LOCATION BATESVILLE TXEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, mixed, active, hyperthermic Petrocalcic Calciustolls
TYPICAL PEDON: Batesville fine sandy loam--rangeland.
(Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise stated.)
A1--0 to 10 inches; dark brown (10YR 4/3) fine sandy loam,
very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) moist; weak fine subangular
blocky structure; slightly hard, very friable; common fine roots; common fine pores; few flecks and concretions of calcium carbonate
to 4 mm across; few shell fragments; calcareous; moderately
alkaline; gradual smooth boundary. (7 to 12 inches thick)
B--10 to 19 inches; brown (10YR 5/3) sandy clay loam, dark
brown (10YR 4/3) moist; weak fine and medium subangular blocky structure; hard, friable; common fine roots; common fine pores;
few flecks and concretions of calcium carbonate to 1 cm across;
few wormcasts; calcareous; moderately alkaline; gradual wavy boundary. (6 to 10 inches thick)
Bk--19 to 28 inches; light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) sandy
clay loam; dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) moist; fine and medium subangular blocky structure; hard, friable; few fine roots; common fine pores; few flecks and concretions of calcium carbonate to 3
cm across; few wormcasts; calcareous; moderately alkaline; abrupt wavy boundary. (4 to 10 inches thick)
Ckm--28 to 32 inches; white (10YR 8/1) caliche; light gray
(10YR 7/1) moist; strongly cemented; contains a few solution
channels filled with soil material; few streaks of pink and very
pale brown; calcareous; clear wavy boundary. (1 to 8 inches
thick)
Ck--32 to 40 inches; white (10YR 8/1) caliche; light gray
(10YR 7/1) moist; weakly cemented; contains a few solution
channels filled with soil material; few streaks of pink and very
pale brown; calcareous; moderately alkaline.
TYPE LOCATION: Zavala County, Texas; 4.2 miles east of Batesville
on U.S. Highway 57; 3.3 miles south on Farm Road 1866; 0.9 mile
south on small county road; 0.3 mile east to gate; continue 2.0
miles east on ranch road to Bowman Ranch Headquarters; 0.15 mile southwest of Headquarters in rangeland.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Solum thickness to caliche commonly is
20 to 30 inches but ranges from 20 to 40 inches. Calcium
carbonate equivalent ranges from about 5 to 40 percent.
The A horizon is grayish brown, brown, dark grayish brown, or dark brown in hue of 7.5YR or 10YR, value of 3 to 5, and chroma of 2 or
3. Moist values are less than 3.5. It is fine sandy loam or
loam.
The B horizon is grayish brown to brown or dark brown in hue of
7.5YR or 10YR, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 2 to 4. It is sandy clay loam or clay loam. Clay content in the B and Bk horizons is
20 to 32 percent.
The Bk horizon is brown to pale brown, light yellowish brown, or yellowish brown in hue of 7.5YR or 10YR, value of 5 to 7, and
chroma of 3 and 4. It is sandy clay loam or clay loam.
The Ck horizon is laminar and indurated in the upper part in some pedons.
COMPETING SERIES: There are no series in the same family.
Similar soils include the
Cho,
Hidalgo,
Jimenez,
Olmos,
Pettus,
and
Valco series. Cho soils have soil temperatures less than 72 degrees F., have more than 40 percent calcium carbonate
equivalent, and have sola less than 20 inches thick. Hidalgo and Pettus soils lack petrocalcic horizons. Jimenez and Olmos soils
have more than 35 percent by volume of coarse fragments and have
sola less than 20 inches thick. Valco soils have sola less than
20 inches thick.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Batesville soils are on level to gently undulating outwash plains and old stream terraces. Slopes are 0
to 3 percent. The soil formed in calcareous sediments. The
climate is hot and dry subhumid to semiarid. Average annual precipitation is 18 to 28 inches; annual P-E indices are 25 to
about 40; and mean annual temperature is about 70 to 73 degrees F.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These include the competing
Olmos and
Valco series, as well as
Caid,
Randado, and
Uvalde
series. Olmos soils occur in slightly higher positions in the landscape and have common fragments of caliche scattered on their surfaces. Valco soils occur in positions very similar to
Batesville soils. Caid and Uvalde soils occur in similar or
slightly lower positions, lack the strongly cemented caliche
layers, and have sola thicker than 40 inches. Randado soils are
more red in color, contain Bt horizons, and have sola less than 20 inches.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained, slow to medium runoff, moderate permeability above the Ccam horizon, which has slow permeability.
USE AND VEGETATION: Used as rangeland. The original plant
community was an open grassland, dominated by mid grasses, with an occasional mesquite tree or woody shrub. Bushsunflower, bundleflower, and orange zexmania are important forbs. With retrogression, woody plants such as guayacan, guajillo, hackberry, lotebush, wolfberry, mesquite, and whitebrush increase or invade. Herbaceous plants which increase or invade are curlymesquite, threeawn, Hall's panicum, fall witchgrass, western ragweed, and annual weeds and grasses.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Northcentral part of the Rio Grande
Plain. The series is of minor extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Temple, Texas
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Zavala County, Texas; 1982.
REMARKS: Batesville soils would have been classified in the
Calcisol great soil group.