LOCATION DESEED NV+OR

Established Series
Rev. JVC/JBF
01/2019

DESEED SERIES

The Deseed series consists of moderately deep, well drained soils that formed in residuum and colluvium derived from volcanic rocks. Deseed soils are on hills, mountains, and plateaus. Slopes are 2 to 50 percent. The mean annual precipitation is about 280 mm and the mean annual temperature is about 7 degrees C.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine, smectitic, frigid Xeric Haplargids

TYPICAL PEDON: Deseed gravelly loam--rangeland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.) The soil surface is covered with 30 percent gravel and 5 percent cobbles.

A--0 to 10 cm; pale brown (10YR 6/3) gravelly loam, dark brown (10YR 3/3) moist; moderate thick platy structure; soft, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; few fine and very fine roots; common very fine vesicular pores; 15 percent gravel and 5 percent cobbles; neutral (pH 7.0); clear smooth boundary. (8 to 15 cm thick)

Bt1--10 to 25 cm; pale brown (10YR 6/3) gravelly clay loam, dark brown (10YR 3/3) moist; moderate fine subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, friable, moderately sticky and moderately plastic; few fine and very fine roots; few fine tubular pores; few faint clay films on faces of peds and lining pores; 20 percent gravel and 5 percent cobbles; neutral (pH 7.0); clear smooth boundary. (10 to 18 cm thick)

Bt2--25 to 43 cm; light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) gravelly clay, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; hard, firm, moderately sticky and moderately plastic; few very fine roots; few fine tubular pores; common distinct clay films on faces of peds; 25 percent gravel and 5 percent cobbles; neutral (pH 7.0); clear smooth boundary. (15 to 20 cm thick)

Bt3--43 to 66 cm; brown (10YR 5/3) gravelly clay, yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) moist; strong medium subangular blocky structure; very hard, very firm, very sticky and very plastic; few very fine roots; few fine and very fine tubular pores; many distinct clay films on faces of peds; 20 percent gravel and 5 percent cobbles; neutral (pH 7.2); abrupt smooth boundary. (10 to 28 cm thick)

R--66 cm; hard rhyolite.

TYPE LOCATION: Elko County, Nevada; about 3 miles west of Haystack Peak on the north end of Castle Ridge; about 680 feet south and 2,160 feet east of the northwest corner, T. 41 N., R. 45 E.; USGS Rodear Flat 7.5 minute topographic quadrangle; latitude 41 degrees 26 minutes 33 seconds N and longitude 116 degrees 54 minutes 08 seconds W; WGS84 Decimal Degrees 41.4425000 latitude, -116.9022222 longitude.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil moisture: Usually moist in winter and spring, dry late June through October; aridic soil moisture regime that borders on xeric.
Mean annual soil temperature: 7 to 8 degrees C.
Depth to bedrock: 50 to 100 cm to a lithic contact.

Particle-size control section - Clay content: Averages 35 to 50 percent.
Rock fragments: 5 to 35 percent, mainly gravel. Lithology of fragments is volcanic rocks such as rhyolite, tuff, and basalt.

A horizon
Value: 5 or 6 dry, 3 or 4 moist.
Chroma: 2 or 3, moist or dry.
Reaction: Neutral or slightly alkaline.

Bt1 horizon
Value: 4 through 6 dry, 3 or 4 moist.
Chroma: 2 or 3, dry or moist.
Texture: Silty clay loam, clay loam, or gravelly clay loam.
Clay content: 30 to 40 percent.
Reaction: Neutral or slightly alkaline.

Bt2 and Bt3 horizons
Hue: 10YR or 7.5YR.
Value: 4 through 6 dry, 4 or 5 moist.
Chroma: 3 through 6, dry or moist.
Texture: Gravelly clay, gravelly clay loam, clay, or clay loam; some pedons have texture of gravelly sandy clay loam.
Clay content: 30 to 50 percent.
Structure: Weak to strong, medium or coarse angular or subangular blocky, or weak prismatic.
Reaction: Neutral or slightly alkaline.

C horizons (when present)
Hue: 10YR.
Value: 6 through 8 dry, 5 through 7 moist.
Chroma: 2 or 3, dry or moist.
Texture: Cobbly loam or gravelly loam.
Reaction: Slightly alkaline or moderately alkaline.

COMPETING SERIES: These are the Bucan and Fortank series.

Bucan soils are deep to lithic contacts. Fortank soils are moderately deep to paralithic contacts.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Deseed soils are on hills, mountains, and plateaus. They typically occur on footslope and backslope positions. These soils formed in residuum and colluvium derived from volcanic rocks with some influence from loess and volcanic ash. Slopes are 2 to 50 percent. Elevations range from 1,360 to 2,170 meters. The climate is semiarid with cool, moist winters and warm, dry, summers. The mean annual precipitation is 250 to 300 mm, the mean annual temperature is 6 to 8 degrees C, and the frost-free period is 50 to 100 days.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Bregar, Cleavage, Devada, Freznik, Linkup, and Reluctan soils. Bregar, Cleavage, Devada, and Linkup soils are shallow to bedrock. Freznik soils have an abrupt boundary between the A and Bt horizons with an absolute increase in clay content of 20 percent or more. Reluctan soils are fine-loamy and have mollic epipedons.

DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY: Well drained; high surface runoff; moderately low saturated hydraulic conductivity.

USE AND VEGETATION: Livestock grazing and wildlife habitat. The vegetation is mainly Wyoming big sagebrush, Sandberg's bluegrass, and bluebunch wheatgrass with lesser amounts of Idaho fescue.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: North-central Nevada and south-central Oregon. These soils are moderately extensive. The original series concept is in MLRA 25, while the main acreage occurs in MLRA 23.

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

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Elko County (Northwest Elko County Area), Nevada, 1986.

REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon - The zone from the soil surface to 10 cm (A horizon).
Argillic horizon - The zone from 10 to 66 cm (Bt1, Bt2, and Bt3 horizons).
Lithic contact - The boundary at 66 cm to underlying hard, unweathered bedrock (R layer).
Particle-size control section - The zone from 10 to 60 cm (Bt1 and Bt2 horizons and part of the Bt3 horizon).

The revision of December 2004 corrects the type location.

ADDITIONAL DATA: Previous authors and editors include: RAF-TSB-RLB.

National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.