LOCATION AUSABLE MI+WI
Established Series
Rev. JOW-WEF-GDW
08/2012
AUSABLE SERIES
The Ausable series consists of very deep, very poorly drained soils formed in sandy alluvium containing thin bands of organic material on flood plains. Slope ranges from 0 to 2 percent. Mean annual precipitation is about 810 mm (32 inches), and mean annual temperature is about 6 degrees C (43 degrees F).
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Sandy, mixed, frigid Histic Humaquepts
TYPICAL PEDON: Ausable muck, on a 1 percent slope in an area of tag alders on a flood plain at an elevation of about 354 meters (1160 feet) above mean sea level. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)
Oa--0 to 25 cm (10 inches); black (N 2.5/) broken face and rubbed muck; about 20 percent fiber, 5 percent rubbed; weak medium granular structure; very friable; primarily herbaceous fiber; slightly acid; abrupt wavy boundary. [20 to 38 cm (8 to 15 inches) thick]
C--25 to 51 cm (10 to 20 inches); brown (10YR 5/3) sand with thin layers of very dark brown (10YR 2/2) muck up to 5cm (2 inches) thick; single grain; loose; common medium faint dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) iron depletions; about 3 percent gravel; neutral; clear wavy boundary.
Cg1--51 to 94 cm (20 to 37 inches); gray (5Y 5/1) gravelly sand with thin layers of very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) muck up to 2.5 cm (1 inch) thick; single grain; loose; about 20 percent fine and medium gravel; slightly alkaline; clear wavy boundary.
Cg2--94 to 203 cm (37 to 80 inches); dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) sand; single grain; loose; about 5 percent fine and medium gravel; slightly alkaline.
TYPE LOCATION: Crawford County, Michigan; about 5 miles northeast of the city of Grayling; 1500 feet east and 500 feet south of the northwest corner of sec. 27, T. 27 N., R. 3 W., Northwest part of Grayling Township; USGS Grayling, Michigan topographic quadrangle; lat. 44 degrees 42 minutes 45.12 seconds N. and long. 84 degrees, 39 minutes 43.97 seconds W., NAD 27.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Series control section: thin bands of organic material are present
Rock fragment content: typically 0 to 20 percent gravel in the mineral material but some thin strata may contain up to 40 percent
Oa horizon:
Hue: 5YR to 2.5Y, or is neutral
Value: 2, 2.5, or 3
Chroma: 0 to 2, unrubbed
Reaction: strongly acid to neutral
Some pedons have a thin Oe horizon.
C horizon:
Hue: 10YR to 5GY
Value: 4 to 6
Chroma: 1 to 4
Texture: dominantly sand, loamy sand, or their gravelly analogues; typically have bands of organic material ranging from 1 to 18 cm (1/8 to 6 inches) thick with a combined thickness of 15 to 25 cm (6 to 10 inches); some pedons have thin strata of very gravelly sand, very gravelly loamy sand, or loamy material
Organic material: dominantly sapric but also includes hemic material or woody fragments; with same range in color as the Oa horizon
Reaction: moderately acid to slightly alkaline
COMPETING SERIES: These are the
Deerwood,
Leafriver,
Searsport, and
Tahawus series. Deerwood soils contain carbonates throughout the majority of the control section. Leafriver, Tahawus, and Searsport soils do not have bands of organic material in the control section.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Ausable soils are on flood plains. Slope ranges from 0 to 2 percent. These soils formed in sandy alluvium containing thin bands of organic material. Mean annual precipitation ranges from 710 to 860 mm (28 to 34 inches). Mean annual temperature ranges from 4.4 to 7.2 degrees C (40 to 45 degrees F).
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Au Gres,
Bowstring,
Croswell,
Leafriver,
Lupton, and
Tawas soils. The somewhat poorly drained Au Gres and the moderately well drained Croswell soils are on slightly higher landscape positions. The very poorly drained Bowstring, Tawas, and Lupton soils are in deeper depressions. The very poorly drained Leafriver soils are adjacent to the Ausable soils.
DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY: Very poorly drained. The depth to the top of a seasonal high water tables ranges from 30 cm (1 foot) above the surface to 30 cm (1 foot) below the surface at some time in normal years. It is commonly flooded from brief to long periods of time during the months of November to May. The potential for surface runoff is negligible. Saturated hydraulic conductivity is moderate or high in the organic part and high in the mineral part.
USE AND VEGETATION: Most areas of this soil are in a natural condition of tag alder, willow, sedges, and grasses. A small percentage has been cleared and developed for use as recreational land with excavated ponds. Common tree species include northern white-cedar, balsam poplar, paper birch, and black ash. Ground cover includes meadowsweet, sedges, grasses, rushes, ferns, and horsetails.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: MLRAs 94A and 96 in northern Lower Michigan and MLRA 90A in northwestern Wisconsin. The series is of moderate extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: AMHERST, MASSACHUSETTS
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Alcona County, Michigan, 1993.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Histic epipedon: from the surface to a depth of 25 cm (10 inches) (Oa horizon)
Aquic conditions: organic layers and redoximorphic features present throughout the profile.
The site was revisited in 2004 and described to 203 cm (80 inches).
ADDITIONAL DATA: Soil Interpretation Record: MI0401
National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.