LOCATION MONITOR MI

Established Series
Rev. WEF
08/2012

MONITOR SERIES

The Monitor series consists of very deep, somewhat poorly drained soils that formed in loamy outwash underlain by sand and gravel. Slope ranges from 0 to 3 percent. Mean annual precipitation is about 889 mm (35 inches), and mean annual temperature is about 9.4 degrees C (49 degrees F).

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, mixed, semiactive, mesic Udollic Endoaqualfs

TYPICAL PEDON: Monitor loam - on a nearly level slope in a cultivated field. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)

Ap--0 to 23 cm (9 inches); very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) loam, grayish brown (10YR 5/2) dry; moderate medium granular structure; friable; common fine roots; about 3 percent gravel; slightly acid; abrupt smooth boundary. [15 to 23 cm (6 to 9 inches) thick]

Btg--23 to 41 cm (9 to 16 inches); grayish brown (10YR 5/2) silt loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; friable; few fine roots; few faint dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) clay films on faces of peds; common medium faint dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) iron depletions; common medium distinct dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) masses of oxidized iron; moderately acid; clear wavy boundary. [0 to 23 cm (9 inches) thick]

Bt1--41 to 71 cm (16 to 28 inches); dark yellowish brown (10YR 3/4) sandy clay loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; friable; few fine roots; common distinct clay bridging between sand grains; common medium distinct grayish brown (10YR 5/2) and dark brown (7.5YR 3/2) iron depletions; about 5 percent gravel; moderately acid; clear wavy boundary.

Bt2--71 to 114 cm (28 to 45 inches); brown (7.5YR 4/4) clay loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; friable; few fine roots; common prominent grayish brown (10YR 5/2) clay films on faces of peds; common medium distinct grayish brown (10YR 5/2) iron depletions; about 5 percent gravel; moderately acid; gradual wavy boundary. [Combined thickness of the Bt horizon is 51 to 81 cm (20 to 32 inches).]

BC--114 to 140 cm (45 to 55 inches); dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) sandy loam; weak medium subangular blocky structure; friable; common medium distinct grayish brown (10YR 5/2) iron depletions; about 5 percent gravel; moderately acid; clear wavy boundary. [0 to 30 cm (12 inches) thick]

2Cg--140 to 152 cm (55 to 60 inches); grayish brown (10YR 5/2) gravelly loamy sand; single grain; loose; common medium distinct yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) masses of oxidized iron; about 15 percent gravel; slightly acid.

TYPE LOCATION: Berrien County, Michigan; about 3 miles west of the town of Bertrand; 2640 feet south and 2040 feet west of the northeast corner of sec. 19, T. 8 S., R. 18 W.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Thickness of the solum: 102 to 152 cm (40 to 60 inches)

Ap horizon:
Hue: 10YR
Value: 2 or 3
Chroma: 1 to 3
Texture: loam, silt loam, or sandy loam
Rock fragment content: 2 to 10 percent
Reaction: moderately acid or slightly acid

Some pedons have an E horizon or BA horizon, or both.

Btg horizon:
Hue: 10YR
Value: 4 to 6
Chroma: 1 or 2
Texture: clay loam, sandy clay loam, silty clay loam, or silt loam
Rock fragment content: 2 to 10 percent
Reaction: moderately acid or slightly acid

Bt horizon:
Hue: 7.5YR or 10YR
Value: 3 to 5
Chroma: 3 or 4
Texture: clay loam, sandy clay loam, silty clay loam, or silt loam
Rock fragment content: 2 to 10 percent
Reaction: moderately acid or slightly acid

The BC horizon has colors similar to the Bt horizon.

2C horizon:
Hue: 10YR
Value: 4 to 6
Chroma: 2 to 4
Texture: loamy sand, sand, coarse sand, or the gravelly analogues of these textures
Rock fragment content: 2 to 20 percent
Reaction: slightly acid to moderately alkaline

COMPETING SERIES: There are no other series in the same family.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Monitor soils are on outwash plains, terraces, and valley trains. Slope ranges from 0 to 3 percent. The Monitor soils formed in loamy outwash which is underlain by gravel and sand. Mean annual precipitation ranges from 864 to 914 mm (34 to 36 inches). Mean annual temperature ranges from 8.9 to 10.0 degrees C (48 to 50 degrees F).

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These soils are the Brady, Coupee, Ockley, and Sebewa soils. Brady soils are coarser textured in the argillic horizons. Coupee and Ockley soils are well drained and are on higher ridges and knolls. Sebewa soils are poorly drained or very poorly drained and are in shallow depressions and drainageways.

DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY: Somewhat poorly drained. Potential for surface runoff is low or medium. Saturated hydraulic conductivity is moderately high. Permeability is moderately slow.

USE AND VEGETATION: Most areas are cultivated. Corn, soybeans, wheat, and hay are the principal crops. Native vegetation is mixed forest and prairie grass.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: MLRA 97 in southwestern part of the lower peninsula of Michigan. The series is of small extent.

MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: AMHERST, MASSACHUSETTS

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Carroll County, Indiana, 1955.

REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon: from the surface to a depth of 23 cm (9 inches) (Ap horizon).
Argillic horizon: from a depth of 23 to 114 cm (9 to 45 inches) (Btg, Bt1, and Bt2 horizons).
Aquic conditions: redoximorphic features present in all horizons below the ochric epipedon.
Mollic feature: Ap horizon qualifies as a mollic epipedon except for thickness.

National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.