LOCATION SICKLES                 MI

Established Series
Rev. JEF-WEF
08/2012

SICKLES SERIES

The Sickles series consists of very deep, poorly drained or very poorly drained soils formed in sandy glaciofluvial deposits overlying clayey till or lacustrine deposits on lake plains and ground moraines. Slope ranges from 0 to 2 percent. Mean annual precipitation is about 787 mm (31 inches), and mean annual temperature is about 7.8 degrees C (46 degrees F).

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Sandy over clayey, mixed, semiactive, nonacid, mesic Mollic Epiaquents

TYPICAL PEDON: Sickles loamy sand, on a west-facing, 1 percent slope in a cultivated field. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)

Ap--0 to 23 cm (9 inches); black (10YR 2/1) loamy sand; grayish brown (10YR 5/2) dry; weak fine granular structure; very friable; common fine roots; about 2 percent gravel; neutral; abrupt smooth boundary. [18 to 25 cm (7 to 10 inches) thick]

Cg1--23 to 64 cm (9 to 25 inches); dark gray (10YR 4/1) loamy sand with strata of black (10YR 2/1) organic matter; weak fine subangular blocky fragments; very friable; few fine roots; about 5 percent gravel; neutral; clear wavy boundary. [0 to 46 cm (18 inches) thick]

Cg2--64 to 91 cm (25 to 36 inches); gray (10YR 5/1) sand; single grain; loose; about 5 percent gravel; neutral; gradual wavy boundary. [10 to 56 cm (4 to 22 inches) thick]

2Cg3--91 to 152 cm (36 to 60 inches); gray (10YR 5/1) silty clay; massive; very firm; about 3 percent gravel; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline.

TYPE LOCATION: Gratiot County, Michigan; about 2 1/2 miles east of Ashley; 1900 feet east and 60 feet north of the southwest corner of sec. 3, T. 9 N., R. 1 W.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Depth to the 2C horizon: 51 to 102 cm (20 to 40 inches)
Depth to carbonates: 51 to 102 cm (20 to 40 inches)
Rock fragment content: 0 to 7 percent throughout

Ap horizon:
Hue: 10YR or is neutral
Value: 2, 2.5, or 3
Chroma: 0 to 2
Texture: sand, fine sand, loamy sand, loamy fine sand, sandy loam, or mucky loamy sand
Reaction: moderately acid to neutral

A horizon, where present in undisturbed areas:
Thickness: 15 to 23 cm (6 to 9 inches)

Cg horizon:
Hue: 10YR or 2.5Y
Value: 3 to 6
Chroma: 1 or 2
Texture: sand, fine sand, loamy sand, or loamy fine sand
Reaction: moderately acid to neutral

2Cg or 2C horizon:
Hue: 5YR to 5Y, or is neutral
Value: 5 to 7
Chroma: 0 to 3
Texture: clay, silty clay, or silty clay loam

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

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Sickles soils are on lake plains and ground moraines. Slope ranges from 0 to 2 percent. The Sickles soils formed in sandy glaciofluvial deposits overlying clayey till or lacustrine deposits. Mean annual precipitation ranges from 762 to 813 mm (30 to 32 inches). Mean annual temperature ranges from 7.2 to 8.9 degrees C (45 to 48 degrees F).

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: Sickles soils are associated in the landscape with Arkona, Kingsville, Lenawee, and Toledo soils. The somewhat poorly drained Arkona soils are in a drainage sequence with Sickles soils. Kingsville soils are sandy throughout. Lenawee and Toledo soils do not have the sandy horizons.

DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY: Poorly drained or very poorly drained. Depth to the top of a seasonal high water table ranges from 30 cm (1 foot) above the surface to 30 cm (1 foot) below the surface between December and May in normal years. Potential for surface runoff is negligible. Saturated hydraulic conductivity is very high in the upper sandy part and low in the lower clayey part. Permeability is rapid in the upper sandy part and very slow in the lower clayey part.

USE AND VEGETATION: The greater part of these soils is used to grow corn, soybeans, and small grain. A few areas are used for woodland and pasture. Native vegetation is mixed hardwoods; with American elm, swamp white oak, and red maple the principal species.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: MLRAs 98 and 99 in the southern half of Lower Michigan. This series is of moderate extent.

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

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Gratiot County, Michigan, 1975.

REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon: from the surface to a depth of 23 cm (9 inches) (Ap horizons).
Aquic conditions: matrix color with chroma of 1 in all horizons beneath the ochric epipedon.

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National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.