LOCATION KUCERA             ID+WY
Established Series
JDS/CBR/FFL
06/2009

KUCERA SERIES


The Kucera series consists of very deep, well drained soils formed in loess and silty alluvium from mixed sources. They are on terraces, hills, ridges, basalt plains, and hills. Slopes are 0 to 50 percent. Mean annual precipitation is about 380 mm and the mean annual air temperature is about 6.0 degrees C.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Coarse-silty, mixed, superactive, frigid Calcic Pachic Haploxerolls

TYPICAL PEDON: Kucera silt loam, cropland; on a 17 percent slope at 1,674 meters elevation. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.)

Ap--0 to 15 cm; brown (10YR 5/3) silt loam, very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) moist; moderate thick platy structure parting to moderate coarse and medium subangular blocky; soft, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common very fine and fine roots; common very fine irregular and few fine tubular pores; slightly alkaline (pH 7.6); abrupt smooth boundary.

A--15 to 41 cm; brown (10YR 5/3) silt loam, very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) moist; weak coarse subangular blocky structure parting to moderate medium and fine subangular blocky; soft, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common very fine and few fine roots; common very fine and few fine tubular pores; slightly alkaline (pH 7.7); clear smooth boundary. (The combined thickness of the A horizons is 20 to 72 cm.)

AB--41 to 66 cm; brown (10YR 5/3) silt loam, dark brown (10YR 3/3) moist; moderate coarse and medium subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common very fine roots; few very fine and fine tubular pores; about 5 percent very hard (cicada) nodules; slightly alkaline (pH 7.7); clear smooth boundary. (0 to 40 cm thick)

Bw--66 to 86 cm; pale brown (10YR 6/3) silt loam, dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) moist; moderate coarse and medium subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common very fine roots; few very fine and fine tubular pores; about 5 percent very hard (cicada) nodules; slightly alkaline (pH 7.8); abrupt wavy boundary. (0 to 36 cm thick)

Bk1--86 to 112 cm; pale brown (10YR 6/3) silt loam, brown (10YR 5/3) moist; weak medium and fine subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common very fine roots; few very fine and fine tubular pores; finely disseminated calcium carbonate, few fine irregularly shaped soft masses and threads of calcium carbonate; strongly effervescent (18 percent calcium carbonate equivalent); moderately alkaline (pH 8.1); gradual wavy boundary. (10 to 51 cm thick)

Bk2--112 to 152 cm; very pale brown (10YR 7/3) silt loam, brown (10YR 5/3) moist; massive; soft, very friable, nonsticky and slightly plastic; few very fine roots; few very fine and fine tubular pores; finely disseminated calcium carbonate, common fine and medium irregularly shaped soft masses and threads of calcium carbonate; strongly effervescent (25 percent calcium carbonate equivalent); moderately alkaline (pH 8.0).

TYPE LOCATION: Caribou County, Idaho; about 5.6 kilometers northwest of Chesterfield; about 820 meters east and 924 meters north of the southwest corner of section 13, T. 6 S., R. 38 E.; USGS Chesterfield Reservoir 7.5 minute topographic quadrangle; latitude 42 degrees 53 minutes 58.5 seconds north, longitude 111 degrees 57 minutes 15.5 seconds west, NAD 83.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Mollic epipedon thickness: 50 to 109 cm
Depth to calcic horizon: 50 to 109 cm
Calcium carbonate equivalent in calcic horizon: 15 to 35 percent
Mean summer soil temperature: 15 to 18.9 degrees C.
Mean annual soil temperature: 5.0 to 8.0 degrees C. (frigid soil temperature regime)
Particle size control section total clay: 8 to 18 percent with less than 15 percent fine sand and coarser sand plus gravel

A, Ap, or AB horizons
Hue: 7.5YR or 10YR moist
Value: 4 or 5 dry, 2 to 3 moist
Chroma: 2 or 3 dry and moist
Clay content: 10 to 18 percent
Reaction: neutral to slightly alkaline

Bw horizons
Hue: 7.5YR or 10YR moist
Value: 5 or 6 dry, 3 or 4 moist
Chroma: 2 to 4 dry and moist
Clay content: 10 to 18 percent
Reaction: neutral to moderately alkaline

Bk horizons
Value: 6 or 7 dry, 4 to 6 moist
Chroma: 2 to 4 dry and moist
Clay content: 8 to 18 percent
Calcium carbonate clay content: 3 to 5 percent
Rock fragments: 0 to 5 percent gravel
Reaction: slightly to strongly alkaline
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 10 to 35 percent

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

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Landscape: plateaus, alluvial plains, and outwash plains
Landform: terraces, hills, ridges, basalt plains, and hills
Elevation: 1219 to 2231 meters
Slope: 0 to 50 percent
Parent material: loess and silty alluvium from mixed sources
Mean annual precipitation: 305 to 559 mm
Mean annual air temperature: 2.8 to 7.8 degrees C

Frost-free period: 40 to 110 days

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Iphil, Lanoak, Lonjon, Ririe, Rexburg and Sprollow series. Iphil soils occur on slightly convex positions on hills, have a 18 to 40 cm thick mollic epipedon, and are calcareous to the soil surface. Lanoak soils occur on hills, ridges, fans remnants and mountain slopes, lack a calcic horizons within 109 cm of the mineral soil surface and are fine-silty. Lonjon soils occur on hills and mountain slopes, are calcareous to the surface and are loamy-skeletal. Ririe soils occur on hills, terraces and mountain slopes and have a 18 to 40 cm thick mollic epipedon. Rexburg soils occur on similar landform positions and have a 30 to 50 cm thick mollic epipedon. Sprollow soils occur on ridges, hill slopes and mountain slopes, are calcareous to the surface and are loamy-skeletal.

DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY:
Drainage class: well
Runoff: medium
Saturated hydraulic conductivity: moderately high

USE AND VEGETATION:
Major uses: cropland and rangeland; principle crops are irrigated and nonirrigated wheat, barley, alfalfa hay, pasture and irrigated potatoes
Dominant native vegetation: The potential native vegetation is bluebunch wheatgrass, Idaho fescue, mountain big and basin big sagebrush and needlegrass

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT:
Distribution: Southeastern Idaho and Western Wyoming, MLRA 13
Extent: these soils are moderately extensive

MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Portland, Oregon

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Bingham County, Idaho, 1972; Bingham area, Idaho Soil Survey.

REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Mollic epipedon: from a depth of 0 to 66 cm
Cambic horizon: from a depth of 66 to 86 cm
Calcic horizon: from a depth of 86 to 152 cm
Particle-size control section: from a depth of 25 to 100 cm
Soil moisture regime: xeric
Soil temperature regime: frigid

The type site was moved to Caribou County, Idaho in 2007.

ADDITIONAL DATA:
Typical pedon was not sampled.


National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.