LOCATION FANTZ OREstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy-skeletal, mixed, superactive, mesic Pachic Ultic Haploxerolls
TYPICAL PEDON: Fantz very gravelly loam, on a north, northeast facing concave slope of 63 percent under mixed conifers at 1,550 feet elevation. (When described, the soil was moist throughout. Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)
Oi--1 inch to 0; partially decomposed twigs, needles, and leaves.
A1--0 to 4 inches; very dark brown (10YR 2/2) very gravelly loam, black (10YR 2/1) crushed, dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) dry; weak very fine and fine granular structure; soft, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; many very fine and fine roots; many very fine and fine pores; 55 percent gravel; slightly acid; clear smooth boundary.
A2--4 to 12 inches; very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) very gravelly loam, brown (10YR 5/3) dry; weak fine subangular blocky parting to weak fine granular structure; soft, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; many very fine and fine, common medium and few coarse roots; many very fine and fine pores; 55 percent gravel; slightly acid; gradual wavy boundary. (Combined A horizon thickness ranges from 8 to 18 inches)
C--12 to 29 inches; dark brown (10YR 3/3) extremely cobbly loam, brown (10YR 5/3) dry; massive; soft, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; few roots; many pores; 35 percent gravel, 40 percent cobbles; neutral; clear wavy boundary. (10 to 25 inches thick)
R--29 inches; highly fractured relatively unweathered olivine gabbro; few roots extending into fractures.
TYPE LOCATION: Josephine County, Oregon; about 9 miles west, northwest of Selma; 840 feet east and 800 feet north of the southwest corner of section 21, T.37S., R.9W.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Depth to bedrock is 20 to 40 inches. The mean annual soil temperature ranges from 47 degrees to 56 degrees F. These soils are usually moist but are dry between depths of 4 and 12 inches for 45 to 80 consecutive days in the four months that follow the summer solstice. The particle size control section averages 18 to 27 percent clay and 45 to 80 percent rock fragments of which 15 to 45 percent are cobbles. Rock fragments are dominantly olivine gabbro, but include gabbro and metagabbro rock types.
The A horizon has value of 2 or 3 moist, 4 or 5 dry, and chroma of 1 or 2 moist and 2 or 3 dry. It averages 35 to 60 percent rock fragments of which 0 to 10 percent are cobbles.
The C horizon has value of 2 or 3 moist, 4 or 5 dry, and chroma of 2 or 3 moist and dry. It is very cobbly loam or extremely cobbly loam with 18 to 27 percent clay. It has 30 to 45 percent gravel and 15 to 45 percent cobbles.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Emily, Oland, and Woolstalf series. Emily and Oland soils are deeper than 60 inches to bedrock. Woolstalf soils have less than 18 percent clay in the particle size control section.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Fantz soils are on side slopes of mountains. Slopes are 30 to 90 percent. The soils formed in colluvium and residuum weathered from olivine gabbro, gabbro, and metagabbro rock types. Elevations are 200 to 4,000 feet. The climate is characterized by warm, wet winters and hot, dry summers. The mean annual temperature is 45 to 54 degrees F. The mean annual precipitation is typically 50 to 70 inches. In the interior mountains of Curry County, Oregon, the mean annnual precipitation may range to 100 inches. The frost free period is 100 to 200 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Beekman, Knapke, Josephine, Speaker, and Vermisa soils. All of these soils occur on ridgetops or side slopes of mountains. Beekman, Josephine, Speaker and Vermisa soils lack a mollic epipedon. Also, Josephine and Speaker soils are fine-loamy. Vermisa soils are 10 to 20 inches deep to a lithic contact. Knapke soils are 60 inches or more deep to bedrock and the mollic epipedon is less than 20 inches thick.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; moderate permeability.
USE AND VEGETATION: Fantz soils are used for wildlife habitat, recreation, and timber production. Natural vegetation is Douglas fir, ponderosa pine, Jeffrey pine, Oregon myrtle, tanoak, canyon liveoak, swordfern, forbs, and grasses. In Curry County, Oregon the overstory includes sugar pine, Pacific madrone, and California black oak. The understory includes salal, baldhip rose, cascade Oregongrape, western brackenfern, spreading dogbane, California honeysuckle, white hawkweed, poison oak, red fescue, and blue wildrye.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Mountainous area of southwestern Oregon; MLRA 5. The series is not extentsive.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Davis, California
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Josephine County, Oregon, 1979.
REMARKS: A calcium, magnesium imbalance may exist due to high levels of Mg contributed by the parent materials. This situation is reflected in poor vegetation growth.
CEC activity class superactive added 1/2000, competing series not updated at that time.
Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon include:
Mollic epipedon - from the surface to a depth of 12 inches (A1, A2 horizons).
Pachic Ultic subgroup - mollic epipedon greater than 20 inches thick and base saturation (by sum of cations) of 75 percent or less in one or more horizons between a depth of 10 inches below the soil surface and a lithic bedrock contact (C horizon).
Particle-size control section - from 10 to 29 inches (part of A2 and all of C horizon).