LOCATION BOYER MI+IL IN OH WI

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

BOYER SERIES

The Boyer series consists of very deep, well drained soils formed in sandy and loamy drift underlain by sand or gravelly sand outwash at depths of 51 to 102 cm (20 to 40 inches). The soils are on outwash plains, valley trains, kames, beach ridges, river terraces, lake terraces, deltas, and moraines. Slope ranges from 0 to 50 percent. Mean annual precipitation is about 864 mm (34 inches), and mean annual temperature is about 9.4 degrees C (49 degrees F).

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

TYPICAL PEDON: Boyer loamy sand, on a 4 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) loamy sand, light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) dry; weak fine granular structure; very friable; many fine roots; slightly acid; abrupt smooth boundary. [15 to 30 cm (6 to 12 inches) thick]

E1--18 to 30 cm (7 to 12 inches); brown (10YR 5/3) loamy sand; weak medium granular structure; very friable; common fine roots; about 2 percent gravel; moderately acid; clear wavy boundary.

E2--30 to 46 cm (12 to 18 inches); yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) loamy sand; weak fine subangular blocky structure; very friable; few fine roots; about 3 percent gravel; moderately acid; clear wavy boundary. [Combined thickness of the E horizon is 0 to 56 cm (22 inches).]

2Bt1--46 to 76 cm (18 to 30 inches); brown (7.5YR 4/4) gravelly sandy loam; weak coarse subangular blocky structure; firm; few fine roots; few thin clay films on faces of peds; about 15 percent gravel; slightly acid; gradual wavy boundary.

2Bt2--76 to 86 cm (30 to 34 inches); brown (7.5YR 4/4) gravelly sandy clay loam; weak coarse subangular blocky structure; firm; common thin and medium clay films on faces of peds; about 15 percent gravel; neutral; abrupt irregular boundary. [Combined thickness of the 2Bt horizon is 18 to 66 cm (7 to 26 inches).]

3C--86 to 152 cm (34 to 60 inches); grayish brown (10YR 5/2) stratified gravel and coarse sand; single grain; loose; strong effervescence; moderately alkaline.

TYPE LOCATION: Clinton County, Michigan; about 1 1/2 miles north and 3/4 miles west of Bath; 1090 feet south and 450 feet west of northeast corner sec. 6, T. 5 N., R. 1 W.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Thickness of the solum: 51 to 102 cm (20 to 40 inches)
Depth to the sand and gravel: 51 to 102 cm (20 to 40 inches)
Depth to carbonates: 51 to 102 cm (20 to 40 inches)

Ap or A horizon:
Thickness: A horizon, where present is less than 8 cm (3 inches) in thickness
Hue: 7.5YR or 10YR, or is neutral
Value: 2.5 to 5, 6 dry
Chroma: 0 to 3
Texture: loamy fine sand, loamy sand, sandy loam, fine sandy loam, loam, gravelly loamy sand, or gravelly sandy loam
Rock fragment content: 1 to 30 percent gravel
Reaction: moderately acid to moderately alkaline

E horizon:
Hue: 7.5YR or 10YR
Value: 4 to 6
Chroma: commonly 2 or 3, but ranges to 6
Texture: loamy fine sand, loamy sand, sandy loam, fine sandy loam, gravelly loamy sand, or gravelly sandy loam
Rock fragment content: 1 to 30 percent gravel
Reaction: moderately acid to moderately alkaline

2Bt horizon:
Hue: 10YR to 5YR
Value: 3 to 6
Chroma: 3 to 6
Texture: sandy loam, coarse sandy loam, fine sandy loam, loam, sandy clay loam, coarse sandy clay loam, or the gravelly analogues of these textures; the lower part commonly extends 15 to 30 cm (6 to 12 inches) downward into the 3C horizon in tongues 5 to 15 cm (2 to 6 inches) wide; in some pedons, the lower part consists of layers 5 to 10 cm (2 to 4 inches) thick separated by E horizons of loamy sand
Sand content: 50 percent or more fine sand or coarser
Rock fragment content: 1 to 30 percent gravel
Reaction: moderately acid to moderately alkaline

Some pedons have BC horizons of loamy sand. Some pedons have Bk horizons below the argillic horizon, usually in the form of secondary carbonates on the undersides of rock fragments.

3C horizon:
Hue: 7.5YR or 10YR
Value: 4 to 7
Chroma: 2 to 6
Texture: sand, coarse sand, gravelly sand, very gravelly sand, gravelly coarse sand, very gravelly coarse sand, or stratified sand and gravel
Rock fragment content: 2 to 55 percent gravel

Loamy substratum phases are currently recognized.

COMPETING SERIES: These are the Lapeer and Wyocena series. Lapeer soils do not have sand texture in the fine-earth fraction in the lower part of the series control section. Wyocena soils do not have carbonates within a depth of 102 cm (40 inches).

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Boyer soils are on outwash plains, valley trains, kames, beach ridges, river terraces, lake terraces, deltas, and moraines of Wisconsinan age. The slope gradients are dominantly 0 to 12 percent, but range from 0 to 50 percent. Boyer soils formed in sandy and loamy drift underlain by sand or gravelly sand outwash at depths of 51 to 102 cm (20 to 40 inches). Quartz is the dominant mineral in the 3C horizon, which contains, in addition, varying amounts of material from igneous and metamorphic rocks, limestone, and dolomite. Mean annual precipitation ranges from 711 to 1016 mm (28 to 40 inches). Mean annual temperature ranges from 8.3 to 10.0 degrees C (47 to 50 degrees F).

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Gilford, Hillsdale, Lapeer, Miami, Oshtemo, Perrin, Spinks, and Wasepi soils. Boyer soils are the well drained member of drainage sequence that includes the moderately well drained Perrin, poorly drained Gilford, and somewhat poorly drained Wasepi soils. Spinks and Oshtemo soils are closely associated on the outwash plains and valley trains. Miami, Lapeer, and Hillsdale soils on adjoining moraines.

DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY: Well drained. Depth to the seasonal high water table is greater than 163 cm (6 feet). Potential surface runoff is negligible to medium depending upon slope. Saturated hydraulic conductivity is high in the solum and very high in the substratum. Permeability is moderately rapid in the solum and very rapid in the substratum.

USE AND VEGETATION: Soils are cultivated in most areas. Principal crops are corn, small grain, soybeans, field beans, and alfalfa hay. A few areas remain in permanent pasture or forest. The dominant forest trees are oaks, hickories, and maples.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: MLRAs 94A, 95A, 95B, 96, 97, 98, 99, 110, and 111B in southern Michigan, northern Indiana, northern Ohio, southern Wisconsin, and northern Illinois. The type location is in MLRA 98. The series is of large extent.

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

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Berrien County, Michigan, 1938.

REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon: from the surface to a depth of 46 cm (18 inches) (Ap, E1, and E2 horizons).
Argillic horizon: from a depth of 46 to 86 cm (18 to 34 inches) (2Bt1 and 2Bt2 horizons).

National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.