lake pattern of moderate relief .Slope length is often 1 .6 km or

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greater and gradients are greaterthan 5% (3 degrees) .

Ridged - A long, narrow elevation ofthe surface, usually sharp crest-ed with steep sides .

The ridgesmay be parallel, subparallel, orintersecting .

Steep - Erosional slopes,

greaterthan 70% (35 degrees),

on bothconsolidated and unconsolidatedmaterials .

The form of a steeperosional slope on unconsolidatedmaterials is not related to theinitial mode of origin of the un-derlying material .

Terraced - Scarp face and the hori-zontal or gently inclined surface(tread) above it .

Undulating - A very regular sequenceof gentle slopes that extendsfrom rounded, sometimes confinedconcavities to broad rounded con-vexities producing a wavelikepattern of low local relief .Slope length is generally lessthan 0 .8 km and the dominant gra-dient of slopes is 2-5% (1-3 de--grees) .

veneer - Unconsolidated materials toothin to mask the minor irregular-ities of the underlying unit surface .

A veneer will range from10 cm to 1 m in thickness andwill possess no form typical ofthe material's genesis .

Organic surface classes

Blanket - A mantle of organic materi-als that is thick enough to maskminor irregularities in the underlying unit but still conformsto the general underlying topog-raphy .

Bowl - A bog or fen occupying con-cave-shaped depressions .

Domed - A bog with an elevated, con-vex,

central area much higherthan the margin .

Domes may beabrupt (with or without a frozencore) or gently sloping or have astepped surface .

Floating - A level organic surfaceassociated with a pond or lakeand not anchored to the lake bot-tom .

Horizontal - A flat peat surface notbroken by marked elevations. anddepressions .

Plateau - A bog with an elevated,flat, central area only slightlyhigher than the margin .

Ribbed - A pattern of parallel or re-ticulate low ridges associatedwith fens .

Sloping - A peat surface with a gen-erally constant slope not brokenby marked irregularities .

Veneer - A thin (40 cm-1m) mantle oforganic materials which generallyconforms to the underlying topography .

They may or may not beassociated with discontinuouspermafrost .

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The Soil Series Map Unit is identified by three alphabetic letters, e .g .STU - Stanton series .

The phase of the series is identified by an alphabeticor numeric symbol below the soil series symbol .

Four possible phases or com-binations of phases are presented as follows :

a) first space, numeric, indicates degree of erosion,

b) second space, alphabetic, indicates slope class,

c) third space, numeric, indicates degree of stoniness,

d) fourth space, alphabetic, indicates degree of salinity .

"x" is used to identify the absence of, or the degree of minimal erosion,slope class, stoniness and salinity permitted in the definition of the normalsoil .

"p" after the series name indicates the peaty phase .

"1" or other numerals after the series name indicates a variant of the nor-mal series ; it may be due to composition difference, textural difference orother property at variance from the norm .

" 4" superscript numbers following the series symbol in a complex map unitrefer to the percentile of that series and phase in the map unit .

Examples :

Single Map Units :

Appendix D

SOIL LEGEND AND INTERPRETATION OF MAP UNIT SYMBOLS

SOU indicates the Souris series with minimal or absent phase features .

CRMp indicates the peaty phase of the Cromer series .

MNV/xxxs indicates the Martinville series,

weakly saline phase ; the ero-sion, slope and stoniness are minimal or normal for the series .

PPT1/xxxt indicates the Pipestone series, sandy substrate variant, moder-ately saline .

Complex Map Units :

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STU 7 /xcxx - CRM, 3 /xxxs indicates a compound map unit of :

70% Stanton series, moderately sloping 2-5%

30°o Cromer series, sandy substrate variant, weakly saline .

CRMp__''peaty phase

xxxt

MAP UNIT SYMBOLOGY

soil series\

percentile of map unit

STU? CRM13xcxx xxxs variant

- 86-

degree of salinity

stoniness

slope class

degree of erosion

Slope Class Degree of Salinity dS/m

x 0-2% level to gently sloping x nonsaline 0-4

c 2-5°o gently sloping s weakly saline 4-8

d 5-9,°o moderately sloping t moderately saline 8-15

e 9-15% strongly sloping u strongly saline > 15

f 15-30% steeply sloping

g 30-60% very steeply sloping

h over 60% extremely sloping

Degree of Erosion Stoninessx none to slightly x stone free

1 slightly eroded 1 slightly stony

2 moderately eroded 2 moderately stony

3 severely eroded 3 very stony

4 exceedingly stony

5 excessively stony

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i s = = = = M = M = r = a

00

Soil Legend for PLUM LAKES Project

Soil Surface SoilSymbol Soil Name Texture Drainage Mode of Deposition Family Particle Size Subgroup

C:LR Cameron L WELL. Lacustrine Loamy O .BLCME Cranmer C1. IMPER Lacustrine Fine Loamy GLR .BLCRM Cromer C POOR Lacustrine Clayey R .HCCRMI Cromer, Sandy Sub . C POOP, Lacustrine Clayey/Sandy R.HGEBL Emblem L POOR Lacustrine Loamy R .HG

CDC Grande-Clairiere LS LJELL Eolian Sandy O .RHRY Hartney L IMPER Lacustrine Loamy CLR .BLLYT Lyleton SL WELL Lacustrine Coarse Loamy O .BLMLIC Marsh Complex L V .POOR Variable Textural Complex R .GMNV Partinville L POOR Lacustrine Loamy/Sandy R .HG

OKL Oak Lake LFS POOR Lacustrine Sandy R .HCPPT Pipestone C IMPER Lacustrine Clayey GI R .BLPPT1 Pipes#---Sandy, Sub . C IMPER Lacustrine Clayey/Sandy CLR .BLPAK Plum Lake SL POOR Lacustrine Coarse Loamy R .HGRTO Ralston LS IMPER Eolian Sandy GLO .R

SCH Scarth FS WELL Lacustrine Sandy R .BLSOU Souris LFS IMPER Lacustrine Sandy GLR .BLSTU Stanton LFS WELL Lacustrine Sandy O .BLSUZ Switzer SL IMPER Lacustrine Coarse Loamy GLR .BLWWS Wawanesa L IMPER Lacustrine Loamy/Sandy CLR .BL

Z7. Water