LOCATION CEEBEE NV

Established Series
Rev. JVC/JBF
12/2019

CEEBEE SERIES

The Ceebee series consists of very deep, somewhat excessively drained soils that formed in colluvium derived from granitic rocks. Ceebee soils are on mountains. Slopes are 30 to 75 percent. The mean annual precipitation is about 750 mm and the mean annual temperature is about 3 degrees C.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Sandy-skeletal, mixed Lamellic Haplocryalfs

TYPICAL PEDON: Ceebee very stony loam--forestland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.) The soil surface is covered with approximately 20 percent gravel, 15 percent cobbles, 10 percent stones, and 5 percent boulders.

Oi--0 to 3 cm; slightly decomposed plant material composed of conifer needle duff; abrupt smooth boundary. (3 to 8 cm thick)

Oe--3 to 5 cm; moderately decomposed pine needles, abrupt smooth boundary. (2 to 5 cm thick)

A--5 to 13 cm; dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) very stony loam, very dark brown (10YR 2/2) moist; weak fine subangular blocky structure; soft, very friable, slightly sticky and nonplastic; common very fine and fine roots; common very fine tubular and interstitial pores; 20 percent gravel, 5 percent cobbles, 10 percent stones and 5 percent boulders; strongly acid (pH 5.4); clear smooth boundary. (5 to 10 cm thick)

A/E--13 to 25 cm; mixed light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) and light gray (10YR 7/2) gravelly loam, dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) and grayish brown (10YR 5/2) moist; weak fine subangular blocky structure; soft, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common very fine through coarse roots; common very fine tubular and interstitial pores; few fine distinct brown (7.5YR 4/4) moist masses of iron accumulation; 20 percent gravel and 10 percent cobbles; strongly acid (pH 5.4); clear smooth boundary. (0 to 15 cm thick)

E--25 to 61 cm; light gray (10YR 7/2) extremely stony loamy coarse sand, grayish brown (10YR 5/2) moist; massive; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; few very fine through coarse roots; many very fine interstitial pores; 50 percent gravel, 10 percent cobbles, and 20 percent stones; very strongly acid (pH 5.0); gradual wavy boundary. (25 41 cm thick)

E and Bt--61 to 157 cm; 70 percent very pale brown (10YR 7/3) extremely gravelly loamy coarse sand, brown (10YR 5/3) moist (E part), with 30 percent light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) 5 to 20 mm thick lamellae of extremely gravelly coarse sandy loam, yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) moist (Bt part); massive; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; few very fine through coarse roots; common very fine tubular and interstitial pores; common distinct clay films on sand grains and lining pores within lamellae; 40 percent gravel, 15 percent cobbles, and 5 percent stones; very strongly acid (pH 5.0)

TYPE LOCATION: White Pine County, Nevada; in Great Basin National Park about 1.3 miles east of Johnson Lake and 0.75 mile north of Dead Lake; about 700 feet about and 2,200 feet east of the northwest corner section 6, T. 12 N., R. 69 E. USGS Wheeler Peak 7.5 minute topographic quadrangle; latitude 38 degrees 56 minutes 48 seconds N and longitude 114 degrees 16 minutes 25 seconds W; UTM Zone 11 736351.07, 4314395.60n; WGS84 Decimal Degrees 38.9466667 latitude, -114.2727778 longitude.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil moisture - Usually moist in the moisture control section in winter, spring, and early summer, dry in all parts at least 45 consecutive days following the summer solstice (July and August), but intermittently moist in the upper part for 10 to 20 days cumulative due to convection storms between July and September; snow covered from November through April, surface is nearly saturated for less than 20 days during snowmelt in April or May; Xeric soil moisture regime.
Mean annual soil temperature - 3 to 5 degrees C.
Mean summer soil temperature - 7 to 8 degrees C.
Ochric epipedon thickness - 46 to 66 cm, includes the Oi, Oe, A, A/E (when present), and E horizons.
Depth to top of albic horizon - 5 to 10 cm measured from the mineral soil surface at the top of the A horizon.
Depth to base of argillic horizon - More than 150 cm measured from the mineral soil surface at the top of the A horizon.

