LOCATION BIRDWOOD NEEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Coarse-loamy, mixed, superactive, mesic Typic Haplustepts
TYPICAL PEDON: Birdwood fine sandy loam - on a 30 percent convex slope in rangeland. When described the soil was moist throughout. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise stated.)
A--0 to 15 centimeters (0 to 6 inches); grayish brown (10YR 5/2) fine sandy loam, dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) moist; moderate fine granular structure; soft, very friable; slightly acid; many fine and very fine roots throughout; clear smooth boundary. [8 to 23 centimeters, (3 to 9 inches thick)]
Bw1--15 to 51 centimeters (6 to 20 inches); light brownish gray (2.5Y 6/2) very fine sandy loam, grayish brown (2.5Y 5/2) moist; weak medium prismatic parting to weak medium subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, very friable; slightly acid; common fine and very fine roots throughout; clear smooth boundary.
Bw2--51 to 91 centimeters (20 to 36 inches); light yellowish brown (2.5Y 6/3) very fine sandy loam, light olive brown (2.5Y 5/3) moist; weak coarse prismatic parting to weak coarse subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, very friable; neutral; common fine and very fine roots throughout; clear wavy boundary. [combined thickness of the Bw horizons is to 61 to 132 centimeters (24 to 52 inches) thick].
C1--91 to 152 centimeters (36 to 60 inches); pale yellow (2.5Y 7/3) very fine sandy loam, light yellowish brown (2.5Y 6/3) moist; moderate thick platy structure; hard, very friable; few fine prominent yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) moist mottles in the matrix; neutral; common fine and very fine roots throughout; clear wavy boundary.
C2--152 to 203 centimeters (60 to 80 inches); light gray (2.5Y 7/2) very fine sandy loam, light brownish gray (2.5Y 6/2) moist; moderate thick platy structure; hard, very friable; few fine prominent yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) moist mottles in the matrix; few very fine roots throughout; neutral.
TYPE LOCATION: McPherson County, Nebraska; about 32 kilometers (20 miles) north and 2.4 kilometers (1.5 miles) west of Sutherland; 732 meters (2400 feet) east and 134 meters (440 feet) north of the southwest corner of sec. 2, T. 17 N., R. 34 W. Tin Camp Ranch USGS quad; lat. 41 degrees 28 minutes 5.96 seconds N. and long. 101 degrees 12 minutes 15.51 seconds W., NAD 83
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Moisture regime: ustic
Particle-size control section: 7 to 18 percent clay, 40 to 55 percent very fine sand
Depth to secondary carbonates: can occur below 36 centimeters (14 inches)
Mottles: relict iron concentrations can occur at depths as high as 18 centimeters (7 inches)
A horizon:
Hue: 10YR or 2.5Y
Value: 4 to 6, 3 to 5 moist
Chroma: 2 or 3
Texture: fine sandy loam, loamy fine sand, or sandy loam
Reaction: slightly acid or neutral
Bw horizon:
Hue: 10YR, 2.5Y, or 5Y
Value: 5 to 7, 4 to 6 moist
Chroma: 2 or 3
Texture: very fine sandy loam, loam, or loamy very fine sand
Reaction: slightly acid or neutral
BC or Bk horizons with colors and textures similar to the Bw and C horizons are present in some pedons.
C horizon:
Hue: 2.5Y or 5Y
Value: 6 to 8, 5 to 7 moist
Chroma: 2 or 3
Texture: very fine sandy loam, loam, or loamy very fine sand; thin layers of sandy clay loam or clay loam are in some pedons
Reaction: neutral to moderately alkaline
Comment: Some pedons have sandy material below a depth of 102 centimeters (40 inches).
COMPETING SERIES: This is the
Ringgold (tentative) series.
Ringold: average 25 to 40 percent very fine sand in the control section and are on swales (0 to 3 percent) on interdunes of sandhills.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Parent material: loamy eolian deposits
Landscape: sandhills
Landform: valley sides Slope: 9 to 80 percent
Mean annual temperature: 8 to 10 degrees C. (47 to 50 degrees F.)
Mean annual precipitation: 43 centimeters to 56 centimeters (17 to 22 inches)
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the
Dunday and
Valentine soils.
Dunday soils have a sandy control section and a mollic epipedon and are generally on lower backslopes and footslopes below the Birdwood soils.
Valentine soils have a sandy control section and are generally on upper backslopes above the Birdwood soils.
DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY:
Drainage: well drained
Runoff: high
Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity: high
USE AND VEGETATION: The major use is livestock grazing. The native plant community is mainly little bluestem, prairie sandreed, blue grama, and needle and thread. Some areas have woody vegetation with some areas dominated by red cedar.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Central Nebraska; LRR G, MLRA 65; moderate extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Denver, Colorado
SERIES PROPOSED: McPherson County, Nebraska, 2006.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon: 0 to 15 centimeters (0 to 6 inches) (A horizon)
Cambic horizon: 15 to 76 centimeters (6 to 30 inches) (Bw1 and Bw 2 horizons)
Moisture regime: ustic
The Birdwood soils were mapped as the Rough broken land component of Valentine-Rough broken land in Hooker and Thomas Counties; Valentine fine sand, hilly in part of McPherson County and Valentine fine sand, gullied, 30 to 60 percent slopes in Keith County; and the Ustorthents component of McKelvie-Ustorthents complex, 9 to 60 percent slopes in Cherry County. The Birdwood soils are mapped in complex with the Valentine soils on valley sides along narrow streams that have dissected the sandhills, namely Birdwood Creek, Dismal River, and Middle Loup River.
ADDITIONAL DATA: Site ID 05NE111010 (Lab Pedon No. 05N0822) data available from the Soil Survey Laboratory at the National Soil Survey Center.