LOCATION COLWOOD MI+OH WIEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, mixed, active, mesic Typic Endoaquolls
TYPICAL PEDON: Colwood silt loam - on a 1 percent slope in a cultivated field. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)
Ap--0 to 9 inches; very dark brown (10YR 2/2) silt loam, dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) dry; moderate medium granular structure; friable; many fine roots; neutral; abrupt smooth boundary. (8 to 11 inches thick)
A--9 to 12 inches; very dark brown (10YR 2/2) silt loam, dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) dry; moderate coarse granular structure; friable; many fine roots; neutral; gradual wavy boundary. (2 to 14 inches thick)
Bg1--12 to 18 inches; light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; firm; many fine roots; very dark brown (10YR 2/2) organic coatings on faces of peds in upper part of horizon; few coarse prominent yellowish brown (10YR 5/8) masses of iron accumulation in the matrix; neutral; gradual wavy boundary.
Bg2--18 to 36 inches; light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) silty clay loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; firm; thin strata of fine sandy loam; few fine roots; few thin clay films; many coarse prominent yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) masses of iron accumulation in the matrix; slightly alkaline; abrupt wavy boundary. (Combined thickness of the Bg horizon is 10 to 32 inches.)
Cg--36 to 60 inches; stratified gray (10YR 5/1) silt loam, very fine sand and fine sand; massive; friable in the silt loam strata and loose in the very fine sand and fine sand strata; few fine roots; common medium prominent yellowish brown (10YR 5/8) masses of iron accumulation in the matrix; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline.
TYPE LOCATION: Lapeer County, Michigan; 1 1/2 miles east and 3 miles north of Burnside; 1,320 feet east and 990 feet south of the northwest corner of sec. 34, T. 10 N., R. 12 E.; USGS Marlette, MI topographic quadrangle; lat. 43 degrees 15 minutes 00 seconds N., and long. 83 degrees 2 minutes 24 seconds W., NAD 27.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: The depth to the base of the mollic epipedon ranges from 10 to 23 inches. The depth to the base of the cambic horizon is typically 30 to 40 inches, but ranges from 24 to 55 inches. Depth to carbonates ranges from 30 to 45 inches. Rock fragments are typically absent. Sand size is predominated by fine and very fine sand.
The A horizon has hue of 10YR, value of 2 or 3 and chroma of 1 or 2. It is silt loam, loam, fine sandy loam, very fine sandy loam or silty clay loam. Reaction ranges from slightly acid to slightly alkaline.
The Bg horizon has hue of 7.5YR, 10YR, 2.5Y, 5Y, 5GY, or is neutral, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 0 to 2. Individual layers in the lower part of the B horizon have chroma of 4 to 8. These layers do not dominate the control section. The Bg horizon is loam, silt loam, sandy clay loam, clay loam, silty clay loam, sandy loam, fine sandy loam and very fine sandy loam. Some pedons have thin strata of fine sand, very fine sand or silty clay. The 10 to 40 inch control section averages between 18 and 35 percent clay and less than 60 percent fine sand or coarser. Reaction ranges from slightly acid to slightly alkaline.
Some pedons have a BCg horizon.
The Cg horizon has hue of 10YR, 2.5Y or 5Y, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 1 or 2. It is dominantly stratified silt loam, very fine sand, and fine sand but thin strata of clay, silty clay, silty clay loam, clay loam, loam, sandy loam, fine sandy loam, very fine sandy loam, or loamy sand are common. The sand size is more than 50 percent fine sand or very fine sand. It is slightly alkaline or moderately alkaline and contains carbonates. The weighted average clay content is 5 to 12 percent.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Free, Kossuth, Reddick, Springerton, and Wolcott series. Free soils have between 15 and 50 percent rock fragments in the lower part of the series control section. Kossuth soils have between 35 and 40 percent clay in the upper part of the series control section. Reddick soils have more than 27 percent clay in the lower part of the series control section. Springerton soils do not have carbonates within depths of 60 inches. Wolcott soils have between 5 and 10 percent rock fragments in the cambic horizon.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Colwood soils are on lake plains, outwash plains, moraines, and deltas of Wisconsin age. They formed in stratified silty and loamy glaciolacustrine or outwash materials. Slope ranges from 0 to 3 percent. The mean annual precipitation ranges from 24 to 38 inches, and the mean annual air temperature ranges from 47 to 53 degrees F.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Del Rey, Kibbie, Lenawee, Sisson, and Tuscola soils. The well drained Sisson, moderately well drained Tuscola and somewhat poorly drained Kibbie soils formed in similar materials and are part of the toposequence with Colwood soils. Del Rey and Lenawee soils are associated on lake plains. Del Rey soils are somewhat poorly drained. Lenawee soils do not have a mollic epipedon.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Poorly drained and very poorly drained. The soil has an apparent seasonal high water table that ranges from 1 foot above the surface to 1 foot below the surface from October to May in most years. The potential for surface runoff is negligible or very low. Permeability is moderate or moderately slow.
USE AND VEGETATION: Most areas are under cultivation to corn, beans, small grain and alfalfa hay. A few areas are in truck crops. A small part, including areas that lack adequate drainage, is in permanent pasture or forest. The native vegetation is chiefly red maple, American elm, quaking aspen, alder, and marsh grasses.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Southern Michigan, northwestern Ohio, and southeastern Wisconsin (MLRA's 91, 95B, 97, 98, 99, and 111). This series is extensive, about 187,000 acres.
MLRA OFFICE RESPONSIBLE: Indianapolis, Indiana
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Tuscola County, Michigan; 1926.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are: mollic epipedon - the zone from the surface to 12 inches (Ap and A horizon); cambic horizon - the zone from 12 to 36 inches (Bg1 and Bg2 horizons); aquic soil moisture regime.