LOCATION MEDBURN UT+NVEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Coarse-loamy, mixed, superactive, calcareous, mesic Xeric Torriorthents
TYPICAL PEDON: Medburn very fine sandy loam--rangeland. (Colors are for air-dry soil unless otherwise noted.)
A1--0 to 10 cm; pale brown (10YR 6/3) very fine sandy loam, dark brown (10YR 3/3) moist; moderate fine granular structure; soft, friable, slightly sticky, slightly plastic; common very fine roots; 10 percent gravel; slight effervescence, carbonate, finely disseminated (3 percent calcium carbonate equivalent); moderately alkaline (pH 8.4); clear smooth boundary. (3 to 28 cm thick)
A2--(10 to 20 cm); pale brown (10YR 6/3) fine sandy loam, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; weak medium subangular blocky structure; soft, friable, slightly sticky, slightly plastic; common very fine roots; common very fine pores; strong effervescence, carbonate, finely disseminated (6 percent calcium carbonate equivalent); strongly alkaline (pH 8.6); clear smooth boundary. (0 to 43 cm thick)
C1--20 to 38 cm; light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) fine sandy loam, yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) moist; weak medium subangular blocky structure; soft, very friable, slightly sticky; common very fine roots; common very fine pores; 5 percent gravel; strong effervescence, carbonate, finely disseminated (10 percent calcium carbonate equivalent); strongly alkaline (pH 8.6); clear smooth boundary. (8 to 36 cm thick)
C2--38 to 61 cm; very pale brown (10YR 7/3) fine sandy loam, brown (10YR 5/3) moist; massive; soft, very friable, slightly sticky, slightly plastic; common very fine roots; few fine pores; 5 percent gravel; strong effervescence, carbonate, finely disseminated (10 percent calcium carbonate equivalent); strongly alkaline (pH 8.7); clear smooth boundary. (15 to 46 cm thick)
C3--61 to 81 cm; very pale brown (10YR 7/3) fine sandy loam, brown (10YR 5/3) moist; massive; soft, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; few very fine roots; few fine pores; 5 percent gravel; strong effervescence, carbonate, finely disseminated (11 percent calcium carbonate equivalent); strongly alkaline (pH 8.9); clear smooth boundary (20 to 64 cm thick)
C4--81 to 104 cm; very pale brown (10YR 7/3) sandy loam, brown (10YR 4/3), moist; massive; friable, soft, slightly sticky, slightly plastic; few very fine roots; 20 percent gravel; strong effervescence, carbonate, finely disseminated (7 percent calcium carbonate equivalent); strongly alkaline, pH 8.8; clear smooth boundary. (0 to 33 cm thick)
C5--104 to 152 cm; very pale brown (10YR 7/3) loam, brown (10YR 4/3), moist; massive; friable, soft, slightly sticky, slightly plastic; strong effervescence, carbonate, finely disseminated (7 percent calcium carbonate equivalent); strongly alkaline, pH 8.2.
TYPE LOCATION: Juab County, Utah; about 2.4 kilometers (1.5 miles) southwest of Elberta; 1,100 feet west and 1,800 feet south of the northeast corner of Section 19, Township 10 S., Range 1 W.; USGS Goshen, Utah 7.5 minute quadrangle; lat. 39 degrees 55 minutes 58 seconds N. and long. 111 degrees 58 minutes 41 seconds W., NAD83.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil moisture: Usually dry; moist in winter and spring and for brief periods in late summer due to convection storms (Aridic bordering on xeric soil moisture regime).
Mean annual soil temperature: 8.3 to 12.0 degrees C. (47 to 52 degrees F.)
Mean summer soil temperature: 20.0 to 21.6 degrees C. (68 to 71 degrees F.)
