LOCATION GRAVERAET MIEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Coarse-loamy, mixed, active, frigid Alfic Oxyaquic Fragiorthods
TYPICAL PEDON: Graveraet loam - on a 4 percent northwest-facing slope in a northern hardwood stand of sugar maple, yellow birch, ironwood, and basswood. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)
A--0 to 5 centimeters; black (5YR 2/1) loam, dark gray (5YR 4/1) dry; moderate fine granular structure; friable; many fine to coarse roots; about 3 percent gravel and 2 percent cobbles; moderately acid; abrupt smooth boundary. (0 to 18 centimeters thick)
Bhs--5 to 20 centimeters; dark reddish brown (5YR 3/2) loam; moderate fine subangular blocky structure; friable; many fine to coarse roots; about 3 percent gravel and 2 percent cobbles; moderately acid; abrupt wavy boundary. (0 to 20 centimeters thick)
Bs1--20 to 41 centimeters; dark reddish brown (5YR 3/4) loam; moderate fine subangular blocky structure; friable; common fine and medium roots; about 3 percent gravel and 2 percent cobbles; moderately acid; clear wavy boundary.
Bs2--41 to 52 centimeters; reddish brown (5YR 4/4) loam; few medium distinct yellowish red (5YR 5/6) mottles; weak fine subangular blocky structure; friable; common fine and medium roots; about 3 percent gravel; moderately acid; abrupt wavy boundary. (Combined thickness of the Bs horizons is 10 to 51 centimeters)
(E/B)x--52 to 81 centimeters; light reddish brown (5YR 6/4) fine sandy loam (E); few medium distinct yellowish red (5YR 5/6) mottles; occupies about 60 percent of the horizon surrounding peds of reddish brown (2.5YR 4/4) loam (Bt); weak thin platy structure; very firm; few fine roots; common fine vesicular pores; common distinct reddish brown (5YR 4/4) clay films in pores and on faces of peds; about 3 percent gravel; moderately acid; clear wavy boundary. (0 to 38 centimeters thick)
(B/E)x--81 to 99 centimeters; reddish brown (2.5YR 4/4) loam (Bt); common fine vesicular pores; common distinct reddish brown (5YR 4/4) clay films in pores and on faces of peds; occupies about 60 percent of the horizon surrounded by light reddish brown (5YR 6/4) fine sandy loam (E); few medium distinct yellowish red (5YR 5/6) mottles; weak thin platy structure; very firm; few fine roots; about 3 percent gravel; slightly acid; clear wavy boundary. (0 to 38 centimeters thick)
C--99 to 152 centimeters; reddish brown (5YR 4/3) loam; weak fine subangular blocky structure; friable; about 3 percent gravel; strong effervescence; moderately alkaline.
TYPE LOCATION: Houghton County, Michigan about 5 1/2 miles northwest of the Village of Donken, 1,500 feet west and 550 feet north of the southeast corner, sec. 20, T. 53 N., R. 36 W.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Solum thickness ranges from 51 to 152 centimeters. Depth to the fragipan ranges from 30 to 61 centimeters. Depth to carbonates is greater than 61 centimeters. The solum is extremely acid to moderately acid in the upper part and slightly acid to neutral in the lower part and the C horizon is slightly alkaline or moderately alkaline. Gravel content ranges from 0 to 15 percent and the cobble content ranges from 0 to 35 percent in the A and E horizons and from 0 to 20 percent, throughout the remainder of the pedon.
The A horizon has hue of 5YR to 10YR; value of 2 to 4, and chroma of 1 to 3, or is neutral with value of 2 or 3. Texture is loam or fine sandy loam
The E horizon, where present, has hue of 5YR or 7.5YR, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 1 to 3. Textures of the A and E horizons are loam, fine sandy loam, very fine sandy loam, or silt loam, or the gravelly or cobbly analogues of these textures.
The Bhs horizon has hue of 5YR or 7.5YR, value of 3, and chroma of 2 or 3.
