LOCATION CALAMUS NE+SDEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Sandy, mixed, mesic Oxyaquic Ustifluvents
TYPICAL PEDON: Calamus loamy fine sand with a slope of less than 2 percent in rangeland. (Colors are for dry soil unless stated otherwise.)
A--0 to 13 centimeters (0 to 5 inches); grayish brown (10YR 5/2) loamy fine sand, very dark gray (10YR 3/1) moist; weak medium and fine granular structure; soft, very friable; slightly acid; clear smooth boundary. (8 to 23 centimeters (3 to 9 inches) thick)
AC--13 to 36 centimeters (5 to 14 inches); light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) fine sand, dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) moist; weak medium granular structure; soft, very friable; slightly acid; clear smooth boundary. (0 to 36 centimeters (0 to 14 inches) thick)
C1--36 to 53 centimeters (14 to 21 inches); light gray (10YR 7/2) sand, light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) moist; single grain; loose; few thin strata of fine sandy loam and coarse sand; slightly acid; clear smooth boundary.
C2--53 to 76 centimeters (21 to 30 inches); light gray (10YR 7/2) sand, light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) moist; single grain; loose; few thin strata of fine sandy loam and coarse sand; about 3 percent gravel by volume; slightly acid; clear smooth boundary.
Cg1--76 to 140 centimeters (30 to 55 inches); light gray (10YR 7/2) stratified fine sand, sand and coarse sand, light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) moist; few medium distinct yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) iron masses in soil matrix; single grain; loose; about 10 percent gravel by volume; slightly acid; clear smooth boundary.
Cg2--140 to 203 centimeters (55 to 80 inches); light gray (10YR 7/2) gravelly coarse sand, light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) moist; few medium distinct yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) iron masses in soil matrix; single grain; loose; about 18 percent gravel by volume; slightly acid.
TYPE LOCATION: Loup County, Nebraska; about 12 miles north and 11 miles west of Taylor; 701 meter (2300 feet) west and 61 meters (200 feet) north of the southeast corner of sec. 32, T. 23 N, R. 20 W. Almeria NW topographic quadrangle; lat. 41 degrees, 54 minutes, 54 seconds N, long. 99 degrees, 39 minutes, 23 seconds W.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Moisture regime: Ustic
Depth to secondary calcium carbonate: typically not present; in the calcareous phase carbonates range from 0 to 152 centimeters (0 to 60 inches)
Depth to redoximorphic features: 76 to 183 centimeters (30 to 72 inches)
Depth to endosaturation: 91 to 183 centimeters (36 to 72 inches)
Particle-size control section (weighted average): Clay content: 1 to 10 percent
A horizon:
Hue: 10YR
Value: 4 to 7 dry, 2 to 5 moist
Chroma: 1 to 4
Texture: sandy loam, fine sandy loam, loamy fine sand, loamy sand, fine sand, sand and coarse sand
Clay content: 1 to 10 percent
Reaction: moderately acid to slightly alkaline
AC horizon:
Hue: 10YR
Value: 5 or 6, 4 or 5 moist
Chroma: 1 to 3
Texture: fine sand, loamy fine sand, loamy sand and sand
Clay content: 3 to 10 percent
Reaction: slightly acid to slightly alkaline
C & Cg horizons:
Hue: 10YR, 2.5Y
Value: 6 to 8, 5 to 7 moist
Chroma: 2 to 4
Texture: fine sand, sand, loamy fine sand, loamy sand, coarse sand, and gravelly coarse sand with 1 to 3 inch strata of finer textured material including mucky mineral and organic layers
Rock fragments: gravel content, 5 to 25 percent by volume; 2 to 75mm rounded
Clay content: 1 to 8 percent
Reaction: slightly acid to slightly alkaline
COMPETING SERIES: The
Yaggy series is in the same family.
Yaggy soils have secondary calcium carbonates from 0 to 53 centimeters (0 to 21 inches) and have a wet soil moisture status at 61 to 122 centimeters (24 to 48 inches).
