LOCATION ABERT                   OR

Established Series
Rev. GJW-TDT-JVC-JBF
11/2010

ABERT SERIES

The Abert series consists of very deep, well drained soils that formed in eolian material derived from volcanic ash over lacustrine deposits derived from mixed volcanic rocks and volcanic ash. Abert soils are on lakebeds. Slopes are 0 to 2 percent. The mean annual precipitation is about 230 mm and the mean annual temperature is about 7 degrees C.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Ashy, glassy, frigid Sodic Xeric Haplocambids

TYPICAL PEDON: Abert ashy loamy sand--on a nearly level area at an elevation of 1,318 meters--rangeland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted. When described on September 20, 1994, the soil was dry throughout.)

A--0 to 5 cm; grayish brown (10YR 5/2) ashy loamy sand, very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) moist; weak fine granular structure; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; common very fine and fine roots; few fine interstitial pores; 40 percent very pale brown (10YR 7/3) medium through very coarse sand-size (0.25 to 2 mm diameter) pumiceous ash grains; neutral (pH 7.0); clear smooth boundary. (3 to 8 cm thick)

Bw1--5 to 20 cm; light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) ashy sandy loam, dark brown (10YR 3/3) moist; weak fine subangular blocky structure parting to weak fine granular; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; common very fine, common fine, and few medium roots; few fine tubular pores; 40 percent very pale brown (10YR 7/3) medium through very coarse sand-size (0.25 to 2 mm) pumiceous ash grains; neutral (pH 7.2); clear smooth boundary. (15 to 20 cm thick)

2Bw2--20 to 33 cm; pale brown (10YR 6/3) ashy loam, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; weak fine subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky and nonplastic; common very fine and fine roots; few very fine tubular pores; slightly effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.4); clear wavy boundary. (13 to 25 cm thick)

2Bkn1--33 to 43 cm; brown (10YR 5/3) ashy silt loam, dark brown (10YR 3/3) moist; strong fine subangular blocky structure; very hard, very firm, slightly sticky and nonplastic; few very fine and fine roots; few very fine tubular pores; secondary carbonates segregated in many irregularly shaped fine masses; violently effervescent; very strongly alkaline (pH 9.4); clear smooth boundary.

2Bkn2--43 to 64 cm; light gray (10YR 7/2) ashy silt loam, brown (10YR 5/3) moist; moderate fine subangular blocky structure; hard, firm, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; few very fine roots; few fine tubular pores; secondary carbonates segregated as finely disseminated crystals in the matrix; violently effervescent; very strongly alkaline (pH 9.3); clear smooth boundary.

2Bknz--64 to 89 cm; light gray (10YR 7/2) ashy silt loam, brown (10YR 5/3) moist; moderate fine and medium subangular blocky structure; hard, firm, nonsticky and nonplastic; few very fine and fine roots; few very fine tubular pores; secondary carbonates segregated as finely disseminated crystals in the matrix; slightly effervescent; soluble sodium salts wick to side of soil profile; very strongly alkaline (pH 9.1); clear smooth boundary. (combined thickness of the 2Bkn and 2Bknz horizons is 50 to 115 cm)

3C--89 to 152 cm; pale brown (10YR 6/3) gravelly ashy loamy sand, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; massive; extremely hard, very firm, nonsticky and nonplastic; few very fine roots; few very fine tubular pores; 30 percent gravel; strongly effervescent; very strongly alkaline (pH 9.2); clear smooth boundary.

TYPE LOCATION: Lake County, Oregon; in Fort Rock Valley; approximately 1,500 feet north and 200 feet east southwest corner of section 24, T. 26 S, R. 16 E; USGS Lane Lake 7.5 minute topographic quadrangle; latitude 43 degrees 17 minutes 56 seconds N and longitude 120 degrees 46 minutes 43 seconds W; NAD 83.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil moisture: Usually moist in the moisture control section in winter and spring, dry in summer and fall; aridic moisture regime that borders on xeric.
Mean annual soil temperature: 7 to 8 degrees C.
Depth to base of cambic horizon: 30 to 50 cm.
Depth to identifiable secondary carbonates: 30 to 50 cm.
Depth to bedrock: More than 150 cm.
Other features - Rock fragments on the soil surface and in upper horizons are fine gravel (2.0 to 5.0 mm).

Particle-size control section - Clay content: 18 to 30 percent.

A horizon
Value: 5 or 6 dry, 2 or 3 moist.
Chroma: 2 or 3, dry or moist.
Reaction: Neutral or slightly alkaline.
Volcanic glass content: 30 to 70 percent in coarse silt through fine sand fractions and 30 to 50 percent in medium through very coarse sand fractions as pumiceous ash grains.

Bw1 horizon
Value: 5 or 6 dry, 2 or 3 moist.
Chroma: 2 or 3, dry or moist.
Texture: Ashy loamy sand or ashy sandy loam.
Clay content: 5 to 18 percent.
Rock fragments: 0 to 5 percent.
Reaction: Neutral or slightly alkaline.
Volcanic glass content: 30 to 70 percent in coarse silt through fine sand fractions and 30 to 50 percent in medium through very coarse sand fractions as pumiceous ash grains.

