LOCATION BIENFAIT NV

Established Series
Rev. JVC/JBF
02/2012

BIENFAIT SERIES

The Bienfait series consists of very deep, somewhat excessively drained soils that formed in alluvium derived from quartz monzonite. Bienfait soils are on fan remnants and fan skirts. Slopes are 2 to 15 percent. The mean annual precipitation is about 180 mm and the mean annual temperature is about 9 degrees C.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Sandy, mixed, mesic Sodic Haplocambids

TYPICAL PEDON: Bienfait coarse sandy loam--rangeland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.) The surface is covered with 30 percent gravel.

A--0 to 8 cm; pale brown (10YR 6/3) coarse sandy loam, dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) moist; weak thin platy structure; soft, very friable, slightly sticky and nonplastic; few very fine and fine roots; many very fine vesicular pores; 10 percent gravel; violently effervescent; 4 percent calcium carbonate equivalent; strongly alkaline (pH 8.6); sodium adsorption ratio (SAR) is 1; abrupt smooth boundary. (5 to 13 cm thick)

Bw--8 to 30 cm; very pale brown (10YR 7/3) coarse sandy loam, brown (10YR 5/3) moist; weak medium subangular blocky structure; soft, very friable, slightly sticky and nonplastic; many very fine and fine, few medium roots; many very fine interstitial and few very fine tubular pores; 10 percent gravel; violently effervescent; 5 percent calcium carbonate equivalent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.3); sodium adsorption ratio (SAR) is 1; clear smooth boundary. (20 to 28 cm thick)

Bkn1--30 to 61 cm; very pale brown (10YR 7/3) loamy coarse sand, brown (10YR 5/3) moist; massive; soft, very friable, slightly sticky and nonplastic; many very fine and fine, few medium roots; many very fine interstitial and few very fine tubular pores; 10 percent gravel; violently effervescent; common rounded masses and common coats of secondary calcium carbonate on bottom of rock fragments; 8 percent calcium carbonate equivalent; very strongly alkaline (pH 9.5); sodium adsorption ratio (SAR) is 12; clear smooth boundary. (15 to 46 cm thick)

Bkn2--61 to 91 cm; very pale brown (10YR 7/3) gravelly loamy coarse sand, brown (10YR 5/3) moist; massive; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; common very fine and few fine roots; many very fine interstitial and few very fine tubular pores; 20 percent gravel; violently effervescent; common rounded masses and common coats of secondary calcium carbonate on bottom of rock fragments; 9 percent calcium carbonate equivalent; strongly alkaline (pH 8.9); sodium adsorption ratio (SAR) is 47; clear wavy boundary. (0 to 30 cm thick)

Bkn3--91 to 152 cm; pale brown (10YR 6/3) gravelly loamy coarse sand, brown (10YR 5/3) moist; massive; soft, nonsticky and nonplastic; few very fine roots; common very fine interstitial and few very fine tubular pores; 20 percent gravel; violently effervescent; common rounded masses and common coats of secondary calicum carbonate on bottom of rock fragments; 5 percent calcium carbonate equivalent; strongly alkaline (pH 8.6); sodium adsorption ratio (SAR) is 24.

TYPE LOCATION: White Pine County, Nevada; about 7.5 miles southwest along the road from Mike Springs; about 590 feet north and 1,690 feet west of the southeast corner of section 8, T. 20 N., R. 68 E.; USGS White Cloud Point 7.5 minute topographic quadrangle; latitude 39 degrees 36 minutes 27 seconds N and longitude 114 degrees 20 minutes 42 seconds W; NAD 83.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil moisture: Usually dry, moist late fall through early summer, dry late July through October except for 10 to 20 days cumulative between July and October due to convection storms; typic aridic soil moisture regime.
Mean annual soil temperature: 8 to 11 degrees C.

Particle-size control section - Clay content: averages 2 to 7 percent.
Rock fragments: 5 to 25 percent, mainly gravel. Lithology of fragments are quartz monzonite.

A horizon
Value: 5 or 6 dry, 3 through 5 moist.
Chroma: 2 through 4, dry or moist.
Reaction: Moderately alkaline or strongly alkaline.

Bw horizon
Value: 5 through 7 dry, 4 or 5 moist.
Chroma: 3 or 4, dry or moist.
Texture: Sandy loam or coarse sandy loam.
Consistence: Nonplastic or slightly plastic.
Clay content: 5 to 15 percent.
Rock fragments: 5 to 15 percent gravel.
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 5 to 10 percent.
Reaction: Moderately alkaline or strongly alkaline.

Bkn1 horizon
Value: 6 or 7 dry, 4 through 6 moist.
Chroma: 3 or 4, dry or moist.
Clay content: 3 to 10 percent.
Texture: Loamy coarse sand or coarse sandy loam.
Rock fragments: 5 to 25 percent gravel, 0 to 10 percent cobbles.
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 5 to 10 percent.
Reaction: Strongly alkaline or very strongly alkaline (up to pH 9.6).
Salinity (EC): 0 to 4 mmhos/cm.
Sodicity (SAR): 5 to 20.

Bkn2 and Bkn3 horizon
Value: 5 through 7, 4 through 6 moist.
Chroma: 3 or 4, dry or moist.
Texture: Loamy coarse sand or coarse sand.
Clay content: 0 to 5 percent.
Rock fragments: 15 to 35 percent gravel, 0 to 10 percent cobbles.
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 5 to 10 percent.
Salinity (EC): 4 to 16 mmhos/cm.
Sodicity (SAR): 13 to 60.

COMPETING SERIES: This is the Southcat series.

Southcat soils are not intermittently moist for 10 to 20 days cumulative during the summer.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Bienfait soils are on fan remnants and fan skirts. These soils formed in alluvium derived from quartz monzonite. Slopes are 2 to 15 percent. Elevations range from 1,590 to 2,135 meters. The climate is semiarid with cool, moist winters and warm, dry summers. The mean annual precipitation is 125 to 200 mm, the mean annual temperature is 7 to 9 degrees C, and the frost-free period is 100 to 120 days.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Gremmers and Zafod soils. Gremmers soils are loamy, shallow to a duripan, and have calcic horizon. Zafod soils are loamy-skeletal, moderately deep to a duripan, and have calcic horizons.

DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY: Somewhat excessively drained; very low or low surface runoff; high saturated hydraulic conductivity.

USE AND VEGETATION: Bienfait soils are used for livestock grazing and wildlife habitat. The present vegetation is mainly shadscale, winterfat, Indian ricegrass, bud sagebrush, and galleta.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Eastern Nevada. These soils are not extensive. MLRA 28A.

MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Phoenix, Arizona.

SERIES ESTABLISHED: White Pine County, Nevada, East Part. 2004.

REMARKS: This revision of August 2002 updates the taxonomic class from Coarse-loamy, mixed, mesic Sodic Haplocambids.

Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon - The zone from the soil surface to 18 cm (A and part of Bw horizons).
Cambic horizon - The zone from 8 to 30 cm (Bw horizon).
Identifiable secondary carbonates - The zone from 30 to 152 cm (Bkn1, Bkn2, and Bkn3 horizons).
Particle-size control section - The zone from 25 to 100 cm (Bkn1 and Bkn2 horizons and parts of the Bw and Bkn3 horizons).

ADDITIONAL DATA: The typical pedon at the series type location has full characterization by the Soil Survey Laboratory (SSL), Lincoln, NE, as soil survey sample number S94NV-033-004 (pedon # 94P0729).
Previous authors and editors include: GWM-PNL-TM.

National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.