LOCATION ISHI PISHI CAEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Clayey-skeletal, magnesic, mesic Ultic Haploxeralfs
TYPICAL PEDON: Ishi Pishi gravelly clay loam - on a south southeast facing convex slope of 35 percent under Douglas-fir, Jeffrey pine, Pacific madrone, incense-cedar, tanoak, California coffeeberry and a few grasses at 2,100 feet elevation. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise stated. When described on 7/14/76 the soil was dry in the upper 2 inches and moist below).
01--1 to 0 inches; fresh and decomposing needle and leaf litter.
A1--0 to 2 inches; brown to dark brown (7.5YR 4/4) gravelly clay loam, dark brown (7.5YR 3/2) moist; strong medium and coarse granular structure; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky and plastic; common fine, medium, and coarse roots; many very fine and fine and common medium tubular pores; 15 percent pebbles; neutral (pH 6.8); clear smooth boundary. (2 to 7 inches thick)
A3--2 to 8 inches; reddish yellow (5YR 6/6) gravelly clay, reddish brown (5YR 4/4) moist; weak very coarse subangular blocky parting to moderate very fine and fine subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, friable, sticky and plastic; common fine, medium, and coarse roots; common medium and fine tubular pores; few thin clay films on peds; 15 percent pebbles; slightly acid (pH 6.5); gradual wavy boundary. (6 to 8 inches thick)
B1t--8 to 16 inches; red (2.5YR 5/6), light red (2.5YR 6/6) rubbed, gravelly clay, dark reddish brown (2.5YR 3/4) moist and dark reddish brown (5YR 3/4) rubbed; moderate fine and medium subangular blocky parting to moderate fine granular structure; slightly hard, friable, sticky and plastic; few fine, common medium and coarse roots; many very fine and common fine tubular pores; many thin clay films on peds; 15 percent pebbles, 5 percent cobbles; neutral (ph 6.8); gradual wavy boundary. (6 to 8 inches thick)
B21t--16 to 25 inches; yellowish red (5YR 5/6), yellowish red (5YR 4/6) rubbed, very stony clay, reddish brown (5YR 4/4) moist and dark reddish brown (5YR 3/4) rubbed; moderate fine and medium subangular blocky parting to moderate fine granular structure; slightly hard, friable, very sticky and plastic; few fine, common medium and coarse roots; many very fine and common fine tubular pores; continuous thin clay films on peds; 20 percent pebbles, 20 percent cobbles, 15 percent stones; neutral (pH 7.0); clear wavy boundary. (9 to 13 inches thick)
B22t--25 to 33 inches; yellowish red (5YR 5/6), reddish brown (5YR 5/4) rubbed, very stony clay, dark reddish brown (5YR 3/4) moist and reddish brown (5YR 4/4) rubbed; moderate very fine, fine, and medium subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, friable, very sticky and plastic; few fine, common medium and coarse roots; common very fine and fine tubular pores; continuous moderately thick clay films on peds; 35 percent pebbles, 5 percent cobbles, 15 percent stones; neutral (pH 7.0); gradual wavy boundary. (8 to 10 inches thick)
B23t--33 to 40 inches; yellowish red (5YR 5/6), reddish brown (5YR 5/4) rubbed, very gravelly clay, dark reddish brown (5YR 3/3 and 3/4) moist and dark brown (7.5YR 3/4) rubbed; moderate fine, medium, and coarse subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, friable, very sticky and very plastic; few fine, common medium and coarse roots; common very fine and fine tubular pores; continuous moderately thick clay films on peds; 35 percent pebbles, 3 percent cobbles; neutral (pH 7.0); gradual irregular boundary. (5 to 7 inches thick)
C--40 to 47 inches; white (5Y 8/2) saprolite, light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) when rubbed, very gravelly clay loam, light gray (2.5Y 7/2) moist and yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) when rubbed; weak coarse and very coarse subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, friable, very sticky and plastic; few very fine, fine and medium roots; few very fine tubular pores; many moderately thick yellowish red (5YR 5/6) clay films on peds; dark reddish brown (5YR 3/4) moist; 35 percent pebbles; neutral (pH 7.3); clear irregular boundary. (4 to 7 inches thick)
R--47 to 54 inches; ultramafic rock (serpentinite); neutral (pH 7.0).