2Bw2 horizon
Value: 5 or 6 dry, 3 or 4 moist.
Chroma: 2 or 3, dry or moist.
Texture: Ashy loam or ashy sandy loam.
Clay content: 5 to 20 percent.
Rock fragments: 0 to 5 percent fine gravel.
Reaction: Moderately alkaline or strongly alkaline.
Salinity (EC): 0 to 2 mmhos/cm.
Sodicity (SAR): 0 to 1.
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 0 to 2 percent.

2Bkn horizons
Value: 5 through 7 dry, 3 through 5 moist.
Chroma: 2 through 4, dry or moist.
Texture: Ashy loam, ashy silt loam, or ashy silty clay loam.
Clay content: 18 to 30 percent.
Rock fragments: 0 to 10 percent.
Reaction: Strongly alkaline or very strongly alkaline.
Salinity (EC): 4 to 8 mmhos/cm.
Sodicity (SAR): 30 to 90.
Effervescence: Slightly effervescent to violently effervescent.
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 5 to 10 percent.
Identifiable secondary carbonates: Occurs as fine masses or finely divided crystals in the matrix.

2Bknz horizon
Value: 5 through 7 dry, 3 through 5 moist.
Chroma: 2 through 4, dry or moist.
Texture: Ashy loam, ashy silt loam, or ashy silty clay loam.
Clay content: 18 to 30 percent.
Rock fragments: 0 to 10 percent.
Reaction: Strongly alkaline or very strongly alkaline.
Salinity (EC): 8 to 16 mmhos/cm.
Sodicity (SAR): 90 to 170.
Effervescence: Slightly effervescent to violently effervescent.
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 2 to 5 percent.
Identifiable secondary carbonates: Occurs as fine masses or finely divided crystals in the matrix.


3C horizon
Value: 6 or 7 dry, 3 or 4 moist.
Chroma: 2 through 4, dry or moist.
Texture: Ashy sandy loam, ashy loam, or gravelly ashy loamy sand.
Clay content: 4 to 20 percent.
Rock fragments: 0 to 35 percent gravel.
Reaction: Strongly alkaline or very strongly alkaline.
Salinity (EC): 8 to 16 mmhos/cm.
Sodicity (SAR): 70 to 150.

COMPETING SERIES: These are the Thornlake and Tonor series.

Thornlake soils do not have visible pumiceous ash grains in any horizon. Tonor soils do not have visible pumiceous ash grains in any horizon, are influenced by diatom grains, and have horizons between 100 and 150 cm with more than 35 percent pararock fragments.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Abert soils are on lakebeds. These soils formed in eolian material and lacustrine deposits derived from volcanic ash over lacustrine deposits derived from mixed volcanic rocks and volcanic ash. The source of the volcanic ash is ancestral Mt. Mazama. Slopes are 0 to 2 percent. Elevations range from 1,280 to 1,500 meters. The climate is semiarid and characterized by cold, moist winters and warm, dry summers. The mean annual precipitation is 200 to 250 mm, mean annual temperature is 6 to 7 degrees C., and the frost-free period is 50 to 80 days.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Bonnick, Fort Rock, Kunceider, Morehouse, and Wegert soils. Bonnick soils have mollic epipedons and ashy sandy textures in the particle-size control section. Fort Rock soils are ashy over sandy or sandy-skeletal and have mollic epipedons. Kunceider soils are ashy-skeletal, shallow to lithic contacts, have mollic epipedons, and are on adjacent lava plains. Morehouse soils have ashy sandy textures in the particle-size control section and are on adjacent stable dunes. Wegert soils are ashy, moderately deep to lithic contacts, have mollic epipedons, and are on adjacent lava plains.

DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; negligible surface runoff; moderate or moderately slow permeability; moderately high saturated hydraulic conductivity.

USE AND VEGETATION: Abert soils are used for irrigated cropland, livestock grazing, and wildlife habitat. Alfalfa hay is the main crop. The vegetation in rangeland is basin big sagebrush, green rabbitbrush, gray rabbitbrush, basin wildrye, and inland saltgrass.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: South-central Oregon. These soils are moderately extensive. MLRA 23.

MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Davis, California.

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Lake County (Northern Part), Oregon, 2006.

REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon - The zone from the soil surface to 18 cm (A horizon and part of the Bw1 horizon).
Cambic horizon - The zone from 5 to 33 cm (Bw1 and 2Bw2 horizons).
Identifiable secondary carbonates and sodic subgroup feature - The zone from 33 to 89 cm (2Bkn1, 2Bkn2, and 2Bknz horizons).
Particle-size control section and ashy substitute class with glassy mineralogy - The zone from 25 to 100 cm(2Bkn1, 2Bkn2, and 2Bknz horizons and parts of the 2Bw2 and 3C horizons).

ADDITIONAL DATA: The typical pedon at the series type location is reference sampled for the Soil Survey Laboratory (SSL), Lincoln, NE, as soil survey sample number S94OR-037-006 (pedon # 95P0062). Selected data are available for the 4th through 7th horizons.

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National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.