LOCATION BUCKEYE OREstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, mixed, superactive, mesic Pachic Ultic Argixerolls
TYPICAL PEDON: Buckeye loam - on a 20 percent convex east-facing slope in an improved pasture. (When described, the soils were dry. Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)
A1--0 to 2 inches; very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) loam, grayish brown (10YR 5/2) dry; moderate fine and medium granular structure; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; many very fine and fine roots; many very fine continuous interstitial and tubular pores; moderately acid (pH 5.8); clear smooth boundary. (2 to 4 inches thick)
A2--2 to 6 inches; very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) loam, grayish brown (10YR 5/2) dry; moderate very fine, fine and medium subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, firm, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; many very fine and fine roots; many very fine and fine continuous interstitial and tubular pores; moderately acid (pH 5.8); clear smooth boundary. (2 to 8 inches thick)
AB--6 to 13 inches; very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) heavy loam, grayish brown (10YR 5/2) dry; weak medium and coarse subangular blocky structure; very hard, very firm, sticky and plastic; common very fine and fine roots; many very fine and fine continuous tubular pores; many very fine and fine sand and silt coatings on faces of peds; 10 percent greenstone gravel; strongly acid (pH 5.5); clear smooth boundary. (0 to 8 inches thick)
BA--13 to 25 inches; very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) heavy loam, brown (10YR 5/2) dry; moderate fine, medium and coarse subangular blocky structure; hard, firm, sticky and plastic; few very fine and fine roots; few very fine and fine continuous tubular pores; 10 percent greenstone gravel; strongly acid (pH 5.5); gradual smooth boundary. (0 to 14 inches thick)
Bt--25 to 35 inches; very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/3) gravelly clay loam, brown (10YR 5/3) dry; moderate fine and medium subangular blocky structure; hard, firm, sticky and plastic; few very fine roots; common very fine and fine continuous tubular pores; common faint very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) clay films on faces of peds and lining pores; 25 percent greenstone gravel; common fine distinct strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) masses of iron accumulation; strongly acid (pH 5.4); abrupt smooth boundary. (7 to 15 inches thick)
R--35 inches; fractured greenstone; few prominent clay coatings; lining fracture faces.
TYPE LOCATION: Douglas County, Oregon; about 31/2 miles south of the community of Dixonville, 2,000 feet south and 2,000 feet west of the northeast corner of section 2, T. 28 S., R. 5 W.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: The soil is usually moist, but is dry throughout the control section for 60 to 90 consecutive days during the summer. Mean annual soil temperature is 52 to 56 degrees F. Depth to hard bedrock is 20 to 40 inches. The particle-size control section averages 30 to 35 percent clay. Hue is 10YR or 7.5YR.
The A horizon has value of 2 or 3 moist, 4 or 5 dry and chroma of 2 or 3 moist and dry. It has 0 to 10 percent gravel.
The B horizon has value of 2 or 3 moist, 4 or 5 dry, and chroma of 2 through 4 moist and dry. It is loam, clay loam, or gravelly clay loam averaging 25 to 35 percent clay. Coarse fragments range from 0 to 25 percent gravel and 0 to 10 percent cobbles. Some high chroma mottles are in the lower part of this horizon in some pedons. Clay films are faint to distinct.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Aptos, Campfour, Elmore, Nisene, Paragon and Roseburg series. Aptos soils are 20 to 40 inches deep to a paralithic contact and have a mean annual soil temperature of 56 to 58 degrees F. Elmore soils are 40 to 60 inches deep to a lithic contact and have a mean annual soil temperature of 47 to 52 degrees F. Nisene soils are 40 to 60 inches deep to a paralithic contact and have a mean annual soil temperature of 56 to 58 degrees F. Campfour and Roseburg soils are deeper than 60 inches to bedrock. Paragon soils are 20-40 inches to a paralithic contact.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Buckeye soils are on convex footslopes and mountainsides at elevations of 300 to 3,000 feet. Slopes are 2 to 60 percent. The soils formed in material weathered from metavolcanic and metasedimentary rocks. The climate is characterized by cool moist winters and dry warm summers. The mean annual temperature is 50 to 55 degrees F., and the mean annual precipitation is 30 to 50 inches. The frost-free season is 160 to 220 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the McMullin, Sutherlin, Pengra, Reston and Speaker soils. Pengra soils are fine-loamy over clayey and are somewhat poorly drained. McMullin and Reston soils are 10 to 20 inches deep to a lithic contact. Speaker soils have an ochric epipedon. Sutherlin soils are fine-loamy over clayey.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; moderately slow permeability.
USE AND VEGETATION: These soils are used primarily for grazing and improved pasture. Other uses are for orchards, Christmas trees and wildlife habitat. Native vegetation is Oregon white oak, Douglas-fir, madrone, poison oak, sweetbriar rose, fescue and brome.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Interior valleys and low mountainous areas of the Klamath and western Cascade Mountains in southwestern Oregon. MLRA 5. The series is of moderate extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Davis, California
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Douglas County, Oregon, 1994.
REMARKS: The superactive cation exchange activity class was added to the classification in 10/2005. The competing series section was not updated at that time. Last revision 3/1995.