Houdek is a type of

soil Soil, also commonly referred to as earth or dirt, is a mixture of organic matter, minerals, gases, liquids, and organisms that together support life. Some scientific definitions distinguish ''dirt'' from ''soil'' by restricting the former te ...

composed of

glacial till image:Geschiebemergel.JPG, Closeup of glacial till. Note that the larger grains (pebbles and gravel) in the till are completely surrounded by the matrix of finer material (silt and sand), and this characteristic, known as ''matrix support'', is d ...

and decomposed

organic matter Organic matter, organic material, or natural organic matter refers to the large source of carbon-based compounds found within natural and engineered, terrestrial, and aquatic environments. It is matter composed of organic compounds that have c ...

. The soil series was established in 1955 in Spink County, South Dakota. It is unique to the United States, but in particular to

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota people, Lakota and Dakota peo ...

where it is the

state soil This is a list of U.S. state soils. A state soil is a soil that has special significance to a particular U.S. state, state. Each state in the United States has selected a state soil, twenty of which have been legislatively established. These offic ...

. :;Surface layer: Dark grayish brown

loam Loam (in geology and soil science) is soil composed mostly of sand (particle size > ), silt (particle size > ), and a smaller amount of clay (particle size < ). By weight, its mineral composition is about 40–40–20% concentration of sand–sil ...

:;Subsoil - upper: Dark grayish brown clay loam :;Subsoil - middle: Grayish brown clay loam :;Subsoil - lower: Light olive brown clay loam :;Substratum: Light yellowish brown clay loam

South Dakota State Soil

The soil forming factors provide a unique landscape in South Dakota which gives rise to more than 550 different soils. The Houdek soil was designated as the South Dakota State Soil in 1990, by Governor George Mickelson of the State Legislature. The House Bill was signed into law, making the Houdek loam South Dakota's Official State Soil. This soil and others in the same location have been mapped on about 600,000 acres. The Professional Soil Scientists Association of SD and the SD Chapter of the Soil and Water Conservation Society worked together to commemorate the importance of soil to South Dakota. It is appropriate that Houdek loam was adopted as the state soil to bring acknowledgement to the important role it has played in South Dakota's most important

industry Industry may refer to: Economics * Industry (economics), a generally categorized branch of economic activity * Industry (manufacturing), a specific branch of economic activity, typically in factories with machinery * The wider industrial sector ...

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

Classification and Genesis

Houdek

topsoil Topsoil is the upper layer of soil. It has the highest concentration of organic matter and microorganisms and is where most of the Earth's biological soil activity occurs. Description Topsoil is composed of mineral particles and organic matt ...

is composed of weathered glacial till and 2% to 4% organic matter which gives it a deep, dark color. The slopes ranges from 0 to 25 percent depending on location. The

subsoil Subsoil is the layer of soil under the topsoil on the surface of the ground. Like topsoil, it is composed of a variable mixture of small particles such as sand, silt and clay, but with a much lower percentage of organic matter and humus, and it ...

consists of layers of

clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4). Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay par ...

and

lime Lime commonly refers to: * Lime (fruit), a green citrus fruit * Lime (material), inorganic materials containing calcium, usually calcium oxide or calcium hydroxide * Lime (color), a color between yellow and green Lime may also refer to: Botany ...

accumulations that were carried downward from the surface by water. Below these layers is the parent material called glacial till. The family name is fine-loamy, mixed, superactive, mesic Typic Argiustoll. The Houdek soil series is deep, well drained, loamy soil that represents many soils formed in South Dakota under

grass Poaceae () or Gramineae () is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos and the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in lawns an ...

vegetation. The dark color of the surface layer is a result of

decomposition Decomposition or rot is the process by which dead organic substances are broken down into simpler organic or inorganic matter such as carbon dioxide, water, simple sugars and mineral salts. The process is a part of the nutrient cycle and is e ...

of biomass from vegetation and other materials that have been deposited over thousands of years.

