LOCATION CALODO CAEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy, mixed, superactive, thermic, shallow Calcic Haploxerolls
TYPICAL PEDON: Calodo clay loam, rangeland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.)
A11--0 to 9 inches; grayish brown (10YR 5/2) clay loam, very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) moist; moderate fine granular structure; hard, friable, sticky and plastic; common very fine roots; common very fine tubular pores; strongly effervescent with disseminated lime; moderately alkaline (pH 8.0); clear wavy boundary. (6 to 10 inches thick)
A12ca--9 to 16 inches; grayish brown (10YR 5/2) clay loam, very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) moist; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; hard, friable, sticky and plastic; common very fine, few fine and medium roots; common very fine and fine, and few medium tubular pores; violently effervescent with disseminated and segregated lime, many very fine lime filaments on faces of peds and in pores; moderately alkaline (pH 8.0); abrupt wavy boundary. (4 to 10 inches thick)
Cr--16 to 24 inches; weathered calcareous shale.
TYPE LOCATION: San Luis Obispo County, California; located on Camp Roberts on ridge NE of Nacimiento Lake Road, 2,000 feet NW along ridge from communication tower and 600 feet NE down slope; SE1/4 NW1/4 SE1/4 of section 32, T.25S., R.11E.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Depth to a paralithic contact is 10 to 20 inches. The soil between depth of 6 inches and the paralithic contact is moist from December until May and is dry in all parts from July until October. Mean annual soil temperature is about 59 degrees to 62 degrees F.
The A horizon is dark gray, gray, dark grayish brown, grayish brown, dark brown or brown (10YR 4/2, 5/1, 4/2, 5/2, 4/3, 5/3; 2.5Y 5/2). It is clay loam, silty clay loam or loam. Pebbles, cobbles and stones make up 3 to 15 percent of the soil by volume. Dry consistence is slightly hard or hard. Structure is subangular blocky or granular. Segregated lime is present below depth of 9 inches in the form of seams, filaments and soft masses.
The Cr material is weathered calcareous shale or sandstone.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Calleguas, Fontana, Lebec, Linne, Nacimiento, Salinas, San Benito and Sorrento series in similar families. Calleguas soils have an ochric epipedon. Fontana and Nacimiento soils have a paralithic contact at depths of 20 to 40 inches. Lebec soils have a mean annual soil temperature less than 59 degrees F. and are underlain by hard limestone rock at depths of 30 to 40 inches. Salinas and Sorrento soils are more than 60 inches deep.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Calodo soils are on uplands and have gradients of 15 to 75 percent. They formed in material weathered from soft shale and fine grained sandstone. Elevations are 500 to 2,500 feet. The climate is subhumid mesothermal with warm dry summers and cool moist winters. Mean annual precipitation is 12 to 25 inches. Average January temperature is about 46 degrees F., the average July temperature is about 71 degrees F., and the mean annual temperature is about 57 degrees to 61 degrees F. The average frost-free season is about 160 to 300 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the competing Linne and Nacimiento soils and the Balcom and Los Osos soils. Balcom soils have an ochric epipedon and the solum is 20 to 40 inches thick. Los Osos soils have clay subsoils and are 20 to 40 inches deep to a paralithic contact.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; medium to very rapid runoff; moderately slow permeability.
USE AND VEGETATION: The soils are used for range and dry farmed grain. Vegetation is mainly coast live oak, poison oak, toyon, manzanita, and with an understory of annual grasses.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: South-central and southern part of the Coast Range in California. The soils are moderately extensive.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Davis, California
SERIES ESTABLISHED: San Luis Obispo County, California, Paso Robles Area, 1977.
REMARKS: The activity class was added to the classification in January of 2003. Competing series were not checked at that time. - ET