LOCATION SEBEWA MI+IN WIEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy over sandy or sandy-skeletal, mixed, superactive, mesic Typic Argiaquolls
TYPICAL PEDON: Sebewa loam, on a 1 percent slope in a cultivated field at an elevation of 855 feet. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)
Ap--0 to 11 inches; dark brown (10YR 3/3) loam, gray (10YR 5/1) dry; moderate medium granular structure; friable; neutral; abrupt smooth boundary. (8 to 15 inches thick)
Bg--11 to 14 inches; dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) loam; moderate medium granular structure; friable; very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) root channel fillings; few fine faint gray (10YR 5/1) iron depletions; neutral; clear wavy boundary. (0 to 6 inches thick)
Btg1--14 to 19 inches; gray (10YR 5/1) sandy clay loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; firm; few distinct dark gray (10YR 4/1) clay films on faces of peds; few fine roots; common medium prominent yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) and few medium prominent olive brown (2.5Y 4/4) masses of iron oxide accumulation in the matrix; slightly alkaline; gradual wavy boundary.
Btg2--19 to 31 inches; gray (10YR 5/1) clay loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; firm; few distinct dark gray (10YR 4/1) clay films on faces of peds; common medium prominent strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) and few fine prominent light olive brown (2.5Y 5/4) masses of iron oxide accumulation in the matrix; slightly alkaline; abrupt wavy boundary.
Btg3--31 to 36 inches; gray (10YR 5/1) gravelly clay loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; firm; very few faint gray (10YR 5/1) clay films on faces of peds; common medium prominent yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) masses of iron oxide accumulation in the matrix; about 15 percent gravel; slightly alkaline; abrupt irregular boundary. (Combined thickness of the Btg horizon is 8 to 29 inches.)
2Cg--36 to 80 inches; gray (10YR 5/1) gravelly sand; single grain; loose; about 15 percent gravel; strongly effervescent; slightly alkaline.
TYPE LOCATION: Eaton County, Michigan; about 3 miles east of Charlotte; 100 feet south and 700 feet west of the northeast corner of sec. 9, T. 2 N., R. 5 W.; U.S.G.S. Chester topographic quadrangle; lat. 42 degrees 34 minutes 56.56 seconds N. and long. 84 degrees 53 minutes 51.48 seconds W., NAD 27; UTM Zone 16, 672150 easting and 4731393 northing, NAD 83.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Depth to the base of the argillic horizon ranges from 20 to 40 inches. Depth to carbonates ranges from 18 to 36 inches.
The A or Ap horizon has hue of 10YR to 5Y, value of 2, 2.5, or 3, and chroma of 1 to 3. It is loam, mucky loam, fine sandy loam, silt loam, clay loam, silty clay loam, sandy loam, or sandy clay loam. Rock fragment content ranges from 0 to 14 percent. Reaction ranges from slightly acid to slightly alkaline.
Some pedons do not have a Bg horizon. The Btg horizon has hue of 10YR to 5Y, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 1 or 2. It is sandy clay loam, loam, clay loam, or gravelly clay loam. Rock fragment content ranges from 3 to 25 percent. Reaction ranges from slightly acid to slightly alkaline.
The 2Cg or 2C horizon has hue of 10YR to 5Y, value of 5 or 6, and chroma of 1 to 4. It is gravelly sand, very gravelly sand, loamy sand, sand, stratified sand and gravel, gravelly coarse sand, very gravelly coarse sand, or coarse sand. Rock fragment content ranges from 10 to 60 percent. Reaction is slightly alkaline or moderately alkaline.
Clay loam, silty clay loam, silty clay, or clay lacustrine material is below 40 inches in some pedons.
COMPETING SERIES: This is the Mussey series. Mussey soils are less than 20 inches to the base of the argillic horizon. Similar soils in closely related families are the Colwood, Gilford, Lippincott, Matherton, Westland, and Will series. Colwood soils do not have an argillic horizon and lack contrasting textures within the particle-size control section. Gilford soils do not have an argillic horizon and have a coarse-loamy particle-size class. Lippincott soils have a fine particle-size class. Matherton soils do not have a mollic epipedon. Westland soils have a fine-loamy particle-size class. Will soils do not have an argillic horizon.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Sebewa soils formed in loamy outwash and the underlying gravelly and sandy outwash on outwash plains, valley trains, and stream terraces on terrace landscapes. Slope gradients range from 0 to 3 percent. Mean annual temperature ranges from 47 to 52 degrees F., mean annual precipitation ranges from 30 to 42 inches, frost-free period ranges from 130 to 180 days, and elevation ranges from 580 to 1,530 feet above sea level.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Boyer, Brady, Fox, Ionia, Kane, Matherton, and Oshtemo soils. The well drained Fox, the moderately well drained Ionia, and the somewhat poorly drained Matherton soils are in a drainage sequence with Sebewa soils in forested areas. The somewhat poorly drained Kane soils are also in a drainage sequence with Sebewa soils in areas of grassland. The well drained Boyer and Oshtemo soils and the somewhat poorly drained Brady soils are associated coarser-textured soils on outwash plains.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Poorly drained or very poorly drained. The potential for surface runoff is negligible. Permeability is moderate in the loamy materials and rapid or very rapid in the underlying gravelly and sandy materials. Depth to a seasonal high water table ranges from 1 foot above the surface to 1 foot below the surface from September to May in normal years.
USE AND VEGETATION: Most areas are cultivated. Corn, small grains, beans, and hay are the principal crops. A small part is in permanent pasture or woodland. The native vegetation is hardwood forest of American elm, white ash, red maple, swamp white oak, and hickory.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: MLRA 98 and 111 in southern Michigan, southeastern Wisconsin, and northern Indiana. The series is of large extent.
MLRA OFFICE RESPONSIBLE: Indianapolis, Indiana.
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Lenawee County, Michigan, l957.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are: mollic epipedon -from the surface to 11 inches (Ap horizon); argillic horizon - from 14 to 36 inches (Btg1, Btg2 and Btg3 horizons). Aquic moisture regime.
ADDITIONAL DATA: Transect data for the typical pedon (T99MI-045-008) is on file in MLRA project office, Plymouth, Indiana. Transect shows 60 percent Sebewa and similar soils and 40 percent Sebewa, till substratum soils.