LOCATION WILLETTE MI+IN NY OH WI

Established Series
Rev. NWS-WEF
08/2012

WILLETTE SERIES

The Willette series consists of very deep, very poorly drained soils formed in organic materials 41 to 130 cm (16 to 51 inches) thick overlying clayey deposits. These soils are in depressions on lake plains, ground moraines, and end moraines. Slope ranges from 0 to 2 percent. Mean annual precipitation is about 813 mm (32 inches), and mean annual temperature is about 9.4 degrees C (49 degrees F).

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Clayey, illitic, euic, mesic Terric Haplosaprists

TYPICAL PEDON: Willette muck, cultivated. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)

Oap--0 to 28 cm (11 inches); black (5YR 2/1) broken face and rubbed muck (sapric material); about 10 percent fiber, estimated 3 percent rubbed; moderate medium granular structure; very friable; many roots; sodium pyrophosphate black (10YR 2/1); neutral [pH 7.0 in water]; abrupt smooth boundary.

Oa1--28 to 61 cm (11 to 24 inches); black (10YR 2/1) broken face and rubbed muck (sapric material); about 15 percent fiber, estimated 3 percent rubbed; moderate medium granular structure; very friable; many roots; sodium pyrophosphate dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2); 5 percent coarse woody fragments; neutral [pH 7.0 in water]; clear wavy boundary.

Oa2--61 to 81 cm (24 to 32 inches); black (10YR 2/1) broken face, very dark brown (10YR 2/2) rubbed muck (sapric material); about 20 percent fiber, estimated 5 percent rubbed, weak medium granular structure; very friable; many roots; sodium pyrophosphate dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2); 8 percent coarse woody fragments; 50 percent mineral; neutral [pH 7.0 in water]; abrupt wavy boundary.

Cg--81 to 152 cm (32 to 60 inches); gray (5Y 5/1) silty clay; massive; common fine prominent light olive brown (2.5Y 5/4) masses of oxidized iron; strongly effervescent; slightly alkaline.

TYPE LOCATION: Lenawee County, Michigan; about 2 miles south of the village of Macon; 1820 feet west and 325 feet north of the southeast corner of sec. 18, T. 5 S., R. 5 E.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Depth to the clayey 2C horizon: typically 51 to 102 cm (20 to 40 inches) but ranges from 41 to 130 cm (16 to 51 inches)
Fiber: derived from both woody and herbaceous material; some pedons have layers within the organic portion of the control section that are dominantly woody fiber
Reaction: moderately acid to slightly alkaline (in 0.01M CaCl2); some subhorizons range to very strongly acid

Surface tier:
Hue: 10YR or is neutral
Value: 2 or 2.5
Chroma: 0 to 2; the chroma of broken faces may differ from rubbed and pressed chroma by one or two units
Organic material: muck (sapric material); some undisturbed pedons may have a thin layer of mucky peat (hemic material)
Fiber volume: after rubbing, less than one-sixth of the total volume
Structure: weak or moderate, fine or medium granular structure
Reaction: moderately acid to slightly alkaline (in 0.01M CaCl2); some subhorizons range to very strongly acid

Subsurface and bottom tiers:
Hue: 5YR to 10YR, or is neutral
Value: 2, 2.5, or 3
Chroma: 0 to 3; the chroma of broken faces may differ from rubbed and pressed chroma by one or two units
Organic material: muck (sapric material)
Structure: weak, fine or medium granular, weak thin to thick platy, weak fine to coarse angular or subangular blocky structure
Reaction: moderately acid to slightly alkaline (in 0.01M CaCl2); some subhorizons range to very strongly acid

A few pedons contain 50 to 60 percent by volume of mineral material in the layer above the Cg horizon. Some pedons have a layer of coprogenous earth (sedimentary peat) as much as 13 cm (5 inches) thick overlying the Cg horizon.

Cg horizon:
Hue: 5YR to 5Y, or is neutral
Value: 3 to 6
Chroma: 0 to 3
Texture: silty clay loam to clay
Clay content: averages more than 35 percent clay
Reaction: strongly acid to moderately alkaline; slightly or strongly effervescent in most pedons

COMPETING SERIES: There are no other series in this family.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Willette soils are on lake plains, ground moraines, and end moraines. They are in former lakes or ponds that range in size from a few acres to several hundred acres. Slope ranges from 0 to 2 percent. The Willette soils formed in organic materials 41 to 130 cm (16 to 51 inches) thick overlying clayey deposits. Mean annual precipitation ranges from 635 to 1016 mm (25 to 40 inches). Mean annual temperature ranges from 8.9 to 10.0 degrees C (48 to 50 degrees F).

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Carlisle, Edwards, Linwood, and Palms soils on similar landscape positions.

DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY: 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 November and May in normal years. Potential for surface runoff is negligible. Saturated hydraulic conductivity is high in the organic materials and moderately low in the clayey material. Permeability is rapid in the organic layers and slow in the clayey material.

USE AND VEGETATION: The greater part of this soil is in natural vegetation of alder, quaking aspen, willow, dogwood, American elm, white ash, red maple, and a few conifers. A few acres are drained and used for pasture and truck crops.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: MLRAs 95A, 95B, 98, 101, 111B, 139, and 142 in the southern part of the lower peninsula of Michigan, New York, Ohio, Indiana, and Wisconsin. The series is of moderate extent.

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

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Sanilac County, Michigan, 1955.

REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Muck (sapric material): from the surface to a depth of 81 cm (32 inches) (Oap, Oa1, Oa2 horizons).
Terric feature: mineral material at a depth of 81 to 152 cm (32 to 60 inches (Cg horizon).

National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.