Soil Data Explorer - NIRA

Official Series Description

Lab Data Summary

Aggregate lab data for the NIRA soil series. This aggregation is based on all pedons with a current taxon name of NIRA, and applied along 1-cm thick depth slices. Solid lines are the slice-wise median, bounded on either side by the interval defined by the slice-wise 5th and 95th percentiles. The median is the value that splits the data in half. Five percent of the data are less than the 5th percentile, and five percent of the data are greater than the 95th percentile. Values along the right hand side y-axis describe the proportion of pedon data that contribute to aggregate values at this depth. For example, a value of "90%" at 25cm means that 90% of the pedons correlated to NIRA were used in the calculation. Source: KSSL snapshot (updated 2020-03-18). Methods used to assemble the KSSL snapshot used by SoilWeb / SDE

Pedons used in the lab summary:

MLRA	Lab ID	Pedon ID	Taxonname	CI	NSSL / NASIS Reports	Link To SoilWeb GMap
108C	85P0410	84IA0870012	Nira	5	Primary | Supplementary | Taxonomy | Pedon | Water Retention | Correlation | Andic Soil Properties	40.9452782,-91.4913864
108C	95P0467	S1995IA107002	Nira	7	Primary | Supplementary | Taxonomy | Pedon | Water Retention | Correlation | Andic Soil Properties	41.4383316,-91.9894409
108D	84P0386	83IA0030023	Nira	5	Primary | Supplementary | Taxonomy | Pedon | Water Retention | Correlation | Andic Soil Properties	41.1311111,-94.8772202
108D	84P0384	83IA003201	Nira	5	Primary | Supplementary | Taxonomy | Pedon | Water Retention | Correlation | Andic Soil Properties	41.1308327,-94.8855591
108D	84P0391	83IA029202	Nira	5	Primary | Supplementary | Taxonomy | Pedon | Water Retention | Correlation | Andic Soil Properties	41.2597237,-94.8516693
108D	84P0392	83IA029203	Nira	5	Primary | Supplementary | Taxonomy | Pedon | Water Retention | Correlation | Andic Soil Properties	41.2591667,-94.8527756
108D	85P0568	84IA1730021	Nira	5	Primary | Supplementary | Taxonomy | Pedon | Water Retention | Correlation | Andic Soil Properties	40.8402786,-94.8616638
108D	85P0569	84IA1730022	Nira	5	Primary | Supplementary | Taxonomy | Pedon | Water Retention | Correlation | Andic Soil Properties	40.8402786,-94.8616638
108D	86P0335	85IA0290043	Nira	5	Primary | Supplementary | Taxonomy | Pedon | Water Retention | Correlation | Andic Soil Properties	41.2580566,-94.8527756
108D	86P0378	85IA1210031	Nira	5	Primary | Supplementary | Taxonomy | Pedon | Water Retention | Correlation | Andic Soil Properties	41.2666664,-93.9833298
108D	86P0379	85IA1210032	Nira	5	Primary | Supplementary | Taxonomy | Pedon | Water Retention | Correlation | Andic Soil Properties	41.2666664,-93.9833298
108D	86P0380	85IA1210033	Nira	5	Primary | Supplementary | Taxonomy | Pedon | Water Retention | Correlation | Andic Soil Properties	41.2666664,-93.9833298
108D	86P0462	85IA1730033	Nira	5	Primary | Supplementary | Taxonomy | Pedon | Water Retention | Correlation | Andic Soil Properties	40.7763901,-94.726944
108D	86P0463	85IA1730034	Nira	5	Primary | Supplementary | Taxonomy | Pedon | Water Retention | Correlation | Andic Soil Properties	40.7763901,-94.7266693

Water Balance

Monthly water balance estimated using a leaky-bucket style model for the NIRA soil series. Monthly precipitation (PPT) and potential evapotranspiration (PET) have been estimated from the 50th percentile of gridded values (PRISM 1981-2010) overlapping with the extent of SSURGO map units containing each series as a major component. Monthly PET values were estimated using the method of Thornthwaite (1948). These (and other) climatic parameters are calculated with each SSURGO refresh and provided by the fetchOSD function of the soilDB package. Representative water storage values (“AWC” in the figures) were derived from SSURGO by taking the 50th percentile of profile-total water storage (sum[awc_r * horizon thickness]) for each soil series. Note that this representation of “water storage” is based on the average ability of most plants to extract soil water between 15 bar (“permanent wilting point”) and 1/3 bar (“field capacity”) matric potential. Soil moisture state can be roughly interpreted as “dry” when storage is depleted, “moist” when storage is between 0mm and AWC, and “wet” when there is a surplus. Clearly there are a lot of assumptions baked into this kind of monthly water balance. This is still a work in progress.

