LOCATION GRAYCALM MI+MN WIEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Mixed, frigid Lamellic Udipsamments
TYPICAL PEDON: Graycalm sand - on a 1 percent slope on an outwash plain in a forested area. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)
A--0 to 3 inches; very dark brown (10YR 2/2) sand, very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) dry; moderate medium granular structure; very friable; many fine roots; very strongly acid; clear wavy boundary. (1 to 5 inches thick)
Bw1--3 to 6 inches; brown (7.5YR 4/4) sand; weak fine granular structure; very friable; common fine roots; strongly acid; clear irregular boundary. (3 to 12 inches thick)
Bw2--6 to 13 inches; strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) sand; weak fine granular structure; very friable; few fine roots; moderately acid; gradual wavy boundary. (0 to 12 inches thick)
Bw3--13 to 22 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) sand; single grain; loose; few fine roots; slightly acid; gradual wavy boundary. (0 to 10 inches thick)
E--22 to 35 inches; light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) sand; single grain; loose; very few fine roots; slightly acid; abrupt broken boundary. (0 to 25 inches thick)
E and Bt--35 to 60 inches; light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) sand (E); single grain; loose; lamellae of brown (7.5YR 5/4) and reddish brown (5YR 5/4) loamy sand (Bt); weak very fine to medium subangular blocky structure; friable; lamellae are 1/4 to 2 inches in thickness with a total accumulation of 5 inches; about 5 percent gravel; slightly acid.
TYPE LOCATION: Clare County, Michigan; about 2310 feet west and 700 feet north of the southeast corner of sec. 6, T. 20 N., R. 4 W., Frost Township; USGS Cooperton, Michigan topographic quadrangle; lat. 44 degrees 8 minutes 55 seconds N. and long. 84 degrees 50 minutes 17 seconds W., NAD 27.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Depth to the first lamella ranges from 25 to 48 inches. Depth to calcium carbonates is 50 to greater than 80 inches. Gravel content is 0 to 14 percent and cobble content is 0 to 3 percent throughout the pedon. The series control section (0 to 60 inches) averages from 20 to 50 percent fine sand and very fine sand. Mean annual soil temperature is 40 to 47 degrees F. The typifying pedon has an average sand distribution of about 55 percent medium sand, 26 percent fine sand, 16 percent coarse sand, 2 percent very coarse sand, and 1 percent very fine sand.
The A horizon has hue of 10YR or 7.5YR value of 2 to 4, and chroma of 1 to 3. In cultivated areas, the Ap horizon has hue of 10YR or 7.5YR, value of 3 or 4 and chroma of 2 or 3. Texture is sand, loamy sand, or loamy coarse sand. Reaction is extremely acid to slightly acid.
Some pedons have an E horizon above the B horizon, 1 to 4 inches thick. It has hue of 10YR or 7.5YR, value of 5 to 7, and chroma of 1 to 3. Texture is sand, loamy sand, or loamy coarse sand. Reaction is extremely acid to slightly acid.
The Bw horizons have hue of 7.5YR or 10YR, value of 3 to 7, and chroma of 4 to 8. Texture is sand or loamy sand. Content of acid-oxalate extractable Al plus 1/2 Fe is .10 to .25 percent. Reaction is extremely acid to neutral.
The E horizon below the B horizon and the E part of the E and Bt horizon have hue of 5YR, 7.5YR, or 10YR; value of 5 to 7; and chroma of 2 to 6. Texture is sand or loamy sand. Some pedons do not have an individual E horizon.
The Bt part of the E and Bt horizon consists of lamellae 1/16 to 3 inches thick. The total accumulation within a depth of 60 inches is less than 6 inches. The Bt horizon has hue of 10YR to 5YR, value of 3 to 6, and chroma of 4 to 6. Texture is loamy sand, sandy loam, sand or fine sandy loam. Reaction of the E horizon and E and Bt horizon is extremely acid to neutral.
Some pedons have a C horizon with hue of to 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 5 to 7, chroma of 2 to 6. Texture is sand or coarse sand. Some pedons have thin bands of loamy sand, loamy fine sand, or fine sand 1/16 to 1 inch thick. These bands have hue of 7.5YR or 5YR, and value and chroma of 4 to 6. Reaction ranges from moderately acid to moderately alkaline.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Gerrish and Sissabagama series. Other similar soils are Eagleview(T), Faunce and Zimmerman. Eagleview and Faunce soils have calcium carbonates in the upper parts of the control section. Gerrish soils contain 15 to 35 percent gravel. Sissahagama soils have stratified sediments in the lower parts of the particle-size control section. Zimmerman soils contain more than 50 percent fine sand and very fine sand in the particle size control section.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Graycalm soils are on moraines, kames, stream terraces and outwash plains of Wisconsinan Age. These soils formed in sandy glacial material. Slopes are 0 to 70 percent. Elevations are 600 to 1,300 feet. Mean annual precipitation is 25 to 32 inches. The mean annual temperature is 38 to 47 degrees F. The frost free period is 90 to 140 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Au Gres, Grayling, Menahga, Montcalm, Roscommon, and Rubicon soils. Grayling and Menahga soils are more droughty and are on outwash plains and lake plains. Rubicon soils have spodic horizons and are on landscape positions similar to those of Graycalm soils. Montcalm soils have an argillic horizon and are on till plains and moraines. The somewhat poorly drained Au Gres soils and poorly drained Roscommon soils have zones of aquic conditions and may be in a drainage sequence with the Graycalm soils.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Somewhat excessively drained. The potential for surface runoff is negligible to low depending on slope. Permeability is rapid.
USE AND VEGETATION: A large part is in forestland. Forest vegetation consists chiefly of northern red oak with some white pine in the southern extent of the soil, and jack pine and scrub oak in the northern extent. A small part is cropped to small grains, corn, or hay.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Central and northern part of Lower Michigan, the north-central part of Minnesota and in the northern part of Wisconsin. This series is of large extent.
MLRA OFFICE RESPONSIBLE: Indianapolis, Indiana
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Clare County, Michigan, 1977.
REMARKS: This revision updates the classification from mixed, frigid, Argic Udipsamments to the present 8th Ed. Soil Taxomony.
Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon - from the surface to a depth of 3 inches (A horizon).
Particle-size control section - the zone from 10 to 40 inches (part of the Bw2, the Bw3, E, and part of the E and Bt horizon). Lamellic feature - 5 inch cumulative thickness of lamellae in the 35 to 60 inch layer (E and Bt horizon). Within 80 inches, total lamellae thickness is less than 6 inches.
The moderately well drained phase is no longer within the series concept.
ADDITIONAL DATA: For laboratory data of the Graycalm series, refer to S74MI-35-1 (74B425-74B431) , S74MI-35-2 (74B432-436), S74MI-35-4 (74B445-74B452), Beltsville Lab; and S84MI-129-006, Michigan Technological University Soil Lab.