LOCATION MARTINI UTEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Coarse-loamy, mixed, superactive, mesic Fluventic Haploxerolls
TYPICAL PEDON: Martini fine sandy loam--rangeland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.)
A1--0 to 5 inches; grayish brown (10YR 5/2) fine sandy loam, very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) moist; weak fine granular structure; soft, very friable, slightly sticky and nonplastic; many fine roots; few fine pores; strongly effervescent; slightly alkaline (pH 7.7); clear smooth boundary. (4 to 11 inches thick)
A2--5 to 15 inches; brown (10YR 5/3) fine sandy loam stratified with thin lenses of fine sand, dark brown (10YR 3/3) moist; massive; soft, very friable, slightly sticky and nonplastic; common fine roots; few fine and few coarse pores; strongly effervescent; slightly alkaline (pH 7.8); abrupt wavy boundary. (5 to 15 inches thick)
C1--15 to 19 inches; grayish brown (10YR 5/2) fine sand, dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) moist; single grain; loose, nonsticky and nonplastic; few fine roots; few fine pores; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.0); clear wavy boundary. (0 to 6 inches thick)
C2--19 to 70 inches; grayish brown (10YR 5/2) fine sandy loam stratified with thin lenses of fine sand; dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) moist; massive; soft, very friable, slightly sticky and nonplastic; few fine and medium roots; few fine and coarse pores; common fine faint yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) masses of iron accumulation; violently effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 7.9).
TYPE LOCATION: Weber County, Utah; on the flood plain of the Weber River about 1 mile south of Plain City and east of State Highway 134; approximately 300 feet south and 175 feet east of the north quarter corner of section 8, T. 6 N., R. 2 W.; USGS Plain City 7.5 minute topographic quadrangle; 41 degrees 16 minutes 38 seconds north latitude and 112 degrees 05 minutes 31 seconds west longitude, NAD83; UTM zone 12N 408543E, 4570120N, NAD83.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil moisture - Usually moist in winter and spring; dry for 60 to 80 consecutive days during the summer months; Xeric moisture regime.
Mean annual soil temperature - 48 to 52 degrees F.
Mollic epipedon thickness - 9 to 19 inches.
Particle-size control section - Clay content: Averages 5 to 12 percent.
Calcium carbonate equivalent - 3 to 15 percent.
Salinity (EC) - 0 to 4 mmhos/cm.
Other features - Coarse stratification is present along with an irregular decrease in organic carbon content.
A horizons
Value: 4 or 5 dry.
Chroma: 2 or 3, dry or moist.
Organic matter content: 1 to 4 percent.
Reaction: Slightly alkaline or moderately alkaline.
Effervescence: Slightly effervescent or strongly effervescent.
C horizons
Value: 5 or 6 dry, 3 through 5 moist.
Chroma: 2 or 3, dry or moist.
Texture: Fine sandy loam, very fine sandy loam, sandy loam, or loam; thin strata as coarse as fine sand may be present.
Reaction: Slightly alkaline through strongly alkaline.
Effervescence: Strongly effervescent or violently effervescent.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Beetville, Floutier (T), Malo, Newberg, and Wistona series.
Beetville, Floutier, Malo, and Wistona soils are not effervescent in all parts of the series control section. Newberg soils are not effervescent in the series control section.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Martini soils are on flood plains. These soils formed in alluvium derived dominantly from quartzite, sandstone, limestone, and granite. Slopes are 0 to 2 percent. Elevations range from 4,200 to 4,600 feet. The climate is dry subhumid. The mean annual precipitation is 12 to 18 inches. The mean annual air temperature is 46 to 52 degrees F. and the mean summer air temperature is 66 to 73 degrees F. The frost-free period is 130 to 180 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Kirkham, Steed, and Sunset soils. Kirkham soils have fine-silty loam series control sections and are saturated within 40 inches for more than 90 days when not frozen. Steed soils have a fragmental particle-size control section. Sunset soils are saturated within 40 inches of the surface for more than 90 days.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Moderately well drained; very low surface runoff; moderately rapid permeability (high saturated hydraulic conductivity). Endosaturation is present with an apparent seasonal high water table between 3.5 to 5 feet (deep free water occurrence class) from April to August. Cumulative annual duration class is Common. These soils are susceptible to rare or occasional flooding for brief periods between April and June.
USE AND VEGETATION: Martini soils are used mainly for irrigated cropland and as rangeland. Under irrigation, produces sugar beets, small grains, corn, tomatoes, alfalfa, and truck crops. The potential vegetation is mainly cottonwood and box elder trees, bunchgrasses, rose bushes, willows, hounds tongue, and stickseed.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Northwestern Utah. These soils are not extensive with about 3,000 acres of the series mapped to date. MLRA 28A.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Phoenix, Arizona.
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Weber County (Davis-Weber Area), Utah, 1967.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Mollic epipedon - The zone from the soil surface to 15 inches (A1 and A2 horizons).
Endosaturation feature - The condition of ground water with an upper boundary between 42 and 60 inches at certain times during normal years (part of the C2 horizon).
Particle-size control section - The zone from 10 to 40 inches (C1 horizon and parts of the A2 and C2 horizons).
The superactive cation exchange activity class was added in 03/2003 to the taxonomic classification by the National Soil Survey Center on request of the Reno MLRA office, without review of the soil series property data.
ADDITIONAL DATA: The typical pedon at the series type location has partial characterization data by the Soils Laboratory from Utah State University (USU) Logan, UT and is published on pages 140-141, Table 11 of the Soil Survey of Davis-Weber Area, Utah. The pH values in the typical pedon are from saturated paste.