LOCATION BLUERIDGE NEEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Mixed, mesic Aridic Ustipsamments
TYPICAL PEDON: Blueridge coarse sand on a 20 percent convex south facing slope in rangeland. When described the soil was moist throughout. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise stated.)
A--0 to 10 centimeters (0 to 4 inches); grayish brown (10YR 5/2) coarse sand, dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) moist; single grain; loose; 9 percent gravel by volume; moderately acid; clear wavy boundary. (3 to 15 centimeters (1 to 6 inches) thick)
C1--10 to 102 centimeters (4 to 40 inches); light gray (10YR 7/2) gravelly coarse sand, light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) moist; single grain; loose; 18 percent gravel by volume; moderately acid; clear wavy boundary.
C2--102 to 203 centimeters (40 to 80 inches); light gray (10YR 7/2) gravelly coarse sand, light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) moist; single grain; loose; 23 percent gravel by volume; slightly acid.
TYPE LOCATION: Garden County, Nebraska; about 9 miles north and 1 mile west of Lewellen, Nebraska; 4050 feet west and 2500 feet south of the northeast corner, section 4, T. 17 N., R. 42 W.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Mean annual soil temperature: 10 to 13 degrees C (49 to 55 degrees F)
Depth to secondary calcium carbonate: typically lack free carbonates, but in places there is a layer of gravel coated with carbonates, usually on the underside
Particle-size control section (weighted average):
Rock fragments: averages 15 to 35 percent gravel by volume but, layers can contain more than 35 percent or less than 15 percent
A horizon:
Hue: 10YR
Value: 3 to 6, 2 to 5 moist
Chroma: 1 to 3
Texture: coarse sand, loamy coarse sand, loamy sand, gravelly loamy sand, gravelly sandy loam or gravelly loam
Clay content: 0 to 10 percent
Rock fragments: Gravel content ranges from 5 to 35 percent by volume
Reaction: moderately acid to neutral
C horizon:
Hue: 10YR and 2.5Y
Value: 5 to 8, 4 to 7 moist
Chroma: 2 to 4
Texture: gravelly coarse sand but ranges from sand to very gravelly coarse sand
Clay content: 0 to 3 percent
Rock fragments: averages about 15 to 35 percent by volume (see Remarks)
Reaction: moderately acid to slightly alkaline
Some pedons have an AC horizon that ranges from about 8 to 25 centimeters (3 to 10 inches) thick and is intermediate in color and texture between the A and C horizon
COMPETING SERIES: These are the
Colfer,
Dankworth,
Optima,
Royosa, and
Scoville series.
Dankworth soils do not have 15 to 35 percent gravel in the particle size control section.
Optima: formed in eolian sand and do not have 15 to 35 percent gravel in the particle size control section
Royosa soils formed in eolian material derived from sandstone and do not have 15 to 35 percent gravel in the particle size control section.
Colfer and Scoville soils do not have 15 to 35 percent gravel in the particle size control section, have contrasting loamy layers at depths below 102 centimeters (40 inches).
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Parent material: derived from sandy and gravelly soil material deposited over gravelly sand
Landform: ridges, hillsides and footslopes on uplands
Slopes: 6 to 60 percent
Elevation: 1067 to 1524 meters (3500 to 5000 feet)
Mean annual temperature: 8 to 12 degrees C (47 to 53 degrees F)
Mean annual precipitation: 36 to 46 centimeters (14 to 18 inches)
Frost-free period: 120 to 140 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS:
Ashollow: are coarse loamy and calcareous
Altvan: are fine-loamy over sandy or sandy skeletal
Broadwater: formed in gravelly sandy alluvium on flood plains
Busher: are coarse-loamy and have a mollic epipedon
Dankworth: formed in sandy material on foot slopes and fan remnants below areas of Blueridge soils on the landscape
Sarben: are coarse-loamy and calcareous at depths between 15 and 40 inches
Tassel: are calcareous and are 10 to 20 inches deep over sandstone
Valent: are sandy and on dunes
DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY:
Drainage: excessively drained
Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity: very high
Runoff: low
USE AND VEGETATION: These soils are in rangeland.
Native grass species are dominantly blue grama, prairie sandreed, sand bluestem, needleandthread, and sand dropseed.
Other plants common are threadleaf sedge, sagebrush, yucca, and prickly pear cactus.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Western Nebraska, north eastern Colorado, and eastern Wyoming. The series is of moderate extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Denver, Colorado
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Sioux County, Nebraska, 1993.
REMARKS:
Diagnostic features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon: 0 to 10 centimeters (0 to 4 inches) (A horizon)
These soils were previously mapped with the Dix soils, but they lack a mollic epipedon and average about 15 to 35 percent gravel by volume in the series control section, but some layers have 60 percent or more gravel by volume. The beds of granitic gravelly material in which these soils formed are coarser nearest the source and become more variable in composition and layer thickness as you move away from the source. The geomorphic landscape on which these soils occur remains reasonably uniform throughout the area of occurrence and the interpretations do not change. It is difficult, therefore, to determine the gravel content in the series control section that best represents the series concept. The soil survey in Sioux County supports greater than 35 percent by volume of gravel, while others to the east support less than 35. Interpretations and map unit composition are about the same. At this time it appears futile and impractical to map 2 soils. For now, similar soils that range from 35 to 60 percent by volume of gravel in the series control section will be included with the Blueridge series and documented accordingly in the appropriate correlation documents. Further study is needed for final placement in Taxonomy.
Last updated by LM and JCR in 09/2005 to include metric conversion and changing permeability to saturated hydraulic conductivity
ADDITIONAL DATA: Pedon S90NE-069-031 sampled and described for NSSL.
http://ssldata.sc.egov.usda.gov/rptExecute.asp?p=17693&r=1&submit1=Get+Report