Major Land Resource Area 055A
Northern Black Glaciated Plains
Accessed: 05/19/2025
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Next, learn more about the selected ecological site and its characteristic dynamics by browsing the ecological site description and exploring alternative state and transition model formats.
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Key Characteristics
- Wooded site (Aspen overstory or Bur Oak and Green Ash)
- Site is in the Turtle Mountains or Pembina Gorge area. Soil has a thin albic horizon, uncoated sand grains, or grayish silt coats on ped surfaces. Aspen overstory with beaked hazel understory
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Key Characteristics
- Clay content is >35% in soil surface texture
- Silty clay to clay soil surface texture and no root restrictive layer
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Key Characteristics
- Clay content is >35% in soil surface texture
- Soil has dense, root-restrictive, claypan layer at 6-14” from the surface and a clay loam to clay soil surface texture
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Key Characteristics
- Water table is less than 6 feet from the surface. Sites occur in depressions on uplands or floodplains and drainageways.
- Site has strong to violent effervescence throughout the subsoil
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Key Characteristics
- All other sites
- Site is in a floodplain or swale and fine sand loam or loam soil surface texture
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Key Characteristics
- Water table is less than 6 feet from the surface. Sites occur in depressions on uplands or floodplains and drainageways.
- Site on lowland with EC>8 and/or visible salts and/or salt tolerant vegetation present
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Key Characteristics
- Sand content is >45% in the surface texture
- Loamy fine sand to find sand soil surface textures
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Key Characteristics
- Sand content is >45% in the surface texture
- Fine sandy loam and sandy loam soil surface textures
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Key Characteristics
- Bedrock and/or >15% of gravel is < 20 inches from soil surface
- Soil depth is 9-20 inches to bedrock
- Soil substratum contains up to 10-60% gravel and/or 25-75% sand
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Key Characteristics
- All other sites
- All other sites
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Key Characteristics
- Water table is less than 6 feet from the surface. Sites occur in depressions on uplands or floodplains and drainageways.
- Soil is somewhat poorly drained and redoximorphic features visible 18-30 inches from the soil surface
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Key Characteristics
- Water table is less than 6 feet from the surface. Sites occur in depressions on uplands or floodplains and drainageways.
- Soil surface texture is fine sandy loam to loamy sand
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Key Characteristics
- Clay content is >35% in soil surface texture
- Soil has a dense, root-restrictive, claypan layer <6” from the surface
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Key Characteristics
- Sand content is >45% in the surface texture
- Site is located on dunes with >15% slope
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Key Characteristics
- All other sites
- Site located on shoulder slopes, convex rises, and summits. Strong to violent effervescence immediately below the surface layer
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Key Characteristics
- Bedrock and/or >15% of gravel is < 20 inches from soil surface
- Soil with >15% coarse sand or gravel at depths <14 inches
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Key Characteristics
- Water table is less than 6 feet from the surface. Sites occur in depressions on uplands or floodplains and drainageways.
- Soil is very poorly drained, and usually ponded into mid-summer and has high organic matter content
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Key Characteristics
- Water table is less than 6 feet from the surface. Sites occur in depressions on uplands or floodplains and drainageways.
- Site is typically located in depressions, early growing season ponding, and is poorly drained
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Key Characteristics
- Sand content is >45% in the surface texture
- Site has a sodic, dense claypan layer within 6-18” of surface and fine sandy loam or silt loam soil surface texture
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Key Characteristics
- Bedrock and/or >15% of gravel is < 20 inches from soil surface
- Soil depth is 9-20 inches to bedrock
- Soil depth is 10-20” to weathered bedrock, shale, or strongly cemented silcrete
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Zoom in to display soil survey map units for an area of interest, and zoom out to display MLRAs. Select a map unit polygon to view ecological sites correlated to that map unit. View a brief description of an ecological site by clicking on its name in the map popup. Soil survey correlations may not be accurate, and ecological site classification of a location should always be verified in the field. Each selection may require the transfer of several hundred KB of data.
Ecological site keys
MLRA 55A Ecological Site Key
A.
Wooded site (Aspen overstory or Bur Oak and Green Ash)
I
Site has dark colored soil surface >7” (Mollisol) with a mix of Bur Oak and Green Ash
... R055AN045ND – Savannah
II
Site is in the Turtle Mountains or Pembina Gorge area. Soil has a thin albic horizon, uncoated sand grains, or grayish silt coats on ped surfaces. Aspen overstory with beaked hazel understory
... F055AY058ND – Upland Hardwood Forest
B.
Water table is less than 6 feet from the surface. Sites occur in depressions on uplands or floodplains and drainageways.
I
Site on lowland with EC>8 and/or visible salts and/or salt tolerant vegetation present
... R055AY042ND – Saline Lowland
II
Site has strong to violent effervescence throughout the subsoil
... R055AY040ND – Limy Subirrigated
III
Site is typically located in depressions, early growing season ponding, and is poorly drained
... R055AY055ND – Wet Meadow
IV
Soil is somewhat poorly drained and redoximorphic features visible 18-30 inches from the soil surface
... R055AY048ND – Subirrigated
V
Soil is very poorly drained, and usually ponded into mid-summer and has high organic matter content
... R055AY054ND – Shallow Marsh
C.
Bedrock and/or >15% of gravel is < 20 inches from soil surface
II
Soil depth is 9-20 inches to bedrock
a
Soil depth is 10-20” to weathered bedrock, shale, or strongly cemented silcrete
... R055AY057ND – Shallow Loamy
D.
Sand content is >45% in the surface texture
II
Site has a sodic, dense claypan layer within 6-18” of surface and fine sandy loam or silt loam soil surface texture
... R055AY056ND – Sandy Claypan
E.
Clay content is >35% in soil surface texture
II
Soil has a dense, root-restrictive, claypan layer <6” from the surface
... R055AY050ND – Thin Claypan
III
Soil has dense, root-restrictive, claypan layer at 6-14” from the surface and a clay loam to clay soil surface texture
... R055AY039ND – Claypan
F.
All other sites
I
Site is in a floodplain or swale and fine sand loam or loam soil surface texture
... R055AY041ND – Loamy Overflow
II
Site located on shoulder slopes, convex rises, and summits. Strong to violent effervescence immediately below the surface layer
... R055AY052ND – Thin Loamy
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Major Land Resource Areas
The Ecosystem Dynamics Interpretive Tool is an information system framework developed by the USDA-ARS Jornada Experimental Range, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, and New Mexico State University.