Prairie Prairies are ecosystems considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and a composition of grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the ...

conditions form a thick, dark colored, humified surface horizon or layer that is

humus In classical soil science, humus is the dark organic matter in soil that is formed by the decomposition of plant and animal matter. It is a kind of soil organic matter. It is rich in nutrients and retains moisture in the soil. Humus is the Lati ...

rich (1 to 4% organic C). This is a key characteristic that makes these soils fertile. Characteristics: The depth to carbonates ranges from 14 to 24 inches. Thickness of the mollic epipedon ranges from 8 to 20 inches and includes all or part of the Bt horizon. The soil contains 0 to 10 percent by volume of coarse fragments as pebbles. Some pedons contain up to 20 percent by volume of stones throughout. The A horizon has hue of 10YR, value of 3 to 5 and 2 or 3 moist, and chroma of 1 or 2. It typically is loam or silt loam but is clay loam in some pedons. It is slightly acid or neutral. 1) Clay accumulation layer The Bt horizon has hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 4 to 6 and 3 to 5 moist, and chroma of 2 or 3. It is clay loam averaging between 27 and 35 percent clay. Some pedons have thin horizons that exceed 35 percent clay. It is neutral or slightly alkaline. 2) Lime accumulation layer. As the Houdek soils weathered and formed, water from the soil surface carried lime and clay downward. These materials were deposited deeper, forming the two subsoil layers. The Bk horizon has hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 4 to 6 and 4 or 5 moist, and chroma of 2 to 4. It is clay loam or loam and is slightly or moderately

alkaline In chemistry, an alkali (; from ar, القلوي, al-qaly, lit=ashes of the saltwort) is a base (chemistry), basic, ionic compound, ionic salt (chemistry), salt of an alkali metal or an alkaline earth metal. An alkali can also be defined as ...

. It contains few to many, fine or medium accumulations of carbonate. The last layer in the Houdek soil is the parent material. This layer represents the materials from which the Houdek soil has developed with time. It represents what the glacier originally left at the soil surface.

Climate Climate is the long-term weather pattern in an area, typically averaged over 30 years. More rigorously, it is the mean and variability of meteorological variables over a time spanning from months to millions of years. Some of the meteorologic ...

factors and vegetation/soil

organism In biology, an organism () is any living system that functions as an individual entity. All organisms are composed of cells (cell theory). Organisms are classified by taxonomy into groups such as multicellular animals, plants, and ...

s have weathered the glacial parent materials to form the present day Houdek soil. The C horizon has hue of 10YR, 2.5Y, or 5Y, value of 5 to 7 and 4 to 6, and chroma of 2 to 4. It is loam or clay loam and is slightly or moderately alkaline. It has few to many mottles inherent to the parent till. It has few or common accumulations of gypsum between depths of 40 and 60 inches in most pedons. The classic Houdek soil profile includes: a 6-8 inch friable, neutral, black loam

; a 10 to 15 inch friable, neutral, dark brown clay loam subsoil; a 15 to 30 inch

friable Friability ( ), the condition of being friable, describes the tendency of a solid substance to break into smaller pieces under duress or contact, especially by rubbing. The opposite of friable is indurate. Substances that are designated hazardous, ...

calcareous Calcareous () is an adjective meaning "mostly or partly composed of calcium carbonate", in other words, containing lime or being chalky. The term is used in a wide variety of scientific disciplines. In zoology ''Calcareous'' is used as an adje ...

, moderately alkaline, olive brown clay loam subsoil; and 20+ inches of friable, light olive brown, calcareous, moderately alkaline clay loam parent material.

Geomorphology

The

Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the ''Ice age'') is the geological Epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fina ...

(1.5 - 10,000 B.C.) in

Northern America Northern America is the northernmost subregion of North America. The boundaries may be drawn slightly differently. In one definition, it lies directly north of Middle America (including the Caribbean and Central America).Gonzalez, Joseph. 20 ...

was tilled by a succession of great ice sheets. The area covered by

glacier A glacier (; ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its Ablation#Glaciology, ablation over many years, often Century, centuries. It acquires dis ...

s in North America is estimated at 10.4 million km² and about 20% of the U.S. is influenced by the deposits. The retreating glaciers created the unconsolidated rock surface east of the Missouri River. It took the sediment numerous glacial advances and retreats beginning some 1.5 million years ago, and ending 10 thousand years ago to create glacial tilled soils. Eastern South Dakota has a thick layer of glacial sediment that is about . The

is a result of the material deposited directly by the ice. The mixture of rock has a diverse range of particle size.