TYPE LOCATION: Humboldt County, California; approximately 60 feet north of Black Mtn. Road, 1/4 mile east of junction with Forest Road 10N01, and 150 feet west of a trail junction in sec. 31, T.10N., R.6E., H.B.M.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Depth to a lithic contact with ultramafic rock is typically 40 to 50 inches but may be as much as 60 inches. Rock fragments range from 15 to 35 percent in the A or surface horizons and from 15 to 35 percent in the upper B horizons to 35 to 55 percent in the lower B and control section. A concentration of stone size coarse fragments was found at a depth between 16 and 33 inches. The mean annual soil temperature at a depth of 20 inches varies from 48 to 52 degrees F. The soil between the depths of 4 and 15 inches is moist in all parts for 45 to 135 consecutive days between December 1 and April 30. It is dry in all parts for 45 to 90 consecutive days between June 15 and October 15 in most years. Base saturation ranges from 50 to 85 percent in the soil with less than 75 percent in some part of the upper B1t or B2t horizons. The base saturation commonly increases with depth. Ca/mg ratios range from 1 to 0.02.
The A horizon is 7.5YR 4/4, 5/4; 5YR 5/4, 4/6, 5/6, 6/6; 2.5YR 3/4, 4/4. Moist color is 7.5YR 3/2, 4/4; 5YR 5/4, 4/4, 3/4, 3/3; 2.5YR 3/4, 3/6, 4/6. They are slightly acid to neutral.
The B2t horizons are 5YR 6/6, 5/6, 4/6, 5/4, 4/4, 3/4; 2.5YR 6/6, 5/6, 4/4, 3/6, 3/4. Moist color is 5YR 4/4, 3/4, 3/3; 2.5YR 3/4. It is gravelly, very gravelly and very stony clays with weak to moderate subangular blocky structure and are slightly acid to neutral.
Some pedons lack C horizons.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Boomer, Cornutt, Dubakella, and Weitchpec series in other families. Boomer soils are fine-loamy with mixed mineralogy. Cornutt soils are non-skeletal and fine. Dubakella soils have a lithic contact at 20 to 40 inches. Weitchpec soils lack an argillic horizon, and have a lithic contact at 20 to 40 inches.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Ishi Pishi soils are on simple convex slopes in mountainous areas. Slopes are 15 to 75 percent. Elevation is 400 to 5,000 feet. The upper elevations usually occur on southern aspects. The climate is subhumid with warm dry summers and cold moist winters. Mean annual precipitation is 50 to 100 inches. Mean January temperature is about 35 degrees F., mean July temperature is about 62 degrees F., and mean annual temperature varies from 52 to 59 degrees F. The frost-free season ranges from 140 to 220 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the competing Boomer and Dubakella soils; and the Hugo, and Josephine soils. Hugo soils lack an argillic horizon. Josephine soils are fine-loamy and have a base saturation of less than 35 percent. Hugo and Josephine soils have developed from sedimentary or metamorphosed sedimentary rock materials and generally produce a higher volume of timber products.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained. Medium runoff. Moderate permeability in the upper 25 inches and moderately slow in the lower part.
USE AND VEGETATION: The predominant use of Ishi Pishi soils is for timber production, watershed, and wildlife habitat. The native vegetation consists of mixed conifers and hardwoods with associated shrubs, forbs, and grasses. Species included are Douglas-fir, Jeffrey pine, sugar pine, Pacific madrone, incense-cedar, tanoak, California coffeeberry, creeping snowberry, and grasses.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: The soils of this series are not extensive and occur in the Coast Ranges, Klamath Mountains, and the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Davis, California
SERIES PROPOSED: U.S. Forest Service Soil-Vegetation Survey of the Orleans Ranger District portion of the Six Rivers National Forest, California, Soil Survey Area No. 701, Humboldt County, California in 1962. Source of name is Ishi Pishi Falls located on the Klamath River.
REMARKS: It is assumed that more than 40 percent by weight of the whole soil less than 2mm in diameter is serpentine minerals. (Lab. analyses shows 53.8 percent sand and silt size particles between the depths of 20 and 40cm and 57.8 percent between 40 and 70cm). This is a change in classification from fine, serpentinitic, mesic Ultic Haploxeralfs to clayey-skeletal, serpentinitic mesic Ultic Haploxeralfs.
ADDITIONAL DATA: The typical pedon was sampled for characterization; and analyses were run by the National Soil Survey Laboratory in Lincoln, Nebraska. (Field sample numbers 76CA-023-1-1 through 8*. Laboratory sample numbers 78P2537 - 2544, April 1979).
OSED scanned by SSQA. Last revised by state on 6/81.