Natural Resources
Conservation Service
Ecological site F090AY007WI
Wet Clayey Lowlands
Last updated: 10/02/2023
Accessed: 11/13/2024
General information
Provisional. A provisional ecological site description has undergone quality control and quality assurance review. It contains a working state and transition model and enough information to identify the ecological site.
MLRA notes
Major Land Resource Area (MLRA): 090A–Wisconsin and Minnesota Thin Loess and Till
MLRA 90A is part of the recently glaciated till and outwash plains of central Minnesota and northern Wisconsin. The area was covered with loamy alluvium or loess after glaciation. It is in Wisconsin (56 percent), Minnesota (40 percent), and Michigan (4 percent). It makes up about 21,967 square miles (56,901 square kilometers).
This MLRA has distinct boundaries to the north where it borders tills of a dissimilar origin on the less morainic landscapes of MLRAs 88, 92, and 93A. The boundary to the west is where the MLRA transitions to the calcareous tills of the Des Moines Lobe, in MLRA 57. To the south, MLRA 90A borders MLRA 90B, which has older soils and better-defined drainage patterns, and MLRA 91, which has the distinct lower landscape relief of an outwash channel.
The part of this area in Minnesota is mostly in the Western Lake section of the Central Lowland province of the Interior Plains. Nearly all the parts in Wisconsin and Michigan are in the Superior Upland province of the Laurentian Upland. Four distinct lobes of the Laurentide Ice Sheet (Rainy, Superior, Chippewa, and Green Bay) played major roles in shaping the landscape in this area. The landscape is characterized by gently undulating to rolling, loess-mantled till plains, drumlin fields, and end moraines mixed with outwash plains associated with major glacial drainageways, swamps, bogs, and fens. In some areas lake plains and ice-walled lakes are significant. Steeper areas occur mostly as valley side slopes along flood plains and as escarpments along the margins of lakes.
Lakes, ponds, and marshes are common throughout the area, and streams generally have a dendritic pattern. The major rivers in this area are the Chippewa, St. Croix, Mississippi, and Wisconsin Rivers. Elevation ranges from 1,100 to 1,950 feet (335 to 595 meters). Local relief is mainly less than 10 feet to 20 feet (3 to 6 meters), but some major valleys and hills are 200 feet (60 meters) above the adjacent lowland.
Precambrian-age bedrock underlies most of the glacial deposits in this MLRA. The bedrock is a complex of folded and faulted igneous and metamorphic rocks. The bedrock terrain has been modified by glaciation and is covered in most areas by Pleistocene deposits and windblown silts. The glacial deposits form an almost continuous cover in most areas. The drift is several hundred feet thick in many areas. Loess covered the area shortly after the glacial ice melted.
Ground water is abundant in deep glacial deposits in most of this area. It also occurs in sedimentary and volcanic rock in the western part of the area. It is scarce where the layer of drift is thin. The water meets the domestic, agricultural, municipal, industrial, rural, and irrigation needs of the area. The content of dissolved solids in the ground water from all the various aquifers in this area is low, and the water generally is moderately hard or hard. The level of total dissolved solids in some of the water can be much higher because of a high content of limestone in some of the glacial deposits. Most of this area obtains ground water from unconsolidated glacial sand and gravel deposits on or very near the surface. Some wells tap the Cambrian sandstone in the southwestern part of the area, in Wisconsin.
In northwest Wisconsin (Ashland and Bayfield Counties) where there are no glacial deposits and in much of the part of this area in Minnesota, ground water from sedimentary and volcanic rock aquifers is used. This water is of very good quality; however, many soils have very porous layers that are poor filters of domestic waste and agricultural chemicals, so there is a risk of contamination from development and agriculture. Minor water concerns are hardness and, in some areas, high concentrations of iron. Yields of water from the glacial deposits vary.
The dominant soil orders are Alfisols, Entisols, Histosols, and Spodosols. The soils in the area have a frigid temperature regime, a udic or aquic moisture regime, and mixed mineralogy.