Particle-size control section - Clay content: Averages 4 to 12 percent.
Rock fragments: 50 to 80 percent with 2 to 5 mm diameter gravel dominating the less than 8 cm fraction. Lithology of fragments is granitic rocks.

E horizon - Chroma: 2 or 3, dry or moist.
Clay content: 3 to 10 percent.
Rock fragments: 50 to 80 percent, mainly fine (2 to 5 mm diameter) gravel dominating the less than 8 cm fraction.
Reaction: Very strongly acid to moderately acid.
Organic matter: 0.1 to 0.5 percent.

E and Bt horizon - Chroma: 3 or 4, dry or moist.
Texture: The matrix is 50 to 80 percent loamy coarse sand (E part) with 20 to 50 percent coarse sandy loam lamellae (Bt part); averages very cobbly loamy coarse sand if mixed.
Clay content: Averages 6 to 12 percent.
Rock fragments: 50 to 80 percent, with 2 to 5 mm diameter gravel dominating the less than 8 cm fraction.
Reaction: Very strongly acid to moderately acid.
Organic matter: 0.1 to 0.5 percent.
Base saturation: 35 to 60 percent.
Lamellae: The argillic horizon consists of 5 to 20 mm thick lamellae which have a cumulative thickness of more than 15 cm. Some pedons have a few lamellae which are sandy clay loam texture.

COMPETING SERIES: At present, there are no other series in this family.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Ceebee soils are on mountains. They typically occur on backslope positions. These soils formed in colluvium derived from granitic rocks. Slopes are 30 to 75 percent. Elevations range from 2,390 to 3,520 meters. The climate is humid with cold, wet winters and cool dry summers. The mean annual precipitation is 600 to 950 mm, mean annual temperature is 1.5 to 4 degrees C., and the frost-free period is 30 to 50 days.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Pirapeak and Strawbcrek soils. Pirapeak soils are sandy-skeletal and have cambic horizons.
Strawbcrek soils are loamy-skeletal, have cambic horizons, and have horizons with lamellae that are not argillic horizons.

DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Somewhat excessively drained; medium surface runoff; moderately rapid permeability; high saturated hydraulic conductivity.

USE AND VEGETATION: Ceebee soils are used for recreation, watershed, and wildlife habitat. The potential native vegetation is mainly a forest canopy of Engelmann's spruce and limber pine. This site is correlated to Ecological Site F28AY084NV Engelmann's spruce-mountain gooseberry-skyline bluegrass-Ross' sedge.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Eastern Nevada. These soils are not extensive. MLRA 28A.

MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Davis, California.

SERIES ESTABLISHED: White Pine County, Great Basin National Park, Nevada, 2009. The name is coined.

REMARKS: The revision of March 2001 updates the taxonomic classification from Loamy-skeletal, mixed Psammentic Cryoboralfs, adjusts all horizon depths for the Oi horizon as the soil surface, and verifies the presence of an albic horizon.

Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Organic soil material - The zone from the soil surface to 5 cm (Oi and Oe horizons).
Ochric epipedon - The zone from the soil surface to 61 cm (Oi, Oe, A, A/E, and E horizons).
Albic horizon - The zone from 13 to 61 cm (A/E and E horizons).
Argillic horizon and lamellae - The zone from 61 to 157 cm (E and Bt horizon).
Particle-size control section - The zone from 30 to 105 cm measured from the mineral soil surface at the top of the A horizon (E and the upper part of the E and Bt horizon).

ADDITIONAL DATA: The typical pedon at the series type location is reference sampled for the Soil Survey Laboratory (SSL), Lincoln, NE, as soil survey sample number 91NV-033-003 (pedon # 92P0145).

Previous authors and editors include: EWB-CWL-WED.

National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.