LOCATION NORTHFIELD WI+IL MNEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy, mixed, active, mesic Lithic Hapludalfs
TYPICAL PEDON: Northfield loam - on a 15 percent west-facing slope in a woods at an elevation of about 960 feet. (Color are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)
A--0 to 3 inches; very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) loam, light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) dry; moderate fine subangular blocky structure; very friable; many fine roots; neutral; abrupt smooth boundary. (2 to 4 inches thick.)
E--3 to 6 inches; brown (10YR 5/3) loam, very pale brown (10YR 7/3) dry; weak thin platy structure; very friable; many fine roots; neutral; clear smooth boundary. (0 to 6 inches thick.)
Bt1--6 to 10 inches; brown (7.5YR 4/4) loam; moderate fine and medium subangular blocky structure; firm; common fine roots; few faint clay films on both horizontal and vertical faces of peds; slightly acid; clear smooth boundary.
Bt2--10 to 16 inches; brown (7.5YR 4/4) loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; firm; few fine roots; common faint clay films on both vertical and horizontal faces of peds; strongly acid; clear wavy boundary. (Combined thickness of the Bt1 and Bt2 horizons ranges from 6 to 12 inches.)
2BC--16 to 17 inches; brown (7.5YR 4/4) loamy sand; weak medium subangular blocky structure; very friable; few fine roots; moderately acid; abrupt smooth boundary. (0 to 3 inches thick.)
2R--17 inches; brown (10YR 5/3), yellowish brown (10YR 5/6), and brownish yellow (10YR 6/6) thinly bedded fine-grained sandstone.
TYPE LOCATION: Lafayette County, Wisconsin; about 3 1/2 miles north of Argyle; 660 feet south and 100 feet west from the northeast corner of sec. 11, T. 3 N., R. 5 E. USGS Blanchardville Wis. Quad. Latitude - 42 degrees 45 14" N., Longitude - 89 degrees 51 29" W. NAD 27.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Depth to the base of the argillic horizon, depth to the base of soil development, and depth to a lithic contact with sandstone all range from 10 to 20 inches. Reaction ranges from moderately acid to neutral in the upper part of the soil and from very strongly acid to slightly acid in the lower part. Volume of gravel and channers ranges from 0 to 15 percent in the solum. Volume of cobbles and flagstones, mainly in the lower part of the solum, ranges from 0 to 10 percent. Stones are on the surface in some areas and a stony phase is recognized.
The A horizon has hue of 7.5YR or 10YR, value of 2 to 4, and chroma of 1 to 4. Cultivated pedons have an Ap horizon with hue of 7.5YR or 10YR, value of 3 to 5, and chroma of 2 or 3. Colors with value moist of 3 have value dry of 6 or more. Texture of the A or Ap is silt loam, loam, or sandy loam.
The E horizon has hue of 7.5YR or 10YR, value of 4 or 5, and chroma of 2 or 3. Texture is silt loam, loam, or sandy loam.
The Bt horizon has hue of 7.5YR or 10YR, value of 3 to 5, and chroma of 3 or 4. Value and chroma of 3 do not occur together. Texture is loam or silt loam. The Bt horizon averages from 15 to 27 percent clay and from 15 to 50 percent fine sand or coarser.
The 2BC horizon has hue of 7.5YR or 10YR, value of 3 to 6, and chroma of 3 to 6. Texture is sand, fine sand, loamy sand, loamy fine sand, or the channery analogs.
The 2R horizon is sandstone bedrock.
COMPETING SERIES: There are no competing series. Related soils are the Eleva, Elkmound, and Hixton series. Eleva soils are 20 to 40 inches deep to a lithic contact with sandstone. Elkmound soils do not have an argillic horizon. Hixton soils are 20 to 40 inches deep to a paralithic contact with sandstone.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Northfield soils are on uplands underlain by sandstone. Slopes range from 0 to 60 percent. These soils formed primarily in a thin loamy mantle underlain by platy sandstone. Mean annual precipitation ranges from from 28 to 36 inches. Mean annual air temperature ranges from 45 to 55 degrees F.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are primarily the Gale, Hixton, and Elkmound soils. These soils occupy similar landscape positions, but are not easily distinguished from one another on surface features alone.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained. Surface runoff Ranges from low to high. Permeability is moderate.
USE AND VEGETATION: Many areas of these soils remain in woodland. Some areas are used for pastureland. Some areas are used for cropland. Common crops are corn, small grains, and hay. Native vegetation was mixed hardwood forest with oaks predominating.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Eastern and west-central Wisconsin. These soils are of moderate extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: St. Paul, Minnesota
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Iowa County, Wisconsin, 1960.
REMARKS: Parts of the soils now placed in the Northfield series were formerly included in the Gale series as a shallow phase.
Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are: ochric epipedon - 0 to 6 inches (A, E);
argillic horizon - 6 to 16 inches (Bt1, Bt2);
lithic contact - 17 inches (2R).