The Bs horizons have hue of 5YR or 7.5YR and value and chroma of 3 or 4. Textures of the B horizons are loam, fine sandy loam, very fine sandy loam, or silt loam.
The E part of the (E/B)x and (B/E)x horizons has hue of 5YR or 7.5YR, value of 4 to 7, and chroma of 2 to 4. Texture is loam, very fine sandy loam, fine sandy loam, sandy loam or loamy sand. The Bt part of the (E/B)x and (B/E)x horizons has hue of 2.5YR or 5YR, value of 3 to 5, and chroma of 4 to 6. Texture is loam, clay loam or sandy clay loam. Some pedons have Ex, Btx, or Bt horizons with colors and textures similar to the E and B portions of the fragipan horizons, respectively. The fragipan horizons are very hard or extremely hard when dry and firm to extremely firm when moist. Faint to distinct redoximorphic features are in the upper part of the fragipan in many pedons as a result of impeded drainage.
Some pedons have BC horizons with colors and textures similar to the C horizons.
The C horizon has hue of 5YR or 2.5YR, value of 4 or 5, and chroma of 2 to 4. Texture is loam, sandy loam, fine sandy loam, or silt loam.
COMPETING SERIES: This is the Munising series. Steuben soils need to be reclassified and will compete in the future. The Munising soils are very strongly to moderately acid at a depth of 102 to 152 centimeters. The Steuben soils have more than 85 percent sand and less than 15 percent silt and clay in the C horizons within a depth of 102 centimeters. The closely related Argonne, Gogebic, Kallio, Wabeno and Wakefield soils are in the superactive clay activity class. In addition, these soils do not have free carbonates within their series control sections and have reaction more acid than slightly alkaline in their substratum.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Graveraet soils are on ground moraines, end moraines and drumlins of Wisconsinan Age. They have formed in loamy glacial till derived from sandstone, siltstone, shale, and limestone deposits. The Graveraet soils appear to have been further influenced by lacustrine and aeolian activity. Slopes range from 1 to 35 percent. Mean annual precipitation ranges from 760 to 910 millimeters, and mean annual temperature ranges from 4 to 7 degrees C.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the well drained Alcona and the moderately well drained Munising soils, the somewhat excessively drained Kalkaska, somewhat poorly drained Misery and poorly drained Gay soils. The Alcona and Kalkaska soils are on adjacent lacustrine and outwash deposits and the Munising soils are on similar landscape positions. The Misery soils are in slightly lower landscape positions and form a drainage sequence with the Graveraet soils. The Gay soils are in depressions and drainageways.
DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY: Moderately well drained. The representative depth to perched wet soil moisture status ranges from 30 to 46 centimeters below the surface during the months of March, April, May, October, and November. Surface runoff is negligible to high, dependent on slope. Saturated hydraulic conductivity is moderate in the upper part, very slow in the fragipan, and moderate or moderately slow in the lower part of the pedon.
USE AND VEGETATION: Most areas are forested with northern hardwoods. Sugar maple, yellow birch, hemlock, basswood, and ironwood are the major species. Graveraet soils are ecologically associated primarily with the Acer-Tsuga-Dryopteris habitat type.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The series is of moderate extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: St. Paul, Minnesota
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Houghton County, Michigan, 1989.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are: ochric epipedon--the zone from the surface to 5 centimeters (A horizon); spodic horizon--the zone from 5 to 53 centimeters (Bhs, Bs1 and Bs2 horizons); argillic horizon--the zone from 53 to 99 centimeters (B part of (E/B)x and (B/E)x horizons); fragipan-- the zone from 53 to 99 centimeters (E/B)x and (B/E)x horizons).
Classification adjusted to alfic oxyaquic fragiorthod at Luce County, Michigan Final Correlation.
The well drained phase is no longer within the series concept.
ADDITIONAL DATA: This soil was sampled by Michigan Technological University. Pedon numbers are S85-26-061-002 and S85-26-061-003.