LOCATION PARKHILL MI

Established Series
Rev. JKC-ESG
05/2017

PARKHILL SERIES

The Parkhill series consists of very deep, poorly drained and very poorly drained soils that are deep to dense till. These soils formed in loamy till overlying loamy dense till. They are on wave-worked till plains, till plains, water-lain moraines, and moraines. Slope ranges from 0 to 2 percent. Mean annual precipitation is about 820 mm, and mean annual temperature is about 9 degrees C.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, mixed, semiactive, nonacid, mesic Mollic Epiaquepts

TYPICAL PEDON: Parkhill loam, on a 1 percent slope in a cultivated field at an elevation of 210 meters. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)

Ap--0 to 23 cm; very dark gray (10YR 3/1) sandy clay loam, grayish brown (10YR 5/2) dry; weak medium subangular blocky structure parting to weak medium granular; friable; many fine and medium roots; about 5 percent gravel; slightly alkaline (pH 7.5); abrupt smooth boundary. (18 to 23 cm thick)

Bg1--23 to 33 cm; dark grayish brown (2.5Y 4/2) clay loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; firm; many fine roots; many distinct very dark gray (10YR 3/1) organic stains on surfaces along root channels; common medium prominent yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) masses of oxidized iron accumulation with clear boundaries throughout; about 3 percent fine and medium gravel; slightly alkaline (pH 7.6); clear wavy boundary.

Bg2--33 to 56 cm; dark grayish brown (2.5Y 4/2) clay loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; firm; common fine roots; common distinct very dark gray (10YR 3/1) organic stains on surfaces along root channels; many faint gray (10YR 5/1) pressure faces on vertical faces of peds; many medium prominent yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) masses of oxidized iron accumulation with clear boundaries throughout; about 3 percent fine and medium gravel; slightly alkaline (pH 7.7); clear wavy boundary. (Combined thickness of the Bg horizons is 20 to 100 cm.)

BCg--56 to 74 cm; grayish brown (2.5Y 5/2) clay loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure parting to massive; firm; few fine roots; many faint gray (10YR 5/1) pressure faces on vertical faces of peds; common fine prominent very dark gray (7.5YR 3/1) masses of iron and manganese accumulation with sharp boundaries throughout; many medium prominent yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) and yellowish brown (10YR 5/8) masses of oxidized iron accumulation with clear boundaries throughout; about 4 percent fine and medium gravel; slightly alkaline (pH 7.7); gradual wavy boundary.

C1--74 to 127 cm; yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) loam; massive; firm; many gray (2.5Y 5/1) vertical fractures throughout; common fine prominent very dark gray (7.5YR 3/1) masses of iron and manganese accumulation with sharp boundaries throughout; many coarse distinct yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) and prominent yellowish brown (10YR 5/8) masses of oxidized iron accumulation with clear boundaries throughout; about 3 percent gravel; slightly effervescent (10 percent calcium carbonate equivalent); moderately alkaline (pH 8.1); gradual wavy boundary.

C2--127 to 145 cm; yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) loam; massive; firm; common gray (2.5Y 5/1) vertical fractures throughout; many coarse distinct yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) and prominent yellowish brown (10YR 5/8) masses of oxidized iron accumulation with clear boundaries throughout; about 4 percent fine and medium gravel; slightly effervescent (15 percent calcium carbonate equivalent); moderately alkaline (pH 8.2); abrupt wavy boundary. (Combined thickness of the C horizons is 25 to 110 cm.)

2Cd--145 to 200 cm; light olive brown (2.5Y 5/4) loam; moderate medium plates of geogenic origin; very firm; about 5 percent fine and medium gravel; strongly effervescent (25 percent calcium carbonate equivalent); moderately alkaline (pH 8.2).

TYPE LOCATION: Gratiot County, Michigan; about 1 mile south of the village of Bannister; 2,640 feet east and 660 feet north of the southwest corner of sec. 34, T. 9 N., R. 1 W., Elba Township; USGS Ovid West, Michigan topographic quadrangle; lat. 43 degrees 7 minutes 8.43 seconds N. and long. 84 degrees 24 minutes 49.38 seconds W., WGS84.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Depth to the base of soil development: 53 to 109 cm.
Depth to carbonates: 53 to 109 cm.
Rock fragment content: 0 to 10 percent throughout the series control section.
Depth to densic contact: 100 to 150 cm.

