LOCATION SISSON MI+IN OH WIEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, mixed, semiactive, mesic Typic Hapludalfs
TYPICAL PEDON: Sisson fine sandy loam with a 4 percent convex slope in a cultivated field.
Ap--0 to 9 inches; dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) fine sandy loam; light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) dry; weak medium subangular blocky structure; very friable; slightly acid; abrupt smooth boundary. (6 to 10 inches thick)
E--9 to 14 inches; brown (10YR 5/3) fine sandy loam; weak medium platy parting to weak very fine subangular blocky structure; very friable; slightly acid; clear irregular boundary. (0 to 8 inches thick)
B/E--14 to 17 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) fine sandy loam (B) and brown (10YR 5/3) fine sandy loam (E) coatings 2 to 5 mm thick on faces of peds (less than 15 percent by volume); moderate medium subangular blocky structure; friable; neutral; clear irregular boundary. (0 to 6 inches thick)
Bt1--17 to 22 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; friable; common thin clay films on faces of peds; neutral; clear smooth boundary.
Bt2--22 to 30 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) clay loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; firm; common moderately thick brown (7.5YR 4/4) clay films on faces of peds; few fine distinct dark brown (7.5 3/2) segregations; slightly acid; clear wavy boundary. (Combined thickness of Bt horizon is 10 to 25 inches.)
BC1--30 to 34 inches; dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) very fine sandy loam; weak medium subangular blocky structure; friable; slightly acid; abrupt wavy boundary.
BC2--34 to 37 inches; dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) clay loam; weak medium subangular blocky structure; firm; slight effervescence; mildly alkaline; abrupt wavy boundary. (Combined thickness of the BC horizon is 0 to 9 inches)
C--37 to 60 inches; stratified brown (10YR 5/3) silt loam and yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) very fine sand; massive; friable and very friable; strong effervescence; moderately alkaline.
TYPE LOCATION: Washtenaw County, Michigan, about 1/2 mile east of the village of Stony Creek; 1,940 feet south and 785 feet east of the northwest corner, sec. 7, T. 4 S., R. 7 E.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Solum thickness ranges from 24 to 42 inches but is dominantly 26 to 36 inches. The reaction of the solum is slightly acid to neutral in the upper part and neutral to moderately alkaline in the lower part. Gravel content is less than 1 percent throughout the pedon.
Where the soil has not been cultivated, it has very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) A horizons 1 to 3 inches thick. The Ap horizon has 10YR hue, value of 4 or 5 and chroma of 2 or 3. The E horizon has 10YR hue, value of 5 or 6 and chroma of 3 or 4. The texture of the A and E horizons are fine sandy loam, loamy fine sand, sandy loam, loam, silt loam, or very fine sandy loam.
The B horizons have hue of 10YR, 7.5YR or 5YR, value of 4 to 6 and chroma of 3 to 6. One-fourth to 3 inch thick strata of clay and medium and fine sand are in the lower part of the B horizon. The Bt horizons are silt loam, loam, clay loam, sandy clay loam, silty clay loam or fine sandy loam. BC horizons have textures of very fine sandy loam to clay loam.
The C horizon has 10YR or 7.5YR hue, value of 4 through 6 and chroma of 2 through 4. The C horizon varies considerably in texture but it is most commonly stratified silt loam and very fine sand containing thin strata of clay and medium and fine sand. The C horizon is massive or single grain and has friable to loose consistence.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Amanda, Belmont, Belmore, Chenault, Chili, Coggon, Conestoga, Douds, El Dara, Gallman, Grellton, Hayden, Hebron, Hickory, High Gap, Hollinger, Kalamazoo, Kanawha, Kendallville, Kidder, Kosciusko, LeRoy, Letort, Lindley, Mandeville, Martinsville, McHenry, Miami, Mifflin, Military, Nodine, Norden, Ockley, Owosso, Pecatonica, Princeton, Rawson, Relay, Renova, Richland, Riddles, Roseville, Skelton, Strawn, Summitville, Theresa, Wawasse, Westville, Whalan, Woodbine, and Wykoff series in the same family. Sisson is differentiated from all members of the same family, except Martinsville, Princeton, and Wykoff, by having stratified silt loam and very fine sand C horizons. Martinsville soils contain less fine and very fine sand, are more acid and have thicker sola. Princeton soils are more acid and have thicker sola. Wycoff soils contain more coarse fragments in the C horizon and do not have free carbonates within a depth of 40 inches.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Sisson soils are on lake plains, outwash plains, and deltas. Slopes are mostly 2 to 6 percent and range from 0 to 50 percent. Mean annual precipitation is 29 to 37 inches, and the mean annual air temperature ranges from 46 to 49 degrees F.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: The moderately well drained Tuscola soils, the somewhat poorly drained Kibbie soils and the poorly to very poorly drained Colwood soils are in a drainage sequence with Sisson soils. The well drained Boyer and Oshtemo soils are nearby on some outwash plains and the poorly drained Del Rey and Lenawee soils are nearby on lake plains.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained. Runoff is slow on the milder slopes and medium to rapid on the steeper ones. Permeability is moderate.
USE AND VEGETATION: The greater part is under cultivation. Corn, small grains, beans and hay are the principle crops. A smaller part, especially on the steeper slopes, is in permanent pasture or forest. The original forest was mostly maple, elm, oaks, hickory, and beech.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Southern Michigan, southeastern Wisconsin, Ohio, and northern Indiana. The series is of moderate extent.
MLRA OFFICE RESPONSIBLE: Indianapolis, Indiana
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Lapeer County, Michigan, 1966.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and other features recognized in this pedon are: ochric epipedon - the zone from the surface to 9 inches (Ap horizon); albic horizon - the zone from 9 to 14 inches (E horizon); argillic horizon - the zone from 14 to 30 inches (B part of B/E, Bt1, and Bt2 horizons).