LOCATION BRIOS              AZ
Established Series
Rev. GWH/YHH
03/2009

BRIOS SERIES


The Brios series consists of very deep, excessively drained soils that formed in mixed and stratified alluvium. Brios soils are on flood plains and alluvial fans and have slopes of 0 to 5 percent. The mean annual precipitation is about 7 inches, and the mean annual air temperature is about 73 degrees F.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Sandy, mixed, hyperthermic Typic Torrifluvents

TYPICAL PEDON: Brios sandy loam - cultivated. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.)

Ap--0 to 14 inches; brown (10YR 5/3) sandy loam, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; massive; slightly hard, very friable, common fine roots; common very fine tubular pores; 5 percent fine gravel; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.4); abrupt smooth boundary. (7 to 16 inches thick)

C1--14 to 22 inches; brown (10YR 5/3) coarse sand, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; massive; slightly hard, very friable; many fine irregular pores; 5 percent fine gravel; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.4); abrupt wavy boundary. (8 to 34 inches thick)

C2--22 to 60 inches; brown (10YR 5/3) stratified coarse sand and gravelly coarse sand with thin (1/4 to 2 inches) strata of fine sandy loam and sandy loam, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; single grain; loose; many fine irregular pores; 14 percent gravel; slightly effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.4).

TYPE LOCATION: Maricopa County, Arizona; 65 feet south and 228 feet east of the northwest corner of section 10, T. 2 N., R. 2 W. Lat. 33 degrees 32 minutes 12 seconds N., long. 112 degrees 27 minutes 38 seconds W., NAD 83.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:

Soil moisture - Intermittently moist in some part of the soil moisture control section during July-September and December-February. Driest during May and June. Typic aridic soil moisture regime.

Soil Temperature: 72 to 77 degrees F.

Rock fragments: Less than 10 percent gravel by volume but ranges up to 35 percent in some pedons

Organic matter content: Less than 1 percent, decreases irregularly

Calcium carbonate: Noneffervescent to violently effervescent. Is disseminated or as fine threads, filaments or coatings on gravel; less than 15 percent calcium carbonate equivalent

A horizon
Hue: 10YR, 7.5YR
Value: 5, 6 or 7 dry, 4 or 5 moist
Chroma: 2, 3 or 4, dry or moist

C horizon
Hue: 10YR, 7.5YR
Value: 5, 6 or 7 dry, 3, 4 or 5 moist
Chroma: 2, 3 or 4 dry, 3 or 4 moist
Texture: Stratified coarse sand to loamy sand with thin (1/4 to 1 inch) strata of fine sandy loam and sandy loam (2 to 15 percent clay)

COMPETING SERIES: These are the Coachella (CA), Nonamewash (NV) and Vint (AZ) series. Coachella soils have a hue of 5Y or 2.5Y. Nonamewash soils have gypsum and relict mottles within the control section. Vint soils are dominantly loamy fine sand in the control section.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Brios soils are on flood plains and alluvial fans. Slopes are dominantly less than 3 percent but range up to 5 percent. They formed in mixed and stratified alluvium. Elevation is 175 to 2,200 feet. The climate is hot arid continental. Mean annual precipitation is 2 to 10 inches, occurring as summer thunderstorms and gentle winter rains. Mean annual air temperature is 69 to 75 degrees F. The frost-free period is 240 to 350 days.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Coolidge and Gilman soils. Coolidge and Gilman soils are coarse-loamy and Coolidge soils have a calcic horizon.

DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Excessively drained; slow runoff; rapid permeability. These soils are subject to flooding.

USE AND VEGETATION: Used for livestock grazing, recreation and for growing irrigated cotton, alfalfa, small grains and vegetables. The vegetation is four-wing saltbush, mesquite, creosotebush, big galleta and arrowweed.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Southwestern Arizona. The series is moderately extensive. MLRAs 31 and 40.

MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Phoenix, Arizona

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Maricopa County, Arizona; 1972.

Remarks: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:

Entisol feature - The absence of diagnostic subsurface horizons

Classified according to Soil Taxonomy, Second Edition, 1999; Keys to Soil Taxonomy, Tenth Edition, 2006

Revised for the correlations of AZ661, 11/08, PDC


National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.