LOCATION MATHERTON MI+IN WI

Established Series
Rev. NWS-LWB-WEF
11/2021

MATHERTON SERIES

The Matherton series consists of very deep, somewhat poorly drained soils formed in loamy glaciofluvial material over gravelly or sandy outwash on outwash plains, valley trains, and stream terraces on terrace landscapes. Slope ranges from 0 to 6 percent. Mean annual precipitation is about 813 mm (32 inches), and mean annual temperature is about 8.9 degrees C (48 degrees F).

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy over sandy or sandy-skeletal, mixed, superactive, mesic Udollic Endoaqualfs

TYPICAL PEDON: Matherton sandy loam, on a concave, 2 percent slope in a cultivated field at an elevation of 222 meters (727 feet). (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)

Ap--0 to 20 cm (8 inches); very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) sandy loam, grayish brown (10YR 5/2) dry, weak medium granular structure; slightly acid; abrupt smooth boundary. [15 to 25 cm (6 to 10 inches) thick]

Eg--20 to 28 cm (8 to 11 inches); grayish brown (10YR 5/2) sandy loam; weak coarse granular structure; friable; few fine distinct yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) masses of oxidized iron; slightly acid; clear wavy boundary. [0 to 18 cm (7 inches) thick]

Bt--28 to 48 cm (11 to 19 inches); brown (10YR 5/3) sandy clay loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; firm; common thin grayish brown (10YR 5/2) clay films on faces of peds; common medium faint olive brown (2.5Y 4/4) masses of oxidized iron; slightly acid; clear wavy boundary.

Btg--48 to 89 cm (19 to 35 inches); grayish brown (10YR 5/2) gravelly clay loam; weak medium subangular blocky structure; firm; common thin clay films on faces of peds; about 20 percent gravel; neutral; abrupt irregular boundary. [Combined thickness of the Bt horizon is 20 to 71 cm (8 to 28 inches).]

2Cg--89 to 152 cm (35 to 60 inches); light gray (10YR 7/1) very gravelly sand; single grain; loose; about 50 percent gravel; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline.

TYPE LOCATION: Shiawassee County, Michigan; about 2 miles northwest of Carland; 1,630 feet west and 400 feet north of the southeast corner of sec. 21, T. 8 N., R. 1 E.; USGS Ovid East, MI topographic quadrangle; lat. 43 degrees 4 minutes 18.3 seconds N. and long. 84 degrees 20 minutes 59.7 seconds W., NAD 27; UTM Zone 16, 715761 easting and 4772193 northing, NAD 83.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Thickness of the solum: 61 to 102 cm (24 to 40 inches)

Ap, A horizon:
Thickness: where present, the A horizon is 2 to 10 cm thick
Hue: 10YR
Value: 2 or 3
Chroma: 1 to 3
Texture: sandy loam, loam, or silt loam, or the gravelly analogues of these textures
Rock fragment content: 0 to 15 percent gravel
Reaction: moderately acid to neutral

E horizon:
Hue: 10YR
Value: 5 or 6
Chroma: 2
Texture: sandy loam, loam, or silt loam, or the gravelly analogues of these textures
Rock fragment content: 0 to 15 percent gravel
Reaction: strongly acid to neutral

Bt horizon:
Hue: 7.5YR to 2.5Y
Value: 4 to 6
Chroma: 2 to 4
Texture: sandy clay loam, clay loam, or loam, or the gravelly analogues of these textures; some pedons have thin subhorizons of fine sandy loam or sandy loam
Rock fragment content: 2 to 30 percent gravel
Reaction: moderately acid to neutral, but may be strongly acid in the upper part

2Bt horizon, where present:
Hue: 10YR or 2.5Y
Values: 4 to 6
Chroma: 2 to 4
Texture: loamy sand, loamy coarse sand, or sandy loam, or the gravelly analogues of these textures
Rock fragment content: 2 to 30 percent gravel
Reaction: moderately acid to neutral

2C horizon:
Hue: 7.5YR to 2.5Y
Value: 4 to 7
Chroma: 1 to 4
Texture: commonly gravelly sand, gravelly coarse sand, very gravelly sand, or stratified sand and gravelly sand, but the range includes fine sand or sand
Rock fragment content: 1 to 59 percent gravel
Reaction: slightly alkaline or moderately alkaline

Silty clay loam, clay loam, silty clay, or clay lacustrine material is below 102 cm (40 inches) in some pedons.

COMPETING SERIES: There are no other series in this family. Similar soils are the Brady, Homer, Ionia, and Wasepi series. Brady and Wasepi soils have a coarse-loamy particle-size class. Homer soils have moist color value of more than 3 in the A horizon. Ionia soils do not have low chroma redox depletions within the upper 25 cm (10 inches) of the argillic horizon.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Matherton soils are on outwash plains, valley trains, and stream terraces on terrace landscapes. Slope ranges from 0 to 6 percent. Matherton soils formed in loamy glaciofluvial material over gravelly or sandy outwash. Mean annual precipitation ranges from 711 to 914 mm (28 to 36 inches). Mean annual temperature ranges from 8.3 to 10.0 degrees C (47 to 50 degrees F). Frost-free period is 120 to 180 days. Elevation is 177 to 396 meters (580 to 1,300 feet) above mean sea level.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Brady, Fox, Gilford, Homer, Ionia, Sebewa and Wasepi soils. The well drained Fox soils, the moderately well drained Ionia soils, and the very poorly drained or poorly drained Sebewa soils are in a drainage sequence with the Matherton soils. The very poorly drained or poorly drained Gilford soils have a mollic epipedon.

DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY: Somewhat poorly drained. The depth to the seasonal high water table ranges from 30 to 61 cm (1 to 2 feet) below the surface for some time in normal years. The potential for surface runoff is negligible to medium. Saturated hydraulic conductivity is moderately high in the loamy material and high or very high in the underlying material. Permeability is moderate in the loamy material and rapid or very rapid in the underlying material.

USE AND VEGETATION: Most areas are cultivated. Corn, beans, small grains, and hay are the principal crops. A small part is in permanent pasture or forest. Native vegetation is forest of red maple, American elm, white ash, swamp white oak, American basswood, and hickory.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: MLRAs 95A, 95B, 97, 98, 110, 111B, and 111C in southern Michigan, northern Indiana, eastern Wisconsin, and northeastern Illinois. The series is of moderate 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 20 cm (8 inches) (Ap horizon).
Albic horizon: from a depth of 20 to 28 cm (8 to 11 inches) (Eg horizon).
Argillic horizon: from a depth of 28 to 89 cm (11 to 35 inches) (Bt, Btg horizons).
Aquic conditions: redoximorphic features present in all horizons below the surface horizon.

ADDITIONAL DATA: Lab characterization data is available from the National Soil Survey Laboratory, Lincoln, NE.

National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.