LOCATION MUSKEGO WI+IA IL IN MN OH NYEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Coprogenous, euic, mesic Limnic Haplosaprists
TYPICAL PEDON: Muskego muck - on a slope of less than 1 percent in a cultivated field at an elevation of about 815 feet. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)
Oap--0 to 9 inches; black (10YR 2/1) broken face and rubbed muck (sapric material); about 25 percent fiber, 4 percent rubbed; moderate very thick platy structure parting to moderate fine subangular blocky; friable; many fine roots; mostly herbaceous fiber; neutral; abrupt smooth boundary.
Oa1--9 to 14 inches; black (10YR 2/1) broken face muck (sapric material); about 30 percent fiber, 5 percent rubbed; moderate very thick platy structure parting to moderate fine subangular blocky; friable; many fine roots; mostly herbaceous fiber; neutral; abrupt smooth boundary.
Oa2--14 to 30 inches; dark brown (7.5YR 3/2) broken face muck (sapric material) with few thin (less than 1 inch) layers of mucky peat (hemic material); about 50 percent fiber, 7 percent rubbed; weak thin platy structure; few fine roots; slightly acid; gradual smooth boundary.
Lco1--30 to 48 inches; dark olive gray (5Y 3/2) coprogenous material with fine thin (less than 1 inch) lenses of yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) mucky peat (hemic material); weak very thin platy structure; slightly plastic; neutral; diffuse smooth boundary.
Lco2--48 to 60 inches; very dark grayish brown (2.5Y 3/2) coprogenous material; massive; slightly plastic; slightly alkaline.
TYPE LOCATION: Ozaukee County, Wisconsin; about 1 mile east and 2 1/2 miles south of Fredonia; 2,500 feet north and 500 feet west of the southeast corner of sec. 11, T. 11 N., R. 21 E. or 350 feet north and 375 feet west of end of farmstead driveway;
USGS Port Washington West topographic quadrangle; latitude -
43 degrees, 25 minutes, 58 seconds N. and longitude - 87 degrees, 56 minutes, 34 seconds W. NAD 27.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Thickness of the herbaceous organic layers and depth to coprogenous material (sedimentary peat) ranges from 16 to 51 inches. Fibers are derived primarily from herbaceous plants. Some pedons contain fragments of twigs,
branches, or logs that range from 1/8 to 5 inches in diameter and amount to less than 15 percent of the volume. Reaction ranges from strongly acid to neutral (water, 1:1) in the
surface tier and from strongly acid to slightly alkaline (water, 1:1) in the subsurface and bottom tiers. Silty clay loam overwash, clay loam substratum, marshy (ponded), and
flooded phases are recognized in some places.
The surface tier has hue of 10YR, 7.5YR, or neutral, value of 2 or 3 and chroma of 0 to 2.
The herbaceous organic part of the subsurface and bottom tiers has hue of 5YR, 7.5YR or 10YR or is neutral in hue. Value is 2 or 3 and chroma is 0 to 4. It is dominantly muck (sapric material), but some pedons have layers of mucky peat (hemic material) up to 10 inches thick.
The Lco horizon has hue of 10YR, 2.5Y, 5Y, or 5GY, value of 2 to 5 and chroma of 1 to 3. It is coprogenous material. Reaction ranges from neutral to moderately alkaline and carbonates are present in some pedons. The Lco horizon has slightly plastic consistence and shrinks upon drying to form hard clods that are
difficult to re-wet.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Moston and Toto series. Moston soils have sand below the limnic layer within the 51 inches of control section. Toto soils have marl and sand below the limnic layer within the 51 inch control section.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: The Muskego soils commonly are in depressional areas principally associated with glacial lake plains and flood plains, but other geographical locations are not excluded. Slope ranges from 0 to 2 percent. These soils formed in herbaceous organic material dominantly from grasses, sedges, and reeds over coprogenous limnic material (sedimentary peat). Mean annual temperature ranges from 46 to 52 degrees F. Mean annual precipitation ranges from 25 to 40 inches. The frost free period ranges from about 130 to 180 days. Elevation ranges from 679 to 1400 feet.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the
Houghton and
Klossner series. Houghton soils are in nearby areas where the organic deposits are more than 51 inches thick and coprogenous material is not in the lower part of the control section.
Klossner soils are in areas where the coprogenous material is absent and the herbaceous organic material is underlain by loamy mineral material.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Very poorly drained. The potential for surface runoff is low or negligible. Permeability is moderate or moderately rapid in the herbaceous sapric material and slow in the coprogenous material (sedimentary peat). Most Muskego soils have an apparent water table from 1 foot above the surface to 1 foot below the surface in most years for much of the period from November to August. Some Muskego soils have an apparent water table from 3 feet to 1 foot above the surface in most years for much of the period from January to December.
USE AND VEGETATION: Most areas remain in natural vegetation and provide wildlife habitat. Natural vegetation is dominantly grasses, reeds, and sedges with scattered hardwoods. A few areas have been drained and are used cropland.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Southern Wisconsin and southern Minnesota and in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, and Ohio. MLRA 95B, 98, 102A, 103, 104, 105, 108, 110, 111, 114, and 144A. The Muskego soils are of moderate extent.
MLRA OFFICE RESPONSIBLE: Indianapolis, Indiana
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Ozaukee County, Wisconsin, 1971.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are: sapric materials dominant in the subsurface tier; saturated with water for 6 months or more of the year; have a limnic layer (coprogenous material) greater than 5 cm thick within the control section.
ADDITIONAL DATA: Soil Interpretation Records - WI0046; WI0335 (OVERWASH); WI0437 (MARSHY); WI0462 (CLAY LOAM SUBST.); WI0520 (FLOODED).