Sibling Summary

Siblings are those soil series that occur together in map units, in this case with the NIRA series. Sketches are arranged according to their subgroup-level taxonomic structure. Source: SSURGO snapshot (updated 2024-02-21), parsed OSD records (updated 2023-10-06) and snapshot of SC database (updated 2023-10-02).

Select annual climate data summaries for the NIRA series and siblings. Series are sorted according to hierarchical clustering of median values. Source: SSURGO map unit geometry and 1981-2010, 800m PRISM data (updated 2023-10-09).

Geomorphic description summaries for the NIRA series and siblings. Series are sorted according to hierarchical clustering of proportions and relative hydrologic position within an idealized landform (e.g. top to bottom). Most soil series (SSURGO components) are associated with a hillslope position and one or more landform-specific positions: hills, mountain slopes, terraces, and/or flats. Proportions can be interpreted as an aggregate representation of geomorphic membership. The values printed to the left (number of component records) and right (Shannon entropy) of stacked bars can be used to judge the reliability of trends. Small Shannon entropy values suggest relatively consistent geomorphic association, while larger values suggest lack thereof. Source: SSURGO component records (updated 2023-10-04).

There are insufficient data to create the 3D mountains figure.

Competing Series

Soil series competing with NIRA share the same family level classification in Soil Taxonomy. Source: parsed OSD records (updated 2023-10-06) and snapshot of the SC database (updated 2023-10-02).

Select annual climate data summaries for the NIRA series and competing. Series are sorted according to hierarchical clustering of median values. Source: SSURGO map unit geometry and 1981-2010, 800m PRISM data (updated 2023-10-09).

Geomorphic description summaries for the NIRA series and competing. Series are sorted according to hierarchical clustering of proportions and relative hydrologic position within an idealized landform (e.g. top to bottom). Proportions can be interpreted as an aggregate representation of geomorphic membership. Most soil series (SSURGO components) are associated with a hillslope position and one or more landform-specific positions: hills, mountain slopes, terraces, and/or flats. The values printed to the left (number of component records) and right (Shannon entropy) of stacked bars can be used to judge the reliability of trends. Shannon entropy values close to 0 represent soil series with relatively consistent geomorphic association, while values close to 1 suggest lack thereof. Source: SSURGO component records (updated 2023-10-04).

There are insufficient data to create the 3D mountains figure.

Soil series sharing subgroup-level classification with NIRA, arranged according to family differentiae. Hovering over a series name will print full classification and a small sketch from the OSD. Source: snapshot of SC database (updated 2023-10-02).

Block Diagrams

Click a link below to display the diagram. Note that these diagrams may be from multiple survey areas.

1. IA-2010-09-02-19 | Jefferson County - 1999

   Typical pattern of soils and parent material in the Taintor-Mahaska-Otley association (Soil Survey of Jefferson County, Iowa; 1999).

2. IA-2010-09-02-20 | Keokuk County - 2003

   Typical pattern of soils and parent material in the Taintor-Mahaska association (Soil Survey of Keokuk County, Iowa; 2003).

3. IA-2010-09-02-21 | Keokuk County - 2003

   Typical pattern of soils and parent material in the Otley-Mahaska-Nira association (Soil Survey of Keokuk County, Iowa; 2003).

4. IA-2011-05-31-55 | Jefferson County - 1999

   Typical pattern of soils and parent material in the Taintor-Mahaska-Otley association (Soil Survey of Jefferson County, Iowa; 1999).

5. IA-2011-06-01-09 | Louisa County - 1980

   Pattern of soils and parent material in the Taintor-Mahaska association (Soil Survey of Louisa County, Iowa; 1980).

6. IA-2011-06-01-10 | Louisa County - 1980

   Pattern of soils and parent material in the Mahaska-Nira-Otley association (Soil Survey of Louisa County, Iowa; 1980).

