LOCATION ADRIAN MI+CT IA IL IN MN NJ NY OH RI VT WIEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Sandy or sandy-skeletal, mixed, euic, mesic Terric Haplosaprists
TYPICAL PEDON: Adrian muck, on a less than 1 percent slope under marsh vegetation at an elevation of 654 feet. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)
Oa1--0 to 16 inches; black (10YR 2/1) broken face, black (N 2.5/0) rubbed muck (sapric material); about 12 percent fiber, less than 5 percent rubbed; moderate medium granular structure; primarily herbaceous fibers; neutral (pH 7.0 in water); abrupt wavy boundary.
Oa2--16 to 20 inches; black (10YR 2/1) broken face, very dark brown (10YR 2/2) rubbed muck (sapric material); about 15 percent fibers, less than 5 percent rubbed; weak coarse subangular blocky structure; primarily herbaceous fibers; slightly acid (pH 6.5 in water); gradual wavy boundary.
Oa3--20 to 27 inches; black (10YR 2/1) broken face, black (10YR 2/1) rubbed muck (sapric material); about 12 percent fibers, less than 5 percent rubbed; weak thick platy structure; primarily herbaceous fibers; moderately acid (pH 6.0 in water); gradual wavy boundary.
Oa4--27 to 34 inches; black (10YR 2/1) broken face, black (10YR 2/1) rubbed muck (sapric material); about 12 percent fibers, less than 5 percent rubbed; massive; primarily herbaceous fibers; strongly acid (pH 5.5 in water); abrupt smooth boundary. (Combined thickness of the Oa horizon is 16 to 51 inches.)
Cg1--34 to 60 inches; gray (10YR 5/1) sand; single grain; loose; common medium prominent light olive brown (2.5Y 5/4) masses of iron oxide accumulation in the matrix; slightly alkaline; clear wavy boundary.
Cg2--60 to 80 inches; dark gray (2.5Y 4/1) fine sand; single grain, loose; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline.
TYPE LOCATION: Gratiot County, Michigan; about 1 1/2 miles southeast of Ashley; 2,040 feet north and 100 feet east of the southwest corner of sec. 16, T. 9 N., R. 1 W.; U.S.G.S. Ashley, MI topographic quadrangle; lat. 43 degrees 10 minutes 2.4 seconds N. and long. 84 degrees 26 minutes 50.6 seconds W., NAD 27; UTM Zone 16, 707498 easting and 4782563 northing, NAD 83.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: The difference between mean summer and mean winter soil temperature is 17 to 25 degrees F., or more. The depth to the sandy C horizon ranges from 16 to 51 inches. The organic materials are derived primarily from herbaceous plants, but some layers contain as much as 50 percent material of woody origin.
The surface tier ( Oa1 or Oap horizon) has hue of 5YR to 10YR, or is neutral, value of 2 or 2.5, and chroma of 0 to 3. It is dominantly muck (sapric material), however, some pedons have mucky peat (hemic material). Some pedons have a thin mat, 1 to 4 inches thick, of sphagnum moss on the surface. Reaction ranges from strongly acid to neutral.
The subsurface and bottom tiers (Oa, Oe, or Oi horizons) have hue of 2.5YR to 10YR, or are neutral, value of 2, 2.5, or 3, and chroma of 0 to 3. It is dominantly muck (sapric material). Thin layers, less than 10 inches thick, of mucky peat (hemic material) are in some pedons. Thin layers, less than 5 inches thick, of peat (fibric material) are in some pedons. In some pedons a sedimentary peat layer 1 to 2 inches thick is present above the C horizon. Reaction ranges from strongly acid to neutral.
The C or Cg horizon has hue of 2.5YR to 5Y, or is neutral, value of 2 to 6, and chroma of 0 to 4. It is sand, coarse sand, fine sand, or loamy sand, or their gravelly or very gravelly analogues. Strata of finer textures occur in some pedons. Rock fragment content ranges from 0 to 60 percent. Reaction ranges from slightly acid to moderately alkaline.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Fishtrap and Timakwa (T) series. Fishtrap soils have a difference of less than 16 degrees F., between mean summer and mean winter soil temperatures and are more acid than slightly acid in the mineral underlying materials. Timakwa soils are derived primarily from woody organic materials and have woody fragments 3/4 inch to a foot in diameter in some part of the organic materials. Timakwa soils are also in wetter regions of Land Resource Region R and S and have a mean annual precipitation of 47 inches.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Adrian soils formed in herbaceous organic material over sandy deposits and occupy shallow closed depressions primarily on outwash plains, lake plains, lake terraces, and flood plains, but can occur within moraines and till plains. Areas range from a few acres to several hundred acres in size. Slope gradients range from 0 to 1 percent. Usually adjacent upland soils are sandy. Mean annual temperature ranges from 48 to 53 degrees F., mean annual precipitation ranges from 29 to 45 inches, frost-free period ranges from 120 to 180 days, and elevation ranges from 580 feet to 1,530 feet above sea level.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Antung, Edselton, Houghton and Granby soils. The very poorly drained Antung, Edselton, and Houghton soils are on similar landform positions as Adrian soils. Antung soils formed in less than 16 inches of herbaceous organic material. Edselton soils are underlain by marl and sand. Houghton soils formed in herbaceous organic deposits more than 51 inches thick and are the most common associate. The poorly drained or very poorly drained Granby soils are sandy throughout, and generally are at the margins of the depressions.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Very poorly drained. The potential for surface runoff is negligible. Permeability is moderately slow to moderately rapid in the organic material and rapid in the sandy 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 September to June in normal years. In the flooded phase, areas are subject to frequent flooding for long periods between October and June.
USE AND VEGETATION: Most of this soil is in native vegetation. Much of it is in marsh grasses including sedges, reeds, grasses, and shrubs such as willow, alder, quaking aspen, and dogwood. Some areas have been drained to various degrees and are used for hay and pasture. A small proportion is used for cropland. Corn and truck crops are the principal crops.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: MLRAs 95B, 96, 97, 98, 99, 111, 115, and possibly in 100, 105, 110, 114, and 120 in the southern parts of lower Michigan, Connecticut, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, New York, New Jersey, Ohio, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Wisconsin. The soils are of large extent, about 395,000 acres.
MLRA OFFICE RESPONSIBLE: Indianapolis, Indiana.
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Sanilac County, Michigan, 1955.
REMARKS: Several flooded phases and depth phases have been recognized. These phases will need to be evaluated during modernization updates. Drained and undrained phases have been recognized.
Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are: sapric material - from the surface to 34 inches (Oa1, Oa2, Oa3, and Oa4 horizons); terric feature - mineral material from 34 to 60 inches (Cg horizon).
ADDITIONAL DATA: Transect data (T98-MI-005) is on file in the MLRA project office in Plymouth, Indiana. Transect shows 50 percent Adrian and similar soils, 20 percent Antung soils, 20 percent Houghton soils, and 10 percent Edselton soils. Characterization data is available from the National Soil Survey Laboratory, Lincoln, NE.