LOCATION DONDIEGO NMEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, mixed, superactive, mesic Pachic Argiustolls
TYPICAL PEDON: Dondiego sandy loam--on the tread of a high steam terrace sloping 2 percent to the southwest at 7,078 feet elevation--urban open-space land. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted. When described, the soil was moist from 1 to 50 inches and otherwise dry throughout.)
A--0 to 2 inches; brown (7.5YR 5/3) sandy loam, dark brown (7.5YR 3/2) moist; weak coarse platy structure parting to moderate medium granular; soft, very friable, slightly sticky and nonplastic; common fine and common very fine roots; few fine and few very fine irregularly shaped pores; 10 percent gravel; neutral (pH 6.6); clear smooth boundary. (2 to 4 inches thick)
Bt1--2 to 7 inches; brown (7.5YR 5/3) loam, dark brown (7.5YR 3/3) moist; moderate coarse subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common fine and common very fine roots; few fine and few very fine tubular pores; few faint clay films on faces of peds and lining pores; 5 percent gravel; neutral (pH 6.8); abrupt smooth boundary. (5 to 9 inches thick)
Bt2--7 to 14 inches; brown (7.5YR 4/2) loam, very dark gray (7.5YR 3/1) moist; moderate coarse subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; few medium, few fine, and common very fine roots; common fine and few very fine tubular pores; few faint clay films on faces of peds and lining pores; 5 percent gravel; slightly alkaline (pH 7.4); clear smooth boundary. (6 to 15 inches thick)
Bt3--14 to 26 inches; brown (7.5YR 4/2) loam, very dark gray (7.5YR 3/1) moist; moderate coarse subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; few medium, few fine, and common very fine roots; few fine and few very fine tubular pores; few distinct clay films on faces of peds and lining pores and few faint clay films on faces of peds; 5 percent gravel; very slightly effervescent, secondary calcium carbonate segregated as very few fine irregularly shaped coats on rock fragments; slightly alkaline (pH 7.6); clear smooth boundary. (0 to 10 inches thick)
Btk1--26 to 37 inches; brown (7.5YR 4/2) loam, very dark gray (7.5YR 3/1) moist; weak coarse prismatic structure parting to moderate coarse subangular blocky; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; few coarse, few medium, few fine, and few very fine roots; few fine and few very fine tubular pores; few distinct clay films on faces of peds and lining pores and few faint clay films on faces of peds; 5 percent gravel; very slightly effervescent, secondary calcium carbonate segregated as few fine irregularly shaped coats on faces of peds and on rock fragments; slightly alkaline (pH 7.8); clear wavy boundary. (9 to 16 inches thick)
Btk2--37 to 51 inches; brown (7.5YR 4/2) loam, dark brown (7.5YR 3/2) moist; weak coarse prismatic structure parting to moderate coarse subangular blocky; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; few medium, few fine, and common very fine roots; common fine and common very fine tubular pores; few faint clay films on faces of peds and lining pores; 10 percent gravel; noneffervescent in spots to very slightly effervescent elsewhere, secondary calcium carbonate segregated as few fine irregularly shaped coats on faces of peds and on rock fragments; moderately alkaline (pH 8.4); clear wavy boundary. (9 to 16 inches thick)
Bk--51 to 66 inches; brown (7.5YR 4/2) gravelly loam, dark brown (7.5YR 3/2) moist; moderate coarse subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; few coarse, few medium, few fine, and few very fine roots; common fine and common very fine tubular pores; 15 percent gravel and 5 percent cobbles; strongly effervescent, secondary calcium carbonate segregated as common fine irregularly shaped coats on faces of peds and on rock fragments; moderately alkaline (pH 8.2); abrupt wavy boundary. (8 to 20 inches thick)
BCk--66 to 92 inches; brown (7.5YR 5/4) gravelly loamy coarse sand, brown (7.5YR 4/4) moist; massive; slightly hard, very friable, slightly sticky and nonplastic; few medium, few fine, and few very fine roots; few strata of loam; 20 percent gravel and 5 percent cobbles; slightly effervescent, secondary calcium carbonate segregated as few fine irregularly shaped coats on rock fragments and coarse sand grains; moderately alkaline (pH 8.4); clear wavy boundary. (10 to 26 inches thick)
C--92 to 106 inches; brown (7.5YR 5/4) very gravelly coarse sand, brown (7.5YR 4/4) moist; single grain; loose, nonsticky and nonplastic; few fine and few very fine roots; 35 percent gravel and 5 percent cobbles; very slightly effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.4).
TYPE LOCATION: Santa Fe County, New Mexico; about 2 miles southeast of downtown Santa Fe within the nonsectionized Santa Fe Grant; 1,975 feet east and 975 feet north of the intersection of Saint Michaels Drive and Old Pecos Trail; USGS Santa Fe 7.5 minute topographic quadrangle; Latitude 35 degrees 39 minutes 26 seconds North and Longitude 105 degrees 55 minutes 52 seconds West, NAD 27.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil moisture - The soil moisture control section is moist in all parts during the 60 days following the winter solstice. It is moist in some part less than 40 percent and moist in all parts less than 25 percent of the time when the soil temperature at 20 inches is above 41 degrees F. December and August are the wettest months of the year. The soils are driest in May and June. The soil moisture regime is ustic bordering on aridic.
Mean annual soil temperature - 49 to 52 degrees F.
Depth to base of mollic epipedon - 40 to 69 inches
Depth to base of argillic horizon - 36 to 54 inches
Depth to calcareous material (as visible secondary calcium carbonate) - 17 to 32 inches
Particle-size control section weighted averages - Silicate clay content: 18 to 27 percent; Sand content: 30 to 50 percent; Fine sand or coarser content: 15 to 30 percent; Rock fragment content: 5 to 10 percent gravel, lithology of fragments is granite, gneiss, and schist; mica content: 3 to 10 percent (by grain count).
