LOCATION OKEE WI+MIEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy, mixed, active, mesic Arenic Hapludalfs
TYPICAL PEDON: Okee loamy fine sand - on a 7 percent slope in a previously cultivated field now planted to pine trees at an elevation of about 845 feet above mean sea level. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)
Ap--0 to 9 inches; dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) loamy fine sand, grayish brown (10YR 5/2) dry; weak fine granular structure; very friable; common roots; moderately acid; abrupt smooth boundary. (6 to 10 inches thick)
Bw--9 to 25 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) loamy fine sand; weak fine subangular blocky structure; very friable; few roots; moderately acid; abrupt smooth boundary. (19 to 36 inches thick)
2Bt1--25 to 31 inches; brown (7.5YR 4/4) sandy loam; weak fine and medium subangular blocky structure; friable; few roots; common pores; common clay films on faces of peds and on gravel; about 5 percent gravel; moderately acid; clear wavy boundary.
2Bt2--31 to 45 inches; brown (7.5YR 4/4 ) sandy loam; weak fine subangular blocky structure; friable; few roots; common pores; common clay films on faces of peds and on gravel; about 5 percent gravel; slightly acid; abrupt wavy boundary. (Combined thickness of the 2Bt horizon ranges from 10 to 20 inches )
2C--45 to 60 inches; brown (7.5YR 5/4) gravelly sandy loam; massive; friable; common pores; about 15 percent gravel; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline.
TYPE LOCATION: Green Lake County, Wisconsin; about 1.5 miles east of Princeton ; 2540 feet north and 1920 feet east of the northwest corner of sec. 26 , T. 16 N., R. 11 E. USGS Princeton West Wis. Quad. Latitude ? 43 degrees 50 minutes 23 seconds N., Longitude ? 89 degrees 09 minutes 38 seconds W. NAD 27.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Thickness of the sandy mantle ranges from 20 to 40 inches. Depth to the base of soil development ranges from 30 to more than 60 inches and typically is the same as the depth to carbonates but some pedons have carbonates in the lower part of the subsoil. Weighted average clay content of
the particle-size control section ranges from 10 to 17 percent. Volume of coarse fragments ranges from 0 to 10 percent in the sandy mantle, from 2 to 15 percent in the 2Bt horizon, and from 2 to 35 percent below the 2Bt horizon. Reaction ranges from moderately acid to neutral in the sandy mantle and from moderately acid to slightly alkaline in the 2B horizons. Reaction is slightly or moderately alkaline in the 2C horizon.
The A horizon has hue of 10YR, value of 2 or 3, and chroma of 1 or 2. Cultivated pedons have an Ap horizon with hue of 10YR, value of 3 to 5, and chroma of 2 to 4. Texture of the A or Ap horizon is loamy fine sand or loamy sand.
The Bw horizon has hue of 10YR, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 3 to 5. Texture is loamy fine sand, loamy sand, or sand.
The 2Bt horizon has hue of 5YR or 7.5YR, value of 4 to 6 , and chroma of 4 to 8. Texture is typically sandy clay loam or sandy loam but ranges to loamy sand in the lower part in some pedons.
Some pedons have a 2BC horizon below a depth of 40 inches with hue of 7.5YR or 10YR, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 4 to 8. Texture is loamy sand, sand, or the gravelly or cobbly analogs.
The 2C horizon has hue of 7.5YR or 10YR, value of 5 or 6, and chroma of 4 to 8. Texture is typically sandy loam or loamy sand or the gravelly or cobbly analogs but in some pedons it is sand or the gravelly or cobbly analogs below a depth of 40 inches.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Delton, Metea, Ormas, and Prissel series. Delton soils are underlain at depths between 20 and 40 inches by clayey deposits. Metea soils have more than 17 percent clay in the argillic horizon. Ormas soils have more than 15 percent rock fragments in the 2Bt horizon. Prissel soils do not have carbonates within the series control section.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Okee soils are on ground and end moraines and drumlins. Slopes range from 1 to 25 percent. These soils formed in a sandy outwash or eolian mantle and in the underlying till. Mean annual precipitation ranges from 28 to 32 inches. Mean annual air temperature ranges from 45 to 52 degrees F.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Chelsea, Kidder, Mecan, Plainfield, Puchyan, and Wyocena soils. Puchyan soils occupy slightly lower positions in the landscape. Chelsea, Kidder, Mecan, Plainfield, and Wyocena soils are on similar landscape positions. Kidder soils do not have sandy textures within the solum. Chelsea and Plainfield soils are in a sandy family and do not have glacial till in their sola. Wyocena soils have thinner sand or loamy sand overlying the argillic horizon.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained and somewhat excessively drained. The potential for surface runoff ranges from negligible to medium. Permeability is rapid in the sandy mantle and moderate or moderately rapid in the till subsoil,
and moderately rapid or rapid in the substratum.
USE AND VEGETATION: Many areas of this soil are used for pastureland and woodland. Some areas are used for cropland. Common crops are corn, small grain, and hay. Native vegetation is predominantly oak forest.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: South-central Wisconsin and possibly southwestern Michigan. These soils are of moderate extent.
MLRA OFFICE RESPONSIBLE: Indianapolis, Indiana
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Columbia County, Wisconsin, 1972.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are: ochric epipedon - 0 to 24 inches (A, Bw); argillic horizon - 24 to 34 inches (2Bt1, 2Bt2); arenic feature ? sandy particle-size class throughout a layer extending from the mineral soil surface to the top of the argillic horizon at a depth of 50 cm or more.
12/05 ? A new typical pedon is used in this revision. The former typical pedon was described in a D slope map unit of Okee. The D slope Okee map units were later combined with D slope Wyocena loamy sand map units during correlation (probably because of small acreage). Therefore, the former Okee typical pedon is
located in a polygon of D slope Wyocena loamy sand.
12/05-The central concept of Okee in Columbia and Green Lake Counties is sandy outwash or eolian mantle over sandy clay loam or sandy loam 2Bt over sandy loam till 2C. The Green Lake TUD allows loamy sand 2C but the TP for the TUD is sandy
loam and Columbia Co. has 1 field description over loamy sand till. The Adams Co. TUD says Okee soils ?formed in sandy and loamy deposits over sandy glacial till?. The Waushara Co. TUD says Okee soils ?formed in sandy and loamy glacial till?. Need field investigation to determine if there is a need for 2 series. Can Okee soils in Columbia and Green Lake Co. be separated from those in Adams and Waushara Co. based on texture of the till (sandy vs loamy)? Is there some difference in landform or glacial advance?