LOCATION COLWOOD MI+OH WI

Established Series
Rev. NWS-LWB-RAR
11/2021

COLWOOD SERIES

The Colwood series consists of very deep, poorly drained or very poorly drained soils formed in stratified silty and loamy glaciolacustrine deposits or outwash. These soils are on lake plains, outwash plains, moraines, and deltas. Slope ranges from 0 to 3 percent. Mean annual precipitation is about 838 mm (33 inches), and mean annual temperature is about 9.4 degrees C (49 degrees F).

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, mixed, active, mesic Typic Endoaquolls

TYPICAL PEDON: Colwood silt loam, on a 1 percent slope in a cultivated field. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)

Ap--0 to 23 cm (9 inches); very dark brown (10YR 2/2) silt loam, dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) dry; moderate medium granular structure; friable; many fine roots; neutral; abrupt smooth boundary. [20 to 28 cm (8 to 11 inches) thick]

A--23 to 30 cm (9 to 12 inches); very dark brown (10YR 2/2) silt loam, dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) dry; moderate coarse granular structure; friable; many fine roots; neutral; gradual wavy boundary. [5 to 36 cm (2 to 14 inches) thick]

Bg1--30 to 46 cm (12 to 18 inches); light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; firm; many fine roots; very dark brown (10YR 2/2) organic coatings on faces of peds in upper part of horizon; few coarse prominent yellowish brown (10YR 5/8) masses of oxidized iron in the matrix; neutral; gradual wavy boundary.

Bg2--46 to 91 cm (18 to 36 inches); light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) silty clay loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; firm; thin strata of fine sandy loam; few fine roots; few thin clay films; many coarse prominent yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) masses of oxidized iron in the matrix; slightly alkaline; abrupt wavy boundary. [Combined thickness of the Bg horizon is 25 to 81 cm (10 to 32 inches).]

Cg--91 to 152 cm (36 to 60 inches); stratified gray (10YR 5/1) silt loam, very fine sand and fine sand; massive; friable in the silt loam strata and loose in the very fine sand and fine sand strata; few fine roots; common medium prominent yellowish brown (10YR 5/8) masses of oxidized iron in the matrix; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline.

TYPE LOCATION: Lapeer County, Michigan; 1 1/2 miles east and 3 miles north of Burnside; 1,320 feet east and 990 feet south of the northwest corner of sec. 34, T. 10 N., R. 12 E.; USGS Marlette, MI topographic quadrangle; lat. 43 degrees 15 minutes 9.01 seconds N., and long. 83 degrees 3 minutes 16.16 seconds W., WGS84.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Thickness of the mollic epipedon: 25 to 58 cm (10 to 23 inches)
Depth to the base of the cambic horizon: typically 76 to 102 cm (30 to 40 inches), but ranges from 61 to 140 cm (24 to 55 inches)
Depth to carbonates: 76 to 114 cm (30 to 45 inches)
Particle-size control section: averages 18 to 35 percent clay and less than 60 percent fine sand or coarser
Series control section: rock fragments are typically absent; sand size is predominated by fine and very fine sand

Ap or A horizon:
Hue: 10YR
Value: 2 or 3
Chroma: 1 or 2
Texture: silt loam, loam, fine sandy loam, very fine sandy loam, or silty clay loam
Reaction: slightly acid to slightly alkaline

Bg horizon:
Hue: 7.5YR, 10YR, 2.5Y, 5Y, 5GY, or is neutral
Value: 4 to 6
Chroma: 0 to 2; individual layers in the lower part have chroma of 4 to 8 but do not dominate the control section
Texture: loam, silt loam, sandy clay loam, clay loam, silty clay loam, sandy loam, fine sandy loam, or very fine sandy loam; some pedons have thin strata of fine sand, very fine sand or silty clay
Reaction: slightly acid to slightly alkaline

Some pedons have a BCg horizon.

Cg horizon:
Hue: 10YR, 2.5Y or 5Y
Value: 4 to 6
Chroma: 1 or 2
Texture: dominantly stratified silt loam, very fine sand, or fine sand but thin strata of clay, silty clay, silty clay loam, clay loam, loam, sandy loam, fine sandy loam, very fine sandy loam, or loamy sand are common
Clay content: averages 5 to 12 percent
Sand size: more than 50 percent fine sand or very fine sand
Reaction: slightly alkaline or moderately alkaline and contains carbonates

COMPETING SERIES: These are the Free and Springerton series. Free soils have rock fragments in the lower part of the series control section. Springerton soils do not have carbonates within a depth of 114 cm (45 inches).

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Colwood soils are on lake plains, outwash plains, moraines, and deltas of Wisconsin age. Slope ranges from 0 to 3 percent. They formed in stratified silty and loamy glaciolacustrine deposits or outwash. Mean annual precipitation ranges from 610 to 965 mm (24 to 38 inches). Mean annual temperature ranges from 7 to 11.7 degrees C (45 to 53 degrees F).

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Del Rey, Kibbie, Lenawee, Sisson, and Tuscola soils. The well drained Sisson, moderately well drained Tuscola, and somewhat poorly drained Kibbie soils formed in similar materials and are part of the toposequence with Colwood soils. Del Rey and Lenawee soils are associated on lake plains. Del Rey soils are somewhat poorly drained. Lenawee soils do not have a mollic epipedon.

DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY: Poorly drained or very poorly drained. Depth to the top of an apparent seasonal high water table ranges from 30 cm (1 foot) above the surface to 30 cm (1 foot) below the surface between October and May in normal years. Potential for surface runoff is negligible or very low. Saturated hydraulic conductivity is moderately high. Permeability is moderate or moderately slow.

USE AND VEGETATION: Most areas are cultivated. Corn, beans, small grain, and alfalfa hay are the principal crops. A few areas are in truck crops. A small part, including areas that lack adequate drainage, is in permanent pasture or forest. Native vegetation is chiefly red maple, American elm, quaking aspen, alder, and marsh grasses.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: MLRAs 95B, 97, 98, 99, 105, and 111B in southern Michigan, northwestern Ohio, and southeastern Wisconsin. The series is of large extent.

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

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Tuscola County, Michigan; 1926.

REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Mollic epipedon: from the surface to a depth of 30 cm (12 inches) (Ap, A horizons).
Cambic horizon: from a depth of 30 to 91 cm (12 to 36 inches) (Bg1, Bg2 horizons).
Aquic conditions: redoximorphic features in all horizons below the mollic epipedon.

National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.