LOCATION SUNIA WIEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: mixed, frigid Oxyaquic Udipsamments
TYPICAL PEDON: Sunia sandy loam, on a 3 percent slope in a forested area on a stream terrace at an elevation of about 995 feet. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated)
A--0 to 5 inches; very dark brown (10YR 2/2) sandy loam, dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) dry; weak medium granular structure; friable; many fine roots; 2 percent gravel; strongly acid; abrupt smooth boundary. (3 to 5 inches thick)
Bw1--5 to 9 inches; dark yellowish brown (10YR 3/4) sandy loam; weak medium subangular blocky structure; friable; many fine roots; 2 percent gravel; strongly acid; abrupt wavy boundary. (4 to 6 inches thick)
Bw2--9 to 19 inches; dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) loamy sand; weak medium subangular blocky structure; friable; common fine roots; 3 percent gravel; strongly acid; clear wavy boundary. (7 to 9 inches thick)
2BC--19 to 30 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) loamy sand; single grain; loose; few fine roots; about 4 percent gravel; moderately acid; gradual wavy boundary. (5 to 20 inches thick)
2C1--30 to 41 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) stratified sand; single grain; loose; few fine roots; few medium distinct pale brown (10YR 6/3) masses of iron depletion; common fine prominent yellowish red (5YR 4/6) masses of iron accumulation; 6 percent gravel; moderately acid; clear wavy boundary.
2C2--41 to 60 inches; strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) stratified sand; single grain; loose; common medium distinct yellowish red (5YR 4/6) and common medium prominent red (2.5YR 5/8) masses of iron accumulation; 3 percent gravel; moderately acid.
TYPE LOCATION: Menominee County, Wisconsin; about 12 miles north of Keshena; 600 feet west and 1,240 feet south of the northeast corner of section 26, T. 30 N., R. 15 E.; USGS Markton quadrangle; lat. 45 degrees 3' 20" N. and long. 88 degrees 38' 2" W.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: (Unless otherwise stated, depth is measured from the top of the mineral soil.) The loamy mantle ranges from 9 to 11 inches thick. Volume of gravel ranges from 0 to 10 percent in the loamy mantle. Volume of gravel ranges from 5 to 15 percent in the sandy outwash as a weighted average. Volume of cobbles ranges from 0 to 3 percent throughout the pedon. Reaction ranges from very strongly acid to moderately acid in the upper part of the solum and strongly acid to slightly acid in the lower part. Reaction ranges from moderately acid to slightly acid in the substratum. Redox concentrations occur within 40 inches. Saturation occurs at 30 to 40 inches for 1 month or more per year in 6 or more out of 10 years.
Some pedons have a thin O horizon with hue of 7.5YR or 10YR, value of 2 or 3, and chroma of 1 or 2. It is partially decomposed forest litter.
The A horizon has hue of 10YR, value of 2 or 3, and chroma of 1 or 2. It is sandy loam.
Some pedons have a thin E horizon with hue of 10YR, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 2. It is sandy loam or fine sandy loam.
The Bw1 horizon has hue of 7.5YR or 10YR, value of 3 or 4, and chroma of 4. It is sandy loam or fine sandy loam.
The Bw2 horizon has hue of 7.5YR or 10YR, value of 3 or 4, and chroma of 4. It is loamy sand.
The 2BC horizon has hue of 7.5YR or 10YR, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 3 to 6. It is loamy sand, sand or coarse sand.
The 2C horizon has hue of 7.5YR or 10YR, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 3 to 6. Typically, it is stratified gravelly sand to coarse sand.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Crex, Mooers, Pelkie, Tourtillotte and Wurtsmith series. Crex soils do not have a loamy mantle and have more than 50 percent fine sand in the particle size control section. Mooers soils do not have a loamy mantle and have more than 50 percent fine and very fine sand in the lower part of the series control section. Pelkie soils do not have any gravel in the series control section, have an irregular decrease in organic carbon and occur on narrow floodplains along major streams. Tourtillotte soils do not have a loamy mantle, have loamy lacustrine sediments in the lower part of the series control section and have a perched watertable. Wurtsmith soils do not have a loamy mantle.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Sunia soils are on outwash plains, stream terraces, and glaciofluvial fans and in outwash areas on moraines. Slope gradients range from 0 to 3 percent. Sunia soils formed in loamy deposits underlain by sandy outwash. Mean annual precipitation ranges from 28 to 33 inches. Mean annual temperature ranges from 39 to 45 degrees F. The frost free period ranges from about 120 to 135 days. Elevation ranges from 820 to 1,200 feet.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Cromwell, Scott Lake, Wormet, and Wurtsmith soils. The somewhat excessively drained Cromwell soils and somewhat poorly drained Wormet soils form a drainage sequence with the Sunia soils. The moderately well drained Scott Lake soils are on nearby areas where the loamy mantle is 20 to 40 inches thick and a glossic horizon is present. The moderately well drained Wurtsmith soils are on nearby areas where the soil is sandy throughout.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Moderately well drained. Surface runoff is slow. Permeability is moderate or moderately rapid in the loamy mantle and rapid in the sandy outwash. Sunia soils have an apparent seasonal high water table at depths of 2.5 to 3.5 feet for 1 month or more per year at some time during the period of September to June in 6 or more out of 10 years.
USE AND VEGETATION: These soils are mostly in woodland. Timber stands are mostly red maple, northern red oak, eastern white pine, and quaking aspen with white oak, northern pin oak, sugar maple, American beech, American basswood, white ash, and paper birch as associates in most stands. Red pine and black cherry are associates in some stands. A few areas are cleared and used for cropland. Common crops are corn, small grain, and hay. A few areas are used for pastureland.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: North-central Wisconsin;
currently recognized in MLRA K93 on the Mapleview Member of the Horicon Formation of the Green Bay Lobe of Middle Woodfordian age (14,000 - 15,000 BP) of Late Wisconsinian glaciation. The extent is small.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: St. Paul, Minnesota.
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Menominee County, Wisconsin, 1999. Source of the name is a lake in Menominee County.
REMARKS: This series was originally classified as Oxyaquic Dystrudepts but the Bw2 horizon according to the laboratory data was loamy sand rather than sandy loam. In some areas loamy mantle may range more than 11 inches thick.
Diagnostic horizons and other features recognized in this pedon: ochric epipedon - 0 to 5 inches (A); oxyaquic feature - redox features and saturation within a depth of 40 inches
ADDITIONAL DATA: Refer to soil survey number S98WI-078-942 for NSSL data on the typical pedon.