LOCATION CARLISLE           MI+ CT IN MA NJ NY OH PA RI VT WI

CARLISLE SERIES

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Euic, mesic Typic Haplosaprists

TYPICAL PEDON: Carlisle muck - on a nearly level cut-over area. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)

Oa1--0 to 8 inches; black (10YR 2/1) broken face and rubbed sapric material; about 10 percent fibers, less than 5 percent rubbed; weak fine granular structure; friable; about 15 percent weakly decomposed wood fragments; neutral; abrupt smooth boundary.

Oa2--8 to 31 inches; dark reddish brown (5YR 2/2) broken face and rubbed sapric material; about 10 percent fibers, about 5 percent rubbed; weak coarse granular structure; friable; about 25 percent woody fragments 1/4 to 5 inches in diameter; neutral; clear smooth boundary.

Oa3--31 to 46 inches; dark reddish brown (5YR 3/2) broken face; dark reddish brown (5YR 2/2) rubbed sapric material; about 25 percent fiber, 8 percent rubbed; massive; friable; about 25 percent wood fragments 1/4 to 5 inches in diameter; slightly acid; clear smooth boundary.

Oa4--46 to 60 inches; dark reddish brown (5YR 3/4) broken face; dark reddish brown (5YR 2/2) rubbed sapric material; about 40 percent fiber, 12 percent rubbed; massive; friable; about 1 percent woody fragments 1/4 to 3 inches in diameter; neutral.

TYPE LOCATION: Shiawassee County, Michigan; 520 feet north and 1,200 feet west of the southeast corner of sec. 13, T. 5 N., R. 3 E.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: The reaction throughout the pedon ranges from very strongly acid to slightly alkaline. Woody fragments occur throughout the profile in most pedons, consisting of twigs, branches, logs or stumps and average from 15 to 30 percent by volume in the control section. Fragments range in size from 1/4 to more than a foot in diameter. The mean annual soil temperature ranges from 47 to 54 degrees F.

The surface tier has hue of 10YR to 5YR or is neutral; value is 1 or 2 and the chroma ranges from 0 to 2. It is dominantly sapric material; however, some pedons contain hemic material and others have various proportions of both sapric and hemic materials. Some pedons have a thin fibric surface layer up to 2 inches thick. The structure of the surface tier is weak or medium, coarse to fine granular, or subangular blocky. Overwash phases have surface textures of silt loam or silty clay loam.

The subsurface tier has hue of 5YR, 7.5YR or 10YR, value of 2 or 3, and chroma of 0 to 4. Chroma or value or both may change from 0.5 to 2 units upon rubbing.
Broken faces become darker upon brief exposure to air. The layer is dominated by sapric material with a rubbed fiber content of less than 16 percent of the organic volume. The subsurface tier has granular or blocky structure or is massive. The upper portion typically has weak or moderate, fine to coarse granular or blocky structure. The lower portion commonly is massive, but in some pedons it has platy structure. The aggregates in this tier are quite firm, but break abruptly under pressure.

The unrubbed, well decomposed organic material resembles woody plant tissue.
The bottom tier has colors similar to the subsurface tier and has variable amounts of woody and herbaceous layers; however, herbaceous fibers generally constitute the greater proportion. This tier commonly is massive but in some pedons it has weak coarse blocky or thick platy structure. The subsurface and bottom tiers are dominantly sapric material but some pedons have thin layers of hemic material. The combined thickness of these hemic layers is less than 10 inches.

COMPETING SERIES: These are the Catden, Houghton, Lena, Peteetneet, Saltese, and Semiahmoo series. Catden soils have dominantly woody fibers in the bottom tier. Houghton soils formed primarily from herbaceous fibers and average less than 15 percent woody fragments in the control section. Lena soils have carbonates in the control section. Peteetneet, Saltese, and Semiahmoo soils have less than 15 percent woody fragments in the control section.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Carlisle soils occupy depressions within lake plains, outwash plains, ground moraines, and flood plains. These soils formed in woody and herbaceous organic materials. Slope ranges from 0 to 2 percent. Elevations are 250 to 3,800 feet. The mean annual precipitation ranges from 30 to 47 inches, and the mean annual temperature ranges from 45 to 55 degrees F. The frost free period is 110 to 180 days.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Adrian, Edwards, Linwood and Willette soils. These soils have a mineral layer in the control section.
Poorly drained or very poorly drained mineral soils such as Granby, Lenawee or Parkhills occur at the margins of Carlisle areas as they grade into the upland.

DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Very poorly drained. Depth to the seasonal high water table ranges from 2.0 feet above the surface to 1 foot below the surface from September to June. The potential for surface runoff is low or negligible. Permeability is moderately slow to moderately rapid.

USE AND VEGETATION: A high proportion of these soils have been drained and are used for truck crops or pasture. Major crops include onions, potatoes, corn, radishes, celery, carrots, and lettuce. Some areas are used for small grains, hay, and sod production. The remaining portion is in woodland or cut-over woodland. Major tree species include American elm, white ash, red maple, willow, tamarack, quaking aspen, and alder.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Southern Michigan, Connecticut, Indiana, Massachusetts, Ohio, Wisconsin, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Vermont, in MLRA's 99, 100, 101, 111, 139, 140, 142, 144A, 144B, and 145. The series is of large extent, about 248,000 acres.

MLRA OFFICE RESPONSIBLE: Indianapolis, Indiana.

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Livingston County, Michigan, 1923.

REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Sapric material - the zone from the surface to 60 inches (Oa1, Oa2, Oa3 and Oa4 horizons).

This concept corresponds similarly to previous concepts of the Carlisle series, primarily in having developed from woody fibers. To define this woody characteristic as sapric material is difficult to do precisely. There does appear to be a definite difference in structure and a tendency toward brittleness in the aggregates developed from woody fibers vs. those developed from herbaceous fibers.