LOCATION SIMS MI

Established Series
Rev. LWB-EPW-TWH
08/2012

SIMS SERIES

The Sims series consists of very deep, poorly drained or very poorly drained soils that formed in clayey till on till plains and ground moraines. Slope ranges from 0 to 2 percent. Mean annual precipitation is about 762 mm (30 inches), and mean annual temperature is about 6.7 degrees C (44 degrees F).

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine, mixed, semiactive, nonacid, frigid Mollic Epiaquepts

TYPICAL PEDON: Sims clay loam, on a 1 percent slope in a cultivated field. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)

Ap--0 to 18 cm (7 inches); black (10YR 2/1) clay loam, dark gray (10YR 4/1) dry; moderate medium granular structure; firm; slightly acid; abrupt smooth boundary. [15 to 23 cm (6 to 9 inches) thick]

Bg1--18 to 38 cm (7 to 15 inches); light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) clay loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; firm; few medium distinct yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) masses of oxidized iron in the matrix; slightly acid; gradual wavy boundary.

Bg2--38 to 81 cm (15 to 32 inches); light gray (10YR 7/1) silty clay loam; moderate medium angular blocky structure; firm; many coarse distinct yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) and dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) masses of oxidized iron in the matrix; neutral; clear wavy boundary. [Combined thickness of the Bg horizon is 25 to 84 cm (10 to 33 inches).]

Cg--81 to 152 cm (32 to 60 inches); light gray (10YR 7/1) clay loam; weak coarse subangular blocky fragments inherent from till; firm; many coarse distinct yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) and brown (10YR 5/3) masses of oxidized iron in the matrix; slightly effervescent; slightly alkaline.

TYPE LOCATION: Arenac County, Michigan; about 2 miles southeast of Standish; 1,900 feet west and 540 feet south of the northeast corner of sec. 24, T. 18 N., R. 4 E.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Depth to the base of the cambic horizon: 51 to 125 cm (20 to 50 inches)
Depth to carbonates: 51 to 125 cm (20 to 50 inches)
Rock fragment content: 0 to 10 percent gravel 0 to 3 percent cobbles throughout
Particle-size control section: averages 35 to 40 percent clay and 15 to 40 percent sand
Mean annual soil temperature: 6.7 to 8.3 degrees C (44 to 47 degrees F)

Ap horizon:
Hue: 7.5YR or 10YR
Value: 2 or 3, 4 or 5 dry
Chroma: 1 or 2, moist or dry
Texture: clay loam, silty clay loam, loam, sandy loam, or loamy sand
Reaction: slightly acid to slightly alkaline

Some pedons have an A horizon.

Bg horizon:
Hue: 10YR to 5Y
Value: 4 to 7
Chroma: 1 or 2
Texture: clay loam, silty clay loam, silty clay, or clay
Clay content: 35 to 45 percent
Reaction: slightly acid to slightly alkaline

Cg horizon:
Hue: 5YR to 5Y
Value: 5 to 7
Chroma: 1 or 2 in the upper part; 1 to 6 in the lower part
Texture: clay loam or silty clay loam
Clay content: 35 to 40 percent
Reaction: slightly alkaline or moderately alkaline

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

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Sims soils are on till plains and on the smoother parts of low ground moraines. Slope ranges from 0 to 2 percent. These soils formed in clayey till. Mean annual precipitation ranges from 686 to 838 mm (27 to 33 inches). Mean annual temperature ranges from 5.6 to 7.2 degrees C (42 to 45 degrees F). Frost-free period is 70 to 140 days. Elevation is 183 to 488 meters (600 to 1,600 feet) above mean sea level.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Brevort, Kawkawlin, and Nester soils. The Brevort soils are sandier and less clayey in the upper part. The somewhat poorly drained Kawkawlin soils have an argillic horizon and are in slightly higher landscape positions. The moderately well drained Nester soils have an argillic horizon, do not have aquic conditions, and are on higher landscape positions.

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

USE AND VEGETATION: A small part, mostly in southern part of the range of the series, is cropped to sugar beets, beans, small grain, and hay. A major part, mostly in the northern part of the range of the series, is in permanent pasture, idle cropland, or forests of quaking and bigtooth aspen, balsam fir, northern white cedar, or white ash.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: MLRAs 94A, 96, and 98 in the northern part of the lower peninsula of Michigan. The series is of large extent.

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

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Montcalm County, Michigan, 1956.

REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon (mollic intergrade): from the surface to a depth of 18 cm (7 inches) (Ap horizon).
Cambic horizon: from a depth of 18 to 81 cm (7 to 32 inches) (Bg1 and Bg2 horizons).
Aquic conditions: reduced matrix color and redoximorphic features present in all horizons below the ochric epipedon.

ADDITIONAL DATA: Soil Interpretations Record: MI0093.

National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.