LOCATION BUSHER             NE+WY
Established Series
DAV-JW-CJH
11/2005

BUSHER SERIES


The Busher series consists of deep, well drained soils. Permeability is moderately rapid. They formed in eolian sediment of material weathered from soft fine grain sandstone on uplands. Slopes range from 0 to 30 percent. Mean annual air temperature is 48 degrees F, and mean annual precipitation is 18 inches at the type location.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Coarse-loamy, mixed, superactive, mesic Aridic Haplustolls

TYPICAL PEDON: Busher loamy very fine sand with a slope of 9 percent in native grass. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise stated)

A--0 to 10 inches; dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) loamy very fine sand, very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) moist; weak fine granular structure; soft, very friable; neutral; clear smooth boundary. (7 to 20 inches thick)

Bw--10 to 24 inches; brown (10YR 5/3) loamy very fine sand, dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) moist; weak coarse prismatic structure parting to weak medium subangular blocky; soft, very friable; neutral; gradual wavy boundary. (8 to 21 inches thick)

BC--24 to 29 inches; pale brown (10YR 6/3) loamy very fine sand, brown (10YR 5/3) moist; weak coarse prismatic structure; soft, very friable; 2 percent by volume of sandstone gravel; neutral; clear wavy boundary. (0 to 22 inches thick)

C--29 to 44 inches; light gray (10YR 7/2) loamy very fine sand, light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) moist; massive; soft, very friable; 5 percent by volume of sandstone gravel; strong effervescence; moderately alkaline; gradual wavy boundary. (6 to 21 inches thick)

Cr--44 to 60 inches; very pale brown (10YR 8/2) soft fine-grained sandstone, light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) moist; strong effervescence; moderately alkaline.

TYPE LOCATION: Dawes County, Nebraska; 5 miles south and 2 miles east of Crawford, 2100 feet north and 100 feet west of the southeast corner, sec. 36, T. 31 N., R. 52 W.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Mollic epipedon thickness: 7 to 20 inches.
Solum thickness: 15 to 40 inches.
Depth to a layer of continuous carbonates: Typically 24 to 36 inches, but ranges from 15 to 48 inches. Carbonates are throughout the Bw horizon in some pedons. Glass shards: Present throughout the profile and in the lower C horizons, range from 20 to 80 percent by volume of the very fine sand and coarse silt fractions.
Depth to soft fine-grained sandstone: 40 to 60 inches

A horizon:
Hue: 10YR
Value: 4 or 5, 2 or 3 moist
Chroma: 2 or 3
Texture: Typically Loamy very fine sand, but range includes fine sandy loam and very fine sandy loam.
Reaction: Slightly acid to slightly alkaline.
Rock fragments: Sandstone gravels range from 0 to 5 percent by volume.

Bw horizon:
Hue: 10YR or 2.5Y
Value: 5 or 6, 4 or 5 moist
Chroma: 2 to 4
Texture: Typically loamy very fine sand, but range includes very fine sandy loam and fine sandy loam.
Reaction: neutral to moderately alkaline
Rock fragments: Sandstone gravels range from 0 to 15 percent by volume.

C horizon:
Hue: 10YR, 2.5Y or 5Y
Value: 5 to 8, 4 to 7 moist
Chroma: 2 or 3
Texture: Typically loamy very fine sand, but range includes very fine sandy loam and fine sandy loam.
Reaction: neutral to moderately alkaline
Rock fragments: Sandstone gravels range from 0 to 15 percent by volume.

Cr horizon:
Hue: 10YR or 2.5Y
Value: 5 to 8, 4 to 7 moist
Chroma: 2 to 4

COMPETING SERIES: These are the Alice, Blanche, Chappel, Creighton, Jayem, Phiferson and Stapleton.
Alice soils: Have a horizon of secondary carbonate accumulation and do not have sandstone at depths above 60 inches.
Blanche soils: Are moderately deep over limestone and fine grained sandstone. Chappel soils: Are moderately deep over coarse sand or gravelly sand. Creighton, Jayem and Stapleton soils: Are typically noncalcareous throughout the profile.
Phiferson soils: Have a lithic contact at depths between 20 and 40 inches.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Slope class: nearly level to steep
Slope gradient: 0 to 30 percent
Material formed in: eolian sediment or weathered from fine-grained sandstone
Landform; uplands and valleys
Mean annual precipitation: 14 to 18 inches
Mean annual air temperature: 46 to 52 degrees F.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Bridget, Creighton, Dailey, Jayem, Oglala, Sarben, Satanta, Tassel, Tuthill, Valent and Vetal soils.
Bridget soils: Are coarse-silty and lack a cambic horizon. They are on foot slopes, alluvial fans and stream terraces.
Creighton soils: Are on lower sideslopes of uplands and alluvial fans.
Dailey soils: Are sandy and on similar landscape positions.
Jayem and Oglala soils: Are on similar landscapes. Oglala soils are coarse-silty.
Sarben soils: Lack a mollic epipedon and are on similar landscapes.
Satanta and Tuthill soils: Are fine loamy and are on similar landscape positions.
Tassel soils: Are shallow over sandstone and are on similar landscapes.
Valent soils: Are sandy and are on dunes.
Vetal soils: Have a pachic epipedon and are on foot slopes and are in swales.

DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY:
Drainage: Well
Runoff: Slow to rapid, depending on the degree of slope.
Permeability: moderately rapid.

USE AND VEGETATION:
Use: Used primarily for rangeland. Some areas with gentle or strong slopes are cultivated with the principal crops being alfalfa and wheat.
Native vegetation: Mainly needleandthread, prairie sandreed, blue grama, and sand bluestem.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Western Nebraska and eastern Wyoming. The series is extensive.

MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Denver, Colorado

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Dawes County, Nebraska, 1973.

REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in the pedon: Mollic epipedon - the zone from the surface to a depth of 10 inches (A horizon). Cambic horizon - the zone from a depth of 10 inches to 24 inches (Bw horizon).

Glass shards are present throughout the profile and have abnormally high values of cation exchange capacity and 15-bar-water percentage. The 15-bar water to clay ratio commonly exceeds 1.

The Busher soils were previously correlated in the Vebar series. Vebar is now in the frigid soil temperature regime. The Busher series was formerly classified as coarse-loamy, mixed, mesic Torriothentic Haplustolls. The soil was determined to have a cambic horizon and therefore was reclassified.

ADDITIONAL DATA: Laboratory data for the Busher soil is available in the National Soil Survey Laboratory. Sample numbers S73NE-23-12, S78NE-123-013, S84NE-165-023, S88NE-031-032.


National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.