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| Pottawatomie series | |
|---|---|
| Name | Pottawatomie series |
| Classification | Soil series |
| Regime | Temperate |
| Parent material | Loess, till, alluvium |
| Drainage | Well drained |
| Texture | Silt loam |
| Occurrences | Midwestern United States |
Pottawatomie series is a named soil series recognized in the United States soil taxonomy that typifies fine, silty, well-drained profiles formed on loess and glacial till in the Midwestern United States. The series is important for row-crop production, prairie restoration, and studies in pedogenesis, and has been referenced in regional land-use planning, conservation programs, and pedological surveys by agencies and universities.
The Pottawatomie series is characterized by a silt-loam surface horizon over stratified subsoils derived from Loess and Glacial till (sediment), occurring across parts of Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and Missouri. Soil surveys by the United States Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service and studies at institutions such as Iowa State University, University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign, Purdue University, Ohio State University, and University of Missouri document its agricultural value for Zea mays, Glycine max, and small grains. Researchers from USDA Agricultural Research Service, Soil Science Society of America, American Society of Agronomy, and state conservation districts have mapped its extent and recommended management practices. The series is often compared to adjacent series like Fayette series, Nicollet series, and Drummer series in regional pedological literature.
Pottawatomie soils formed on loess and till deposited during the Pleistocene by eolian and glacial processes tied to glacial lobes such as the Laurentide Ice Sheet and regional fluvial systems like the Mississippi River and its tributaries including the Des Moines River. Parent materials include silty loess from sources near the Missouri River and tills correlated with glacial advances recorded in stratigraphic work by geologists at the United States Geological Survey, Indiana Geological Survey, Illinois State Geological Survey, and Iowa Geological Survey. Soil-profile development reflects pedogenic processes recognized in the work of Hans Jenny, Guy D. Smith, and contemporary pedologists, including clay illuviation, carbonate accumulation, and organic matter incorporation under native Prairie (North America) vegetation such as species studied by botanists at the Missouri Botanical Garden and Chicago Botanic Garden.
Typical profiles exhibit a dark, granular A horizon rich in organic carbon over a pale, silty E horizon and a B horizon with increased clay and calcium carbonate nodules; texture classes are predominantly silt loam to silty clay loam. Laboratory analyses by agronomists at Cornell University, University of Minnesota, and Michigan State University report pH ranges, cation-exchange capacity, and bulk density values that inform fertilizer recommendations used by extension services at University of Wisconsin–Madison and Kansas State University. Classification aligns with criteria in the Soil Taxonomy (USDA) and international frameworks referenced by the Food and Agriculture Organization. Morphological markers include blocky subangular structure, rooting patterns noted by botanists studying Andropogon gerardii and Sorghastrum nutans, and hydrologic behavior assessed in drainage models used by US EPA watershed programs.
Pottawatomie series occurs on rolling to gently sloping uplands, often supporting legacy native prairie and current row-crop agriculture such as Zea mays and Glycine max rotations, livestock forage, and specialty grains for markets in Chicago, Cedar Rapids, and St. Louis. Land-management decisions involve stakeholders including county soil and water conservation districts, the Natural Resources Conservation Service, commodity groups such as the Iowa Soybean Association and National Corn Growers Association, and agribusinesses like John Deere and Syngenta. Historical land-use conversion from prairie to agriculture parallels settlement and policy events linked to the Homestead Act, expansion of the Illinois Central Railroad, and agricultural extension outreach promoted by figures connected to Morrill Act land-grant universities.
Best management practices for Pottawatomie soils emphasize erosion control through contour farming, no-till or reduced-till systems promoted by Conservation Technology Information Center, cover cropping with species researched at Rodale Institute and Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE), and nutrient management plans consistent with guidelines from the NRCS and state extension programs. Conservation programs such as the Conservation Reserve Program and watershed planning under the Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act have been applied to reduce sediment loss and improve water quality in basins draining to the Mississippi River and Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge. Soil health monitoring initiatives involve collaborations among Natural Resources Conservation Service, USDA ARS, University of Nebraska–Lincoln, and regional conservation NGOs like The Nature Conservancy.
The series was described in county-level soil surveys and formalized within the United States Department of Agriculture soil classification system during the 20th century, influenced by seminal texts from pedologists including Curtis F. Marbut and classification revisions by the Soil Conservation Service (SCS). Typification and mapping incorporated methods from surveys conducted by the National Cooperative Soil Survey and academic theses from Iowa State University and University of Illinois graduate programs. Comparative taxonomy linked Pottawatomie to conceptually analogous soils cataloged in the Canadian System of Soil Classification and European pedological literature disseminated through the International Union of Soil Sciences.
Restoration efforts on Pottawatomie soils aim to reestablish native prairie remnants and pollinator habitats using seed mixes developed by ecologists at The Nature Conservancy, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Chicago Wilderness, and regional botanical gardens. Programs for erosion control and carbon sequestration align with federal initiatives such as Conservation Stewardship Program payments and research into soil carbon by scientists at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and university carbon networks. Partnerships among state departments of agriculture, county conservation boards, the National Park Service, and local land trusts facilitate long-term stewardship, adaptive management, and monitoring by citizen science projects coordinated with museums like the Field Museum and agricultural museums in the Midwest.
Category:Soil series