6.2 at 1 Camp Cozy Park_NRMP_2023

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22 Friends of the Mississippi River Camp Cozy Park NRMP SOILS Soils vary slightly across the site and are most influenced by interaction with the Elk River. Four specific soil types are present with three of those types attributed to the Elkriver soil series. This series consists of very deep, somewhat poorly and moderately well drained soils that formed in postglacial alluvium consisting of a coarse-loamy mantle and underlying sandy sediments on flood plains. These soils have moderate and moderately rapid permeability in the upper part and rapid permeability in the underlying material. The northwestern forest, northern prairie, southern forest and southern remnant prairie have these fine, sandy loams that are rarely flooded. The eastern and central forest areas that extend to the park’s southern floodplain have fine sandy loams that are occasionally flooded. The floodplain terrace has a more unique soil complex made up of both very poorly drained and poorly drained soils with sandy particle sizes. A summary of soils and their associated characteristics is listed in Table 1 and can be visualized in Figure 7. Soil formation is the result of the interaction of five soil-forming factors: parent material, climate, organisms, topographic position or slope, and time (Foth 1990). Taken collectively, these factors can help determine the dominant floral and faunal communities that helped form the soils. The predominant soil types which fall into the Elkriver series are all sandy loams which are well-suited to cultivation, and in fact, almost all areas of Elkriver soils are cropped with corn soybeans, and small grains with small areas of native vegetation in prairie grasses. These soils would have been dominated by graminoid vegetation (prairie or savanna) prior to European colonization. Due to the fine, sandy nature of some of the soils, the erosion potential is mostly medium; none of the soil types present have a high erosion potential, though all types are susceptible to some erosion by wind, water, or both. Table 1. Soils Soil Code Soil Name Percent Slope Acres Soil Family Hydric (yes or no) Drainage 771 Elkriver fine sandy loam, rarely flooded 0 to 2 15.1 Coarse-loamy, mixed, superactive, frigid Cumulic Hapludolls N Moderately well drained 1255 Elk River fine sandy loam 0 to 2 14.5 Coarse-loamy, mixed, superactive, frigid Cumulic Hapludolls N Somewhat poorly to moderately well-drained 1257 Elk River- Molsford complex 0 to 6 14.2 Coarse-loamy, mixed, superactive, frigid Cumulic Hapludolls N Moderately well-drained