Natural Resources
Conservation Service
Ecological site F090AY014WI
Loamy Bedrock Upland
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: Rib Mountain Rolling Ridges (212Qd), Lincoln Formation Till Plain - Hemlock Hardwoods (212Qc), Lincoln Formation Till Plain - Mixed Hardwoods (212Qb), Brule and Paint Rivers Drumlinized Ground Moraine (212Xc), Rosemont Baldwin Plains and Moraines (222Md)
Small sections occur in Crystal Falls Till and Outwash (212Xq), Perkinstown End Moraine (212Xe), Hayward Stagnation Moraines (212Xf), Mille Lacs Uplands (212Kb)
Wisconsin DNR Ecological Landscapes: Forest Transition, Western Prairie, North Central Forest, Northwest Lowlands
Ecological site concept
The Loamy Bedrock Upland ecological site is common to the southern portion of MLRA 90A, located on till plains. These sites are characterized by moderately deep to very deep, moderately well to well drained soils that formed primarily in loamy till deposits over bedrock, but also include loess, alluvium, outwash, and pedisediment. Bedrock types include granite, quartzite, gneiss, basalt, sandstone, interbedded sandstone and shale, limestone, and igneous and metamorphic rock. Precipitation and runoff from adjacent uplands are the primary sources of water. Soils range from very strongly acid to slightly alkaline.
Loamy Bedrock Upland is distinguished from other sites based on drainage and moderately deep profile. The underlying bedrock can perch water and cause limitations to growth, acting as a root restricting layer. These sites may be more vulnerable to tree tips. The loamy materials differentiate this site from other moderately well and well drained sites that have sandy or clayey deposits. Loamy materials often have higher pH and available water capacity than sand, but less than clay.
Associated sites
F090AY007WI |
Wet Clayey Lowlands Wet Clayey Lowlands form in deep, loamy to clayey deposits derived from a mixture of alluvium, residuum, till, or lacustrine sources. These sites have a seasonally high water table at the surface, and some are subject to occasional ponding. Sustained saturation is enough for hydric conditions to occur. They are wetter and occur lower on the drainage sequence than Loamy Bedrock Upland. |
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F090AY008WI |
Moist Sandy Bedrock Upland Moist Sandy Bedrock Upland sites consist of sandy to clayey alluvium, till, or eolian deposits over residuum weathered from bedrock. Bedrock contact occurs within two meters of the surface. Sites have seasonally high water table within a meter of the surface. Perching of the water table may occur as a result of bedrock contact. They are wetter and occur lower on the drainage sequence than Loamy Bedrock Upland. |
F090AY021WI |
Dry Loamy Upland Dry Loamy Upland consist of deep sandy to loamy outwash, alluvium, or till. The water table is deeper than two meters year-round. They are drier and occur higher on the drainage sequence than Loamy Bedrock Upland. |
Similar sites
F090AY017WI |
Clayey Upland Clayey 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 occupy the same landscape positions and have the same drainage class as Loamy Bedrock Upland but have finer textures. |
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F090AY016WI |
Loamy Upland Loamy Upland consist of deep loamy till, alluvium, residuum, lacustrine, or eolian deposits. Sandy deposits of these parent materials, plus outwash, may also be present. The depth to the seasonally high water table ranges from as high as the surface to as low as almost two meters below the surface. A few sites are on floodplains and upland drainageways, where very brief flooding is rare but possible. They occupy the same landscape positions and have the same drainage class an particle size as Loamy Bedrock Upland, but they lack bedrock contact within two meters. |
F090AY015WI |
Loamy Upland with Carbonates Loamy Upland with Carbonates consist of deep loamy till, colluvium, alluvium, residuum, or eolian deposits. Some sites may also have sandy outwash or eolian deposits. Carbonates are present in these soils. They have a seasonally high water table within one meter of the surface, though they don't remain saturated for extended periods of time. They occupy the same landscape positions and have the same drainage class an particle size as Loamy Bedrock Upland, but they lack bedrock contact within two meters. |
Table 1. Dominant plant species
Tree |
(1) Acer saccharum |
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Shrub |
(1) Ostrya virginiana |
Herbaceous |
(1) Amphicarpaea |
Click on box and path labels to scroll to the respective text.
T1A | - | Clear cutting or stand-replacing fire. |
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T1B | - | Removal of forest vegetation and tilling. |
R2A | - | Disturbance-free period 70+ years. |
T2A | - | Removal of forest cover and tilling for agricultural crop production. |
T3A | - | Stopping of agricultural practices and allowing to natural revegetation, or site is replanted. |
State 1 submodel, plant communities
1.1A | - | Light to moderate intensity fires, blow-downs, snow-ice breakage. |
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1.2A | - | Disturbance-free period for 30+ years. |
State 2 submodel, plant communities
2.1A | - | Immigration and establishment of red oak and red maple. |
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2.2A | - | Immigration and establishment of red oak and red maple. |
2.3A | - | Clear cutting or stand-replacing fire. |