LOCATION FLINK WIEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Sandy, mixed, frigid Typic Epiaquods
TYPICAL PEDON: Flink sand, on a convex, northwest-facing, 2 percent slope under mixed conifer and hardwoods at an elevation of about 1065 feet. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise noted.)
Oe--0 to 2 inches; black (7.5YR 2.5/1) broken face and rubbed, moderately decomposed plant material; about 50 percent fiber and 20 percent rubbed; weak fine granular structure; very friable; many fine medium and coarse roots; very strongly acid; abrupt wavy boundary. (0 to 3 inches thick)
Oa--2 to 3 inches; black (5YR 2.5/1) broken face and rubbed, highly decomposed plant material; about 20 percent fiber and less than 5 percent rubbed; weak very fine and fine granular structure; very friable; many fine and medium and few coarse roots; common uncoated quartz sand grains; very strongly acid; abrupt smooth boundary. (0 to 3 inches thick)
E--3 to 6 inches; dark gray (7.5YR 4/1) sand; gray (7.5YR 6/1) dry; weak fine subangular blocky structure; very friable; many fine and medium and few coarse roots; very strongly acid; abrupt wavy boundary. (1 to 7 inches thick)
Bhs--6 to 9 inches; dark reddish brown (5YR 3/2) sand; weak fine subangular blocky structure; very friable; many fine, common medium, and few coarse roots; common medium distinct very dusky red (2.5YR 2.5/2) soft masses (iron-manganese oxides); very strongly acid; abrupt wavy boundary. (0 to 8 inches thick)
Bs1--9 to 13 inches; dark reddish brown (5YR 3/4) sand; weak coarse subangular blocky structure parting to weak fine subangular blocky; very friable; common fine and few medium roots; many medium distinct yellowish red (5YR 4/6) and few medium prominent dark red (2.5YR 3/6) masses of iron accumulation; few medium prominent very dusky red (2.5YR 2.5/2) soft masses (iron-manganese oxides); strongly acid; gradual wavy boundary.
Bs2--13 to 26 inches; reddish brown (5YR 4/4) sand; weak coarse subangular blocky structure; very friable; few fine and medium roots; common medium distinct dark reddish gray (5YR 4/2) iron depletions; many coarse distinct yellowish red (5YR 4/6) and common medium prominent dark red (2.5YR 3/6) masses of iron accumulation; common fine prominent very dusky red (2.5YR 2.5/2) soft masses (iron-manganese oxides); about 10 percent red (2.5YR 4/6) weakly cemented ortstein; moderately acid; gradual wavy boundary. (Combined thickness of the Bs horizon ranges from 4 to 18 inches.)
BC--26 to 35 inches; reddish brown (5YR 5/4) sand; weak coarse subangular blocky structure; very friable; few fine roots; common coarse distinct dark reddish gray (5YR 4/2) iron depletions; many coarse distinct yellowish red (5YR 4/6) masses of iron accumulation; moderately acid; gradual wavy boundary. (0 to 15 inches thick)
C--35 to 46 inches; reddish brown (5YR 5/3) sand; single grain; loose; many coarse distinct dark reddish gray (5YR 4/2) iron depletions; slightly acid; abrupt smooth boundary. (5 to 22 inches thick)
2Cg--46 to 52 inches; pinkish gray (5YR 7/2) and light reddish brown (5YR 6/4) stratified silt and silty clay loam; massive; firm; few fine prominent strong brown (7.5YR 4/6) masses of iron accumulation; moderately acid; clear wavy boundary. (0 to 6 inches thick)
2C--52 to 80 inches; reddish brown (5YR 5/4) and light reddish brown (5YR 6/4) stratified silt, silty clay loam, and loamy very fine sand; massive; firm; few medium distinct brown (7.5YR 5/4) masses of iron accumulation; moderately acid.
TYPE LOCATION: Douglas County, Wisconsin; about 1.5 miles west of Brule; about 600 feet south and 1150 feet east of the northwest corner of section 15, T. 47 N., R. 10 W.; USGS Brule, WI quad.; lat. 46 degrees, 32', 50" N.; long. 91 degrees, 36', 50" W.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: (Unless otherwise stated, thickness and depth are measured from the top of the mineral soil.) Thickness of the sandy mantle and depth to stratified silty, loamy, and sandy glaciofluvial deposits range from 40 to 60 inches. Depth to the base of soil development ranges from 25 to 50 inches. Volume of gravel ranges from 0 to 10 percent throughout. Reaction ranges from extremely acid to moderately acid in the upper part of the solum and from very strongly acid to neutral in the lower part of the solum and in the substratum .