Organic matter content - 2 to 4 percent in the upper part of the mollic epipedon and 1 to 3 percent in the lower part
Salinity, mmhos/cm - 0 to 1 in the surface, upper part of the subsoil, and lower part of the substratum; 0 to 2 in the lower part of the subsoil and upper part of the substratum
Reaction - neutral in the surface and upper subsoil; slightly alkaline to moderately alkaline in the lower subsoil; neutral to moderately alkaline in the substratum.
A horizon
Value: 3 through 5 dry, 2.5 or 3 moist
Chroma: 2 or 3, dry or moist
Rock fragments: 5 to 10 percent gravel
Bt horizons
Value: 3 through 5 dry, 2.5 or 3 moist
Chroma: 2 or 3 dry, 1 through 3 moist
Rock fragments: 0 to 10 percent gravel
Btk horizons
Value: 4 or 5 dry, 2.5 or 3 moist
Chroma: 2 or 3 dry, 1 through 3 moist
Texture: loam or sandy loam
Rock fragments: 5 to 10 percent gravel
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 1 to 3 percent
Bk horizon (a BCk or BC in some pedons)
Value: 4 or 5 dry
Chroma: 2 or 3, dry or moist
Texture: gravelly loam, gravelly sandy loam, or sandy loam
Rock fragments: total range is 10 to 25 percent
10 to 20 percent gravel
0 to 5 percent cobbles
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 1 to 3 percent
Other features: some pedons have strata of gravelly coarse sand; some pedons have buried Bt horizons.
BCk and C horizons
Hue: 5YR or 7.5YR
Value: 5 or 6 dry, 4 or 5 moist
Chroma: 3 or 4, dry or moist
Texture: stratified gravelly loamy coarse sand to very gravelly coarse sand or stratified gravelly loamy coarse sand to coarse sand
Rock fragments: total range is 20 to 40 percent
20 to 35 percent gravel
0 to 5 percent cobbles
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 0 to 2 percent
Other features: some pedons have strata of sandy loam or loam; some pedons do not have sandy substrata
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Albinas, Bluewater (T), Estrada, Farnum, Funmar, Garrett, Haxtun, Jarita, Keya, Prosper, Renner, Sampson, Tracylee (T), Vosburg, Wetterdon and Woodly series.
Albinas, Farnum, Funmar, Haxtun, Keya, Prosper, Renner, Sampson, Tracylee, Woodly, and Woonsocket soils are moist in some part of the moisture control section from May 15th to July 15th and are in a climatic setting that receives three-fourths of the precipitation between April and September. In addition, Haxtun soils have argillic horizons that are buried by younger eolian parent materials; Tracylee soils have hue of 10YR or yellower; Keya and Woodly soils are noncalcareous throughout. Bluewater soils have calcic horizons between 10 and 35 inches, seasonal high water tables between 30 and 51 inches, and redoximorphic features within 40 inches of the soil surface. Estrada soils have rock fragments of sandstone and shale. Garrett soils have Bt horizons with hue of 5YR or redder. Jarita soils have hard bedrock between 20 and 40 inches. Vosburg soils are more moist in late spring, do not have fragments of igneous and metamorphic rocks, and have frost-free periods of less than 140 days
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Dondiego soils are on treads of high stream terraces and on low stream terraces of valley floors. They formed in alluvium derived from granite, gneiss and schist. Slopes are 1 to 3 percent. Elevation ranges from 6,100 to 7,800 feet. The mean annual precipitation is 13 to 15 inches with about 45 percent falling as rain from high-intensity convective thunderstorms between July and September. The mean annual air temperature is 47 to 50 degrees F. The frost-free period is 140 to 160 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Altazano, Buckhorse, Levante, and Ohke soils. Buckhorse soils are coarse-loamy, have thin mollic epipedons, and occur on toeslopes. Levante soils are sandy, do not have diagnostic horizons, and occur on narrow flood plains of arroyos. Altazano soils are coarse-loamy, do not have diagnostic horizons, and occur on flood plains of valley floors. Ohke soils are sandy, have thin mollic epipedons, and occur on adjacent portions of low stream terraces.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; low surface runoff; moderate permeability in the subsoil, moderate or moderately rapid permeability in the upper substratum, and very rapid permeability in the lower substratum. The phase occurring on low stream terraces is subject to rare flooding.
USE AND VEGETATION: Dondiego soils are used for urban development, livestock grazing, and recreation. The historic climax vegetation is blue grama, black grama, broom snakeweed, galleta, and ring muhly. The ecological site is Loamy(R036XB112NM).
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Dondiego soils are of small extent on the southeastern Espanola Basin part of the Basin and Range province in northcentral New Mexico. The MLRA is 36.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Bozeman, Montana
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Santa Fe County, New Mexico; Santa Fe Area Soil Survey Update; 2008. The name Dondiego is taken from the Governor Don Diego de Vargas, the first governor following the reconquest of New Mexico.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Mollic epipedon (Pachic feature) - The zone from the soil surface to a depth of about 66 inches. (A, Bt1, Bt2, Bt3, Btk1, Btk2, and Bk horizons)
Argillic horizon - The zone from 2 to about 51 inches. (Bt1, Bt2, Bt3, Btk1, and Btk2 horizons)
This series was originally proposed as the Ownyate series in 1996 and renamed Dondiego in 2006.
Classified according to Keys to Soil Taxonomy, Tenth Edition, 2006.