Climate and Vegetation

The average annual air temperature is about 48 degrees F and the average annual precipitation is 22 inches. Due to its high storage of water that is plant available no

irrigation Irrigation (also referred to as watering) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow Crop, crops, Landscape plant, landscape plants, and Lawn, lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,00 ...

is needed during the growing season to sustain at least three months of

perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...

grasses ranging from tall, mid, or short species. The amount of precipitation is sufficient to provide good production of organic residues but not enough to cause severe weathering and leaching. The climate and vegetation have interacted in South Dakota to produce seven major soil regions. These regions are named: Cool Moist Forest; Cool, Very Dry Plain; Warm, Very Dry Plain; Cool Dry Plain; Warm Dry Plain; Cool Moist Prairie; and Warm Moist Prairie. Houdek soils are recognized for their uses for cropland and

rangeland Rangelands are grasslands, shrublands, woodlands, wetlands, and deserts that are grazed by domestic livestock or wild animals. Types of rangelands include tallgrass and shortgrass prairies, desert grasslands and shrublands, woodlands, savannas ...

. Common crops grown are small grains, sunflowers, corn and soybeans are commonly grown crops.

Livestock Livestock are the domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to provide labor and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The term is sometimes used to refer solely to animals ...

graze pastures of Alfalfa and other native grasses. Large areas of Houdek soils are also composed of native range. Crops and grasses grown on the Houdek soil also provide habitat for wildlife. Some native vegetation consist of

big bluestem ''Andropogon gerardi'', commonly known as big bluestem, is a species of tall grass native to much of the Great Plains and grassland regions of central and eastern North America. It is also known as tall bluestem, bluejoint, and turkeyfoot. Taxon ...

little bluestem ''Schizachyrium scoparium'', commonly known as little bluestem or beard grass, is a species of North American prairie grass native to most of the contiguous United States (except California, Nevada, and Oregon) as well as a small area north of t ...

western wheatgrass ''Pascopyrum'' is a monotypic genus of grass containing the sole species ''Pascopyrum smithii'', which is known by the common names western wheatgrass and red-joint wheatgrass, after the red coloration of the nodes. It is native to North America. ...

, green needlegrass, needle and thread, sideoats grama,

blue grama ''Bouteloua gracilis'', the blue grama, is a long-lived, warm-season ( C4) perennial grass, native to North America. It is most commonly found from Alberta, Canada, east to Manitoba and south across the Rocky Mountains, Great Plains, and U.S. ...

sedges The Cyperaceae are a family of graminoid (grass-like), monocotyledonous flowering plants known as sedges. The family is large, with some 5,500 known species described in about 90 genera, the largest being the "true sedges" genus ''Carex'' wit ...

, and

forb A forb or phorb is an herbaceous flowering plant that is not a graminoid (grass, sedge, or rush). The term is used in biology and in vegetation ecology, especially in relation to grasslands and understory. Typically these are dicots without woo ...

Economic Importance

The Houdek soil is of major

economic An economy is an area of the Production (economics), production, Distribution (economics), distribution and trade, as well as Consumption (economics), consumption of Goods (economics), goods and Service (economics), services. In general, it is ...

importance to South Dakota because it is often used as to grow small

grain A grain is a small, hard, dry fruit (caryopsis) – with or without an attached hull layer – harvested for human or animal consumption. A grain crop is a grain-producing plant. The two main types of commercial grain crops are cereals and legum ...

corn Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. Th ...

sunflowers ''Helianthus'' () is a genus comprising about 70 species of annual and perennial flowering plants in the daisy family Asteraceae commonly known as sunflowers. Except for three South American species, the species of ''Helianthus'' are native to N ...

