LOCATION HILLSDALE MI+IN

Established Series
Rev. RLM-WEF-RAB
06/2024

HILLSDALE SERIES

The Hillsdale series consists of very deep, well drained soils formed in loamy till on ground moraines and end moraines. Slope ranges from 0 to 40 percent. Mean annual precipitation is about 838 mm (33 inches), and mean annual temperature is about 9.4 degrees C (49 degrees F).

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Coarse-loamy, mixed, active, mesic Typic Hapludalfs

TYPICAL PEDON: Hillsdale sandy loam, on a convex, 4 percent slope in a cultivated field at an elevation of 266 meters (873 feet) above mean sea level. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)

Ap--0 to 20 cm (8 inches); brown (10YR 4/3) sandy loam, pale brown (10YR 6/3) dry; weak fine granular structure; friable; 5 percent gravel and 3 percent cobbles; neutral; abrupt smooth boundary. [15 to 25 cm (6 to 10 inches) thick]

EB--20 to 36 cm (8 to 14 inches); yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) sandy loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; friable; 5 percent gravel and 3 percent cobbles; slightly acid; clear wavy boundary. [0 to 20 cm (8 inches) thick]

Bt1--36 to 79 cm (14 to 31 inches); dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/6) sandy loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; friable; many distinct brown (7.5YR 4/4) clay films on faces of peds; 5 percent gravel and 3 percent cobbles; slightly acid; clear smooth boundary.

Bt2--79 to 96 cm (31 to 38 inches); dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/6) sandy loam; weak medium subangular blocky structure; friable; common distinct brown (7.5YR 4/4) clay films on faces of peds; 5 percent gravel and 3 percent cobbles; slightly acid; clear smooth boundary.

Bt3--96 to 112 cm (38 to 44 inches); yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) sandy loam; weak coarse subangular blocky structure; friable; few distinct brown (7.5YR 4/4) clay films on faces of peds; 5 percent gravel and 3 percent cobbles; slightly acid; clear wavy boundary. (Combined thickness of the Bt horizon is 8 to 45 inches.)

BC--112 to 213 cm (44 to 84 inches); yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) sandy loam; weak coarse subangular blocky structure; friable; 5 percent gravel and 3 percent cobbles; neutral.

TYPE LOCATION: St. Joseph County, Michigan; about 2 miles south and 1.5 miles west of Mendon; 60 feet west and 130 feet north of the southeast corner of sec. 5, T. 6 S., R. 10 W.; USGS Nottawa topographic quadrangle; lat. 41 degrees 58 minutes 13.3 seconds N. and long. 85 degrees 29 minutes 18.89 seconds W., NAD 27; UTM Zone 16, 0625232 easting and 4647597 northing, NAD 83.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Thickness of the solum: 102 to more than 203 cm (40 to more than 80 inches)
Depth to carbonates: commonly 102 to more than 203 cm (40 to more than 80 inches), but ranges to 85 cm (33 inches)
Rock fragment content: averages 1 to 14 percent throughout the series control section, although some individual subhorizons have none
Particle-size control section: averages less than 50 percent fine sand and very fine sand less than 18 percent clay, although some subhorizons can contain more than 18 percent clay
Series control section: averages 50 to 85 percent sand

Ap horizon:
Hue: 10YR
Value: 3 or 4. 6 or more dry
Chroma: 1 to 3
Texture: sandy loam, fine sandy loam, loam, or loamy sand
Reaction: very strongly acid to neutral

E horizon, where present:
Hue: 10YR
Value: 5 to 7
Chroma: 2 to 4
Texture: sandy loam, fine sandy loam, loam, or loamy sand

EB or BE horizon, where present:
Hue: 10YR
Value: 4 to 7
Chroma: 3 to 6
Texture: sandy loam, fine sandy loam, loam, or loamy sand

Bt horizon:
Hue: 7.5YR or 10YR
Value: 4 or 5
Chroma: 3 to 6
Texture: sandy loam, sandy clay loam, or loam
Reaction: very strongly acid to slightly acid

BC horizon:
Hue: 7.5YR or 10YR
Value: 4 or 5
Chroma: 3 to 8
Texture: sandy loam or loamy sand; some pedons have pockets of sand or loamy sand
Reaction: strongly acid to moderately alkaline

C horizon:
Hue: 7.5YR or 10YR
Value: 5 or 6
Chroma: 3 or 4
Texture: sandy loam or fine sandy loam; some pedons have pockets of sand or loamy sand
Sand content: averages 50 to 85 percent
Reaction: slightly alkaline or moderately alkaline

COMPETING SERIES: These are the Brownsburg, Crumstown, Eleva, Mecan, and Oshtemo series. Brownsburg soils have a lithic contact within a depth of 152 cm (60 inches). Crumstown and Oshtemo soils are not clearly differentiated from the Hillsdale soils because of overlapping properties within the series control section and because the C horizons in these soils are not always present within the series control section. In addition, the redoximorphic features in the Crumstown soils are not always present within the series control section, and the Oshtemo series allows for a loamy substratum phase. Eleva soils have a paralithic or lithic contact within a depth of 102 cm (40 inches). Mecan soils have hue redder than 7.5YR in the upper part of the Bt horizon.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Hillsdale soils are on ground moraines and end moraines. Slope gradients are mostly 2 to 18 percent but range from 0 to 40 percent. Hillsdale soils formed in loamy till. Mean annual precipitation ranges from 737 to 940 mm (29 to 37 inches). Mean annual temperature ranges from 7.8 to 11.7 degrees C (46 to 53 degrees F). Frost-free period is 130 to 180 days. Elevation is 177 to 466 meters (580 to 1,530 feet) above mean sea level.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: The somewhat poorly drained Teasdale soils and the poorly drained and very poorly drained Barry soils form a drainage sequence with the Hillsdale soils and are closely associated. The moderately well drained Elmdale, Marlette, and Miami soils are on lower positions on moraines. Oshtemo and Spinks soils are associated on low moraines. Oshtemo soils are at slightly lower elevations and the sandier Spinks soils are commonly at slightly higher elevations.

DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY: Well drained. The potential for surface runoff is negligible to high depending upon the slope. Saturated hydraulic conductivity is moderately high or high. Permeability is moderate.

USE AND VEGETATION: Most areas are cultivated. Corn, small grains, soybeans, and legume-grass hay are the principal crops. Steep areas are in permanent pasture or forest. Wooded areas are in oaks, hickory and maple. Native vegetation is hardwood forest.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: MLRAs 97, 98, and 111 in Michigan and Indiana. The series is of large extent.

SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (SSRO) RESPONSIBLE: Morgantown, West Virginia

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Hillsdale County, Michigan, 1924.

REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon: from the surface to a depth of 36 cm (14 inches) (Ap, EB horizons).
Argillic horizon: from a depth of 36 to 112 cm (14 to 44 inches) (Bt horizon).

ADDITIONAL DATA: Characterization data is available for the typical pedon (S01MI-149-001) from the National Soil Survey Laboratory, Lincoln, NE.

National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.