LOCATION BOWERS MI

Established Series
Rev. RWJ-WEF-MLK
08/2012

BOWERS SERIES

The Bowers series consists of very deep, somewhat poorly drained soils formed in stratified loamy lacustrine deposits on lake plains. Slope ranges from 0 to 6 percent. Mean annual precipitation is about 711 mm (28 inches), and mean annual temperature is about 6.7 degrees C (44 degrees F).

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine, mixed, semiactive, frigid Aquic Glossudalfs

TYPICAL PEDON: Bowers loam, on a west-facing, 2 percent slope in a cultivated field. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)

Ap--0 to 18 cm (7 inches); dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) loam, light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) dry; weak medium granular structure; friable; slightly acid; abrupt smooth boundary. [13 to 23 cm (5 to 9 inches) thick]

E--18 to 28 cm (7 to 11 inches); light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) fine sandy loam, light gray (10YR 7/2) dry; weak medium subangular blocky structure; friable; few fine distinct very dark gray (10YR 3/1) organic stains; slightly acid; abrupt irregular boundary. [0 to18 cm (7 inches) thick]

B/E--28 to 51 cm (11 to 20 inches); yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) clay loam (Bt); occupies about 85 percent of the horizon surrounded by light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) sandy loam (E); moderate medium subangular blocky structure; firm; many fine prominent yellowish red (5YR 5/8) masses of oxidized iron in the matrix; slightly acid; clear irregular boundary. [8 to 25 cm (3 to 10 inches) thick]

Bt--51 to 74 cm (20 to 29 inches); yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) silty clay loam; strong medium angular blocky structure; very firm; few distinct grayish brown clay films; many fine distinct gray (10YR 5/1) iron depletions in the matrix; few fine prominent yellowish brown (10YR 5/8) masses of oxidized iron in the matrix; neutral; clear wavy boundary. [13 to 51 cm (5 to 20 inches) thick]

C--74 to 152 cm (29 to 60 inches); brown (10YR 5/3) silty clay loam with a few layers of silt loam 3 mm to 5 cm (1/8 to 2 inches) thick; moderate medium angular blocky structure; firm; many fine prominent pinkish gray (5YR 7/2) iron depletions in the matrix; few fine prominent red (2.5YR 5/6) masses of oxidized iron in the matrix; slightly effervescent; slightly alkaline.

TYPE LOCATION: Arenac County, Michigan; about 2 miles northeast of Alger; 1350 feet east and 800 feet south of the northwest corner of sec. 14, T. 20 N., R. 3 E., Moffatt Township; USGS Skidway Lake, Michigan topographic quadrangle; lat. 44 degrees 31 minutes 54 seconds N. and long. 84 degrees 4 minutes 54 seconds W., NAD 27.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Depth to carbonates: 46 to 91 cm (18 to 36 inches)

Ap horizon:
Hue: 5YR to 10YR
Value: 3 or 4
Chroma: 1 to 3
Texture: sandy loam, fine sandy loam, loam, or silt loam
Reaction: moderately acid to neutral

A horizon, where present:
Hue: 5YR to 10YR
Value: 2, 2.5, or 3
Chroma: 1 or 2
Texture: sandy loam, fine sandy loam, loam, or silt loam
Reaction: moderately acid to neutral

E horizon, where present:
Hue: 5YR to 10YR
Value: 5 or 6
Chroma: 2 to 4
Texture: sandy loam, fine sandy loam, loam, or silt loam
Reaction: moderately acid to neutral

Bt part of the B/E horizon:
Hue: 2.5YR to 10YR
Value: 4 or 5
Chroma: 3 or 4
Texture: clay loam or silty clay loam
Clay content: averages 35 to 40 percent
Reaction: moderately acid to neutral

E part of the B/E horizon:
Hue: 5YR to 10YR
Value: 5 or 6
Chroma: 2 to 4
Texture: sandy loam, fine sandy loam, loam, or silt loam
Reaction: moderately acid to neutral

Bt horizon:
Hue: 2.5YR to 10YR
Value: 4 or 5
Chroma: 3 or 4
Texture: clay loam or silty clay loam
Clay content: averages 35 to 40 percent
Reaction: slightly acid or neutral

BC horizon, where present:
Hue: 2.5YR to 10YR
Value: 4 or 5
Chroma: 3 or 4
Texture: clay loam or silty clay loam
Reaction: slightly alkaline or moderately alkaline

C horizon:
Hue: 2.5YR to 2.5Y
Value: 4 to 7
Chroma: 2 to 4
Texture: dominantly stratified clay loam and silty clay loam; some pedons have thin strata of silt loam or silty clay
Reaction: slightly alkaline or moderately alkaline

COMPETING SERIES: These are the Kawkawlin, Pinewood, and Selkirk series. Kawkawlin soils have rock fragments throughout the series control section and are not stratified in the lower part. Pinewood soils have textures that contain more than 50 percent sand in the lower part of the series control section. Selkirk soils average more than 40 percent clay in the particle-size control section.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: The Bowers soils are on lake plains. Slope ranges from 0 to 6 percent. These soils formed in stratified loamy lacustrine deposits. Mean annual precipitation ranges from 686 to 864 mm (27 to 34 inches). Mean annual temperature ranges from 5.0 to 8.3 degrees C (41 to 47 degrees F).

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Hettinger, Menominee, Nunica, and Rudyard soils. The moderately well drained and well drained Nunica soils and the poorly drained or very poorly drained Hettinger soils are in the same drainage sequence. The Rudyard soils and the Menominee soils are associated in some areas. The Rudyard soils have more clay in the subsoil. The well drained Menominee soils are sandy in the upper part of the profile.

DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY: Somewhat poorly drained. Depth to the top of an apparent seasonal high water table ranges from 30 to 61 cm (1 to 2 feet) between October and April in normal years. The potential for surface runoff ranges from low to high. Saturated hydraulic conductivity is moderately low. Permeability is slow.

USE AND VEGETATION: The greater part is cropped to small grains and hay; minor crops are corn and beans. A smaller part is in permanent pasture or forest. The native vegetation is chiefly sugar maple, white ash, yellow birch, balsam fir, northern red oak, and American basswood.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: MLRAs 93B, 94A, 94B, 94C, and 99 in northern Lower Peninsula and Upper Peninsula of Michigan. This series is of moderate extent.

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

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Grand Traverse County, Michigan, 1940.

REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon: from the surface to a depth of 28 cm (11 inches) (Ap and E horizons).
Albic horizon: from a depth of 18 to 28 cm (7 to 11 inches) (E horizon).
Argillic horizon: from a depth of 28 to 74 cm (11 to 29 inches) (Bt part of the B/E horizon and Bt horizon).
Glossic horizon: from 28 to 51 cm (11 to 20 inches) (B/E horizon).
Aquic conditions: redoximorphic features present in the argillic horizon and substratum.

National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.