LOCATION FORSELL CAEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy-skeletal, isotic Xeric Humicryepts
TYPICAL PEDON: Forsell very gravelly peaty coarse sandy loam--forest land. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.) The soil surface is covered with 50 percent gravel, 15 percent cobbles, 10 percent stones, and 2 percent boulders.
A1--0 to 1 inch; dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) very gravelly peaty coarse sandy loam, very dark brown (10YR 2/2) moist; weak fine granular structure; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; few very fine roots; many very fine interstitial pores; 40 percent gravel; strongly acid; clear smooth boundary. (1 or 2 inches thick)
A2--1 to 7 inches; dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) very gravelly coarse sandy loam, very dark brown (10YR 2/2) moist; weak fine subangular blocky structure; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; many very fine, fine and medium roots; many very fine interstitial and common very fine tubular pores; 50 percent gravel and 5 percent cobbles; strongly acid; clear wavy boundary. (5 to 10 inches thick)
A3--7 to 11 inches; brown (10YR 5/3) extremely gravelly coarse sandy loam, dark brown (10YR 3/3) moist; weak fine and medium subangular blocky structure; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; common very fine, fine, medium, coarse and very coarse roots; common very fine tubular and interstitial pores; 50 percent gravel, 10 percent cobbles, and 5 percent stones; strongly acid; clear wavy boundary. (0 to 5 inches thick)
Bw1--11 to 27 inches; light yellowish brown (2.5Y 6/4) extremely stony sandy loam, olive brown (2.5Y 4/4) moist; weak fine and medium subangular blocky structure; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; common very fine, fine, medium, coarse and very coarse roots; common very fine tubular and interstitial pores; 35 percent gravel, 10 percent cobbles, and 30 percent stones; strongly acid; clear wavy boundary. (10 to 20 inches thick)
Bw2--27 to 38 inches; light yellowish brown (2.5Y 6/4) extremely gravelly sandy loam, olive brown (2.5Y 4/4) moist; weak fine subangular blocky structure; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; few very fine, fine and medium roots; common very fine tubular and interstitial pores; 55 percent gravel and 15 percent cobbles; strongly acid; clear wavy boundary. (9 to 21 inches thick)
Bw3--38 to 60 inches; light yellowish brown (2.5Y 6/4) extremely gravelly sandy loam, olive brown (2.5Y 4/4) moist; massive; slightly hard, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; few very fine and fine roots; common very fine tubular and interstitial pores; 50 percent gravel and 10 percent cobbles; strongly acid.
TYPE LOCATION: Mono County, California; on the Toiyabe National Forest about 2 miles northeast of Upper Piute Meadows along the east side of Long Canyon; approximately 1,400 feet south and 200 feet west of the northeast corner of section 3, T. 4 N., R. 22 E.; USGS Tower Peak 7.5 minute topographic quadrangle; 38 degrees 13 minutes 31.9 seconds north latitude and 119 degrees 31 minutes 55.1 seconds west longitude, NAD27.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil moisture - Usually moist in the moisture control section during late fall, winter, and spring; dry from mid-July through September for 60 to 80 consecutive days in the four months following the summer solstice; Typic xeric moisture regime.
Mean annual soil temperature - 40 to 44 degrees F.
Mean summer soil temperature - 44 to 47 degrees F.
Umbric epipedon thickness - 10 to 16 inches.
Depth to base of cambic horizon - 40 to 60 inches.
Depth to bedrock - 60 to 80 inches to a lithic contact.
Sodium fluoride pH - 9.0 to 11.5.
Particle-size control section - Clay content: Averages 8 to 15 percent; Rock fragments: Averages 60 to 85 percent, with at least one horizon dominated by stones and cobbles. Lithology of fragments is dominantly granodiorite with some metamorphic rocks, such as quartzite and gneiss.
A horizons
Value: 4 or 5 dry, 2 or 3 moist.
Chroma: 2 or 3, dry or moist.
Organic matter content: 10 to 15 percent in the A1 horizon and 2 to 8 percent in the A2 and A3 horizons.
Reaction: Strongly acid or moderately acid.
Bw horizons
Hue: 10YR or 2.5Y.
Value: 6 or 7 dry, 4 or 5 moist.
Chroma: 3 through 6, dry or moist.
Texture: Extremely gravelly sandy loam, extremely stony sandy loam, or extremely stony coarse sandy loam.
Clay content: 8 to 15 percent.
Rock fragments: 60 to 85 percent.
Reaction: Strongly acid or moderately acid.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Callat (T), Fishsnooze, Florand, Lostridge, Sibelia, Sonorapass, and Sumeadow series.
Callat soils are moderately deep to densic contacts. Fishsnooze and Sonorapass soils are moderately deep to lithic contacts. Florand and Sibelia soils are deep to paralithic contacts. Lostridge soils are moderately deep to paralithic contacts. Sumeadow soils do not have a lithic contact within depths of 60 to 80 inches from the soil surface, do not have a horizon dominated by stones, and have rock fragments of volcanic lithology within the particle-size control section.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Forsell soils are on moraines superimposed on mountains. They typically occur on footslope and backslope positions. They formed in till derived mainly from granodiorite with minor amounts of metamorphic rocks such as quartzite and gneiss. Slopes are 8 to 50 percent. Elevations range from 8,000 to 9,500 feet. The climate is subhumid-continental with cold, moist winters and cool, dry summers. The mean annual precipitation is 30 to 50 inches, the mean annual temperature is 35 to 40 degrees F., and the frost-free period is 30 to 60 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Jobsis and Snowtell soils. Jobsis soils are shallow to paralithic contacts. Snowtell soils are shallow to lithic contacts.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; low or medium surface runoff; moderately rapid permeability (high saturated hydraulic conductivity).
USE AND VEGETATION: Forsell soils are used for forest land, recreation, watershed, and wildlife habitat. The native vegetation is mainly a forest canopy of lodgepole pine with an understory of sedges, bluegrass, and forbs.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Eastern California, on the east side of the Sierra Nevada Range. These soils are not extensive with about 4,700 acres of the series mapped to date. MLRA 22A.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Davis, California
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Mono County (Toiyabe National Forest Area), California, 2006.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Umbric epipedon - The zone from the soil surface to 11 inches (A1, A2, and A3 horizons).
Cambic horizon - The zone from 11 to 60 inches (Bw1, Bw2, and Bw3 horizons).
Particle-size control section - The zone from 10 to 40 inches (Bw1 and Bw2 horizons and parts of the A3 and Bw3 horizons).
The revision of December 2006 updated the taxonomic class from Xeric Dystrocryepts based on the tenth edition of the Keys to Soil Taxonomy, 2006. The isotic mineralogy class is based on the field determined values for sodium fluoride pH.