Ap horizon
Value: 2 or 3.
Chroma: 1 or 2.
Texture: loam, clay loam, silt loam, sandy clay loam or mucky loam.
Reaction (pH): 6.1 to 7.8.
Exchangeable sodium: 0 to 1 percent.

Bg horizon
Hue: 10YR to 5Y.
Value: 4 to 6.
Chroma: 1 or 2.
Texture: loam, silt loam, clay loam, sandy clay loam or silty clay loam.
Reaction (pH): 6.1 to 7.8.
Exchangeable sodium: 0 to 3 percent.

BC horizon
Hue: 10YR or 2.5Y.
Value: 4 or 5.
Chroma: 1 to 4.
Texture: clay loam or loam.
Reaction (pH): 7.4 to 8.4.
Exchangeable sodium: 0 to 3 percent.

Some pedons have Bk horizons with colors and textures similar to those of the C horizon.

C or Cg horizon
Hue: 7.5YR to 5Y.
Value: 4 to 6.
Chroma: 1 to 4.
Texture: clay loam, loam, or silt loam.
Reaction (pH): 7.4 to 8.4.
Exchangeable sodium: 0 to 4 percent.

2Cd horizon
Hue: 10YR to 5Y.
Value: 4 to 6.
Chroma: 1 to 6.
Texture: loam, clay loam, or sandy loam.
Moist bulk density: 1.8 to 2.05 g/cc.
Reaction (pH): 7.4 to 8.4.
Exchangeable sodium: 0 to 3 percent.

COMPETING SERIES: There are no other series in this family. Similar series include the Brookston and Tappan series. Both of these soils have a mollic epipedon. Brookston soils do not have densic materials within the series control section. Tappan soils have carbonates within 25 cm of the soil surface.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: The Parkhill soils formed in loamy till on nearly level areas and depressions on wave-worked till plains, till plains, water-lain moraines, and moraines of Wisconsinan age. Slope ranges from 0 to 2 percent. Mean annual precipitation ranges from 720 to 960 mm. Mean annual air temperature ranges from 7 to 11 degrees C.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Avoca, Corunna, Crosier, Guelph, Miami Poseyville, Selfridge, and Shebeon soils. The well drained Guelph and the somewhat poorly drained Shebeon soils are in a drainage sequence with Parkhill soils. They are the common associates in the northern part of the range of the Parkhill series. The moderately well drained Miami and the somewhat poorly drained Crosier soils are common associates in the southern part of the range. The poorly drained Corunna soils are on similar landform positions and have less than 18 percent clay in the particle size control section. The somewhat poorly drained Avoca, Poseyville, and Selfridge soils are on low knolls and have sandy materials in the upper part of the subsoil.

DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY: Poorly drained and very poorly drained. Depth to the top of a perched seasonal high water table ranges from 15 cm above the surface to 25 cm below the surface between December and April in normal years. The potential for surface runoff is negligible to low. Saturated hydraulic conductivity is moderately high in the surface, moderately low in the subsoil and upper substratum, and very low in the dense substratum.

USE AND VEGETATION: Most areas are cultivated. Corn, small grain, beans, and hay are the principle crops. A small part is in permanent pasture or in woodland. Native vegetation is mixed hardwoods, with American elm, red maple, white ash, hickory, American basswood, and swamp white oak being the principle species.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: MLRAs 96, 97, 98, and 99 in the south-central part of Lower Michigan. These soils are extensive, with about 596,000 acres of the series mapped.

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

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Sanilac County, Michigan, 1955.

REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon include:
Ochric epipedon (mollic intergrade): from the surface to a depth of 23 cm (Ap horizon).
Cambic horizon: from a depth of 23 to 56 cm (Bg1 and Bg2 horizons).
Aquic conditions: redox depletions present in all horizons between the Ap horizon and the densic contact.
Densic contact: at 145 cm (top of the 2Cd horizon).

National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.