LOCATION ANDREWS NMEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy-skeletal, carbonatic, frigid Typic Calciustolls
TYPICAL PEDON: Andrews gravelly loam - rangeland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise stated.)
A--0 to 9 inches; brown (7.5YR 4/2) gravelly loam, dark brown (7.5YR 3/2) moist; weak very fine and fine granular structure; soft, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; many fine roots; 30 percent coarse fragments; strongly calcareous, moderately alkaline (pH 8.2); clear wavy boundary. (6 to l0 inches thick)
Bk1--9 to 14 inches; reddish brown (5YR 5/4) very gravelly loam, dark red (2.5YR 3/6) moist; moderate medium granular structure; soft; friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; few fine roots; 35 percent limestone fragments; strongly calcareous with some masses of segregated lime; strongly calcareous; moderately alkaline (pH 8.4); gradual wavy boundary. (4 to 9 inches thick)
Bk2--14 to 24 inches; light reddish brown (2.5YR 6/4) very gravelly clay loam, reddish brown (2.5YR 4/4) moist; weak fine granular structure; slightly hard; friable, sticky and slightly plastic; few roots; 50 percent limestone fragments; much segregated lime; strongly calcareous; moderately alkaline (pH 8.4); gradual wavy boundary. (8 to l2 inches thick)
2R--24 inches; fractured earthy limestone with soil in crevices.
TYPE LOCATION: Valencia County, New Mexico; SEl/4, sec. 8, T. 11 N., R. l3 W.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Depth to limestone bedrock: 20 to 40 inches.
Soil moisture: Typic ustic moisture regime
A horizon
Hue: 7.5YR or 5YR
Value: 3 or 4
Chroma: 2 or 3
Texture: gravelly loam but is very gravelly or cobbly in some pedons
Rock fragments: 20 to 40 percent.
B horizon
Hue: 5YR or 2.5YR
Value: 3 to 5
Chroma: 3 to 6
Texture: very gravelly loam or clay loam
Rock fragments: 35 to 50 percent, generally increasing depth.
C horizon
Hue: 5YR or 2.5YR
Value: 3 to 5
Chroma: 3 to 5
Rock fragments: 40 to 80 percent. In some pedons, cobbles and stones are common in the lower B and C horizons.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Clyl (UT), Maiden (MT), and Windham (MT). Clyl and Windham soils are very deep. Maiden soils have hue 10YR and yellower.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Andrews soils formed from limestone on smooth, rounded hills in the uplands where slopes are 5 to 20 percent. Elevations are 7,800 to 8,500 feet. The climate is cool temperate, subhumid, continental. The mean annual precipitation ranges from l8 to 20 inches, and the average annual temperature is about 44 degrees F. The frost free season ranges from l00 to l20 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Kiln, Wilcoxson, and Zuni soils. Kiln soils are noncalcareous and have bedrock within 20 inches of the surface and are generally timbered. Wilcoxson soils are deeper than 40 inches to bedrock and have argillic horizons. Zuni soils are deep and have fine textured B2t horizons.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained, medium runoff, moderate permeability.
USE AND VEGETATION: Used mainly for rangeland. Also used for wildlife habitat, watershed, and protective cover. Native vegetation is mainly oneseed juniper, pinyon pine, Arizona fescue, bottlebrush squirreltail, blue grama, big bluestem, mountain muhly, and Gambel oak.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: West central New Mexico. The series is inextensive. MLRA 39.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Phoenix, Arizona
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Zuni Mountain Area, Valencia County, New Mexico l964.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Mollic epipedon - The zone from 0 to 9 inches (A horizon)
Calcic horizon - The zone from 14 to 24 inches (Bk horizon)
Classification changed from Calciustepts to Calciustolls in 2006.
Classified according to Keys to Soil Taxonomy Tenth Edition, 2006.