LOCATION BELGARRA CAEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine, smectitic, thermic Gypsic Haploxerepts
TYPICAL PEDON: Belgarra clay - on a north facing slope of 12 percent, under soft chess, red brome, filaree, rattail fescue, and other annual grasses and forbs. The elevation is 1,440 feet. (Color is for dry soil unless otherwise stated. When described April 30, 1984 the soil was slightly moist below 22 inches.)
A1--0 to 4 inches; grayish brown (10YR 5/2) clay, dark grayish brown (2.5Y 4/2) dominant and very dark grayish brown (2.5Y 3/2) moist; strong medium angular blocky structure; hard, very friable, very sticky and very plastic; common very fine roots; few very fine tubular pores; many moderately thick pressure faces; cracks 0.75 inch at surface; 5 percent gypsum content; neutral (pH 7.0); abrupt smooth boundary.
A2--4 to 10 inches; grayish brown (10YR 5/2) clay, dark grayish brown (2.5Y 4/2) moist; strong medium angular blocky structure; hard, very friable, very sticky and very plastic; common very fine roots; few very fine tubular pores; many moderately thick pressure faces; cracks 0.5 inch; 5 percent gypsum content; neutral (pH 7.0); clear smooth boundary. (Combined A horizon thickness is 8 to 12 inches)
By1--10 to 21 inches; grayish brown (2.5Y 5/2) clay, dark grayish brown (2.5Y 4/2) moist, 50 percent of ped faces coated with gypsum; strong coarse angular blocky structure; slightly hard, very friable, very sticky and very plastic; few very fine roots; common very fine tubular pores; many thick pressure faces; cracks 0.1 inch; 16 percent gypsum; many large irregular soft gypsum masses; slightly alkaline (pH 7.4); clear smooth boundary. (9 to 13 inches thick)
By2--21 to 32 inches; grayish brown (2.5Y 5/2) clay, dark grayish brown (2.5Y 4/2) moist, 30 percent of ped faces coated with gypsum color; weak coarse subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, very friable, very sticky and very plastic; few very fine roots; common very fine tubular and vesicular pores; many thick pressure faces; 19 percent gypsum; many large irregular soft gypsum masses; strongly acid (pH 5.5); clear smooth boundary. (10 to 14 inches thick)
By3--32 to 45 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) clay, olive brown (2.5Y 4/4) moist, 25 percent of ped faces coated with gypsum; weak coarse subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, very friable, very sticky and very plastic; few very fine roots; common very fine tubular and vesicular pores; common thick pressure faces; 11 percent gypsum; many large irregular soft gypsum masses; slightly alkaline (pH 7.7); clear wavy boundary. (12 to 15 inches thick)
By4--45 to 72 inches; light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) clay, dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) moist; massive; slightly hard, very friable, very sticky and very plastic; common very fine vesicular pores; 8 percent gypsum; common medium irregular soft gypsum masses; strongly acid (pH 5.3)
TYPE LOCATION: Fresno County, California; approximately 50 feet south of dirt road, 3 miles southeast of the Hudson Road and I-5 overpass. Approximately 1,150 feet east and 300 feet south of the northwest corner of section 21, T. 16 S., R. 13 E., MDB&M; Latitude 36 degrees, 31 minutes, 53 seconds north and Longitude 120 degrees, 33 minutes, 51 seconds west; USGS Monocline Ridge Topographic Quadrangle, NAD 27.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: The moisture control section of 7 to 21 inches is moist from January 1 to May 1 and dry from June 1 to October 15 in most years. The soil temperature is above 47 F. from February 15 to December 15. The mean annual soil temperature is 59 to 65 F. Cracks are 0.75 inch at the surface and taper down to 0.1 inch at a depth of 20 inches. Carbonates are present throughout some pedons.
The A horizon has color of 10YR 4/2, 5/1, 5/2, 5/3, 6/1; 2.5Y 6/2 or 6/4. Moist color is 10YR 3/2, 4/1, 4/2, 4/3; 2.5Y 3/2, 4/2, 4/4 or 6/2. Moist colors with values of 3 only occur as a subordinate color in multicolor layers. Organic matter content is 1 to 3 percent. Clay content is 45 to 55 percent. Gypsum content is 1 to 5 percent. Electrical conductivity is 0 to 4 decisiemens per meter. Sodium adsorption ratio is 1 to 8.
The B horizon has color of 10YR 4/2, 5/2, 5/4, 6/4, 7/1; 2.5Y 5/2 or 6/2. Moist color is 10YR 4/3, 4/4, 5/1; 2.5Y 4/2 or 4/4. Organic matter content is 0.3 to 2 percent. Clay content is 40 to 55 percent. Gypsum content is 10 to 20 percent. Electrical conductivity is 2 to 16 decisiemens per meter. Sodium adsorption ratio is 2 to 12.
The C horizon has color of 10YR 5/4, 6/4 or 2.5Y 6/4. Moist color is 10YR 3/4, 4/4 or 2.5Y 4/4. Organic matter content is 0.3 to 0.6 percent. Texture is clay or silty clay. Clay content is 40 to 50 percent. Gypsum content is 5 to 10 percent. Electrical conductivity is 4 to 16 decisiemens per meter. Sodium adsorption ratio is 5 to 12.
COMPETING SERIES: There are no competing series at this time.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Belgarra soils are on erosional fan remnants on mountains. Slope is 8 to 30 percent. Elevation is 750 to 3,501 feet. These soils formed in material commonly weathered from shale of the Kreyenhagen formation. The climate is semiarid with hot dry summers and cool moist winters. The mean annual precipitation is 9 to 13 inches. Mean January temperature is 46 degrees F; mean July temperature is 81 degrees F; mean annual temperature is 59 to 64 degrees F. The frost-free season is 200 to 270 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Exclose, Grazer, Monocline and Monvero series on mountains. Exclose soils are fine-loamy and do not have a gypsic horizon. Grazer soils have a paralithic contact within 60 inches, have a fine particle-size control section and do not have a gypsic horizon. Monocline and Monvero soils are sandy textured.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; very high runoff; slow permeability.
USE AND VEGETATION: These soils are used for livestock grazing and wildlife habitat. The vegetation is soft chess, red brome, filaree, rattail fescue, burclover and other annual grasses and forbs.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: These soils are on the eastern edge of the Diablo Range in the California Coast Ranges. They are not extensive. MLRA 15.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Davis, California.
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Fresno County, California, 2002. Name is coined.
REMARKS: These soils were formerly mapped as Tumey soils in the unpublished report, Soil Survey of Western Fresno, 1967. They are being differentiated by not having wide cracks upon drying and having a gypsic horizon.
ADDITIONAL DATA: NSSL lab data pedon sample number S84CA019-007 (1848-1852). Gypsic horizon is present from 10 to 72 inches in the typical pedon.