LOCATION CONOVER MI+IN WIEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, mixed, active, mesic Udollic Endoaqualfs
TYPICAL PEDON: Conover loam, on a convex, 2 percent slope in a cultivated field at an elevation of 907 feet. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)
Ap--0 to 9 inches; very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) loam, grayish brown (10YR 5/2) dry; moderate fine granular structure; friable; many fine roots; about 5 percent gravel; slightly acid; abrupt smooth boundary. (7 to 10 inches thick)
Bw--9 to 11 inches; dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) loam; weak medium subangular blocky structure; friable; common fine roots; common medium distinct yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) masses of iron oxide accumulation; common medium distinct grayish brown (10YR 5/2) iron depletions; about 5 percent gravel; slightly acid; clear wavy boundary. (0 to 6 inches thick)
Bt1--11 to 19 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) clay loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; firm; few fine roots; few distinct dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) clay films on faces of peds and in pores; common fine distinct grayish brown (10YR 5/2) iron depletions; about 5 percent gravel; slightly acid; gradual wavy boundary.
Bt2--19 to 27 inches; brown (7.5YR 4/4) silty clay loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; firm; few fine roots; common distinct dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) clay films on faces of peds and in pores; common medium distinct yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) masses of iron oxide accumulation; common medium prominent gray (10YR 6/1) iron depletions; about 5 percent gravel; slightly acid; gradual wavy boundary. (Combined thickness of the Bt horizon is 8 to 24 inches.)
Cg1--27 to 50 inches; light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) loam; weak medium subangular blocky structure; firm; common medium distinct yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) masses of iron oxide accumulation; common medium faint gray (10YR 6/1) iron depletions; about 5 percent gravel; slightly effervescent; slightly alkaline; gradual wavy boundary.
Cg2--50 to 60 inches; light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) loam; massive; firm; common medium prominent strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) masses of iron oxide accumulation; common medium faint gray (10YR 6/1) iron depletions; about 5 percent gravel; slightly effervescent; slightly alkaline.
TYPE LOCATION: Washtenaw County, Michigan; about 3 miles south and 1 1/2 miles east of Chelsea; 1,860 feet north and 1,840 feet west of the southeast corner of sec. 29, T. 2 S., R. 4 E.; U.S.G.S. Dexter topographic quadrangle; lat. 42 degrees 16 minutes 16.2 seconds N. and long. 83 degrees 58 minutes 57.2 seconds W., NAD 27; UTM Zone 17, 254038 easting and 4684194 northing, NAD 83.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Thickness of the solum ranges from 24 to 40 inches and coincides with depth to carbonates. Rock fragment content ranges from 0 to 10 percent throughout the solum. Reaction generally is moderately acid or slightly acid, but in some pedons the Ap and Bw horizons are neutral.
The Ap or A horizon has hue of 10YR, value of 2 or 3, and chroma of 1 or 2. It is loam, silt loam, or sandy loam. Some pedons have an E horizon. If present, it has hue of 10YR, value of 5 or 6, and chroma of 2 or 3. It is 2 to 6 inches thick and has textures like the Ap or A horizon.
The Bw horizon has hue of 7.5YR or 10YR, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 3 or 4. It is loam or silt loam.
The Bt horizon has colors similar to the Bw horizon. It is clay loam, silty clay loam, or loam. Some pedons have BC horizons of loam or clay loam up to 7 inches thick. Some pedons have secondary carbonates in the lower B horizon (Bk horizons) on the underside of rock fragments.
The C horizon has hue of 10YR, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 2 or 3. It is loam, silt loam, or clay loam. Reaction is slightly alkaline or moderately alkaline.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Manheim, Monitor, and Romulus series. Manheim soils have rock fragments of black or dark gray shale. Monitor soils have sola thicker than 40 inches. Romulus soils have hue redder than 10YR in the lower part of the series control section.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Conover soils formed in loamy till and typically are on low parts of moraines and till plains. Slope gradients range from 0 to about 6 percent, and dominant slopes are from 1 to 4 percent. Mean annual precipitation ranges from 29 to 37 inches, mean annual temperature ranges from 46 to 51 degrees F., frost-free period ranges from 130 to 180 days, and elevation ranges from 580 to 1,530 feet above sea level.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: The poorly drained Brookston and moderately well drained Miami soils are in a drainage sequence with the Conover soils, and they are the most common associates. The very poorly drained Carlisle soils formed in organic materials and are in depressions.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Somewhat poorly drained. The potential for surface runoff ranges from low to high. Permeability is moderate or moderately slow.
USE AND VEGETATION: The soils are mostly cultivated. Corn, beans, small grain, and legume-grass hay are the principal crops. A small part is in forest. Native vegetation is hardwood forest.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: MLRAs 97, 98, 99, 110, and 111 in southern Michigan, southern Wisconsin, and northern Indiana. The series is of large extent.
MLRA OFFICE RESPONSIBLE: Indianapolis, Indiana.
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Miami County, Ohio, 1916.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are: ochric epipedon - from the surface to 9 inches (Ap horizon); argillic horizon - from 11 to 27 inches (Bt1 and Bt2 horizons); aquic conditions - redoximorphic features present in all horizons between 9 and 60 inches. Aquic moisture regime.