LOCATION LABKEY                  NV

Established Series
Rev. DLJ/MJZ/JVC/JBF
09/2017

LABKEY SERIES

The Labkey series consists of very deep, somewhat excessively drained soils that formed in alluvium derived from granitic rocks. Labkey soils are on stream terraces, fan skirts, inset fans, and barrier bars. Slopes are 0 to 15 percent. The mean annual precipitation is about 130 mm and the mean annual temperature is about 12 degrees C.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Sandy-skeletal, mixed, mesic Typic Haplocambids

TYPICAL PEDON: Labkey gravelly sandy loam--rangeland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.) The soil surface is partially covered with 20 percent fine gravel.

A--0 to 10 cm; pale brown (10YR 6/3) gravelly sandy loam, dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) moist; weak thin platy structure; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; few very fine roots; many fine and medium vesicular pores; 20 percent gravel; moderately alkaline (pH 8.0); abrupt wavy boundary. (5 to 18 cm thick)

Bw--10 to 30 cm; pale brown (10YR 6/3) gravelly coarse sandy loam, dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) moist; weak fine and medium subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; common very fine and few fine roots; many very fine tubular and vesicular pores; 25 percent gravel; moderately alkaline (pH 8.0); clear smooth boundary. (13 to 30 cm thick)

Bk1--30 to 48 cm; pale brown (10YR 6/3) very gravelly coarse sand, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; single grain; loose, nonsticky and nonplastic; common very fine roots; many very fine and fine interstitial pores; 45 percent gravel; carbonate coats on undersides of gravel; noneffervescent in matrix and strongly effervescent on carbonate coats; moderately alkaline (pH 8.2); abrupt smooth boundary. (10 to 28 cm thick)

Bk2--48 to 86 cm; very pale brown (10YR 7/3) extremely gravelly loamy coarse sand; brown (10YR 4/3) moist; massive; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; few very fine roots; common very fine tubular and interstitial pores; 60 percent gravel; carbonate coats on undersides of gravel; noneffervescent in matrix and strongly effervescent on carbonate coats; moderately alkaline (pH 8.0); abrupt smooth boundary. (13 to 46 cm thick)

Bk3--86 to 109 cm; very pale brown (10YR 7/3) extremely gravelly loamy coarse sand, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; massive; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; common very fine roots; few very fine tubular and interstitial pores; 70 percent gravel; many medium carbonate filaments and soft masses of carbonate, and thin coats of carbonate on undersides of gravel; noneffervescent in matrix and strongly effervescent on carbonate coats; moderately alkaline (pH 8.0); abrupt smooth boundary. (0 to 30 cm thick)

Bk4--109 to 152 cm; light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) gravelly loamy coarse sand, dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) moist; massive; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; few very fine roots; few very fine tubular and interstitial pores; 25 percent gravel; common fine lime filaments and thin carbonate coats on undersides of gravel; noneffervescent in matrix and strongly effervescent on carbonate coats; moderately alkaline (pH 8.0).

TYPE LOCATION: Pershing County, Nevada; about 28 miles northwest of Lovelock in the Granite Springs Valley; 2,100 feet west and 1,900 feet north of the southeast corner of section 30, T. 28 N., R. 27 E.; USGS Blue Wing Flat North 7.5 minute topographic quadrangle; latitude 40 degrees 15 minutes 57 seconds N and longitude 118 degrees 59 minutes 53 seconds W; WGS84 Decimal Degrees 40.2665000 latitude, -118.993056 longitude.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil moisture: Usually dry, moist for short periods in winter and early spring, dry late May through November; typic aridic soil moisture regime.
Mean annual soil temperature: 12 to 14 degrees C.
Depth to the base of the cambic horizon: 23 to 25 cm.
Depth to identifiable secondary carbonates (segregated carbonate): 25 to 43 cm.

Particle-size control section - Clay content: Averages 3 to 9 percent.
Rock fragments: Averages 35 to 60 percent, mainly fine gravel. Lithology of fragments is granitic rocks such as granite and granodiorite.

A horizon
Chroma: 2 or 3.
Other features: Dominantly noneffervescent, but some pedons are slightly effervescent to strongly effervescent from eolian carbonate recharge.

Bw horizon
Chroma: 3 or 4 dry, 2 through 4 moist.
Texture: Gravelly coarse sandy loam or gravelly sandy loam.
Clay content: 5 to 12 percent.
Rock fragments: 20 to 35 percent, mainly fine gravel.
Structure: Subangular blocky or platy.
Consistence: Friable or very friable moist, nonsticky or slightly sticky and nonplastic or slightly plastic wet.
Reaction: Moderately alkaline or strongly alkaline.

Bk horizons
Value: 6 or 7 dry, 4 or 5 moist.
Chroma: 3 or 4.
Texture: Stratified gravelly sandy loam to extremely gravelly coarse sand.
Clay content: 2 to 8 percent.
Rock fragments: 40 to 60 percent, with subhorizons containing 15 to 70 percent, mainly fine gravel.
Structure: Massive or single grain.
Consistence: Loose to hard dry, loose to friable moist, nonsticky or slightly sticky and nonplastic or slightly plastic wet.
Reaction: Moderately alkaline or strongly alkaline.
Identifiable secondary carbonates: Common or many, fine or medium, filaments, soft masses, seams, or coats on undersides of gravel. Some pedons have underlying subhorizons that lack segregated carbonate.
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 1 to 5 percent.
Other features: Loamy substrata occur below 100 cm in some pedons.

COMPETING SERIES: These are the Annaw, Lyx, Pumper, and Toulon series.

Annaw and Lyx soils are moist for 10 to 20 days cumulative between July and October. Annaw soils are also effervescent throughout all parts of the profile and Lyx soils do not have fine gravel of granitic rock. Pumper soils have cambic horizons with 12 to 25 percent clay. Toulon soils have 15 to 30 percent cobbles in the particle-size control section.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Labkey soils are on stream terraces, fan skirts, inset fans, and barrier bars. They formed in alluvium derived from granitic rocks. Slopes are 0 to 15 percent. Elevations range from 1,160 to 1,555 meters. The climate is cool-arid with cool, moist winters and hot, dry summers. The mean annual precipitation is 100 to 150 mm, the mean annual temperature is 11 to 13 degrees C, and the frost-free period is 120 to 130 days.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Biga and Granshaw soils. Biga soils are clayey over loamy, have natric horizons, and occur on fan remnants. Granshaw soils are coarse-loamy and have argillic horizons.

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

USE AND VEGETATION: Labkey soils are used for rangeland and wildlife habitat. The present vegetation is mainly shadscale, Bailey greasewood, bud sagebrush, Indian ricegrass, and bottlebrush squirreltail.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Western Nevada. These soils are not extensive. MLRA 27.

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

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Pershing County, Nevada, West Part. 1988.

REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon - The zone from the soil surface to 18 cm (A and part of the Bw horizon).
Cambic horizon - The zone from 10 to 30 cm (Bw horizon).
Particle-size control section - The zone from 25 to 100 cm (Bk1, Bk2 and parts of the Bw and Bk3 horizons).

Minor corrections 09/2017.

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National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.