, and

soybean The soybean, soy bean, or soya bean (''Glycine max'') is a species of legume native to East Asia, widely grown for its edible bean, which has numerous uses. Traditional unfermented food uses of soybeans include soy milk, from which tofu an ...

s. South Dakota is well known as an agricultural state with an area of 77, 047 square miles and it has a population density of nine persons per square mile. Cash receipts from farming and ranching normally exceeds $3 billion each year. On the average, South Dakota is recognized nationally in the top ten for corn, soybeans, spring wheat,

oat The oat (''Avena sativa''), sometimes called the common oat, is a species of cereal grain grown for its seed, which is known by the same name (usually in the plural, unlike other cereals and pseudocereals). While oats are suitable for human con ...

alfalfa Alfalfa () (''Medicago sativa''), also called lucerne, is a perennial flowering plant in the legume family Fabaceae. It is cultivated as an important forage crop in many countries around the world. It is used for grazing, hay, and silage, as w ...

hay, all

hay Hay is grass, legumes, or other herbaceous plants that have been cut and dried to be stored for use as animal fodder, either for large grazing animals raised as livestock, such as cattle, horses, goats, and sheep, or for smaller domesticat ...

, grain

sorghum ''Sorghum'' () is a genus of about 25 species of flowering plants in the grass family (Poaceae). Some of these species are grown as cereals for human consumption and some in pastures for animals. One species is grown for grain, while many othe ...

, sunflower seed,

barley Barley (''Hordeum vulgare''), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains, particularly in Eurasia as early as 10,000 years ago. Globally 70% of barley pr ...

, rye, and

flax Flax, also known as common flax or linseed, is a flowering plant, ''Linum usitatissimum'', in the family Linaceae. It is cultivated as a food and fiber crop in regions of the world with temperate climates. Textiles made from flax are known in ...

seed production. With such soil fertile soil comes premium forage for livestock which is why South Dakota also comes in top ten for

beef Beef is the culinary name for meat from cattle (''Bos taurus''). In prehistoric times, humankind hunted aurochs and later domesticated them. Since that time, numerous breeds of cattle have been bred specifically for the quality or quantity ...

sheep Sheep or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are domesticated, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus ''Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to domesticated s ...

, hog, and

honey Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of plants (primar ...

production. Houdek loam soil is the foundation of life and the economic base for South Dakota. Houdek loam is a symbol that can help increase public awareness and importance of South Dakota's soil resources.

References

Bibliography

* * "Houdek Loam: THE STATE SOIL of SOUTH DAKOTA." ''PSSASD''. The Professional Soil Scientists Association of South Dakota and the South Dakota Chapter of the Soil and Water Conservation Society, 1 Dec. 2002. Web. 21 Nov. 2015. . * "Houdek Series." National Cooperative Soil Survey, 1 Feb. 1997. Web. 21 Nov. 2015. * Johnson, Warren, James Kirk, Kenneth Miller, and Grayson Murphy. "Soil Survey Davison County, South Dakota." United States Department of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service, South Dakota Agricultural Experiment Station, 1974. Web. 21 Nov. 2015. * Grunwald, Sabine. “Primary Mineral Components of Soils”. Retrieved December 13, 2015, from https://soils.ifas.ufl.edu/faculty/grunwald/teaching/eSoilScience/primary.shtml * Malo, Douglas. "Soils of South Dakota." The Northern State University CUEST Center for Environmental Education, Aberdeen, SD., 1997. Web. 21 Nov. 2015. . * Malo, Douglas, Jin-Hee Ryu, Si-Joo Kim, and Doug-Young Chung. "South Dakota Soils: Their Genesis, Classification, and Management." ''CNU Journal of Agricultural Science'' Vol. 37.No.3 (2010): pp. 413–433. Print. * "Soil Web." Web. 21 Nov. 2015. * "South Dakota Soil Classification Key." Agricultural Experiment Station at South Dakota State University, Natural Resources Conservation Service, 1 Sept. 2003. Web. 21 Nov. 2015. <http://pubstorage.sdstate.edu/AgBio_Publications/articles/TB96.pdf>. Pedology Soil in the United States Geology of South Dakota Symbols of South Dakota Types of soil