7. IA-2011-06-01-38 | Ringgold County - 1992

   Typical pattern of soils and parent material in the Nira-Sharpsburg-Shelby association (Soil Survey of Ringgold County, Iowa; 1992).

8. IA-2011-06-01-48 | Washington County - 1986

   Pattern of soils and parent material in the Otley-Nira association (Soil Survey of Washington County, Iowa; 1986).

Map Units

Map units containing NIRA as a major component. Limited to 250 records.

Map Unit Name	Symbol	Map Unit Area (ac)	Map Unit Key	National Map Unit Symbol	Soil Survey Area	Publication Date	Map Scale
Nira silty clay loam, dissected till plain, 5 to 9 percent slopes, eroded	570C2	12690	402192	2xbn7	ia001	1976	1:15840
Nira silty clay loam, dissected till plain, 5 to 9 percent slopes	570C	10301	402191	2xbn6	ia001	1976	1:15840
Nira silty clay loam, 9 to 14 percent slopes, eroded	570D2	1944	402193	2xbn9	ia001	1976	1:15840
Nira silty clay loam, 2 to 5 percent slopes	570B	1411	402190	2xbn5	ia001	1976	1:15840
Sharpsburg-Nira silty clay loams, 5 to 9 percent slopes, eroded	371C2	39682	1544682	2y69f	ia003	2008	1:12000
Nira-Clearfield complex, 5 to 9 percent slopes	569C	10852	1711855	2xwzf	ia003	2008	1:12000
Sharpsburg-Nira silty clay loams, 9 to 14 percent slopes, eroded	371D2	9681	2247878	2y69c	ia003	2008	1:12000
Macksburg-Nira complex, 2 to 5 percent slopes	2368B	1888	1544683	2xbkl	ia003	2008	1:12000
Sharpsburg-Nira silty clay loams, 5 to 9 percent slopes, eroded	371C2	20544	1868057	2y69f	ia029	2010	1:12000
Sharpsburg-Nira silty clay loams, 9 to 14 percent slopes, eroded	371D2	15857	2422989	2y69c	ia029	2010	1:12000
Sharpsburg-Nira silty clay loams, 14 to 18 percent slopes, eroded	371E2	1141	2422992	2y69d	ia029	2010	1:12000
Nira silty clay loam, dissected till plain, 5 to 9 percent slopes, eroded	570C2	3092	404159	2xbn7	ia039	1987	1:15840
Nira silty clay loam, dissected till plain, 5 to 9 percent slopes	570C	291	404158	2xbn6	ia039	1987	1:15840
Nira silty clay loam, 2 to 5 percent slopes	570B	3795	405262	flpz	ia057	1980	1:15840
Nira silty clay loam, 5 to 9 percent slopes, moderately eroded	570C2	1950	405263	flq0	ia057	1980	1:15840
Nira silty clay loam, 5 to 9 percent slopes	570C	2493	406873	fncy	ia087	1982	1:15840
Nira silty clay loam, 5 to 9 percent slopes, moderately eroded	570C2	2160	406874	fncz	ia087	1982	1:15840
Nira silty clay loam, 5 to 9 percent slopes, moderately eroded	570C2	1677	407669	fp6m	ia099	1975	1:15840
Nira silty clay loam, 9 to 14 percent slopes, moderately eroded	570D2	1312	407670	fp6n	ia099	1975	1:15840
Nira silty clay loam, 2 to 5 percent slopes, moderately eroded	570B2	239	407668	fp6l	ia099	1975	1:15840
Nira silty clay loam, 5 to 9 percent slopes, moderately eroded	570C2	6583	407837	fpd1	ia101	1992	1:15840
Nira silty clay loam, 5 to 9 percent slopes, moderately eroded	570C2	7642	447149	h095	ia107	1998	1:12000
Nira silty clay loam, 5 to 9 percent slopes	570C	1468	447148	h094	ia107	1998	1:12000
Nira silty clay loam, 2 to 5 percent slopes	570B	1862	408790	fqcs	ia115	1984	1:15840
Nira silty clay loam, 5 to 9 percent slopes, moderately eroded	570C2	1626	408791	fqct	ia115	1984	1:15840
Nira silty clay loam, dissected till plain, 5 to 9 percent slopes, eroded	570C2	2050	409233	2xbn7	ia121	1968	1:15840