This area has a significant acreage of public and private forestland used to support the paper and lumber industry Sap collection from sugar maple and syrup production are important forestry enterprises. Agricultural enterprises include row crops, dairy farms, and beef operations. Crops include corn, soybeans, oats, wheat, and alfalfa. Tourism, recreation, and wildlife management are important. Hunting, fishing, snowmobiling, hiking, and skiing are popular activities because of the area’s abundance of water, the many acres of national and county forests, and public hunting grounds. (United States Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service, 2022)
Classification relationships
Major Land Resource Area (MLRA 90A): Wisconsin and Minnesota Thin Loess and Till
USFS Subregions: Bayfield Sand Plains (212Ka), Rib Mountain Rolling Ridges (212Qd)
Small sections occur in St. Croix Moraine (212Qa) and Mille Lacs Uplands (212Kb)
Wisconsin DNR Ecological Landscapes: Northwest Sands, Forest Transition, Northwest Lowlands, North Central Forest
Ecological site concept
The Wet Clayey Lowlands ecological site is uncommon in MLRA 90A, located in depressions and drainageways on lake plains and moraines. These sites are characterized by very deep, very poorly or poorly drained soils that formed primarily in clayey lacustrine, till, and residuum. Sites are subject to frequent ponding during the spring and fall. Soils remain saturated for long periods during the growing season and meet hydric soil requirements. Precipitation, runoff from adjacent uplands, and groundwater discharge are the primary sources of water. Soils range from very strongly acid to moderately alkaline.
Wet Clayey Lowlands is differentiated from other ecological sites by its deep clayey deposits and very poorly or poorly drained soils. Other very poorly or poorly drained sites have sandy or loamy deposits. Clays often have higher pH and available water capacity than sandy and loamy sites, which can promote vegetative growth.
Associated sites
F090AY012WI |
Moist Clayey Lowland Moist Clayey Lowland consist of deep clayey lacustrine deposits. The finer textures perch the water table. These soils remain moist - but not saturated - throughout much of the growing season. They are drier and occur higher on the drainage sequence than Wet Clayey Lowland. |
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F090AY017WI |
Clayey Upland Loamy Upland consist of loamy to clayey residuum or lacustrine deposits overlain by loess or sandy outwash. Bedrock contact may occur within two meters of the surface. These sites have a seasonally high water table within one meter of the surface, though they are not saturated for sustained periods. They are drier and occur higher on the drainage sequence than Wet Clayey Lowland. |
Similar sites
F090AY006WI |
Wet Loamy Lowland Wet Loamy Lowland consist primarily of deep loamy deposits derived from a mixture of outwash, alluvium, loess, and lacustrine sources. Some sites may have bedrock contact within two meters of the surface. These sites are seasonally ponded depressions that remain saturated for sustained periods, allowing hydric conditions to occur. They occur in similar landscape positions and have similar drainage as Wet Clayey Lowland, though with coarser particle sizes. The vegetative communities they support are similar to those found on Wet Clayey Lowland. |
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Table 1. Dominant plant species
Tree |
(1) Fraxinus nigra |
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Shrub |
(1) Fraxinus pennsylvanica |
Herbaceous |
(1) Oligoneuron |
Click on box and path labels to scroll to the respective text.
Ecosystem states
T1A | - | Major stand replacing disturbance e.g. blow-down or clear-cutting. |
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T1B | - | Elimination of forest cover, application of agricultural practices. |
R2A | - | Conifers slowly increase in abundance in the deciduous forest community. |
T2A | - | Elimination of forest cover, application of agricultural practices. |
R3A | - | Cessation of agricultural practices. |
State 1 submodel, plant communities
1.1A | - | Natural mortality in the oldest age classes, sporadic small-scale blow-downs and ice storms, and prolonged ponding events create openings for entry of mid-tolerant species, such as green ash. |
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1.2A | - | Time and natural succession. |
State 2 submodel, plant communities
2.2A | - | Decreased frequency and duration ponding events, encroachment of tree species such as aspen and black ash. |
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2.1A | - | Increased frequency and duration of ponding events. |