LOCATION GREMMERS NV

Established Series
Rev. JVC/JBF
02/2012

GREMMERS SERIES

The Gremmers series consists of shallow to a duripan, well drained soils that formed in alluvium derived from quartz monzonite. Gremmers soils are on fan remnants. Slopes are 4 to 8 percent. The mean annual precipitation is about 250 mm and the mean annual temperature is about 9 degrees C.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy, mixed, active, mesic, shallow Xereptic Haplodurids

TYPICAL PEDON: Gremmers very gravelly coarse sandy loam--rangeland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.) The soil surface is partially covered with approximately 45 percent gravel.

A1--0 to 5 cm; pale brown (10YR 6/3) very gravelly coarse sandy loam, dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) moist; weak thin platy structure; soft, very friable, slightly sticky and nonplastic; many very fine and fine roots; many fine vesicular pores; violently effervescent; 45 percent gravel; moderately alkaline (pH 8.0); abrupt smooth boundary. (3 to 10 cm thick)

A2--5 to 15 cm; pale brown (10YR 6/3) gravelly coarse sandy loam, brown (10YR 5/3) moist; weak medium subangular blocky structure; soft, very friable, slightly sticky and nonplastic; many very fine, fine, and medium, few coarse roots; common very fine tubular and many very fine interstitial pores; 15 percent gravel; violently effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.4); abrupt wavy boundary. (8 to 18 cm thick)

Bk--15 to 36 cm; pale brown (10YR 6/3) gravelly coarse sandy loam, brown (10YR 5/3) moist; weak medium subangular blocky structure; soft, very friable, slightly sticky and nonplastic; few very fine roots; few very fine tubular pores; 20 percent gravel; secondary carbonates segregated as common coats on the bottoms of gravel; violently effervescent; very strongly alkaline (pH 9.2); clear wavy boundary. (15 to 25 cm thick)

Bqkm--36 to 56 cm; very pale brown (10YR 7/3) cemented material, light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) moist; massive; very hard, very firm and brittle; strongly cemented with secondary silica and calcium carbonate; few very fine roots; continuous 1 to 2 mm diameter silica and carbonate cemented laminar cap; violently effervescent; very strongly alkaline (pH 9.2); clear wavy boundary. (15 to 30 cm thick)

2Cqk1--56 to 86 cm; very pale brown (10YR 7/3) very gravelly coarse sand, pale brown (10YR 6/3) moist; massive; hard, firm, nonsticky and nonplastic; few very fine roots; common very fine and fine tubular pores; 40 percent gravel; 70 percent lenses and nodules that are weakly to strongly cemented; few 2.5 to 7 cm in diameter krotovinas filled with soil material; common coats of secondary silica and secondary calcium carbonates on bottoms of gravel; secondary calcium carbonates segregated in many masses; strongly effervescent; very strongly alkaline (pH 9.4); clear wavy boundary. (30 to 50 cm thick)

2Cqk2--86 to 135 cm; very pale brown (10YR 7/3) very gravelly loamy coarse sand, light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) moist; massive; hard, firm, nonsticky and nonplastic; few very fine tubular pores; 40 percent gravel; common coats of secondary silica and carbonates on bottoms of gravel; 40 percent lenses and nodules of weakly cemented material; few 2.5 to 7 cm in diameter krotovinas filled with soil material; secondary calcium carbonates segregated in common irregular masses; strongly effervescent; very strongly alkaline (pH 9.6); clear wavy boundary. (30 to 50 cm thick)

2Cqk3--135 to 152 cm; light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) very gravelly loamy coarse sand, yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) moist; massive; slightly hard, friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; 35 percent masses of silica and calcium carbonate that are brittle and hard; 35 percent gravel; few krotovinas 2.5 to 7 cm in diameter filled with soil material; strongly effervescent; very strongly alkaline (pH 9.6).

TYPE LOCATION: White Pine County, Nevada; approximately 5 miles west of the Blue Mass Scenic Area; about 1,100 feet west and 2,400 feet south of the northeast corner of section 32, T. 22 N., R. 68 E.; USGS Grass Valley Wash 7.5 minute topographic quadrangle; latitude 39 degrees 44 minutes 27 seconds N and longitude 114 degrees 18 minutes 31 seconds W; NAD 83.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil moisture: Usually moist from late fall through early summer, dry from July through October except for 10 to 20 days cumulative between July and October due to convection storms; aridic soil moisture regime that borders on xeric.
Mean annual soil temperature: 8 to 11 degrees C.
Depth to duripan: 25 to 50 cm.

Particle-size control section - Clay content: Averages 7 to 18 percent.
Rock fragments: Averages 15 to 35 percent, mainly gravel, with half or more of the gravel 2 to 5 mm in diameter. Lithology of fragments is mainly quartz monzonite.

A horizons
Value: 5 or 6 dry, 3 through 5 moist.
Chroma: 2 through 4, dry or moist.

Bk horizon
Value: 5 through 7 dry, 4 or 5 moist.
Chroma: 3 through 5, dry or moist.
Texture: Coarse sandy loam or sandy loam.
Clay content: 7 to 18 percent.
Rock fragments: 15 to 35 percent, mainly gravel, with half or more gravel 2 to 5 mm in diameter.
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 10 to 30 percent.

Bqkm horizon
Value: 6 through 8 dry, 5 through 7 moist.
Chroma: 2 through 4, dry or moist.
Cementation class: Moderately cemented or strongly cemented.

2Cqk horizons
Value: 5 through 7 dry, 4 through 6 moist.
Chroma: 3 through 5, dry or moist.
Texture: Coarse sand, loamy coarse sand or coarse sandy loam.
Clay content: 1 to 7 percent.
Rock fragments: 35 to 75 percent gravel, with half or more being pan fragments.

COMPETING SERIES: There are no other series in this family.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Gremmers soils are on fan remnants. These soils formed in alluvium derived from quartz monzonite. Slopes are 4 to 8 percent. Elevations range from 1,710 to 2,380 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 7 to 9 degrees C, and the frost-free period is 90 to 110 days.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Zafod and Bienfait soils. Zafod soils are loamy-skeletal and moderately deep to duripans. Bienfait soils are sandy, very deep, and have cambic horizons.

DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; very high surface runoff; moderately rapid permeability in horizons above the duripan.

USE AND VEGETATION: Gremmers soils are used for rangeland and wildlife habitat. The present vegetation is mainly black sagebrush, Indian ricegrass, and needleandthread.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Eastern Nevada. These soils are not extensive. MLRA 28A.

MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Phoenix, Arizona.

SERIES ESTABLISHED: White Pine County, Nevada, East Part, 2004.

REMARKS: The revision of August 2002 updates the taxonomic class from Loamy, mixed, mesic, shallow Xeric Haplodurids.

Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon - The zone from the soil surface to 18 cm (A1, A2 and part of the Bk horizons).
Calcic horizon - The zone from 15 to 36 cm (Bk horizon).
Duripan - The zone from 36 to 56 cm (Bqkm horizon).
Particle-size control section - The zone from the soil surface to 36 cm (A1, A2 and Bk horizons).

ADDITIONAL DATA: The typical pedon at the series type location has full characterization data by the Soil Survey Laboratory (SSL), Lincoln, NE, as soil survey sample number S94NV-033-003 (pedon # 94P0728).

Previous authors and editors include: GWM-PNL-TM.

National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.