LOCATION OWOSSO MI+IN

Established Series
Rev. EPW-NWS
11/2021

OWOSSO SERIES

The Owosso series consists of very deep, well drained soils that formed in loamy glaciofluvial deposits and the underlying loamy till on till plains and moraines. Slope ranges from 0 to 25 percent. Mean annual precipitation is about 813 mm (32 inches), and mean annual temperature is about 9.4 degrees C (49 degrees F).

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, mixed, semiactive, mesic Typic Hapludalfs

TYPICAL PEDON: Owosso sandy loam, on a convex, 4 percent slope in a cultivated field. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)

Ap--0 to 25 cm (10 inches); dark brown (10YR 3/3) sandy loam, pale brown (10YR 6/3) dry; weak fine granular structure; very friable; many fine and medium roots; neutral; abrupt smooth boundary. [15 to 25 cm (6 to 10 inches) thick]

E [A2]--25 to 30 cm (10 to 12 inches); yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) sandy loam; weak medium platy structure; very friable; many fine roots; slightly acid; gradual wavy boundary. [0 to 13 cm (5 inches) thick]

Bw1 [B1]--30 to 38 cm (12 to 15 inches); yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) sandy loam; weak medium subangular blocky structure; very friable; many fine roots; 1 percent gravel; slightly acid; clear wavy boundary. [0 to 38 cm (15 inches) thick]

Bw2 [B21]--38 to 51 cm (15 to 20 inches); brown (10YR 4/3) sandy loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; very friable; many fine roots; 2 percent gravel; slightly acid; gradual wavy boundary. [10 to 25 cm (4 to 10 inches) thick]

Bt1 [B22t]--51 to 64 cm (20 to 25 inches); brown (10YR 4/3) sandy loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; friable; common fine roots; thin brown (7.5YR 4/4) clay films on faces of peds; 2 percent gravel; slightly acid; abrupt wavy boundary. [10 to 25 cm (4 to 10 inches) thick]

2Bt2 [IIB23t]--64 to 74 cm (25 to 29 inches); brown (10YR 4/3) loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; firm; few fine roots; thin brown (7.5YR 4/4) clay films on faces of peds; 2 percent gravel; few cobblestones; slightly acid; gradual wavy boundary. [10 to 25 cm (4 to 10 inches) thick]

2C1 [IIC1]--74 to 89 cm (29 to 35 inches); brown (10YR 4/3) loam; weak coarse subangular blocky structure; friable; 3 percent gravel; few cobblestones; slightly effervescent; slightly alkaline; gradual wavy boundary. [0 to38 cm (15 inches) thick]

2C2 [IIC2]--89 to 152 cm (35 to 60 inches); yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) loam; massive; friable; light gray (10YR 7/2) carbonate coatings; 3 percent gravel; few cobblestones; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline.

TYPE LOCATION: Washtenaw County, Michigan; about 3 1/2 miles south and 1 mile east of Dexter; 1,520 feet north and 90 feet west of the southeast corner of sec. 20, T. 2 S., R. 5 E.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Thickness of the solum: 61 to 127 cm (24 to 50 inches)
Depth to carbonates: 61 to 127 cm (24 to 50 inches)

Ap horizon:
Hue: 10YR
Value: 3 to 6; 6 dry
Chroma: 2 to 4

A horizon, where present:
Thickness: 2.5 to 10 cm (1 to 4 inches)
Hue: 10YR
Value: 2 or 3
Chroma: 1 or 2

E horizon:
Hue: 10YR
Value: 5 or 6
Chroma: 3 or 6
Texture: sandy loam, fine sandy loam, or loamy sand
Rock fragment content: 0 to 14 percent
Reaction: moderately acid or slightly acid

Bw horizon:
Hue: 7.5YR or 10YR
Value: 4 to 6
Chroma: 3 to 6
Texture: sandy loam, fine sandy loam, or loamy sand
Rock fragment content: 0 to 14 percent
Reaction: moderately acid or slightly acid

Bt horizon:
Hue: 7.5YR or 10YR
Value: 4 or 5
Chroma: 3 to 6
Texture: sandy loam, fine sandy loam, or loam
Rock fragment content: 0 to 14 percent
Reaction: slightly acid or neutral

2Bt horizon:
Hue: 7.5YR or 10YR
Value: 4 or 5
Chroma: 3 to 6
Texture: loam, clay loam, or silty clay loam
Rock fragment content: 2 to 5 percent
Reaction: slightly acid to moderately alkaline

2C horizon:
Hue: 7.5YR or 10YR
Value: 4 to 6
Chroma: 3 or 4
Texture: loam, clay loam, silt loam, or silty clay loam
Rock fragment content: 2 to 5 percent

COMPETING SERIES: These are Chenault, Kalamazoo, Nollville, and Sisson series. Chenault soils have more than 5 percent rock fragments in the lower part of the series control section. Kalamazoo soils have textures that average more than 52 percent sand in the lower part of the series control section. Nollville soils have a lithic contact within a depth of 152 cm (60 inches). Sisson soils have less than 2 percent rock fragments in the lower part of the series control section.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Owosso soils are on till plains and moraines of Wisconsinan age. The slope gradient commonly is 2 to 12 percent but the range is 0 to 25 percent. The Owosso soils formed in loamy glaciofluvial deposits and the underlying loamy till. Mean annual precipitation ranges from 737 to 940 mm (29 to 37 inches). Mean annual temperature ranges from 8.3 to 11.7 degrees C (47 to 53 degrees F). Mean summer temperature is about 21.1 degrees C (70 degrees F).

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: The somewhat poorly drained Metamora soils and the poorly drained Corunna soils are in a drainage sequence with Owosso soils. The Kendallville and Metea soils, the moderately well drained Miami soils, the poorly drained Brookston soils, and the somewhat poorly drained Conover soils are associated on moraines. Boyer and Oshtemo soils are on adjoining outwash plains.

DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY: Well drained. Potential for surface runoff is very low to high depending on slope gradient. Saturated hydraulic conductivity is high in the glaciofluvial deposits and moderately high in the till. Permeability is moderately rapid in the sandy loam A and B horizons, and moderately slow in the 2B and 2C horizons.

USE AND VEGETATION: A large part, especially on slopes of less than 12 percent, is under cultivation. Principal crops are corn, small grains, soybeans, and hay. A smaller part is in permanent pasture or forest. Native vegetation is forest, chiefly of oaks, hickory, beech, and maple.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: MLRAs 97, 98, 111B, and 111C in southern Michigan and northern Indiana. This series is of moderate extent.

SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (SSRO) RESPONSIBLE: AMHERST, MASSACHUSETTS

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Ionia County, Michigan, 1965.

REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon: from the surface to a depth of 25 cm (10 inches) (Ap horizon).
Cambic horizon: from a depth of 30 to 51 cm (12 to 20 inches) (Bw horizon).
Argillic horizon: from a depth of 51 to 74 cm (20 to 29 inches (Bt, 2Bt horizons).

National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.