LOCATION PALMS MI+CT IA IL IN MA MN NY PA VA WIEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy, mixed, euic, mesic Terric Haplosaprists
TYPICAL PEDON: Palms muck, on 1 percent slope under marsh vegetation at an elevation of 648 feet. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)
Oa1--0 to 14 inches; black (10YR 2/1) broken face and rubbed muck (sapric material); about 5 percent fiber, less than 5 percent rubbed; moderate medium granular structure; slightly sticky; about 20 to 25 percent mineral material; slightly acid (pH 6.5 in water); abrupt smooth boundary.
Oa2--14 to 28 inches; black (10YR 2/1) broken face and rubbed muck (sapric material); about 5 percent fiber, less than 5 percent rubbed; massive parting to weak coarse subangular blocky structure; slightly sticky; 10 to 20 percent mineral material; strongly acid (pH 5.5 in water); clear smooth boundary.
Oa3--28 to 35 inches; black (N 2.5/0) rubbed muck (sapric material); about 5 percent fiber, less than 5 percent rubbed; massive; slightly sticky; 10 to 20 percent mineral material; moderately acid (pH 6.0 in water); abrupt smooth boundary. (Combined thickness of the Oa horizon is 16 to 51 inches.)
Cg--35 to 80 inches; gray (10YR 5/1) clay loam; massive; friable; common medium distinct dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) masses of iron oxide accumulation in the matrix; neutral (pH 6.8 in water) in upper part; slightly effervescent, moderately alkaline in lower part.
TYPE LOCATION: Gratiot County, Michigan; north of the flood plain of the Maple River and about 200 feet south of the upland; 1,420 feet south and 820 feet west of the northeast corner of sec. 27, T. 9 N., R. 2 W.; U.S.G.S. Pompeli topographic quadrangle; lat. 43 degrees 8 minutes 31.3 seconds N. and long. 84 degrees 31 minutes 34.7 seconds W., NAD 27; UTM Zone 16, 701165 easting and 4779557 northing, NAD 83.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: The depth to the loamy C horizon ranges from 16 to 51 inches. The organic material is derived primarily from herbaceous plants, but some layers contain as much as 15 percent woody material. Reaction of the organic material ranges from strongly acid to slightly alkaline. Some organic layers contain carbonates.
The surface tier has hue of 10YR to 5YR, or is neutral; value of 2, 2.5, or 3, and chroma of 0 to 2. It is dominantly sapric material; however, some pedons have hemic material. The subsurface and bottom tiers have hue of 10YR to 5YR, or are neutral; value of 2 to 4, and chroma of 0 to 3. Thin layers, less than 10 inches thick, of hemic material are in some pedons. Thin layers, less than 5 inches thick, of fibric material are in some pedons. Some pedons have a thin layer of sedimentary peat above the C horizon. Some pedons have a thin A horizon above the C horizon.
The C or Cg horizon has hue of 10YR to 5Y, 5GY, or is neutral; value of 3 to 7, and chroma of 0 to 4. It is loamy very fine sand, sandy loam, fine sandy loam, loam, silt loam, silty clay loam, clay loam, or sandy clay loam, or the gravelly analogues of these textures. The upper 12 inches of this horizon averages between 10 and 35 percent clay. Some pedons contain thin strata of fine sand, loamy sand, or silt. Reaction ranges from moderately acid to moderately alkaline. Rock fragment content ranges from 0 to 25 percent and fragments range in size from gravel to stones. Some pedons contain carbonates. Sandy substratum, gravelly substratum, and overwash phases are recognized.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Klossner, Linwood, Medo, Natchaug (T), Philbon, and Shalcar series. Similar soils are the Adrian, Carlisle, Cathro, Dawson, Edwards, Houghton, Markey, Tawas, and Willette series. Klossner soils have A horizons directly below the organic matter. Linwood soils formed mainly in woody fibers. Medo soils have less than 10 percent clay in the lower 1/3 of the series control section. Natchaug soils are in areas where the mean annual precipitation is greater than 43 inches. Philbon soils have fibric and hemic material in the upper 12 inches. Shalcar soils have a difference between mean annual summer and mean annual winter temperatures that is less than 26 degrees F. Adrian, Dawson, Markey, and Tawas soils have sandy mineral layers at depths of 16 to 51 inches. In addition, the Dawson, Markey, and Tawas soils have frigid soil temperatures. Carlisle and Houghton soils formed in organic deposits more than 51 inches thick. Cathro soils have frigid soil temperatures. Edwards soils are underlain by marl at depths of 16 to 51 inches. Willette soils have mineral layers that average more than 35 percent clay at depths of 16 to 51 inches.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Palms soils formed herbaceous organic material and the underlying loamy deposits and are in closed depressions on lake plains, till plains, outwash plains, moraines, and hillside seep areas, and on backswamps of flood plains. Slope gradients range from 0 to 6 percent. The soils on nearby uplands are generally loamy. Mean annual temperature ranges from 48 to 53 degrees F., mean annual precipitation ranges from about 30 to 43 inches, frost-free period ranges from 120 to 180 days, and elevation ranges from 580 to 1,530 feet above sea level.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: The Houghton soils are the most common associate and are on similar landform positions. Poorly drained or very poorly drained loamy mineral soils are at the edges of the bogs and are adjacent to Palms soils.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Very poorly drained. The potential runoff for surface runoff is negligible. Permeability is moderately slow to moderately rapid in the organic material, and moderate or moderately slow in the loamy material. The depth to the top of an apparent seasonal high water table ranges from 1 foot above the surface to 1 foot below the surface from November to May in normal years.
USE AND VEGETATION: Most areas of this soil are in marsh vegetation of grasses, reeds, and sedges; and alder, aspen, willow, and dogwood. Some areas have been drained and are used for pasture, corn, and some truck crops.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: MLRAs 95B, 96, 97, 98, 99, 111, and 115, and possibly in 100, 105, 110, 114, and 120 in the southern part of the lower peninsula of Michigan, Wisconsin, northern Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York, Connecticut, and other northeastern states. The soils are of large extent.
MLRA OFFICE RESPONSIBLE: Indianapolis, Indiana.
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Sanilac County, Michigan; 1955.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are: organic material from the surface to 35 inches (Oa1, Oa2, and Oa3 horizons); mineral material at depths from 35 to 80 inches - Terric subgroup.
ADDITIONAL DATA: Lab characterization data is available from the National Soil Survey Laboratory, Lincoln, NE. Transect data (T98MI-057-004) for the typical pedon is on file in MLRA project office, Plymouth, Indiana. Transect shows 70 percent Palms soils and 30 percent Houghton soils.