LOCATION ALICIA NMEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-silty, mixed, superactive, mesic Ustic Haplocambids
TYPICAL PEDON: Alicia loam--rangeland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.)
A--0 to 6 inches; light reddish brown (5YR 6/4) loam, reddish brown (5YR 4/4) moist; moderate fine granular structure with weak platy structure in the upper 1 inch; slightly hard, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; many very fine and fine roots; common to many very fine interstitial pores; common clusters of fine granular worm casts; slightly effervescent, moderately alkaline; clear smooth boundary. (2 to 7 inches thick)
Bw1--6 to 12 inches; reddish brown (5YR 5/4) silty clay loam, reddish brown (5YR 4/4) moist; weak medium prismatic structure parting to moderate fine subangular blocky; hard, friable, slightly sticky and plastic; many very fine and fine roots; common very fine tubular pores; common clusters of fine granular worm casts; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline; clear smooth boundary.
Bw2--12 to 20 inches; reddish brown (5YR 5/4) silty clay loam, reddish brown (5YR 4/4) moist; weak coarse prismatic and moderate medium subangular blocky structure; hard, firm, slightly sticky and plastic; many very fine and few fine roots; common very fine tubular pores; common clusters of fine granular worm casts; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline; gradual smooth boundary. (Combined thickness of the Bw horizon is 10 to 25 inches)
Bk1--20 to 27 inches; reddish brown (5YR 5/4) silt loam, reddish brown (5YR 4/4) moist; weak medium subangular blocky structure; hard, friable, slightly sticky and plastic; common very fine roots; common very fine tubular pores;; calcium carbonate disseminated and in few scattered seams and masses ; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline; gradual smooth boundary.
Bk2--27 to 40 inches; light reddish brown (5YR 6/4) silt loam, reddish brown (5YR 4/4) moist; weak coarse subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky and plastic; few fine roots; few fine tubular pores;; fine rounded masses and thin seams of calcium carbonate (less than 15 percent calcium carbonate equivalent); strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline; gradual smooth boundary.
Bk3--40 to 65 inches; light reddish brown (5YR 6/4) silt loam, reddish brown (5YR 4/4) moist; massive; slightly hard, friable, nonsticky and slightly plastic; strongly effervescent; calcium carbonate in fine rounded soft masses and in thin seams, there is less segregation in this horizon than in the horizon above and decreases with depth; moderately alkaline. (Combined thickness of the Bk horizon is 40 to 70 inches)
TYPE LOCATION: Torrance County, New Mexico; approximately 12 feet east and 120 feet south of the road junction near the west side of sec. 20, T. 7 N., R. 10 E.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil Moisture - Aridic moisture regime bordering on ustic. Usually dry between depths of 7 to 20 inches but are not dry in all parts of the soil moisture control section above 12 inches the time the soil temperature exceeds 41 degrees F. The driest periods are October to May..
Soil Temperature: 47 to 59 degrees F.
Rock Fragments: 0 to 10 percent
Reaction: slightly alkaline to moderately alkaline.
Particle size control section:
Texture: Silt loam, loam, silty clay loam, and clay loam
Clay content: 18 to 35 percent
A horizon
Value: 4 to 6 dry, 3 or 4 moist.
Chroma: 3 or 4.
Texture: fine sandy loam, very fine sandy loam, loam, or silt loam.
Bw horizon
Hue: 2.5YR to 7.5YR.
Value: 4 to 7 dry, 3 to 5 moist.
Chroma: 4 to 6.
Texture: loam, clay loam, and silty clay loam.
Bk horizon
Hue: 2.5YR to 7.5YR
Value: 4 to 7 dry, 3 to 5 moist.
Textures: loam, silt loam, or silty clay loam.
Calcium carbonate equivalent: less than 15 percent within 40 inches of the surface appearing as thin seams to common fine masses.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the,
Calabasas (NM),
Menoken (CO),
Ruinpoint (UT),
Senlar (T WY), and Ulando (NM) series.
Calabasas soils: have greater than 15 percent calcium carbonate equivalent within 40 inches of the surface.
Menoken soils: have bedrock at 20 to 40 inch depths.
Ruinpint soils: have an evenly distributed precipitation pattern..
Senlar soils: have hue of 10YR or yellower in the control section.
Ulando soils: have 1 to 5 mm cracks lined with cutans of silt and clay and have a mica content of 10 to 25 percent in the coarse silt and sand fraction.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Landform: fans, fan terraces, and piedmont slopes.
Parent material: medium and moderately fine textured silty, calcareous sediments derived principally from "redbed" formations of Jurassic, Triassic, Permian, and Pennsylvanian age. These redbed formations are mostly shale and fine grain sandstone.
Slope: 0 to 9 percent
Mean annual precipitation: 11 to 14 inches; at the type location the mean annual precipitation is 13 inches.
Mean annual temperature: 49 to 53 degrees F.; at the type location it is about 50 degrees F.
Frost free period: 110 to 170 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the
Clovis,
Harvey,
La Fonda,
Moriarty, and
Witt soils.
Clovis and Witt soils: have an argillic horizon.
Harvey soils: have a calcic horizon within 40 inches of the surface.
La Fonda soils: are in the fine-loamy family.
Moriarty soils: are in the fine family.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; runoff is low on slopes less than 1 percent, medium on 1 to 5 percent slopes and high on slopes greater than 5 percent; moderately slow permeability.
USE AND VEGETATION: Principal use is rangeland, but where irrigation water is available, they are used for irrigated cropland. Native vegetation is principally blue grama, black grama, bush muhly, western wheatgrass, galleta and tobosa.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Central and northeastern New Mexico; LRR G, MLRA 70; the series is of moderate extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Phoenix, Arizona
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Union County, New Mexico, 1972.
REMARKS: The assignment of the cation-exchange activity class is inferred from lab data from similar soils in the surrounding area.
Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon - 0 to 6 inches. (A horizon)
Cambic horizon - 6 to 20 inches. (Bw horizons)
Taxonomic Version: Second Edition, 1999