LOCATION PIAR                    NV

Established Series
Rev. EWB-TM-JVC-JBF
02/2012

PIAR SERIES

The Piar series consists of deep, well drained soils that formed in residuum and colluvium derived from limestone and calcareous shale. Piar soils are on mountains. Slopes are 30 to 75 percent. The mean annual precipitation is about 700 mm and the mean annual temperature is about 2 degrees C.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy-skeletal, carbonatic Xeric Calcicryepts

TYPICAL PEDON: Piar very gravelly loam--forestland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.) The soil surface is covered with approximately 50 percent gravel and 10 percent cobbles.

Oi--0 to 3 cm; slightly decomposed plant material composed of conifer needles; abrupt smooth boundary. (3 to 5 cm thick)

A--3 to 8 cm; light brown (7.5YR 6/4) very gravelly loam, brown (7.5YR 4/4) moist; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common very fine roots; many very fine tubular pores; 35 percent gravel; strongly effervescent; slightly alkaline (pH 7.8); abrupt smooth boundary. (3 to 10 cm thick)

Bw--8 to 33 cm; light brown (7.5YR 6/4) extremely gravelly loam, brown (7.5YR 4/4) moist; weak fine subangular blocky structure; soft, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; many very fine, common fine and medium roots; many very fine interstitial and few fine tubular pores; 80 percent gravel; strongly effervescent; common secondary calcium carbonate concretions on bottoms of rock fragments; moderately alkaline (pH 8.0); clear smooth boundary. (18 to 33 cm thick)

Bk1--33 to 46 cm; light gray (10YR 7/2) extremely gravelly loam, brown (10YR 5/3) moist; massive; slightly hard, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common very fine and fine, and few medium roots; common very fine tubular and interstitial pores; 65 percent gravel; violently effervescent; many secondary calcium carbonate concretions on bottoms of rock fragments; moderately alkaline (pH 8.0); clear smooth boundary. (10 to 33 cm thick)

Bk2--46 to 58 cm; pale brown (10YR 6/3) very gravelly loam, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; massive; soft, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; many very fine, fine, and medium, and few coarse roots; common very fine tubular and interstitial pores; 55 percent gravel; violently effervescent; many secondary calcium carbonate concretions on bottom of rock fragments; moderately alkaline (pH 7.9); clear smooth boundary. (13 to 43 cm thick)

Bk3--58 to 89 cm; pale brown (10YR 6/3) very gravelly sandy loam, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; massive; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; common very fine and few fine roots; common very fine tubular and interstitial pores; 55 percent gravel; violently effervescent; many secondary calcium carbonate concretions around rock fragments and pendants on bottoms of rock fragments; moderately alkaline (pH 7.9); clear wavy boundary. (30 to 46 cm thick)

Bk4--89 to 117 cm; light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) extremely gravelly sandy loam, dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/6) moist; massive, soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; few very fine roots; many very fine and fine interstitial pores; 90 percent gravel; common silt coats on tops of rock fragments; violently effervescent; many secondary calcium carbonate concretions around rock fragments and pendants on bottom of rock fragments; moderately alkaline (pH 8.0); clear wavy boundary. (0 to 30 cm thick)

Bk5--117 to 135 cm; pale brown (10YR 6/3) extremely gravelly fine sandy loam, dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) moist; massive; slightly hard, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; few very fine roots; common very fine tubular and interstitial pores; 60 percent gravel and 5 percent cobbles; common silt coats on tops of rock fragments; violently effervescent; many secondary calcium carbonate concretions around rock fragments and pendants on bottom of rock fragments; moderately alkaline (pH 8.0); abrupt irregular boundary. 15 to 30 cm thick)

R--135 cm; hard, gray limestone.

TYPE LOCATION: White Pine County, Nevada; in Great Basin National Park about 0.3 mile north-northwest of the Saint Lawrence Mine and about 200 feet west of the jeep trail; USGS Wheeler Peak 7.5 minute topographic quadrangle; latitude 38 degrees 53 minutes 57 seconds N and longitude 114 degrees 18 minutes 41 seconds W; UTM Zone 11N 733160e, 4309018n, NAD 83.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil moisture: Usually moist in winter, spring, and early summer, dry in all parts at least 45 consecutive days following the summer solstice (July and August), but intermittently moist in the upper part for 10 to 20 days cumulative due to convection storms between July and September; snow covered from November through April; upper part is saturated for about 15 to 20 consecutive days during snowmelt in April and/or May; xeric soil moisture regime.
Mean annual soil temperature: 3 to 5 degrees C.
Mean summer soil temperature: 7 to 8 degrees C.
Depth to base of cambic horizon: 28 to 38 cm.
Depth to calcic horizon: 28 to 41 cm.
Depth to bedrock: 100 to 150 cm to a lithic contact.

