LOCATION PERT MI
Established Series
Rev. LWB-WEF
08/2012
PERT SERIES
The Pert series consists of very deep, somewhat poorly drained soils formed in till on ground moraines. Slope ranges from 0 to 5 percent. Mean annual precipitation is about 762 mm (30 inches), and mean annual temperature is about 8.9 degrees C (48 degrees F).
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine, illitic, mesic Aquic Hapludalfs
TYPICAL PEDON: Pert loam, in a cultivated field. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)
Ap--0 to 18 cm (7 inches); dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) loam, light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) dry; weak medium granular structure; friable; neutral; abrupt smooth boundary. [16 to 23 cm (6 to 9 inches) thick]
Bt--18 to 43 cm (7 to 17 inches); brown (10YR 4/3) clay; weak fine prismatic structure parting to moderate fine and medium angular blocky; firm; about 10 percent of the grayish brown (10YR 5/2) coatings are silt and very fine sand on faces of peds; common clay films on vertical faces of peds; common fine faint grayish brown (10YR 5/2), distinct gray (10YR 5/1), and faint dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) iron depletions; neutral; abrupt wavy boundary. [10 to 43 cm (4 to 17 inches) thick]
Cg1--43 to 61 cm (17 to 24 inches); grayish brown (10YR 5/2) silty clay loam; weak medium prismatic fragments parting to weak fine and medium angular blocky; firm; few clay films on vertical faces of peds; many fine faint gray (10YR 5/1) and light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) iron depletions; many fine distinct dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) masses of oxidized iron; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline; gradual wavy boundary. [0 to 25 cm (10 inches) thick]
Cg2--61 to 158 cm (24 to 62 inches); grayish brown (10YR 5/2) silty clay loam; weak thick platy fragments that grades to massive with depth; firm; few clay films along vertical faces of peds and root channels; many fine prominent yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) masses of oxidized iron; many fine faint dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) and light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) iron depletions; many light gray (10YR 7/1) spots and streaks of secondary carbonates; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline.
TYPE LOCATION: St. Clair County, Michigan, about 1 1/2 miles northeast of the village of Ruby; 1,320 feet north and 300 feet east of southwest corner of sec. 10, T. 7 N., R. 16 E.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Thickness of the solum: 30 to 61 cm (12 to 25 inches)
Reaction: slightly acid or neutral in the upper part of the solum and neutral or slightly alkaline in the lower part
Rock fragment content: 0 to 12 percent gravel throughout
A horizon, where present;
Thickness: 0 to 5 inches
Hue: 10YR
Value: 2 or 3
Chroma: 1 or 2
Texture: dominantly loam or silt loam, but are clay loam or silty clay loam in some pedons
Ap horizon, where present:
Chroma: 2 or 3
Texture: dominantly loam or silt loam, but are clay loam or silty clay loam in some pedons
Bt horizon:
Hue: 7.5YR or 10YR
Chroma: 2 to 4
Texture: clay, clay loam, or silty clay loam
Clay content: averages 35 to 45 percent
C or Cg horizon:
Chroma: 2 to 4
Texture: clay loam or silty clay loam
COMPETING SERIES: These are the
Cardington,
Ellsworth,
Geeburg,
Glynwood,
Mortimer,
Shinrock, and
Wyatt series. Cardington, Ellsworth, Glynwood, Mortimer, and Wyatt soils have sola thicker than 64 cm (25 inches). Geeburg soils average more than 45 percent clay in the argillic horizon. Shinrock soils have stratification in the lower part of the series control section.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Pert soils are on ground moraines. Slope gradients dominantly are 1 to 3 percent but range from 0 to 5 percent. Mean annual precipitation ranges from 711 to 787 mm (28 to 31 inches). Mean annual temperature ranges from 7.2 to 11.7 degrees C (45 to 53 degrees F).
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the
Boyer,
Metea,
Morley,
Wasepi,
Wixom, and
Ziegenfuss soils. The poorly drained Ziegenfuss soils and the moderately well drained Morley soils are commonly found in a drainage sequence with the Pert soils. The well drained Metea and the somewhat poorly drained Wixom soils are the main sandy associates in areas where there are sand smears over the till. Low ridges and mound-like areas of the well drained Boyer and somewhat poorly drained Wasepi soils are common associates where Pert soils border old glacial drainage channels and lakes.
DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY: Somewhat poorly drained. Potential for surface runoff is medium or high depending on the slope gradient. Saturated hydraulic conductivity is moderately low. Permeability is slow.
USE AND VEGETATION: Most areas of Pert soils have been cleared and cropped to corn, beans, sugar beets, small grain, and hay. Some small woodlots remain in second growth cover of eastern white pine, northern red oak, red maple, quaking aspen, and paper birch. Very few areas are used for permanent pasture. Native vegetation is mixed northern hardwoods and white pine.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: MLRAs 98 and 99 in central and eastern Michigan. The series is of moderate extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: AMHERST, MASSACHUSETTS
SERIES ESTABLISHED: St. Clair County, Michigan, 1969.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and other features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon: from the surface to a depth of 18 cm (7 inches) (Ap horizon).
Argillic horizon: from a depth of 18 to 43 cm (7 to 17 inches) (Bt horizon).
Aquic conditions: redoximorphic features present in all horizons beneath the ochric epipedon.
National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.