LOCATION REFUGE UTEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Coarse-loamy, mixed, superactive, mesic Typic Aquisalids
TYPICAL PEDON: Refuge loam--rangeland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.)
A1--0 to 3 inches; grayish brown (10YR 5/2) loam, dark brown (10YR 3/3) moist; weak thin platy structure parting to moderate fine granular; slightly hard, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; many fine roots; few fine pores; strongly effervescent; strongly saline (EC 25 mmhos/cm); slightly alkaline (pH 7.6); clear smooth boundary. (2 to 5 inches thick)
A2--3 to 8 inches; brown (10YR 5/3) silt loam, dark brown (10YR 3/3) moist; weak medium subangular blocky and weak fine granular structure; hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; few fine roots; common fine pores; few medium distinct yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) masses of iron accumulation; strongly effervescent; strongly saline (EC 23 mmhos/cm); strongly alkaline (pH 8.6); clear smooth boundary. (4 to 7 inches thick)
Cz1--8 to 21 inches; pale brown 10YR 6/3) fine sandy loam, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; massive; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common fine pores; common medium distinct yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) masses of iron accumulation; strongly effervescent; strongly saline (EC 34 mmhos/cm); strongly alkaline (pH 8.6); clear smooth boundary. (8 to 15 inches thick)
Cz2--21 to 47 inches; pale brown (10YR 6/3) loam, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; massive; hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common fine pores; common medium faint dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) masses of iron accumulation; strongly effervescent; strongly saline (EC 51 mmhos/cm); moderately alkaline (pH 8.3); clear smooth boundary. (22 to 34 inches thick)
2Cz3--47 to 71 inches; pale brown (10YR 6/3) fine sand, brown (10YR 5/3) moist; massive; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; few fine pores; common medium faint dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) masses of iron accumulation; many fine mollusk shells; common grains of muscovite mica; strongly effervescent; strongly saline (EC 47 mmhos/cm); moderately alkaline (pH 8.3).
TYPE LOCATION: Weber County, Utah; about 2.8 miles northwest of Plain City between First Salt Creek and Second Salt Creek; approximately 1,750 feet west and 200 feet north of the center of section 19, T. 7 N., R. 2 W.; USGS Plain City 7.5 minute topographic quadrangle; 41 degrees 19 minutes 51 seconds north latitude and 112 degrees 7 minutes 3 seconds west longitude, NAD83; UTM zone 12N 406480E, 4576073N, NAD83.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil moisture - Typically moist in winter and spring, dry in summer and fall; the soils are dry in all parts of the moisture control section for more than 60 consecutive days following the summer solstice, and are moist in some part 90 or more consecutive days when the soil temperature is above 47 degrees F. in 6 out of 10 years; Xeric moisture regime that borders on aridic.
Mollic epipedon thickness - 7 to 12 inches.
Depth to salic horizon - 8 to 30 inches.
Particle-size control section - Clay content: Averages 8 to 18 percent; Rock fragments: Less than 5 percent.
Other features - Faint to distinct masses of iron accumulation are at depths of 20 inches or less.
A horizons - Value: 4 or 5 dry.
Chroma: 2 or 3, dry or moist.
Texture: Loam or silt loam.
Organic matter content: 1 to 3 percent.
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 3 to 15 percent.
Salinity (EC): 16 to 32 mmhos/cm.
Reaction: Slightly alkaline through strongly alkaline.
Cz horizons - Value: 5 or 6 dry, 4 or 5 moist.
Chroma: 2 or 3, dry or moist.
Texture: Fine sandy loam or loam.
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 3 to 15 percent.
Salinity (EC): 32 to 64 mmhos/cm.
Reaction: Moderately alkaline or strongly alkaline.
2Cz horizon - Texture: Stratified fine sand to silty clay loam.
Salinity (EC): 32 to 64 mmhos/cm.
COMPETING SERIES: There currently are no other series in this family.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Refuge soils are on flood plains. They formed in stratified alluvium derived from mixed rocks such as limestone, sandstone, quartzite, and granite. Slopes are 0 to 1 percent. Elevations range from 4,205 to 4,250 feet. The climate is dry subhumid. The mean annual precipitation is 14 to 16 inches. The mean annual temperature is 46 to 50 degrees F., the mean summer temperature is about 70 degrees F., and the frost-free period is 140 to 160 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Lakeshore, Leland, Sunset, and Warm Springs soils. Lakeshore soils are coarse-silty and do not have mollic epipedons. Leland soils have ochric epipedons and natric horizons. Sunset soils do not have salic horizons. Warm Springs soils have calcic horizons.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Somewhat poorly drained; low surface runoff; moderately slow permeability (moderately high saturated hydraulic conductivity). Endosaturation is present with an apparent seasonal high water table between 2.0 and 3.5 feet (moderately deep free water occurrence class) between April and July. Cumulative annual duration class is Common. These soils are susceptible to occasional flooding for brief periods between April and July.
USE AND VEGETATION: Refuge soils are used for rangeland and wildlife habitat. The vegetation is mainly inland saltgrass, tall wheatgrass, peppergrass, foxtail, cheatgrass, and annual weeds.
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 8 inches (A1 and A2 horizons).
Salic horizon - The zone from 8 to 71 inches (Cz1, Cz2, and 2Cz3 horizons).
Endosaturation feature - The condition of ground water with an upper boundary between 24 and 40 inches at certain times during normal years (parts of the Cz2 and 2Cz3 horizons).
Particle-size control section - The zone from 10 to 40 inches (parts of the Cz1 and Cz2 horizons).
The revision of October 2005 updated the taxonomic class from Salidic Haplustolls to Typic Aquisalids based on presence of a salic horizon, saturation within 100 cm, and a moisture control section that is dry in some part.
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 142-143, Table 11 of the Soil Survey of Davis-Weber Area, Utah. The pH values in the typical pedon are from saturated paste.