LOCATION FALLCREEK WIEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Coarse-loamy, mixed, superactive, frigid Aquic Glossudalfs
TYPICAL PEDON: Fallcreek sandy loam - on a plane south facing 2 percent slope in a cultivated field at an elevation of about 1,150 feet. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)
Ap--0 to 7 inches, dark brown (7.5YR 3/2) loam, pinkish gray (7.5YR 6/2) dry; moderate fine subangular blocky structure; friable; common very fine and fine and few medium roots; about 5 percent gravel and 5 percent cobble; neutral; abrupt smooth boundary. (6 to 10 inches thick)
E/B--7 to 13 inches; 60 percent pinkish gray (7.5YR 6/2) loam (E), pinkish gray (7.5YR 7/2) dry; moderate fine subangular blocky structure; friable; extends into and surrounds remnants of dark brown (7.5YR 4/4) loam (Bt); moderate fine and medium subangular blocky structure; friable; few very fine and fine roots; few fine prominent yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) masses of iron accumulation; about 5 percent gravel and 5 percent cobble; slightly acid; gradual irregular boundary.
B/E--13 to 21 inches; 70 percent dark brown (7.5YR 4/4) sandy loam (Bt); moderate medium subangular blocky; firm; few faint dark brown (7.5YR 4/3) clay films on faces of peds; penetrated by tongues of pinkish gray (7.5YR 6/2) sandy loam (E), pinkish white (7.5YR 8/2) dry; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; firm; few very fine and fine roots; common medium distinct and prominent strong brown (7.5YR 5/8) masses of iron accumulation and common medium distinct and faint brown (7.5YR 5/2) masses of iron depletion; about 5 percent gravel and 5 percent cobble; strongly acid; clear wavy boundary. (Glossic horizon - 2 to 30 inches thick.)
Bt1--21 to 27 inches; dark brown (7.5YR 4/4) loam; strong coarse subangular blocky structure; firm; few very fine and fine roots; common distinct strong brown (7.5YR 4/6) clay films on faces of peds; common distinct pinkish gray (7.5YR 6/2) clean sand grains coating faces of peds; common medium distinct reddish yellow (7.5YR 6/6) masses of iron accumulation and few fine distinct pinkish gray (7.5YR 6/2) masses of iron depletion; about 8 percent gravel and 3 percent cobble; very strongly acid; clear wavy boundary.
Bt2--27 to 38 inches; dark brown (7.5YR 4/4) loam; moderate coarse subangular blocky structure; firm; few very fine and fine roots; common distinct strong brown (7.5YR 4/6) clay films on faces of peds; few distinct pinkish gray (7.5YR 6/2) clean sand grains coating faces of peds; common medium distinct reddish yellow (7.5YR 6/6) masses of iron accumulation; about 8 percent gravel and 3 percent cobble; very strongly acid; clear wavy boundary.
Bt3--38 to 47 inches; brown (7.5YR 5/4) loam; weak coarse subangular blocky structure; firm; few very fine and fine roots; few distinct strong brown (7.5YR 4/6) clay films on faces of peds and in root channels; common medium distinct reddish yellow (7.5YR 6/6) masses of iron accumulation along root channels; about 8 percent gravel and 3 percent cobble; very strongly acid; clear wavy boundary. (Combined thickness of the Bt horizons ranges from 10 to 40 inches)
C--47 to 60 inches; brown (7.5YR 5/4) loam; massive firm; about 8 percent gravel and 3 percent cobble; strongly acid.
TYPE LOCATION: Clark County, Wisconsin; about 1.5 miles north and 3.5 miles west of Greenwood; 50 feet north and 800 feet west of the southeast corner of Sec. 24, T. 27 N., R. 3 W.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Depth to the base of the argillic horizon ranges from 40 to 80 inches. Clay content in the particle-size control section averages 12 to 18 percent but individual subhorizons in some pedons have more than 18 percent. Volume of gravel typically ranges from 3 to 15 percent throughout the pedon but ranges to 35 percent in individual subhorizons in some pedons. Volume of cobbles ranges from 0 to 10 percent throughout the pedon. Reaction typically ranges from extremely acid to slightly acid in the solum but ranges to neutral in the upper part where the soil is limed. Reaction ranges from very strongly acid to slightly acid in the substratum.
The Ap horizon has hue of 7.5YR or 10YR, value of 2 or 3, and chroma of 1 or 2. Uncultivated pedons have A horizons with hue of 7.5YR or 10YR, value of 3 or 4 and chroma of 1 or 2. The Ap or A horizon is sandy loam or loam.
The E horizon has hue of 7.5YR or 10YR, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 2 or 3. Colors of 4/3 and 5/3 have value dry of 7 or more. The E horizon is sandy loam or loam.
Fallcreek soils have a glossic horizon (E/B or B/E horizons, or both.) The E part has color and texture like the E horizon described above. The Bt part has hue of 5YR, 7.5YR, or 10YR; value of 4 to 6 and chroma of 3 or 4. It is loam or sandy loam.
The Bt horizon has hue of 5YR, 7.5YR, or 10YR, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 3 or 4. It is sandy loam or loam.
The C horizon has hue of 5YR or 7.5YR, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 3 to 6. It is sandy loam or loam.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Hatley, Magnor, Magroc, Oesterle, and Plover series. Similar soils are the Milladore and Withee series. Hatley soils have a silt loam mantle 12 to 40 inches thick. Magnor and Magroc soils have a silt loam mantle 12 to 36 inches thick and Magroc soils have a lithic contact at 40 to 60 inches. Oesterle soils have sandy outwash within a depth of 40 inches. Plover soils have stratified loamy and sandy lacustrine deposits within 40 inches. Milladore and Withee soils are fine-loamy.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Fallcreek soils are on ground moraines. Slopes range from 0 to 6 percent. These soils formed in loamy, acid glacial till. Mean annual temperature ranges from 39 to 45 degrees F. Mean annual precipitation ranges from 28 to 33 inches. The frost free period ranges from about 120 to 135 days. Elevation ranges from 800 to 1950 feet.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Flambeau, Humbird, and Merrillan soils. The moderately well drained Flambeau soils are in slightly higher landscape positions than Fallcreek soils and form a drainage sequence with them. The moderately well drained Humbird soils and the somewhat poorly drained Merrillan soils form a drainage sequence in nearby areas of dissected moraines.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Somewhat poorly drained. Surface runoff is slow. Permeability is moderate in the solum and moderately slow in the substratum. These soils have a perched seasonal high water table at a depth of 1 to 2.5 feet for 1 month or more per year at some time during the period October to June in 6 or more out of 10 years.
USE AND VEGETATION: Most areas are cleared and used for cropland. Common crops are corn, small grain, and hay. Some areas are used for pastureland and some remain in woodland. The remainder is in forest or sparsely wooded tracts used for pasture or as wildlife areas. Native vegetation is mixed deciduous forest. Common trees are northern red oak, sugar maple, red maple, white ash, and American basswood.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: West-central Wisconsin. It is of moderate extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: St. Paul, Minnesota
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Eau Claire County, Wisconsin, 1974.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are: ochric epipedon - 0 to 12 inches (Ap, E) albic horizon - 7 to 13 inches (E); glossic horizon - 13 to 21 inches (E/B, B/E); argillic horizon - 13 to 47 inches (B/E, Bt1, Bt2); aquic feature - redox depletions with chroma of 2 or less in the upper 10 inches of the argillic horizon.
ADDITIONAL DATA: Soil Interpretation Record - WI0039