Reaction: Moderately alkaline or strongly alkaline throughout
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 3 to 40 percent throughout
Particle-size control section (weighted average):
Clay content: 5 to 18 percent
A horizon:
Hue: 10YR or 7.5YR
Value: 5 to 7 dry, 3 to 6 moist
Chroma: 2 to 6EC (mmhos/cm): 0 to 4 mmhos/cm
Effervescence: Strongly effervescent or violently effervescent
Other features: The horizon(s), when mixed in the upper 18 cm, have too high value or chroma to qualify as mollic epipedons
Bw horizons (when present) and C horizon:
Hue: 7.5YR, 10YR or 2.5Y
Value: 5 to 8 dry, 4 to 7 moist
Chroma: 2 to 6
Texture: Fine sandy loam, sandy loam or loam. Thin lenses of loamy sand or sandy clay loam may occur in the particle-size control section, and thin lenses of silt loam to sand may occur below the control section.
Consistence: Soft or slightly hard dry, very friable or friable moist, nonsticky or slightly sticky and nonplastic to moderately plastic
Rock fragments: Gravel or cobbles range from 0 to 25 percent, but average less than 20 percent above a depth of 40 inches and range from 0 to 50 percent below depth of 40 inches.
Effervescence: Slightly effervescent to violently effervescent
EC (mmhos/cm): 0 to 16 mmhos/cm.
Exchangeable sodium percentage (ESP): 0 to 30
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Pengpong (NV), Perwick (NV) and Turbyfill (ID) series. Pengpong soils have a fine earth fraction made up dominantly of spheroidal aggregates of eolian origin and contains broken sand-sized shell fragments. Perwick soils have bedrock at a depth of 50 to 100 cm. Turbyfill soils have visible secondary carbonates in the series control section.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Medburn soils are at elevations of 1,372 to 2,073 meters (4,500 to 6,800 feet). They are on alluvial fans, fan remnants, inset fans, alluvial flats, and dissected lake plains. Slopes range from 0 to 8 percent. They formed in alluvium and lacustrine sediments derived dominantly from igneous and sedimentary rock. The climate is semiarid. Mean annual temperature is 7.2 to 12.2 degrees C. (45 to 54 degrees F.) and the mean summer temperature is 19.4 to 21.6 degrees C. (67 to 71 degrees F.) The freeze-free period is 100 to 140 days. Average annual precipitation is 200 to 300 mm (8 to 12 inches).
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Ashdown, Denmark, Genola, Linoyer, Pibler, Pober, Sierocliff, and Spager and Wales soils. Genola soils are fine-silty. Ashdown and Wales soils are fine-loamy. Linoyer soils are coarse-silty. Denmark, Pibler, Pober, Sierocliff and Spager soils have petrocalcic horizons.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained or somewhat excessively drained; very low and low runoff; moderate or moderately rapid permeability; high or moderately high saturated hydraulic conductivity.
USE AND VEGETATION: Medburn soils are used for livestock grazing, but also for production of irrigated and nonirrigated alfalfa and grain. Potential vegetation is big sagebrush, cheatgrass, bluebunch wheatgrass, galleta grass, and blue grama. In saline-alkaline areas native vegetation is alkali sacaton, threeawn and black greasewood.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Moderately extensive in southwestern and central Utah. MLRA 28A and 28B.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Phoenix, Arizona
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Juab County (Fairfield-Nephi Soil Survey Area), Utah, 1980.
REMARKS:
9/2009 revision moved the type location to better represent the series.
Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon: The zone from the soil surface to a depth of 20 cm. (A1 and A2 horizons)
Particle-size control section: The zone from 25 to 100 cm (part of C1 and C4, and the C2, C3 horizons)
ADDITIONAL DATA: Soil Conservation Service, 1984, Soil Survey of Firfield-Nephi Area Utah, Parts of Juab, Sanpete and Utah Counties, Tables 17 and 18, Physical and Chemical Analyses of Selected Soils, pp. 355 and 358. NSSL lab pedon number 78P0447 has characterization data for the type location, lab pedon numbers 81P0063 and 81P0064 contain additional data for soils mapped or correlated to Medburn series.