The O horizon has hue of 5YR, 7.5YR, or 10YR or is neutral in hue. Value is 2 or 3 and chroma is 0 to 3. The O horizon is a mat of partially decomposed forest litter.
Some pedons have an A horizon with hue of 7.5YR or 10YR, value of 2 to 4, and chroma of 1 or 2. It is loamy sand, sand, loamy fine sand, or fine sand.
The E horizon has hue of 5YR, 7.5YR, or 10YR; value of 4 to 6; and chroma of 1 or 2. It is loamy sand, sand, loamy fine sand, or fine sand.
The Bhs horizon has hue of 5YR or 7.5YR; and value and chroma of 2 or 3. It is loamy sand, sand, loamy fine sand, or fine sand. The amount of ortstein in the Bhs horizon ranges from 0 to 50 percent. The ortstein is in irregular random chunks or tongues up to 3 inches in diameter.
The Bs horizon has hue of 5YR, value of 3 to 6, and chroma of 4 to 6 or hue of 7.5YR, value of 3 to 5, and chroma of 4. It has texture and ortstein content like the Bhs described above.
The BC horizon has hue of 5YR or 7.5YR, value of 4 or 5, and chroma of 4 to 6. It is sand or fine sand. BC horizons with spodic color have pH of 6.0 or more or have organic carbon content less than 0.6 percent.
The C horizon has hue of 5YR, 7.5YR, or 10YR; value of 4 to 6; and chroma of 3 to 6. It is sand or fine sand.
The 2Cg or 2C horizon has hue of 2.5YR, 5YR, 7.5YR, or 10YR; value of 4 to 7; and chroma of 1 to 6. It typically is stratified with layers of sandy loam, fine sandy loam, very fine sandy loam, loam, silt, silt loam, silty clay loam, or clay loam and with strata of coarser texture. Less typically, it has thin strata of finer texture.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Augwood and Tacoda(T) series. Augwood soils are not stratified in the lower part of the series control section. Tacoda soils have 35 percent or more clay in the lower part of the series control section.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Flink soils are on outwash plains, lake plains, outwash terraces, lake terraces, and to a lesser extent on old beach ridges. Slope gradients range from 0 to 4 percent. These soils formed in sandy outwash underlain by stratified silty, loamy, and sandy glaciofluvial deposits. Mean annual precipitation ranges from 28 to 33 inches. Mean annual temperature ranges from 39 to 45 degrees F. The frost free period ranges from about 90 to 135 days. Elevation ranges from 600 to 1900 feet.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Au Gres, Croswell, Cublake, Kinross, Sultz(T), and Vilas soils. The excessively drained Vilas soils, the moderately well drained Croswell soils, the somewhat poorly drained Au Gres soils, and the poorly drained and very poorly drained Kinross soils form a drainage sequence on nearby landscapes where the sandy mantle is more than 60 inches deep. The moderately well drained Cublake soils and the well drained Sultz soils form a drainage sequence with Flink soils.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Somewhat poorly drained. Surface runoff is slow. Permeability is moderately rapid or rapid in the sandy mantle and moderately slow or moderate in the stratified glaciofluvial deposits. These soils have a perched seasonal high water table at a depth of 1 to 2 feet for 1 month or more per year at some time during the period September to June in 6 or more out of 10 years.
USE AND VEGETATION: Most areas are used for woodland. Native vegetation is mixed coniferous and deciduous forest. Common trees are balsam fir, red pine, white pine, eastern hemlock, paper birch, red maple and quaking aspen. Common understory species are blueberry, American hazel, sweet scented bedstraw, wintergreen, yellow beadlily, bunchberry dogwood, and sedges. A few areas are used for cropland or pastureland. Common crops are corn, small grain, and hay.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Northern Wisconsin. MLRA's K-90, K-92, K-93, and K-94A. This series is of small extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: St. Paul, Minnesota
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Forest County, Wisconsin, 1995.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
ochric epipedon - 3 to 6 inches (E);
albic horizon - 3 to 6 inches (E);
spodic horizon- 6 to 26 inches (Bhs, Bs1, Bs2);
aquic feature - redox features in the spodic horizon within 20 inches and saturation within 20 inches.
ADDITIONAL DATA: Soil Interpretation Record - WI0538.