LOCATION DIGHTON                 MI

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

DIGHTON SERIES

The Dighton series consists of very deep, well drained soils formed in loamy and clayey materials over sandy deposits on till plains and moraines. Slope ranges from 2 to 35 percent. Mean annual precipitation is about 762 mm (30 inches), and mean annual temperature is about 6.1 degrees C (43 degrees F).

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Clayey over sandy or sandy-skeletal, mixed, semiactive, frigid Haplic Glossudalfs

TYPICAL PEDON: Dighton loam, on an east-facing, convex slope in a cultivated field. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated)

Ap--0 to 20 cm (8 inches); dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) loam, light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) dry; weak fine granular structure; friable; many roots; slightly acid; abrupt smooth boundary. [15 to 25 cm (6 to 10 inches) thick]

E--20 to 28 cm (8 to 11 inches); light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) loam; weak fine subangular blocky structure; friable; many roots; moderately acid; clear irregular boundary. [0 to 10 cm (4 inches) thick]

B/E--28 to 36 cm (11 to 14 inches); light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) loam (E), occurring as thick coatings on faces of peds; moderate medium granular structure; friable; brown (7.5YR 5/4) clay loam (B); strong medium angular blocky structure, firm; many roots; about 1 percent gravel; moderately acid; gradual wavy boundary. [8 to 15 cm (3 to 6 inches) thick]

Bt--36 to 86 cm (14 to 34 inches); brown (7.5YR 4/4) clay loam; strong medium angular blocky structure; firm; many roots, especially on faces of peds; many distinct clay films on vertical and horizontal faces of peds; slightly acid; abrupt wavy boundary. [25 to 51 cm (10 to 20 inches) thick]

2C--86 to 152 cm (34 to 60 inches); yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) sand; single grain; loose; neutral.

TYPE LOCATION: Emmet County, Michigan; about 1 1/2 miles southeast of the town of Pellston; 720 feet south and 300 feet east of the center of sec. 11, T. 36 N., R. 4 W.; USGS Pellston, MI 7.5 minute topographic quadrangle; lat. 45 degrees 31 minutes 39.1 seconds N. and 84 degrees 45 minutes 37.6 seconds W., NAD 27.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Depth to the sandy material: 51 to 102 cm (20 to 40 inches)
Argillic horizon: averages between 35 and 45 percent clay
Rock fragment content: 0 to 5 percent gravel in the solum
Reaction: slightly acid to strongly acid in the solum

Ap horizon:
Hue: 7.5YR or 10YR
Value: 4
Chroma: 1 or 2
Texture: loam, sandy loam, or clay loam

A horizon, where present:
Thickness: 2.5 to 8 cm (1 to 3 inches)
Hue: 10YR
Value: 2 or 3
Chroma: 1 or 2
Texture: loam, sandy loam, or clay loam

E horizon:
Hue: 7.5YR or 10YR
Value: 5 to 7
Chroma: 2 or 3
Texture: loam, sandy loam, or clay loam

E part of the B/E horizon:
Hue: 7.5YR or 10YR
Value: 5 to 7
Chroma: 2 or 3
Bt part of the B/E horizon and the Bt horizon:
Hue: 5YR to 10YR
Value: 3 or 4
Chroma: 3 or 4
Texture: clay loam, silty clay loam, clay, or silty clay

Some pedons have an E and Bt horizon above the 2C horizon.

C horizon, where present:
Texture: clay loam, silty clay loam, or silty clay
Reaction: moderately alkaline

2C horizon:
Hue: 10YR
Value: 4 to 6
Chroma: 2 to 6
Texture: sand, loamy sand, fine sand, coarse sand, or gravelly sand
Rock fragment content: 0 to 35 percent gravel
Reaction: moderately acid to moderately alkaline

COMPETING SERIES: There are no other series in the same family.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: The Dighton soils are on till plains and moraines. Slope ranges from 2 to 35 percent. These soils formed in loamy and clayey materials over sandy deposits. Mean annual precipitation ranges from 686 to 813 mm (27 to 32 inches). Mean annual temperature ranges from 4.4 to 7.2 degrees C (40 to 45 degrees F).

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: The moderately well drained Nester soils are commonly nearby. The poorly drained or very poorly drained Lacota soils are in nearby depressions and narrow drainageways in the till plains.

DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY: Well drained. Potential for surface runoff is medium to very high, depending upon slope. Saturated hydraulic conductivity is moderately high in the solum and high or very high in the 2C horizon. Permeability is moderately slow in the above the 2C horizon and rapid or very rapid in the 2C horizon.

USE AND VEGETATION: Most areas are under cultivation. The principal crops are small grains, hay, and corn and some beans and a few areas in apple orchards. A smaller portion is in permanent pasture, forest or is idle. Native vegetation is chiefly sugar maple, American beech, American elm, and some eastern white pine and eastern hemlock.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: MLRAs 94A, 96, 98, and 99 in the northern Lower Peninsula of Michigan. The series is of small extent.

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

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Ionia County, Michigan; 1965.

REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon: from the surface to a depth of 20 cm (8 inches) (Ap horizon).
Albic horizon: from a depth of 20 to 28 cm (8 to 11 inches) (E horizon).
Glossic horizon: from a depth of 28 to 36 cm (11 to 14 inches) (B/E horizon)
Argillic horizon: from a depth of 36 to 86 cm (14 to 34 inches) (Bt horizon).
Lithologic discontinuity: from clay loam to sandy material at 86 cm (34 inches).

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National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.