LOCATION ELVERS WI+IA IL MI VTEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Coarse-silty, mixed, superactive, nonacid, mesic Thapto-Histic Fluvaquents
TYPICAL PEDON: Elvers silt loam - on a 1 percent slope in an uncultivated area at an elevation of about 825 feet above mean sea level. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)
A--0 to 2 inches; very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) silt loam, grayish brown (10YR 5/2) dry; weak very fine subangular blocky structure; friable; few fine roots; slightly alkaline; abrupt smooth boundary. (1 to 5 inches thick)
Cg1--2 to 14 inches; grayish brown (10YR 5/2) silt loam; weak thin parallel platy layers; friable; few fine roots; common medium prominent strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) masses of iron accumulation in the matrix; slightly alkaline; abrupt smooth boundary.
Cg2--14 to 22 inches; gray (10YR 5/1) silt loam; weak thin parallel platy layers; friable; few fine roots; many coarse prominent strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) masses of iron accumulation in the matrix; few dark concretions (Fe and Mn oxides); neutral; abrupt smooth boundary.
Cg3--22 to 35 inches; laminated gray (N 5/0) and light brownish gray (2.5Y 6/2) silt loam; weak very thin parallel platy layers; friable; common medium prominent yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) masses of iron accumulation in root channels; slightly acid; abrupt smooth boundary. (Combined thickness of the C horizons ranges from 16 to 40 inches.)
0a--35 to 60 inches; black (10YR 2/1) broken face and rubbed, sapric material, about 3 percent fiber content, none rubbed; massive; slightly acid. (20 inches or more thick)
TYPE LOCATION: Dane County, Wisconsin; about 2 miles northeast of Black Earth; 790 feet north and 790 feet west of the southeast corner of sec. 18, T. 8 N., R. 7 E., USGS Black Earth, Wisconsin Topographic Quadrangle; lat. 43 degress 9 minutes 52 seconds N., and long. 89 degrees 42 minutes 9 seconds W., NAD 27.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Thickness of the silty alluvium over organic material ranges from 16 to 40 inches. The underlying organic material is at least 20 inches thick. Reaction ranges from moderately acid to slightly alkaline throughout. Redox features occur within 1 foot and saturation occurs there for long periods in most years.
The A or Ap horizon has hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 2 to 4, and chroma of 0 to 2. Texture is silt loam.
The Cg horizon has hue of 10YR, 2.5Y, or 5Y; value of 3 to 6; and chroma of 1 or 2; or is neutral in hue with value of 4 to 6. Color values of 3 (6 dry) are in some pedons. Texture is silt loam. The average clay content in the Cg horizon ranges between 8 and 18 percent.
The organic horizon typically consists of sapric (0a) material, but in some pedons it is hemic (0e) material. The decomposed sapric or hemic deposit is derived from herbaceous or woody material, or both.
COMPETING SERIES: There are no competing series. Similar soils in other families are the Snohomish and Wallkill series. Snohomish soils are fine-silty in the mineral portion of the control section. Wallkill soils are fine-loamy in the mineral portion of the control section.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Elvers soils are on flood plains and margins of organic soil areas adjacent to upland mineral soils. Slope ranges from 0 to 3 percent. Elvers soils formed in silty alluvial deposits over sapric or hemic materials. Mean annual precipitation ranges from about 28 to 35 inches. Mean annual air temperatures ranges from about 43 to 51 degrees F. The frost free period ranges from about 120 to 180 days. Elevation ranges from about 600 to 1300 feet.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Adrian, Houghton, Orion, Otter, Palms, and Washtenaw soils. Adrian, Houghton, and Palms soils, which are organic, are in areas marginal to the Elvers soils where the silty surface layers are less than 16 inches thick. Orion soils are nearby but in somewhat higher lying positions where subsurface organic materials are not present. Otter and Washtenaw soils are in similar topographic positions, but do not have deposits of sapric or histic materials within one meter.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Poorly drained or very poorly drained. The potential for surface runoff ranges from negligible to low. Flooding is frequent for brief to long duration. Permeability is moderate in the silty alluvium and ranges from rapid to moderately slow in the organic part.
USE AND VEGETATION: Most areas remain in sedge grass and are used for limited, low quality pasture. Where drained, Elvers soils are used for cropland. Common crops are corn, small grains, hay, and vegetable crops. Wooded areas have ash, elm, red maple, and other water-tolerant species.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Southern Wisconsin, northwestern Illinois, eastern Iowa, and southwestern Michigan. This soil is of small extent.
MLRA OFFICE RESPONSIBLE: Indianapolis, Indiana
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Dane County, Wisconsin, 1972.
REMARKS: Formerly included with the Wallkill series, which is in a fine-loamy family.
Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are: ochric epipedon - 0 to 7 inches (A upper part of Cg1); Fluventic feature - organic-carbon content that decreases irregularly with depth; Thapto Histic subgroup - a buried Histosol within 1 m of the soil surface;
aquic feature - chroma of 1 or less and moist value of 4 or more with saturation at a depth of 16 to 20 inches.