LOCATION SHIAWASSEE              MI

Established Series
Rev. GLK-WEF
08/2012

SHIAWASSEE SERIES

The Shiawassee series consists of very deep, somewhat poorly drained soils that are shallow or moderately deep to dense till on till plains. They formed in loamy outwash overlying loamy till. Slope ranges from 0 to 3 percent. Mean annual precipitation is 762 mm (30 inches), and mean annual temperature is 8.3 degrees C (47 degrees F).

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Coarse-loamy, mixed, semiactive, mesic Aquic Argiudolls

TYPICAL PEDON: Shiawassee gravelly sandy loam, on a south-facing, convex, 2 percent slope in a cultivated field. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)

Ap--0 to 28 cm (11 inches); very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) gravelly sandy loam, grayish brown (10YR 5/2) dry; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; friable; about 30 percent gravel; neutral; abrupt smooth boundary. [20 to 28 cm (8 to 11 inches) thick]

Bt--28 to 69 cm (11 to 27 inches); dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/6) very fine sandy loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; friable; few distinct yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) clay films on lower surfaces of peds; common medium distinct strong brown (7.5YR 5/8) masses of oxidized iron; many coarse distinct brown (10YR 5/3) and common medium prominent light gray (10YR 7/2) iron depletions; few medium irregular iron-manganese concretions; about 5 percent gravel; slightly alkaline; diffuse wavy boundary. [13 to 41 cm (5 to 16 inches) thick]

BC--69 to 86 cm (27 to 34 inches); brown (10YR 5/3) loam; strong medium subangular blocky structure; firm; common medium prominent brownish yellow (10YR 6/8) masses of oxidized iron; few fine prominent greenish gray (5G 6/1) iron depletions; about 10 percent gravel; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline; clear wavy boundary.

Cd--86 to 152 cm (34 to 60 inches); brown (10YR 5/3) loam; strong medium platy fragments; very firm; few fine prominent greenish gray (5G 6/1) iron depletions; common coarse irregular masses of calcium carbonate; about 5 percent gravel; violently effervescent; moderately alkaline.

TYPE LOCATION: Saginaw County, Michigan; 3 miles south and 4-1/2 miles east of the Village of Chesaning; 50 feet north and 1800 feet east of the southwest corner of sec. 32, T. 9 N., R. 4 E.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Thickness of the solum:
Depth to dense till: typically (22 to 36 inches), but ranges from (16 to 40 inches) (see REMARKS)
Reaction: neutral to moderately alkaline in the solum

Ap horizon:
Chroma: 1 or 2
Texture: sandy loam or gravelly sandy loam
Rock fragment content: 5 to 30 percent gravel

Bt horizon:
Hue: 10YR or 2.5Y
Value: 4 or 5
Chroma: 3 to 6
Texture: sandy loam, very fine sandy loam, coarse sandy loam, or loam
Rock fragment content: 5 to 14 percent gravel

BC horizon:
Value: 4 or 5
Chroma: 3 or 4
Texture: loam or very fine sandy loam
Rock fragment content: 5 to 14 percent gravel

Cd horizon:
Hue: 5G, 5Y, or 10YR
Value: 5 or 6
Chroma: 1 to 4
Texture: loam or clay loam
Rock fragment content: 5 to 14 percent gravel

COMPETING SERIES: There are no other series in the same family.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Shiawassee soils are on till plains modified by glacial lake water. Slope ranges from 0 to 3 percent. The Shiawassee soils formed in loamy outwash overlying loamy till. Mean annual precipitation ranges from 737 to 940 mm (29 to 37 inches). Mean annual temperature ranges from 8.3 to 11.1 degrees C (47 to 52 degrees F).

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Boyer, Capac, Matherton, and Wolcott soils. The well drained Boyer soils are on beach ridges. The Capac soils have more clay in the solum and do not have the dense till substratum. The Matherton soils have more sand and gravel in the substratum. The very poorly drained Wolcott soils are lower on the landscape.

DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY: Somewhat poorly drained. Depth to the top of a perched seasonal high water table ranges from 30 to 61 cm (1 to 2 feet) between November and May in normal years. Potential for surface runoff is medium or high. Saturated hydraulic conductivity is high in the solum and low in the Cd horizon. Permeability is moderately rapid in the solum and very slow in the Cd horizon.

USE AND VEGETATION: Most areas are cultivated. Corn, soybeans, edible beans, and small grain are the principal crops. Native vegetation is chiefly red maple, shagbark hickory, American basswood, white ash, and American elm.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: MLRA 99 in lower Michigan. This series is of small extent.

MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: AMHERST, MASSACHUSETTS

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Saginaw County, Michigan, 1991.

REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Mollic epipedon: from the surface to a depth of 28 cm (11 inches) (Ap horizon).
Argillic horizon: from a depth of 28 to 69 cm (11 to 27 inches) (Bt horizon).
Densic contact: at 86 cm (34 inches) (top of the Cd horizon).

Additional investigation of this series is needed to determine the range in depth to the densic contact. The range currently overlaps the shallow family.

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National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.