LOCATION KENT MI

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

KENT SERIES

The Kent series consists of very deep, moderately well drained soils that formed in clayey till on till plains and moraines. Slope ranges from 0 to 12 percent. Mean annual precipitation is about (29 inches), and mean annual temperature is about (44 degrees F).

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine, mixed, semiactive, frigid Oxyaquic Glossudalfs

TYPICAL PEDON: Kent sandy loam, on a southeast-facing, 4 percent slope in a cultivated field. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)

Ap--0 to 23 cm (9 inches); dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) sandy loam, light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) dry; moderate medium granular structure; friable; 3 percent gravel; neutral; abrupt smooth boundary. [13 to 23 cm (5 to 9 inches) thick]

B/E--23 to 36 cm (9 to 14 inches); strong brown (7.5YR 4/6) clay (Bt); occupies about 80 percent of the horizon surrounded by brown (10YR 5/3) sandy loam, very pale brown (10YR 8/2) dry (E) along faces of peds, worm channels, and root channels; weak thin platy structure; friable; 3 percent gravel; neutral; abrupt irregular boundary. [5 to 15 cm (2 to 6 inches) thick]

Bt--36 to 58 cm (14 to 23 inches); dark brown (7.5YR 3/4) clay; strong medium angular blocky structure; very firm; many prominent dark reddish gray (5YR 4/2) clay films on faces of peds; very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) organic stains along root channels; 3 percent gravel; slightly alkaline; abrupt wavy boundary. [15 to 46 cm (6 to 18 inches) thick]

BC--58 to 94 cm (23 to 37 inches); brown (7.5YR 5/4) clay; moderate medium angular blocky structure; very firm; many medium distinct strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) masses of oxidized iron in the matrix; 6 percent gravel; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline; clear wavy boundary. [0 to 38 cm (15 inches) thick]

C--94 to 203 cm (37 to 80 inches); brown (7.5YR 5/4) clay; massive; very firm; many medium distinct strong brown (7.5YR 4/6) masses of oxidized iron in the matrix; 9 percent gravel; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline.

TYPE LOCATION: Ogemaw County, Michigan; about 5 miles southeast of the village of Selkirk; 700 feet east and 400 feet north of the southwest corner of sec. 9, T. 22 N., R. 4 E., Logan Township; USGS Sage Lake, MI 7.5 minutes topographic quadrangle; lat. 44 degrees 18 minutes 25 seconds N. and long. 83 degrees 57 minutes 39 seconds W.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Depth to carbonates: 38 to 76 cm (15 to 30 inches)
Depth to redox concentrations: 51 to 102 cm (20 to 40 inches)
Rock fragment content: 0 to 10 percent gravel and 0 to 2 percent cobbles throughout
Particle-size control section: averages 45 to 60 percent clay and 15 to 30 percent fine and coarser sand
Mean annual soil temperature: 6.1 to 8.3 degrees C (43 to 47 degrees F)

Ap horizon:
Hue: 7.5YR or 10YR
Value: 3 or 4
Chroma: 1 or 2
Texture: silt loam, loam, sandy loam, or fine sandy loam; severely eroded pedons are clay or silty clay
Reaction: moderately acid to neutral

A horizon, where present:
Thickness: 2.5 to 8 cm (1 to 3 inches)
Hue: 10YR
Value: 2
Chroma: 2
Texture: silt loam, loam, sandy loam, or fine sandy loam
Reaction: moderately acid to neutral

E part of the B/E horizon, and E horizon, where present:
Hue: 7.5YR or 10YR
Value: 5 to 7 moist, 7 or 8 dry
Chroma: 2 or 3, moist or dry
Texture: silt loam, loam, sandy loam, or fine sandy loam
Reaction: moderately acid to neutral

Bt part of the B/E horizon and Bt horizon:
Hue: 5YR or 7.5YR
Value: 3 to 5
Chroma: 3 to 6
Texture: clay or silty clay
Reaction: moderately acid to slightly alkaline

C horizon:
Hue: 5YR to 10YR
Value: 4 to 6
Chroma: 3 or 4
Texture: clay or silty clay
Clay content: 45 to 60 percent
Reaction: slightly alkaline or moderately alkaline

COMPETING SERIES: These are the Negwegon and Nester series. Negwegon soils have less than 15 percent fine sand and coarser sand in the argillic horizon. Nester soils have less than 45 percent clay in the argillic horizon.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Kent soils are on till plains and moraines of Wisconsinan age. Slope ranges from 0 to 12 percent. These soils formed in clayey till. Mean annual precipitation ranges from 686 to 838 mm (27 to 33 inches). Mean annual temperature ranges from 6.1 to 7.2 degrees C (43 to 45 degrees F). Frost-free period is 90 to 140 days. Elevation is 183 to 427 meters (600 to 1,400 feet) above mean sea level.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: The somewhat poorly drained Selkirk and the poorly drained Pickford soils are closely associated with the Kent soils in a drainage sequence. Nester and Manistee soils are associated in some places. The Nester soils have less clayey B and C horizons and the well drained Manistee soils are sandy to depth of 61 to 102 cm (24 to 40 inches).

DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY: Moderately well drained. Depth to the top of a perched seasonally high water table ranges from 61 to 107 cm (2.0 to 3.5 feet) between November and May in normal years. Potential for surface runoff is low to medium on the gentler slopes and high on the steeper ones. Saturated hydraulic conductivity is moderately low. Permeability is slow.

USE AND VEGETATION: A large part is cropped to small grains, hay, and corn. A very small acreage is in apple orchards. Some areas are in permanent pasture or forests. Common trees are chiefly sugar maple, American beech, American elm, and some eastern hemlock and eastern white pine.

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

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

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Muskegon County, Michigan, 1924.

REMARKS: The well drained phase of the series is no longer within the series concept. The Hottis series is the well drained phase.

Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon: from the surface to a depth of 23 cm (9 inches) (Ap horizon).
Glossic horizon: from a depth of 23 to 36 cm (9 to 14 inches) (B/E horizon).
Argillic horizon: from a depth of 23 to 58 cm (9 to 23 inches) (Bt part of the B/E and Bt horizons).
Oxyaquic feature: saturation with water in the zone from 58 to 152 cm (23 to 60 inches) (BC and C horizons) for at least one month in most years.

National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.