LOCATION FERTALINE               NV+CA OR

Established Series
Rev. TM/JBF/BKP
02/2017

FERTALINE SERIES

The Fertaline series consists of moderately deep to a duripan, well drained soils that formed in alluvium derived from andesite, basalt, tuff, and volcanic ash. Fertaline soils are on fan remnants. Slopes are 0 to 15 percent. The mean annual precipitation is about 250 mm and the mean annual temperature is about 6 degrees C.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine, smectitic, frigid Abruptic Xeric Argidurids

TYPICAL PEDON: Fertaline gravelly loam--rangeland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.)

A--0 to 13 cm; brown (10YR 5/3) gravelly loam, dark brown (10YR 3/3) moist; weak very fine granular structure; soft, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; many fine and very fine roots; many very fine interstitial and tubular pores; 20 percent gravel and 5 percent cobbles; neutral (pH 6.8); clear smooth boundary. (3 to 15 cm thick)

E--13 to 20 cm; light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) very gravelly loam, brown (10YR 5/3) moist; moderate medium and fine subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, friable, moderately sticky and slightly plastic; many fine and very fine roots; many very fine interstitial and tubular pores; 30 percent gravel and 10 percent cobbles; neutral (pH 6.8); abrupt wavy boundary. (5 to 15 cm thick)

Bt--20 to 41 cm; light brown (7.5YR 6/4) clay, dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) moist; strong coarse prismatic structure; very hard, very firm, very sticky and very plastic; common fine and very fine roots; common fine and very fine tubular pores; common prominent clay films on faces of peds and lining pores; 5 percent gravel and 5 percent cobbles; neutral (pH 7.0); clear smooth boundary. (20 to 50 cm thick)

Btk--41 to 51 cm; pale brown (10YR 6/3) gravelly clay, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; moderate coarse and medium angular blocky structure; hard, firm, moderately sticky and moderately plastic; few fine and very fine roots; common fine tubular pores; common prominent clay films on faces of peds and lining pores; 15 percent gravel and 5 percent cobbles; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.0); clear wavy boundary. (0 to 20 cm thick)

Bqk--51 to 56 cm; very pale brown (10YR 7/4) very gravelly clay loam, yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) moist; massive; slightly hard, firm, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; very few fine and very fine roots; common very fine interstitial pores; few thin discontinuous weakly silica and calcium cemented carbonate plates; 35 percent gravel; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.4); abrupt wavy boundary. (0 to 18 cm thick)

Bqkm--56 to 71 cm; very pale brown (10YR 7/3) and very pale brown (10YR 8/2) cemented material, light gray (10YR 7/2) and pale brown (10YR 6/3) moist; massive; extremely hard, extremely firm, indurated by silica; few very fine interstitial pores; violently effervescent; strongly alkaline (pH 8.8).

TYPE LOCATION: Eureka County, Nevada; about 37 miles northwest of Eureka and 1 mile southeast of McClusky Pass; about 700 feet east and 2,200 feet south of the northwest corner of section 9, T. 23 N., R. 49 E.; USGS Tonkin Summit 7.5 minute topographic quadrangle; latitude 39 degrees 52 minutes 35 seconds N and longitude 116 degrees 28 minutes 31 seconds W; WGS84 Decimal Degrees 39.8763889 latitude, -116.4752778 longitude.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil moisture: Usually moist in winter and spring, dry mid-June through October; aridic soil moisture regime that borders on xeric.
Mean annual soil temperature: 6 to 8 degrees C.
Depth to argillic horizon: 15 to 20 cm.
Depth to secondary calcium carbonate: 35 to 75 cm.
Depth to duripan: 50 to 75 cm.

Particle-size control section - Clay content: averages 35 to 60 percent.
Rock fragments: 0 to 30 percent, mainly gravel. Lithology of fragments is volcanic rocks such as andesite, basalt, and obsidian.

