LOCATION MODENA UTEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Coarse-loamy, mixed, superactive, calcareous, mesic Xeric Torrifluvents
TYPICAL PEDON: Fine sandy loam - rangeland (Colors are for air dry soil unless otherwise stated.)
C1--0 to 6 inches; light reddish brown (5YR 6/4) fine sandy loam, reddish brown (5YR 4/4) moist; weak very fine granular structure; soft, very friable, slightly sticky, slightly plastic; many fine and medium pores; moderately calcareous; moderately alkaline (pH 7.9); gradual smooth boundary. (O to 9 inches thick)
C2--6 to 19 inches; light reddish brown (5YR 6/4) fine sandy loam, reddish brown (5YR 4/4) moist; weak coarse granular structure; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky, slightly plastic; many fine and medium pores; strongly calcareous; moderately alkaline (pH 7.9); gradual smooth boundary. (6 to 14 inches thick)
C3--19 to 60 inches; yellowish red (5YR 5/6) stratified fine sandy loam, (5YR 4/6) moist; massive; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky, slightly plastic; common fine pores; strongly calcareous; strongly alkaline (pH 8.0).
TYPE LOCATION: Iron County, Beryl-Enterprise Area, Utah.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: The mean annual soil temperature is 49 to 56 degrees F., the mean summer soil temperature at a depth of 20 inches is 65 to 72 degrees F. These soils are dry more than 1/2 of the time the soil temperature is above 41 degrees F., but are continually moist 25 to 30 percent of the time. The organic matter content decreases irregularly with depth.
Thin A horizons have developed where the soils are under irrigation; where present, they have hue of 5YR or 2.5YR, value of 6 or 7 dry, 4 or 5 moist, and chroma of 2 through 6. They have weak granular and platy structure. The A horizon is mildly through strongly alkaline. It is O to 9 inches thick.
The C horizon has a hue of 5YR or 2.5YR, value of 6 or 7 dry, 4 or 5 moist, and chroma of 2 through 6. The C horizon is mildly through strongly alkaline. It is usually massive but in some pedons has weak granular or subangular blocky structure. This horizon is stratified but is dominantly sandy loam and fine sandy loam. In some pedons, up to 15 percent gravel occurs in thin lenses above a depth of 40 inches and 0 to 70 percent gravel occurs below 40 inches. In some pedons, strata of silt loam and silty clay loam occur below 40 inches.
COMPETING SERIES: This is the Oasis series. Oasis soils have hue of 7.5YR or browner and have sodium accumulations.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Modena soils are on alluvial fans and floodplains at elevations of 4,600 to 6,000 feet. Slopes are 0 to 6 percent. These soils formed in alluvium from mixed sedimentary and igneous parent material. The climate is semiarid. The average annual precipitation ranges from 8 to 12 inches. The mean annual air temperature is 47 to 54 degrees F., mean summer temperature is 66 to 73 degrees F., and the freeze-free period ranges from 115 to 145 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Genola and Newcastle soils. Genola soils have hue of 10YR or 7.5YR and have a silt loam in the control section. Newcastle soils have more than 35 percent gravel in the control section.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; slow to medium runoff; permeability is moderately rapid.
USE AND VEGETATION: Used as rangeland and irrigated cropland. The native vegetation is big sagebrush, rabbitbrush, winterfat, Indian ricegrass, western wheatgrass, and cheatgrass.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Semiarid areas in southwestern and central Utah. MLRA D28A. This series is inextensive
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Phoenix, Arizona
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Beryl-Enterprise Area Utah; 1940.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon - the zone from 0 to 6 inches (C1 horizon).
Xeric feature - soil moisture regime is aridic bordering on xeric.
Particle size control section - the zone from 10 to 40 inches.
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. The remainder of this document has not been updated.