LOCATION RICHFORD WIEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy, mixed, superactive, mesic Arenic Hapludalfs
TYPICAL PEDON: Richford loamy sand - on a 2 percent slope in a cultivated field at an elevation of about 1090 feet. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)
Ap--0 to 7 inches; dark brown (10YR 3/3) loamy sand, brown (10YR 5/3) dry; weak medium granular structure; very friable; common fine roots; neutral; abrupt smooth boundary. (6 to 9 inches thick)
Bw1--7 to 15 inches; brown (7.5YR 4/4) loamy sand; weak medium subangular blocky structure; very friable; few fine roots; slightly acid; gradual wavy boundary.
Bw2--15 to 25 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) loamy sand; weak medium subangular blocky structure; very friable; few fine roots; about 10 percent gravel; slightly acid; gradual wavy boundary.
Bw3--25 to 27 inches; brown (10YR 4/3) loamy sand; weak medium subangular blocky structure; very friable; few fine roots; about 10 percent gravel; slightly acid; abrupt wavy boundary. (Combined thickness of the Bw horizons ranges from 14 to 34 inches.)
Bt1--27 to 34 inches; brown (7.5YR 4/4) sandy loam; weak medium subangular blocky structure; friable; many prominent clay films on vertical and horizontal faces of peds; about 10 percent gravel; moderately acid; clear wavy boundary. (3 to 8 inches thick)
Bt2--34 to 41 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) loamy sand; weak coarse subangular blocky structure; very friable; weak clay bridging of sand grains; about 10 percent gravel; strongly acid; gradual wavy boundary. (3 to 11 inches thick)
C--41 to 60 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) sand; single grained; loose; about 12 percent gravel; neutral.
TYPE LOCATION: Portage County, Wisconsin; about 1 mile southeast of Plover; 50 feet north and 2620 feet east of the southwest corner of sec. 26, T. 23 N., R. 8 E. USGS Whiting Wis. Quad. Latitude 44 degrees 26 minutes 22 seconds N. Longitude 89 degrees 31 minutes 07 seconds W. NAD 27.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Thickness of the sandy mantle and depth to the top of the argillic horizon ranges from 20 to 40 inches. Depth to the base of soil development ranges from 30 to 50 inches. Volume of gravel ranges from 0 to 15 percent in the sandy mantle and from 0 to 30 percent in the Bt and C horizons. Volume of cobbles ranges from 0 to 8 percent throughout. Reaction ranges from very strongly acid to neutral throughout the soil. Carbonates are absent to a depth of 60 inches or more. The argillic horizon averages between 6 and 12 percent clay and between 75 and 85 percent fine sand or coarser.
The Ap or A horizon has hue of 10YR, and value and chroma of 1 to 3. Texture is loamy sand or loamy fine sand.
The Bw horizon has hue of 7.5YR or 10YR, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 3 or 4. Texture is typically loamy sand, but in some pedons it is sand.
The Bt1 horizon has hue of 7.5YR or 10YR, value of 4 or 5, and chroma of 4 to 6. Texture is sandy loam or fine sandy loam.
The Bt2 horizon has hue of 7.5YR or 10YR, value of 4 or 5, and chroma of 4 to 6. Texture is loamy sand or gravelly loamy sand.
The C horizon has hue of 7.5YR or 10YR, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 3 to 6. Texture is sand or gravelly sand.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Gillingham and Rohrbeck series. The Gillingham soils have a paralithic contact with glauconitic sandstone at depths of 40 to 60 inches. Rohrbeck soils have carbonates at depths of 30 to 50 inches.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Richford soils are typically on stream terraces and outwash plains, but in some places they are on valley slopes. Slopes range from 0 to 20 percent. These soils formed in sandy and loamy outwash. Mean annual precipitation ranges from 28 to 33 inches. Mean annual air temperature ranges from 46 to 48 degrees F.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Pearl, Plainfield and Leola soils. Pearl soils are on slightly lower landscape positions. Plainfield soils are nearby on similar landscape positions. Leola soils are on drainageways and depressions and are saturated throughout at some time during the year.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained and somewhat excessively drained. The potential for surface runoff ranges from negligible to medium. Permeability is rapid in the sandy layers and moderately rapid in the loamy layer.
USE AND VEGETATION: Most areas are used for cropland. Common crops are corn, small grains, and hay. Native vegetation is a mixture of grasses and deciduous and coniferous trees.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Central sand area of Wisconsin in Adams, Green Lake, Portage, Waupaca, and Waushara Counties. These soils are extensive.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: St. Paul, Minnesota
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Portage County, Wisconsin, 1972.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are: ochric epipedon - 0 to 7 inches (Ap); argillic horizon - 27 to 41 inches (Bt1, Bt2) Arenic feature sandy texture throughout a layer extending from the mineral soil surface to the top of the argillic horizon at adepth of 50 cm or more below the mineral soil surface.