PIT#3

  O -- 0-2.5 cm inch; black (10YR2/1) moist

  A1 – 2.5 to 57 cm; very dark brown (10YR 2/2), moist; loamy sand; very fine, subangular to subrounded, .7 sphericity, well sorted, mostly quartz with feldspar and other lithics; very friable, slightly sticky, nonplastic; moderately few fine roots (<3mm); no HCL reaction; few clasts, less than 1cm; subrounded to rounded, .7 sphericity, poorly sorted, mostly lithics, horizontally oriented; clear wavy boundary.

  A2 – 57 to 75 cm; dark brown (10YR 3/3) moist; loamy sand; fine, subangular to subrounded, .7 sphericity, well sorted, mostly quartz with feldspar; very friable, slightly sticky, nonplastic; moderately few fine roots (<3mm); no HCL reaction; common clasts, <1cm-3cm; subrounded to rounded, .8 sphericity, poorly sorted, mostly lithics, horizontally oriented; clear wavy boundary.

  A3 – 75 to 100 cm; dark brown (10YR 3/3) moist; loamy sand; medium, subangular to subrounded, .7 sphericity, well sorted, mostly quartz with feldspar; very friable, slightly sticky, nonplastic; fine, moderately few roots (<2mm); no HCL reaction; common clasts, 1-5cm; subrounded to rounded, .7 sphericity, poorly sorted, mostly lithics, horizontally oriented; clear smooth boundary.

  C – 100 to 152 cm; yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) moist; sand; very fine, subangular to subrounded, .8 sphericity, poorly sorted, mostly quartz with feldspar; very friable, nonsticky, nonplastic; fine, very few roots (<1mm); no HCL reaction; common clasts,  <1cm-7.5cm; subrounded to rounded, .8 sphericity, poorly sorted, mostly litihics, subfeldspafic, quartz arenite, horizontally oriented; clear boundary.     

Soil Pit #3 is located on a shady, wooded  toe slope of the Hartnett study area.  Soils in this location are mapped as Hubbard loamy sand (map unit HuB, 2-6 percent slopes) in new soil map data (Meyer, personal communication 2001), and as Fitchford series in the Soil Survey of Dunn County, Wisconsin (Wing 1975: 27).  Our observations are generally consistent with the Hubbard series; however, there are some discrepancies.  We observed a thicker A horizon in our pit than the Hubbard series.  The Hubbard series also has the presence of a B horizon (which we do not have), and the C horizon is thicker than in this series than in our pit.  These soils exhibit low natural fertility, medium water holding capacity, and rapid permeability on slopes from 2-6 percent.  These discrepancies lead us to conclude that the Soil Profile observed in Pit #3 is most consistent with the Fitchford series as described in the new soil map data.  Similarities between this series and Pit #3 are slopes from 0-14 percent, a thick A, no B, and a C horizon that is not as thick as the Hubbard series.  Other characteristics of the Fitchford series that matches Pit #3 is excessively drained soils, low surface runoff, and they have rapid to very rapid permeability.