LOCATION HILLSDALE MI+INEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Coarse-loamy, mixed, active, mesic Typic Hapludalfs
TYPICAL PEDON: Hillsdale sandy loam, on a convex, 4 percent slope in a cultivated field at an elevation of 873 feet. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)
Ap--0 to 8 inches; brown (10YR 4/3) sandy loam, pale brown (10YR 6/3) dry; weak fine granular structure; friable; 5 percent gravel and 3 percent cobbles; neutral; abrupt smooth boundary. (6 to 10 inches thick)
EB--8 to 14 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) sandy loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; friable; 5 percent gravel and 3 percent cobbles; slightly acid; clear wavy boundary. (0 to 8 inches thick)
Bt1--14 to 31 inches; dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/6) sandy loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; friable; many distinct brown (7.5YR 4/4) clay films on faces of peds; 5 percent gravel and 3 percent cobbles; slightly acid; clear smooth boundary.
Bt2--31 to 38 inches; dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/6) sandy loam; weak medium subangular blocky structure; friable; common distinct brown (7.5YR 4/4) clay films on faces of peds; 5 percent gravel and 3 percent cobbles; slightly acid; clear smooth boundary.
Bt3--38 to 44 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) sandy loam; weak coarse subangular blocky structure; friable; few distinct brown (7.5YR 4/4) clay films on faces of peds; 5 percent gravel and 3 percent cobbles; slightly acid; clear wavy boundary. (Combined thickness of the Bt horizon is 8 to 45 inches.)
BC--44 to 84 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) sandy loam; weak coarse subangular blocky structure; friable; 5 percent gravel and 3 percent cobbles; neutral.
TYPE LOCATION: St. Joseph County, Michigan; about 2 miles south and 1.5 miles west of Mendon; 60 feet west and 130 feet north of the southeast corner of sec. 5, T. 6 S., R. 10 W.; U.S.G.S. Nottawa topographic quadrangle; lat. 41 degrees 58 minutes 13.3 seconds N. and long. 85 degrees 29 minutes 18.89 seconds W., NAD 27; UTM Zone 16, 0625232 easting and 4647597 northing, NAD 83.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Thickness of the solum ranges from 40 to more than 80 inches and normally corresponds to the depth to carbonates. Rock fragment content averages from a few pebbles to 14 percent throughout the series control section, although some individual subhorizons have none. The particle-size control section contains less than 50 percent fine sand and very fine sand and averages less than 18 percent clay, although some subhorizons can contain more than 18 percent clay. The series control section averages 50 to 85 percent sand.
The Ap horizon has hue of 10YR, value of 3 or 4, and chroma of 1 to 3. The value dry is 6 or more. It is sandy loam, fine sandy loam, loam, or loamy sand. Reaction ranges from very strongly acid to neutral.
Some pedons have an E horizon that has value of 5 to 7, and chroma of 2 to 4. It is sandy loam, fine sandy loam, loam, or loamy sand.
The EB horizon has hue of 10YR, value of 4 to 7, and chroma of 3 to 6. It is sandy loam, fine sandy loam, loam, or loamy sand.
The Bt horizon has hue of 7.5YR or 10YR, value of 4 or 5, and chroma of 3 to 6. It is sandy loam, sandy clay loam, or loam. Reaction ranges from very strongly acid to slightly acid.
The BC horizon has hue of 7.5YR or 10YR, value of 4 or 5, and chroma of 3 to 8. It is sandy loam or loamy sand. Some pedons have pockets of sand or loamy sand. Reaction ranges from strongly acid to neutral.
The C horizon has hue of 7.5YR or 10YR, value of 5 or 6, and chroma of 3 or 4. It is sandy loam or fine sandy loam. Some pedons have pockets of sand or loamy sand. Sand content averages 50 to 85 percent. Reaction is slightly alkaline or moderately alkaline.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Brownsburg, Crumstown, Eleva, Lapeer, Mecan, and Oshtemo series. Brownsburg soils have a lithic contact between 40 and 60 inches. Crumstown and Oshtemo soils are not clearly differentiated from the Hillsdale soils because of overlapping properties within the 0 to 60-inch series control section and because the C horizons in these soils are not always present within the series control section. In addition, the redoximorphic features in the Crumstown soils are not always present within the series control section, and the Oshtemo series allows for a loamy substratum phase. Eleva soils have a paralithic or lithic contact between 20 to 40 inches. Lapeer soils have sola less than 40 inches thick. Mecan soils have hue redder than 7.5YR in the upper part of the Bt horizon.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Hillsdale soils formed in loamy till and are on ground moraines and end moraines. Slope gradients are mostly 2 to 18 percent but range from 0 to 40 percent. Mean annual precipitation ranges from 29 to 37 inches, mean annual temperature ranges from 46 to 53 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 somewhat poorly drained Teasdale soils and the poorly drained and very poorly drained Barry soils form a drainage sequence with the Hillsdale soils and are closely associated. Oshtemo and Spinks soils are associated on low moraines; Oshtemo soils are at slightly lower elevations and Spinks soils are commonly at slightly higher elevations.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained. The potential for surface runoff is negligible to high depending upon the slope. Permeability is moderate.
USE AND VEGETATION: Soils are cultivated in most areas. Corn, small grains, soybeans, and legume-grass hay are the principal crops. Steep areas are in permanent pasture or forest. Wooded areas are in oaks, hickory and maple. The native vegetation is hardwood forest.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: MLRAs 111, 97, and 98 in Michigan and Indiana. The soils are of large extent.
MLRA OFFICE RESPONSIBLE: Indianapolis, Indiana.
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Hillsdale County, Michigan, 1924.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are: ochric epipedon - from the surface to 14 inches (Ap and EB horizon); argillic horizon - from 14 to 44 inches (Bt1, Bt2 and Bt3 horizons). Udic moisture regime.
ADDITIONAL DATA: Characterization data is available for the typical pedon (S01MI-149-001) from the National Soil Survey Laboratory, Lincoln, NE. Transect data (T01MI149-001) for the typical pedon is on file in the MLRA project office in Plymouth, Indiana. Transect shows 100 percent Hillsdale soils.