A horizon
Value: 5 or 6 dry, 3 or 4 moist. The dry value is 6 when the upper 18 cm of the soil is mixed.
Chroma: 2 or 3, dry or moist.
Reaction: Slightly acid to slightly alkaline.

E horizon
Structure: Weak or moderate, very fine or fine granular or subangular blocky, or it is massive.
Rock fragments: 35 to 60 percent, dominantly gravel.
Other features: This horizon is one unit in value higher and/or one unit in chroma lower than the A horizon.

Bt horizon
Hue: 10YR or 7.5YR.
Value: 4 through 6 dry, 4 or 5 moist.
Chroma: 3 through 6, dry or moist.
Texture: Clay or clay loam.
Clay content: 35 to 60 percent.
Rock fragments: 0 to 25 percent gravel and 0 to 5 percent cobbles.

Btk and Bqk horizons (when present)
Hue: 10YR or 7.5YR.
Value: 5 through 7 dry, 4 through 6 moist.
Chroma: 3 through 6, dry or moist.
Texture: Sandy clay loam, clay loam, or clay.
Clay content: 25 to 50 percent.
Rock fragments: 0 to 30 percent gravel.
Reaction: Neutral through strongly alkaline.
Secondary calcium carbonate: disseminated calcium carbonate throughout, few 1 to 2 mm carbonate masses in matrix, thin discontinuous weakly silica and calcium cemented carbonate plates, or 1 mm concretions on bottoms of rock fragments.
Calcium carbonate equivalent in the less than 2 mm fraction: 0 to 5 percent.
Salinity (EC): 2 to 4 mmhos/cm
Sodicity (SAR): 0 to 4
Effervescence: Slightly effervescent or strongly effervescent

Bqkm horizon
Hue: 7.5YR through 2.5Y.
Value: 5 through 8 dry, 4 through 7 moist.
Chroma: 2 through 6, dry or moist; opal laminae have chroma of 0 or 1.
Structure: The upper 8 to 30 cm have moderate or strong platy structure, or it is massive.

COMPETING SERIES: These are the Elhina and Foleylake series.
Elhina soils lack prismatic structure, have less than 35 percent rock fragments in the E horizon and have calcic horizons above the duripan. Foleylake soils have lithic contacts within 76 cm of the soil surface.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Fertaline soils are on fan remnants. They typically occur on summit positions. These soils formed in alluvium derived from volcanic rock such as andesite, basalt, tuff, and volcanic ash. Slopes are 0 to 15 percent. Elevations range from 1,465 to 1,985 meters. The climate is semiarid with cool, moist winters and warm, dry summers. The mean annual precipitation is 200 to 300 mm, the mean annual temperature is 5 to 8 degrees C, and the frost-free period is 50 to 100 days.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Espil and Powley soils. These soils are shallow to duripans.

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

USE AND VEGETATION: Fertaline soils are used for rangeland and wildlife habitat. The present vegetation is mainly low sagebrush, Sandberg's bluegrass, bluebunch wheatgrass, Thurber's needlegrass, and bottlebrush squirreltail.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Northwestern and north-central Nevada, northeastern California, and southeastern Oregon. These soils are moderately extensive. MLRAs 23 and 28B.

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

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Eureka County Area, Nevada, 1983.

REMARKS: The type location was moved to Eureka County Area, NV from Surprise Valley-Home Camp Area, CA and NV in October 2002 to better represent the series.

Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon - The zone from the soil surface to 20 cm (A and E horizons).
Albic horizon - The zone from 13 to 20 cm (E horizon).
Abrupt textural change - The abrupt clay increase of more than 15 percent at 20 cm (between the E and Bt horizons).
Argillic horizon - The zone from 20 to 51 cm (Bt and Btk horizons).
Duripan - The zone from 56 to 71 cm (Bqkm horizon).
Particle-size control section - The zone from 20 to 51 cm (Bt and Btk horizons).

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National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.