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Parent material: sandy alluvium
Landscape: valley
Landform: flood plain
Slopes: 0 to 3 percent
Elevation: 610 to 1067 meters (2000 to 3500 feet)
Mean annual temperature: 8 to 12 degrees C (47 to 53 degrees F)
Mean annual precipitation: 43 to 61 centimeters (17 to 24 inches)
Frost-free period: 120 to 150 days
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the
Almeria;
Bolent; Fluvaquents, sandy;
Inavale; and
Ipage soils.
Almeria soils: are lower on the floodplain and are poorly and very poorly drained having a seasonal zone of saturation beginning at the surface and having ponding on the very poorly drained up to 15 centimeters (6 inches)
Bolent soils: are slightly lower on the floodplain, and are somewhat poorly drained having a seasonal zone of saturation beginning at 46 centimeters (18 inches) Almeria soils are lower on the floodplain and are poorly and very poorly drained having a seasonal zone of saturation beginning at the surface
Fluvaquents, sandy soils: are lowest on the floodplain and are very poorly drained having a seasonal zone of saturation beginning at the surface and having ponding up to 61 centimeters (24 inches)
Inavale soils: are higher on the floodplain and are excessively drained, not having a seasonal zone of saturation above 183 centimeters (72 inches)
Ipage soils: are higher on a terrace, lack fluventic properties, and are moderately well drained having a seasonal zone of saturation beginning at 91 centimeters (36 inches)
DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY:
Drainage: Moderately well drained
Saturated hydraulic conductivity: very high
Runoff: negligible
Seasonal zone of saturation: 91 to 183 centimeters (36 to 72 inches)
Flooding frequency: rare, occasional on the channeled phase
Flooding duration: very brief on the rarely flooded and brief on the occasionally flooded
USE AND VEGETATION: The major use is livestock grazing. A few areas are cultivated or hayed. The native plant community for the sandy lowland ecological site (R065XY029NE) is mostly sand bluestem, little bluestem, prairie sandreed, needle and thread, and switchgrass. Some areas are dominated by trees and shrubs.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: North-central and southwest Nebraska. The Calamus series is mostly in LRR G, MLRA 65 and LRR H, MLRA 72 and 73. The series is of small extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Denver, Colorado
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Loup County, Nebraska, 1986.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and other features recognized in this pedon;
Ochric epipedon, 0 to 13 centimeters (5 inches) (A horizon)
Aquic soil conditions: 76 to 203 centimeters (30 and 80 inches)
A channeled phase and a calcareous phase are recognized
OSD Modification
5/2002 RRZ: moved redox section, added concentration and depletion statement; Added 7.5 YR color to concentrations; added depletion of 2.5Y and reduced matrix statement; increased range of redox concentration and depletions from 20 to 40 to 80 inches; added competing series of Yaggy soils; Moved Ipage and Saxman to geographic associated soils; Sandy loam added to the A horizon; Fine sand texture added to C horizon.
12/2003 WAW: added fine sandy loam as texture in A horizon based on Roger Hammer's project Revision of Interdunal soils mapped on flood plains. Revised Geographically Associated Soils section.
10/12/2006 RRH: TYPICAL PEDON: Changed C3 and C4 horizons to Cg1 and Cg2; RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: AC horizon added loamy sand; C and Cg horizons added 2.5Y hue, added loamy fine sand and loamy sand and gravelly coarse sand to matrix, and following strata added of finer textured material including mucky mineral and organic layers; COMPETING SERIES: revised. GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: revised and deleted Blackloup (associated with Boel & Barney), Loup, (interdunes of sandhills) Platte, Wann, Saxton (not associated with at type location) and added Fluvaquents, sandy (associated with at type location). DRAINAGE: corrected. USE AND VEGETATION: corrected.
ADDITIONAL DATA: Pedons sampled for National Soil Survey Laboratory S84NE-9-2 and S89NE-57-105.