Particle-size control section - Clay content: Averages 12 to 18 percent.
Rock fragment: Averages 50 to 75 percent gravel and 0 to 10 percent cobbles. Lithology of fragments is mainly limestone.

A horizon
Hue: 7.5YR through 2.5Y.
Value: 5 or 6 dry.
Chroma: 2 through 4, dry or moist.
Clay content: 14 to 20 percent.
Reaction: Neutral or slightly alkaline
Calcium carbonate content: 15 to 30 percent in the less than 20 mm fraction, 5 to 15 percent calcium carbonate equivalent in the less than 2 mm fraction.

Bw horizon
Hue: 7.5YR through 2.5Y.
Value: 5 through 7 dry.
Chroma: 2 through 4, dry or moist.
Clay content: 14 to 20 percent.
Consistence: Soft or slightly hard dry, nonsticky or slightly sticky and nonplastic or slightly plastic.
Reaction: Neutral through moderately alkaline.
Calcium carbonate content: 30 to 40 percent in the less than 20 mm fraction, 15 to 25 percent calcium carbonate equivalent in the less than 2 mm fraction.

Bk horizons
Hue: 10YR through 5Y.
Value: 5 through 7 dry, 4 or 5 moist.
Chroma: 2 through 5, dry or moist.
Texture: Loam, fine sandy loam, or sandy loam.
Clay content: 12 to 18 percent.
Consistence: Soft or slightly hard dry, nonsticky or slightly sticky and nonplastic or slightly plastic.
Calcium carbonate content: 40 to 55 percent in the less than 20 mm fraction, 25 to 35 percent calcium carbonate equivalent in the less than 2 mm fraction.

COMPETING SERIES: These are the Adek, Bealand, Bakerpeak, Linpeak and Windwash series.

Adek, Bealand, Bakerpeak and Linpeak soils are very deep. Windwash soils are moderately deep.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Piar soils are on mountains. They typically occur on backslope positions. These soils formed in residuum and colluvium derived from limestone and calcareous shale. Slopes are 30 to 75 percent. Elevations range from 2,610 to 3,430 meters. The climate is humid with cold wet winters and cool dry summers. The mean annual precipitation is 600 to 950 mm, the mean annual temperature is 1.5 to 4 degrees C, and the frost-free period is 30 to 50 days.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Bricone and the competing Linpeak soils. Bricone soils are shallow to lithic contacts and do not have diagnostic subsurface horizons.

DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY: Well drained; high surface runoff; moderately high saturated hydraulic conductivity.

USE AND VEGETATION: Piar soils are used for forestland, recreation, and wildlife habitat. The potential native vegetation is mainly a forest canopy of bristlecone pine, limber pine, and Engelmann's spruce with a sparse understory of currant and common juniper. This site is correlated to Ecological Site F28AY082NV, Great Basin bristlecone pine-limber pine/gooseberry-common juniper and Ross sedge, and Ecological Site F28AY083NV, Engelmann's spruce-mountain gooseberry-mountain brome and needlegrass.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Eastern Nevada. These soils are moderately extensive. MLRA 28A and 28B.

MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Phoenix, Arizona.

SERIES ESTABLISHED: White Pine County, Nevada, East Part, 2004. The series was proposed from the Humboldt National Forest Area, South Part, Nevada in 1992. The type location is currently in the Humboldt National Forest survey area.

REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Organic soil material - The zone from the soil surface to 3 cm (Oi horizon).
Ochric epipedon - The zone from the soil surface to 18 cm (Oi and A horizons and upper part of the Bw horizon).
Cambic horizon - The zone from 8 to 33 cm (Bw horizon).
Calcic horizon - The zone from 33 to 135 cm (Bk1, Bk2, Bk3, Bk4, and Bk5 horizons).
Lithic contact - The boundary at 135 cm to underlying hard, unweathered bedrock (R layer).
Particle-size control section - The zone from 25 to 100 cm (lower part of the Bw, Bk1, Bk2, and Bk3 horizons and upper part of the Bk4 horizons).

The revision of December 2006 updated the taxonomic class from Xeric Eutrocryepts based on the tenth edition of the Keys to Soil Taxonomy, 2006.

The revision of April 2003 updated the typical pedon and adjusted horizon depths for the Oi horizon as the soil surface.

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National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.