LOCATION LITHNIP CAEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy-skeletal, isotic, nonacid Lithic Cryorthents
TYPICAL PEDON: Lithnip extremely gravelly sandy loam--rangeland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.) The soil surface is covered with 60 percent gravel and less than 1 percent stones.
A--0 to 2 inches; light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) extremely gravelly sandy loam, dark yellowish brown (10YR 3/4) moist; weak fine subangular blocky structure; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; few very fine roots; common very fine interstitial pores; 70 percent gravel; slightly acid; clear wavy boundary. (1 to 4 inches thick)
C--2 to 5 inches; light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) very gravelly sandy loam, dark yellowish brown (10YR 3/4) moist; massive; slightly hard, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; few very fine roots; common very fine interstitial pores; 55 percent gravel; slightly acid; abrupt wavy boundary. (0 to 6 inches thick)
R--5 inches; hard tuff.
TYPE LOCATION: Alpine County, California; on the Toiyabe National Forest about 0.9 mile northeast of The Nipple peak; approximately 750 feet south and 1,250 feet west of the northeast corner of section 7, T. 9 N., R. 19 E.; USGS Carson Pass 7.5 minute topographic quadrangle; 38 degrees 39 minutes 10.0 seconds north latitude and 119 degrees 55 minutes 41.6 seconds west longitude, NAD27.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil moisture - Usually moist in the moisture control section; moist fall, winter, and spring; dry 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 - 38 to 45 degrees F.
Mean summer soil temperature - 45 to 56 degrees F.
Depth to bedrock - 4 to 10 inches to a lithic contact.
Sodium fluoride pH - 8.5 to 9.5.
Control section - Clay content: Averages 12 to 18 percent; Rock fragments: Averages 60 to 80 percent, dominantly gravel. Lithology of fragments are volcanic rocks such as tuff, tuff-breccia, and andesite.
A horizon - Hue: 10YR or 7.5YR.
Value: 5 or 6 dry, 3 or 4 moist.
Chroma: 2 through 4, dry or moist.
Organic matter content: 1 or 2 percent.
Clay content: 10 to 18 percent.
Rock fragments: 60 to 80 percent, dominantly gravel.
Reaction: Slightly acid or neutral.
C horizon - Hue: 10YR or 7.5YR.
Value: 5 or 6 dry, 3 or 4 moist.
Chroma: 3 or 4, dry or moist.
Texture: Very gravelly sandy loam or extremely gravelly sandy loam.
Clay content: 12 to 18 percent.
Rock fragments: 50 to 80 percent.
Reaction: Slightly acid or neutral.
COMPETING SERIES: There are currently no other series in this family.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Lithnip soils are on mountains. They typically occur on backslope positions. They formed in residuum and colluvium derived from tuff, tuff-breccia, and andesite. Slopes are 8 to 75 percent. Elevations range from 8,000 to 12,000 feet. The climate is subhumid-continental with cold, moist winters and cool, dry summers. The mean annual precipitation is 35 to 55 inches, mean annual temperature is 36 to 39 degrees F., and the frost-free period is 15 to 60 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Florand, Hawkinspeak, and Lostridge soils. Florand soils are deep to paralithic contacts and have umbric epipedons and cambic horizons. Hawkinspeak soils are moderately deep to lithic contacts and have mollic epipedons and argillic horizons. Lostridge soils are moderately deep to paralithic contacts and have umbric epipedons and cambic horizons.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Somewhat excessively drained; very high surface runoff; moderately rapid permeability (high saturated hydraulic conductivity).
USE AND VEGETATION: Lithnip soils are used for rangeland, recreation, watershed, and wildlife habitat. The native vegetation is mainly a mix of various forbs and grasses including mule'sear wyethia, Eriogonum ssp., Haplopappus spp., phlox, bluegrass, sedge, and needlegrass.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Eastern California, on the east side of the Sierra Nevada Range. These soils are moderately extensive. MLRA 22A.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Davis, California
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Alpine County (Toiyabe National Forest Area), California, 2006.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon - The zone from the soil surface to 2 inches (A horizon).
Lithic contact - The boundary at 5 inches to underlying hard bedrock (R layer).
Particle-size control section - The zone from the soil surface to 5 inches (A and C horizons).
The isotic mineralogy class is based on the field determined values for sodium fluoride pH and on laboratory data for the associated Florand and Lostridge soils.