LOCATION LAPEER                  MI+WI

Established Series
Rev. RWJ-WEF
11/2021

LAPEER SERIES

The Lapeer series consists of very deep, well drained soils formed in sandy loam till on ground moraines and end moraines. Slope ranges from 0 to 60 percent. Mean annual precipitation is about 813 mm (32 inches), and the mean annual temperature is about 8.9 degrees C (48 degrees).

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

TYPICAL PEDON: Lapeer sandy loam, on a 3 percent slope in a cultivated field. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)

Ap--0 to 20 cm (8 inches); dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) sandy loam; light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) dry; weak coarse granular structure; very friable; many fine and medium roots; slightly acid; abrupt smooth boundary. [15 to 25 cm (6 to 10 inches) thick]

E--20 to 30 cm (8 to 12 inches); brown (10YR 5/3) sandy loam; moderate medium platy structure; friable; many fine roots; 2 percent gravel; slightly acid; clear wavy boundary. [8 to 15 cm (3 to 6 inches) thick]

BE--30 to 38 cm 12 to 15 inches; brown (10YR 4/3) sandy loam; weak fine subangular blocky structure; firm; many fine roots; 2 percent gravel; moderately acid; clear wavy boundary. [0 to 13 cm (5 inches) thick]

Bt1--38 to 61 cm (15 to 24 inches); dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) sandy clay loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; firm; many distinct clay films on faces of peds and in root channels; 2 percent cobbles, 2 percent gravel; many fine roots; moderately acid; gradual wavy boundary.

Bt2--61 to 86 cm (24 to 34 inches); brown (10YR 4/3) sandy loam; moderate coarse subangular blocky structure; firm; few distinct clay films on faces of peds; common fine roots; slightly acid; abrupt wavy boundary. [Combined thickness of the Bt horizon is 36 to 66 cm (14 to 26 inches).]

C--86 to 152 cm (34 to 60 inches); yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) sandy loam; massive; friable; few fine roots; two percent cobbles; 2 percent gravel; strongly effervescent; slightly alkaline.

TYPE LOCATION: Lapeer County, Michigan; about 1 mile south of Almont; 600 feet east and 280 feet south of the northwest corner of sec. 34, T. 6 N., R. 12 E.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Thickness of the solum: 61 to 102 cm (24 to 40 inches)
Depth to carbonates: 61 to 102 cm (24 to 40 inches)
Particle-size control section: averages less than 18 percent clay, but individual subhorizons may contain more than 18 percent clay

Ap horizon:
Hue: 10YR
Value: 4 or 5
Chroma: 2 or 3
Texture: sandy loam, fine sandy loam, loamy fine sand, or silt loam; may be sandy clay loam in severely eroded areas
Rock fragment content: 0 to 10 percent
Reaction: moderately acid or slightly acid

A horizon, where present:
Thickness: 2.5 to 8 cm (1 to 3 inches)
Hue: 10YR
Value: 2 or 3
Chroma: 2,
Texture: sandy loam, fine sandy loam, loamy fine sand, or silt loam
Rock fragment content: 0 to 10 percent
Reaction: moderately acid or slightly acid

E horizon:
Hue: 10YR
Value: 5 or 6
Chroma: 2 or 3
Texture: sandy loam or loam
Rock fragment content: 0 to 10 percent
Reaction: strongly acid to slightly acid

BE horizon:
Hue: 10YR
Value: 4
Chroma: 3 or 4
Rock fragment content: 0 to 10 percent
Reaction: strongly acid to slightly acid

Bt horizon:
Hue: 5YR to 10YR
Value: 4 or 5
Chroma: 3 or 4
Texture: sandy loam, clay loam, or sandy clay loam.
Rock fragment content: 0 to 10 percent
Reaction: moderately acid or slightly acid

C horizon:
Hue: 10YR
Value: 5 or 6
Chroma: 3 or 4
Texture: sandy loam or gravelly sandy loam; pockets of loamy sand or sand are in some pedons
Rock fragment content: 0 to 20 percent

COMPETING SERIES: These are the Boyer and Wyocena series. Boyer soils have sand as the dominant texture in the fine-earth fraction in the lower part of the series control section. Wyocena soils do not have carbonates within a depth of 102 cm (40 inches).

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: The Lapeer soils are on ground moraines and end moraines of Wisconsinan age. Slope gradients are mainly 2 to 12 percent and range from 0 to about 60 percent. Mean annual precipitation ranges from 737 to 940 mm (29 to 37 inches). Mean annual temperature ranges from 7.8 to 9.4 degrees C (46 to 49 degrees F).

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Barry, Dryden, Gilford, Locke, Mussey, Oakville, Spinks, and Wasepi soils. The moderately well drained Dryden soils, the somewhat poorly drained Locke soils, and the poorly drained Barry soils form a common drainage sequence with the Lapeer soils. The sandy Oakville and Spinks soils are on slightly higher parts of some moraines. Small areas of the sandy somewhat poorly drained Wasepi soils and the poorly drained Gilford and Mussey soils are in drainageways in some of the moraines.

DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY: Well drained. Potential for surface runoff ranges from negligible to high, depending upon slope gradient. Saturated hydraulic conductivity is moderately high. Permeability is moderate.

USE AND VEGETATION: Eighty percent or more of the Lapeer soils on slopes of less than 12 percent are under cultivation. Principal crops are corn, small grains, beans, and hay. A large part of the steeper slopes, and a small part of the gentler slopes are in permanent pasture or in woodland. Native vegetation is forest of oaks, shagbark hickory, and sugar maple.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: MLRAs 89, 95B, and 98 in Michigan and Wisconsin. This series is of large extent.

SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (SSRO) RESPONSIBLE: AMHERST, MASSACHUSETTS

SERIES ESTABLISHED: McHenry County, Illinois, 1960.

REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon: from the surface to a depth of 38 cm (15 inches) (Ap, E, and BE horizons).
Argillic horizon: from a depth of 38 to 86 cm (15 to 34 inches) (Bt1 and Bt2 horizons).

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National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.