LOCATION ARBOL NMEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy-skeletal, mixed, superactive, mesic Aridic Lithic Haplustolls
TYPICAL PEDON: Arbol extremely gravelly loam - rangeland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise stated).
A--0 to 2 inches; brown (7.5YR 5/3) crushed, extremely gravelly loam, dark brown (7.5YR 3/3) crushed, moist; 22 percent clay; weak fine granular structure; loose; slightly sticky and slightly plastic; few fine roots throughout; 50 percent nonflat subangular indurated 0.1- to 3-inch tuff gravel and 10 percent nonflat subangular indurated 3- to 10-inch tuff cobbles; noneffervescent, by HCl, 1 normal; moderately acid; clear smooth boundary. (0 to 4 inches thick)
Bw1--2 to 7 inches; brown (7.5YR 4/4) crushed, extremely gravelly loam, dark brown (7.5YR 3/3) crushed, moist; 24 percent clay; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, friable; slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common fine roots throughout; few fine dendritic tubular pores; 60 percent nonflat subangular indurated 0.1- to 3-inch tuff gravel and 15 percent nonflat subangular indurated 3- to 10-inch tuff cobbles; noneffervescent, by HCl, 1 normal; moderately acid; clear smooth boundary. (3 to 10 inches thick)
Bw2--7 to 16 inches; brown (7.5YR 5/4) crushed, extremely gravelly silt loam, dark brown (7.5YR 3/4) crushed, moist; 24 percent clay; weak fine subangular blocky structure; moderately hard, firm; moderately sticky and moderately plastic; few fine roots throughout; few fine dendritic tubular pores; 50 percent nonflat subangular indurated 0.1- to 3-inch tuff gravel and 20 percent nonflat subangular indurated 3- to 10-inch tuff cobbles; noneffervescent, by HCl, 1 normal; slightly acid; clear smooth boundary. (5 to 15 inches thick)
Cr--16 to 19 inches; 95 percent nonflat subangular indurated 3 to 10-inch tuff fragments. (1 to 5 inches thick)
R--19 inches; thickly bedded massive tuff.
TYPE LOCATION: Dona Ana County, New Mexico; approximately 4.5 miles W. and 5 miles S. of White Sands; 2920 feet E. and 740 feet S. of the NW corner of S. 20, R. 4 E., T. 23 S. USGS Organ Peak topographic quadrangle; latitude: 32 degrees 17 minutes 8.54 seconds north and longitude: 106 degrees 33 minutes 2.38 seconds west. UTM zone 13S, 353684E, 3574293 N, NAD 27.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil Moisture: The moisture control section is usually dry in some or in all parts for six-tenths or more of the time that the soil temperature exceeds 41 degrees F. Some part of the epipedon is moist for more than 90 cumulative days in most years when the soil temperature exceeds 41 degrees F. Aridic ustic moisture regime.
Mean annual soil temperature: 55 to 59 degrees F.
Thickness of the mollic epipedon: 7 to 10 inches
Depth to lithic contact: 9 to 20 inches
Depth to paralithic contact: 8 to 15 inches
Particle-size control section (weighted average):
Clay content: 18 to 27 percent
Coarse fragment content: 60 to 85 percent
Reaction: moderately acid to slightly acid
A horizon:
Hue: 5YR or 7.5YR
Value: 4 or 5 dry, 2 or 3 moist
Chroma: 2 or 3, dry or moist
Texture modifier: very gravelly, extremely gravelly
Coarse fragments: tuff fragments; 60 to 70 percent total coarse fragments; 40 to 60 percent gravel; 5 to 15 percent cobbles.
Bw horizons:
Hue: 5YR or 7.5YR
Value: 4 or 5 dry, 2.5 or 3 moist
Chroma: 2 or 3, dry or moist
Texture modifier: very gravelly or extremely gravelly
Coarse fragments: tuff fragments, 60 to 85 percent total coarse fragments; 40 to 70 percent gravel; 10 to 25 percent cobbles.
Texture: loam, silt loam
COMPETING SERIES: This is the
Seralin (NV) series.
Seralin soils are derived from limestone and contain Bk horizon. In addition these soils are in the
Mohave Desert (MLRA 30) and receive most of their precipitation in the winter.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Parent material: Colluvium from tuff
Landform: Mountain tops and flanks
Slope: 35 to 90 percent
Mean annual temperature: 54 to 57 degrees
Mean annual precipitation: 14 to 16 inches
Precipitation pattern: Precipitation falls mostly during the months of July through September. The driest months are March and April. Precipitation during the months of January, February, and March is less than 13 percent of the total.
Frost-free period: 130 to 170 days
Elevation: 5,800 to 6,800 feet
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the
Thaad,
Brewster,
Poblano, and
Chuzzie soils.
Brewster soils are shallow to monzonite and are on mountain tops and flanks.
Thaad soils are moderately deep to bedrock and are on mountain flanks and bases.
Chuzzie soils are deep and are on stream terraces.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained. Permeability is moderately slow. Runoff is very high.
USE AND VEGETATION: Used for livestock grazing. Vegetation is of the Pinyon-Juniper-Oak savannah type consisting of sideoats grama, hairy grama, muhly spp., pinyon pine, oak spp., alligator juniper, and mountain mahogany.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Southern New Mexico; LRR D, MLRA 42. The series is of minor extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Phoenix, Arizona.
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Dona Ana County, New Mexico; 2001.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Particle-size control section: The zone from 10 to 16 inches. (Bw1, and Bw2 horizons)
Mollic epipedon: The zone from 0 to 7 inches. (A and Bw1 horizons)
Lithic contact: The contact with bedrock at 19 inches. (R horizon)
Classification changed to Aridic Lithic subgroup in 2006. This change was made to be consistent with the moisture regime.
Classified according to Keys to Soil Taxonomy Tenth Edition, 2006.