Nira silty clay loam, 5 to 9 percent slopes, moderately eroded	570C2	6427	409347	fqyr	ia123	1971	1:15840
Nira silty clay loam, 5 to 9 percent slopes	570C	4454	409346	fqyq	ia123	1971	1:15840
Nira silty clay loam, 2 to 5 percent slopes	570B	4132	409345	fqyp	ia123	1971	1:15840
Nira silty clay loam, 5 to 9 percent slopes, moderately eroded	570C2	2692	412790	fvjt	ia125	1976	1:15840
Nira silty clay loam, 2 to 5 percent slopes	570B	843	412789	fvjs	ia125	1976	1:15840
Nira silty clay loam, 5 to 9 percent slopes, moderately eroded	570C2	8273	410605	fs8b	ia157	1978	1:15840
Nira silty clay loam, 9 to 14 percent slopes moderately eroded	570D2	2606	410606	fs8c	ia157	1978	1:15840
Nira silty clay loam, dissected till plain, 5 to 9 percent slopes	Y570C	6845	3088435	2xbn6	ia159	1987	1:15840
Nira silty clay loam, dissected till plain, 5 to 9 percent slopes, eroded	Y570C2	3005	3088440	2xbn7	ia159	1987	1:15840
Nira silty clay loam, 5 to 9 percent slopes	570C	476	410718	fscz	ia159	1987	1:15840
Nira silty clay loam, 5 to 9 percent slopes, moderately eroded	570C2	434	410719	fsd0	ia159	1987	1:15840
Nira silty clay loam, 9 to 14 percent slopes	570D	340	410720	2xbn8	ia159	1987	1:15840
Nira silty clay loam, 9 to 14 percent slopes, eroded	570D2	150	410721	2xbn9	ia159	1987	1:15840
Nira silty clay loam, dissected till plain, 5 to 9 percent slopes	570C	33926	411635	2xbn6	ia173	1989	1:15840
Nira silty clay loam, dissected till plain, 5 to 9 percent slopes, eroded	570C2	16938	411636	2xbn7	ia173	1989	1:15840
Nira silty clay loam, 9 to 14 percent slopes, eroded	570D2	629	411638	2xbn9	ia173	1989	1:15840
Nira silty clay loam, 9 to 14 percent slopes	570D	355	411637	2xbn8	ia173	1989	1:15840
Nira-Sharpsburg silty clay loams, 5 to 9 percent slopes	371C	23180	411713	2y699	ia175	1975	1:15840
Sharpsburg-Nira silty clay loams, 5 to 9 percent slopes, eroded	371C2	873	411714	2y69f	ia175	1975	1:15840
Otley-Nira silty clay loams, 5 to 9 percent slopes, moderately eroded	581C2	5636	411823	ftjm	ia179	1978	1:15840
Nira silty clay loam, 5 to 9 percent slopes	570C	1523	411822	ftjl	ia179	1978	1:15840
Nira silty clay loam, 5 to 9 percent slopes, moderately eroded	570C2	3	2671839	fqyr	ia179	1978	1:15840
Nira silty clay loam, dissected till plain, 5 to 9 percent slopes, eroded	Y570C2	1161	3088441	2xbn7	ia181	1975	1:15840
Nira silty clay loam, 5 to 9 percent slopes, moderately eroded	570C2	369	411948	ftnn	ia181	1975	1:15840
Nira silty clay loam, 2 to 5 percent slopes	570B	353	411947	2xbn5	ia181	1975	1:15840
Nira silty clay loam, 2 to 5 percent slopes	570B	12980	412066	ftsg	ia183	1983	1:15840
Nira silty clay loam, 5 to 9 percent slopes, moderately eroded	570C2	3892	412068	ftsj	ia183	1983	1:15840
Nira silty clay loam, 2 to 5 percent slopes, moderately eroded	570B2	3358	412067	ftsh	ia183	1983	1:15840
Nira silty clay loam, 5 to 9 percent slopes, severely eroded	570C3	2383	412069	ftsk	ia183	1983	1:15840

Map of Series Extent

Approximate geographic distribution of the NIRA soil series. To learn more about how this distribution was mapped, or to compare this soil series extent to others, use the Series Extent Explorer (SEE) application. Source: generalization of SSURGO geometry (updated 2023-10-04).