LOCATION COVERT MI+NY
Established Series
Rev. WLB-WEF-MLK
09/2012
COVERT SERIES
The Covert series consists of very deep, moderately well drained soils formed in sandy drift on ground moraines, outwash plains, lake plains, and dunes. Slope ranges from 0 to 8 percent. Mean annual precipitation is about 889 mm (35 inches), and mean annual temperature is about 8.3 degrees C (47 degrees F).
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Sandy, mixed, mesic Oxyaquic Haplorthods
TYPICAL PEDON: Covert sand, on a 2 percent slope in an idle field. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)
Ap--0 to 20 cm (8 inches); very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) sand, gray (10YR 5/1) dry; weak fine granular structure; very friable; many roots; moderately acid; abrupt smooth boundary. [15 to 25 cm (6 to 10 inches) thick]
E--20 to 38 cm (8 to 15 inches); light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) sand; single grain; loose; common roots; moderately acid; clear wavy boundary. [2 to 25 cm (1 to 10 inches) thick]
Bs1--38 to 51 cm (15 to 20 inches); dark reddish brown (5YR 3/4) sand; single grain; loose; few roots; moderately acid; gradual wavy boundary.
Bs2--51 to 89 cm (20 to 35 inches); strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) sand; single grain; loose; few cemented chunks of ortstein; moderately acid; gradual wavy boundary. [Combined thickness of the Bs horizon is 25 to 102 cm (10 to 40 inches).]
C--89 to 152 cm (35 to 60 inches); pale brown (10YR 6/3) sand; single grain; loose; few fine prominent yellowish brown (10YR 5/8) masses of oxidized iron throughout; moderately acid.
TYPE LOCATION: Van Buren County, Michigan; 1,120 feet east and 2,370 feet south of the northwest corner of sec. 9, T. 2 S., R. 17 W.; USGS Covert topographic quadrangle; lat. 42 degrees 18 minutes 32.3 seconds N. and long. 86 degrees 17 minutes 51.7 seconds W., WGS 84.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Depth to the base of the spodic horizon: 61 to 114 cm (24 to 45 inches)
Depth to redoximorphic features: 51 to 102 cm (20 to 40 inches)
Rock fragment content: 0 to 5 percent throughout the profile
O horizon, where present:
Thickness: less than 10 cm (4 inches)
Organic material: partially or well decomposed forest litter
Ap horizon:
Hue: 7.5YR or 10YR
Value: 2 to 4
Chroma: 1 to 3
Texture: sand or loamy sand
A horizon, where present:
Hue: 7.5YR or 10YR
Value: 2, 2.5, or 3
Chroma: 1
Reaction: very strongly acid to neutral
E horizon:
Hue: 7.5YR or 10YR
Value: 4 to 7
Chroma: 1 to 3
Texture: sand or loamy sand
Reaction: very strongly acid to neutral
Bs1 horizon:
Hue: 5YR or 7.5YR
Value: 3 to 5
Chroma: 4
Ortstein content: 0 to 30 percent
Reaction: very strongly acid to moderately acid
Bs2 horizon:
Hue: 5YR to 10YR
Value: 4 or 5
Chroma: 4 to 8
Ortstein content: 0 to 30 percent
Reaction: very strongly acid to neutral
Some pedons have a BC horizon that can have redoximorphic features.
C horizon:
Hue: 5YR to 10YR
Value: 4 to 7
Chroma: 1 to 8
Texture: sand or fine sand
Redoximorphic features: commonly distinct or prominent
Reaction: strongly acid to moderately alkaline
COMPETING SERIES: There are no other series in the same family.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Covert soils are on ground moraines, outwash plains, lake plains, and dunes. Slope ranges from 0 to 8 percent. The Covert soils formed in sandy drift. 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). Frost-free period is 130 to 170 days. Elevation is 183 to 305 meters (600 to 1,000 feet) above mean sea level.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: The excessively drained
Grattan soils, the somewhat poorly drained
Pipestone soils, the poorly drained or very poorly drained
Granby soils, and the very poorly drained
Kingsville and
Newton soils are in a drainage sequence with Covert soils.
DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY: Moderately well drained. Depth to the apparent seasonal high water table ranges from 61 to 107 cm (2.0 to 3.5 feet) below the surface at some time during between September and May in normal years. Potential for surface runoff is negligible or very low. Saturated hydraulic conductivity is high or very high. Permeability is rapid.
USE AND VEGETATION: About 40 percent of this soil is under cultivation to small grain and hay. The remainder is idle cropland, permanent pasture, or forest. The forest vegetation consists of quaking aspen, white oak, northern red oak, wild cherry, eastern white pine, and jack pine.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: MLRA 96, 97, 98, 99, 142, and 143 in southern Michigan and central New York. The series is of large extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: AMHERST, MASSACHUSETTS
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Midland County, Michigan, 1976.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon: the zone from the surface to a depth of 20 cm (8 inches) (Ap horizon).
Albic horizon: the zone from 20 to 38 cm (8 to 15 inches) (E horizon).
Spodic horizon: the zone from 38 to 51 cm (15 to 20 inches) (Bs1 horizon).
Aquic conditions: redox accumulations present below a depth of 89 cm (35 inches) (C horizon).
The loamy and gravelly substratum phases of this series with loamy or gravelly material ranging from 102 to 152 cm (40 to 60 inches) are no longer within the concept of this series.
ADDITIONAL DATA: A similar Covert pedon was sampled as S73MI-80-2. Laboratory numbers 73B419-73B420. Found in Soil Survey Investigation Report No. 36.
Soil Interpretation Record No.: MI0272.
National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.