LOCATION ACRELANE                NV+ID

Established Series
Rev. WED-DD-JVC-JBF
05/2016

ACRELANE SERIES

The Acrelane series consists of shallow, well drained soils that formed in residuum and colluvium derived from granodiorite and similar granitic rocks. Acrelane soils are on hills and mountains. Slopes are 4 to 50 percent. The mean annual precipitation is about 250 mm and the mean annual temperature is about 9 degrees C.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy-skeletal, mixed, superactive, mesic, shallow Aridic Argixerolls

TYPICAL PEDON: Acrelane extremely gravelly coarse sand--rangeland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.)

A1--0 to 3 cm; brown (10YR 5/3) extremely gravelly coarse sand, very dark brown (10YR 2/2) moist; massive; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; few very fine interstitial pores; 50 percent fine gravel, 5 percent cobbles, and 5 percent stones; slightly acid (pH 6.4); abrupt wavy boundary. (3 to 5 cm thick)

A2--3 to 8 cm; brown (10YR 5/3) gravelly loam, dark brown (7.5YR 3/2) moist; massive; slightly hard, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; many very fine roots; few very fine and fine vesicular pores; 15 percent gravel; slightly acid (pH 6.4); clear wavy boundary. (5 to 13 cm thick)

A3--8 to 15 cm; brown (10YR 5/3) gravelly coarse sandy loam, dark brown (7.5YR 3/2) moist; massive; slightly hard, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common very fine roots; few very fine interstitial pores; common faint clay films coating and bridging mineral grains; 15 percent gravel; neutral (pH 7.2); clear wavy boundary. (0 to 13 cm thick)

Bt--15 to 25 cm; reddish brown (5YR 4/4) very gravelly sandy clay loam, yellowish red (5YR 4/6) moist; massive; hard, friable, moderately sticky and moderately plastic; common very fine roots; common very fine interstitial pores; few distinct clay films coating and bridging mineral grains and few clay films lining pores; 50 percent gravel; neutral (pH 7.2); abrupt wavy boundary. (8 to 23 cm thick)

Crt--25 cm; weathered granodiorite; fractures and joints are plugged with clay; can be dug with hand tools, but occasionally contains hard masses of rock, which are boulder size.

TYPE LOCATION: Washoe County, Nevada; about 6 miles north of Reno in Golden Valley; approximately 1,000 feet west and 600 feet south of the north quarter corner of section 10, T. 20 N., R. 19 E.; USGS Reno 7.5 minute topographic quadrangle; latitude 39 degrees 37 minutes 13 seconds N and longitude 119 degrees 50 minutes 22 seconds W; WGS84 Decimal Degrees 39.6202778 latitude, -119.8394444 longitude.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil moisture: Usually moist in the winter and spring, dry in summer and fall; aridic soil moisture regime that borders on xeric.
Mean annual soil temperature: 8 to 12 degrees C.
Mollic epipedon thickness: 18 to 30 cm.
Depth to bedrock: 25 to 50 cm to a paralithic contact. The paralithic materials below the contact are weathered granitic rock.

Particle-size control section - Clay content: 18 to 30 percent.
Sand content: 50 to 75 percent, mainly medium through very coarse sands.
Rock fragments: 35 to 60 percent, mainly fine (2 to 5 mm diameter) gravel. Lithology of fragments is granitic rocks such as granodiorite or granite.

A horizons
Hue: 10YR or 7.5YR.
Value: 4 through 6 dry, 2 or 3 moist.
Chroma: 2 or 3, dry or moist.
Reaction: Neutral through moderately acid.
Organic matter content: 1 to 3 percent.

Bt horizon
Hue: 5YR through 10YR.
Value: 4 or 5 dry, 3 or 4 moist.
Chroma: 3 through 6, dry or moist.
Texture: Very gravelly sandy clay loam, very gravelly coarse sandy loam, very gravelly sandy loam.
Clay content: 18 to 30 percent.
Rock fragments: 35 to 60 percent, mainly gravel.
Reaction: Neutral or slightly alkaline.
Consistence: Slightly hard or hard dry; very friable or friable moist; slightly sticky or sticky and slightly plastic or plastic, wet.
Structure: Subangular blocky or is massive.

COMPETING SERIES: These are the Erastra, Koontz, Roloc, Tulecan, and Ubehebe series.

Erastra soils average 60 to 75 percent rock fragments in the particle-size control section which are mainly stones and cobbles. Koontz soils have a loam or clay loam argillic horizon with dominantly fine sands and finer. Roloc soils average 10 to 18 percent clay in the particle-size control section. Tulecan and Ubehebe soils are moist for 12 to 20 days cumulative between July and October. Ubehebe soils also are dominated by gravel greater than 5 mm in the particle-size control section and have texture of loam in the argillic horizon.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Acrelane soils are on hills and mountains. These soils formed in residuum and colluvium derived from granodiorite and similar granitic rocks. Slopes are 4 to 50 percent. Elevations range from 915 to 2,290 meters. The climate is semiarid with cool, moist winters and warm, dry summers. The mean annual precipitation is 200 to 330 mm, the mean annual temperature is 7 to 11 degrees C, and the frost-free period is 90 to 135 days.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Arclay, Haybourne, Incy, Luppino, Soar, and Wedekind soils. Arclay, Luppino, and Wedekind soils are loamy. Haybourne and Incy soils do not have argillic horizons and are very deep. Soar soils are very shallow and shallow to paralithic contacts and have ochric epipedons.

DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY: Well drained; medium or high surface runoff; moderately high saturated hydraulic conductivity.

USE AND VEGETATION: Acrelane soils are used for rangeland and wildlife habitat with some small areas under urban development. The present vegetation is mainly Wyoming big sagebrush, low rabbitbrush, ephedra, Anderson's peachbrush, antelope bitterbrush, desert needlegrass, Indian ricegrass, and bottlebrush squirreltail with Utah juniper common in a few areas.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Western Nevada and southwestern Idaho. These soils are extensive with about 119,000 acres of the series mapped to date. The series concept and main acreage is in MLRA 26, while other acreage occurs in MLRAs 23 and 27 in Nevada and MLRA 25 in Idaho.

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

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Washoe County (South Part), Nevada, 1980.

REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Mollic epipedon - The zone from the soil surface to 18 cm (A1, A2, and A3 horizons and part of the Bt horizon).
Argillic horizon - The zone from 15 to 25 cm (Bt horizon).
Paralithic contact - The boundary at 25 cm to underlying soft, weathered bedrock (Crt layer).
Particle-size control section - The zone from the soil surface to 25 cm (A1, A2, A3, and Bt horizons).

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National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.