LOCATION FERROBURRO CAEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy, mixed, superactive, mesic, shallow Entic Haploxerolls
TYPICAL PEDON: Ferroburro gravelly sandy loam, on a northwest facing convex slope of 46 percent under pinyon pine at 6,800 feet elevation. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise stated. When described the soil was dry to 10 inches, moist between 10 and 13 inches, and dry below.) The soil surface has a 1 centimeter thick duff layer of pinyon needles and twigs.
A1--0 to 2 inches; brown (10YR 5/3) gravelly sandy loam, very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) moist; very fine granular structure; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; many very fine roots; common fine tubular and interstitial pores; 20 percent 2 to 3 mm rock fragments; neutral (pH 7.0); clear smooth boundary. (2 to 3 inches thick)
A2--2 to 6 inches; brown (10YR 5/3) gravelly sandy loam, dark brown (10YR 3/3) moist; weak very fine granular structure; slightly hard, friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; many very fine and common medium roots; common fine tubular and interstitial pores; 20 percent 2 to 3 mm rock fragments; slightly alkaline (pH 7.5); clear irregular boundary. (4 to 8 inches thick)
C--6 to 14 inches; light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) gravelly sandy loam, yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) moist; massive; loose, nonsticky and nonplastic; common very fine, fine and coarse roots; common fine tubular and interstitial pores; 30 percent 2 to 3 mm rock fragments; slightly alkaline (pH 7.5); clear irregular boundary. (4 to 9 inches thick)
Cr--14 to 21 inches; strongly weathered and fractured granitic rocks, slakes in water.
TYPE LOCATION: Inyo County, California; about 2.5 miles northeast of Jackass Springs along the Hunter Mountain Road and about 0.75 mile west of the southwest boundary of the old Death Valley Monument, about 100 yards south of a trail; in an unsurveyed area; approximately 36 degrees 32 minutes north latitude and 117 degrees 33 minutes west longitude, NAD27.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Depth to a paralithic contact ranges from 10 to 20 inches. The mean annual soil temperature is 55 degrees F. The soils are neutral or slightly alkaline throughout. Clay averages 10 to 18 percent in the particle size control section. The soils are dry in all parts from mid-July to November for about 110 consecutive days and moist in all parts from January to April for about 90 consecutive days. The soil temperature is warmer than 41 degrees F. from mid-March to December for about 260 days, and warmer than 47 degrees F. for 150 to 190 days.
The A horizon has dry color of 10YR 5/2, 5/3, or 7.5YR 5/2, and moist color of 10YR 3/2 or 3/3. It is sandy loam or fine sandy loam with gravelly or cobbly modifiers. Rock fragments 2 to 10 mm in size range from 15 to 35 percent.
The C horizon has dry color of 10YR 6/3, 6/4, or 7.5YR 6/6 and moist color of 10YR 4/4, 4/6, 5/4 or 7.5YR 4/6. It is gravelly or cobbly sandy loam. Rock fragments 2 to 15 mm in size range from 15 to 35 percent.
COMPETING SERIES: This is the Tollhouse series. Tollhouse soils have soil temperature warmer than 47 degrees F. for 275 to 365 days.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Ferroburro soils are on hills and mountains. Slopes are 15 to 75 percent. The soils formed in material weathered from granitic rocks. Elevations range from 5,000 to 7,500 feet. The climate is semiarid with hot, dry summers with infrequent thunder showers of short duration and cool, moist winters. The mean annual temperature is 53 degrees F.; the average January temperature is 35 degrees F.; and the average annual July temperature is 75 degrees F. The frost free season is 185 to 225 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Huntmount, Mexispring, Panamint, and Ulida soils. Huntmount soils have a fine, loamy argillic horizon and are more than 40 inches deep to bedrock. Mexispring soils have an ochric epipedon and have an aridic moisture regime. Panamint soils are 20 to 40 inches deep to a paralithic contact. Ulida soils have an ochric epipedon and an argillic horizon.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; medium to rapid runoff; moderately rapid permeability.
USE AND VEGETATION: Ferroburro soils are used mainly for watershed, wildlife habitat, recreation, and rangeland. The native vegetation is primarily singleleaf pinyon, big sagebrush, black sagebrush, and scattered perennial grasses.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: These soils are mapped in the northern part of the California Desert and are of small extent. MLRA 29.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Davis, California.
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Inyo County, California, Saline Valley Area, 1980.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Mollic epipedon - The zone from the soil surface to 7 inches (A1 and A2 horizons and part of the C horizon).
Paralithic contact - The boundary at 14 inches to underlying soft, weathered bedrock (Cr layer).
This soil is in an intergrade to an aridic moisture regime. The number of days the soil is dry above 41 degrees F. is only slightly less than one half of the time. Future study should evaluate whether this series has an aridic moisture regime that borders on xeric and should be reclassified to the subgroup of Torriorthentic Haploxerolls. The nature of the weathered bedrock should also be evaluated to determine whether slaking is typical for the material. If the material does not slake, it would fit the concept for paralithic materials and not densic materials.
The superactive cation exchange activity class was added in 03/2003 to the taxonomic classification by the National Soil Survey Center on request of the Reno MLRA office, without review of the soil series property data.