LOCATION SAIDO NM+AZEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Coarse-silty, gypsic, mesic Leptic Haplogypsids
TYPICAL PEDON: Saido silt loam--rangeland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.)
A--0 to 5 inches; very pale brown (10YR 8/3) silt loam, pink (7.5YR 7/4) moist; weak fine granular structure; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; few fine and coarse roots; common fine interstitial pores; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline; clear smooth boundary. (2 to 5 inches thick)
By1--5 to 9 inches; very pale brown (10YR 8/2) silt loam, very pale brown (10YR 7/3) moist; weak medium subangular blocky structure; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; few fine and coarse roots; common fine tubular pores; many medium soft masses of gypsum crystals; violently effervescent; moderately alkaline; clear smooth boundary. (4 to 6 inches thick)
By2--9 to 15 inches; very pale brown (10YR 8/2) silt loam, very pale brown (10YR 8/2) moist; massive; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; many medium soft masses of gypsum; violently effervescent; moderately alkaline; clear smooth boundary (5 to 12 inches thick)
By3--15 to 25 inches; very pale brown (10YR 8/2) silt loam, very pale brown (10YR 8/2) moist; massive, slightly hard, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; many medium soft masses of gypsum; violently effervescent; moderately alkaline; clear smooth boundary. (9 to 12 inches thick)
C--25 to 60 inches; pink (7.5YR 8/4) loam, pink (7.5YR 7/4) moist; massive soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; few soft medium masses of gypsum violently effervescent; moderately alkaline.
TYPE LOCATION: Sandoval County, New Mexico; on gypsum mine haul road about 2 miles south of San Ysidro; 1500 feet north and 1,800 feet east of the southwest corner of sec. 13, T. 15 N., R. 1 E.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil Moisture: Usually dry, intermittently moist in some part of the soil moisture control section December through March and July through September. The soil is driest during May and June. Typic aridic moisture regime.
Soil Temperature: 53 to 57 degrees F.
Depth to gypsic horizon - 2 to 5 inches.
Gypsic horizon thickness - 15 to 35 inches.
Gypsum content - 60 to more than 80 percent.
A horizon
Hue: 5YR, 7.5YR, or 10YR
Value: 5 to 8 dry, 4 to 7 moist
Chroma: 3 or 4
B and C horizons
Hue: 7.5YR or 10YR
Value: 6 to 8 dry, 5 to 7 moist
Chroma: 1 to 4
COMPETING SERIES: This is the competing Togaspring (NV) series. Togaspring soils have an aridic moisture regime that borders on xeric.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Saido soils are on mesas, fans, knolls, and cuestas and have slopes of 1 to 40 percent. They formed in silty calcareous gypsiferous materials. Elevations range from 5,300 to 6,500 feet. The mean annual precipitation is 8 to 12 inches. Mean annual temperature ranges from 51 to 54 degrees F. The frost-free period is 120 to 150 days. In Arizona elevations range as low as 4600 ft, precipitation as low as 7 inches, and air temperature as high as 57 degrees.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Sandoval (T), San Mateo, Skyvillage, and Sparank soils. Sandoval and Skyvillage are less than 20 inches deep to bedrock. San Mateo and Sparank soils lack gypsic horizons.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; medium runoff; moderate permeability
USE AND VEGETATION: Saido soils are for livestock grazing and wildlife habitat. Principal vegetation is alkali sacaton, gyp dropseed, black grama, fourwing saltbush, Mormontea, coldenia, and wild buckwheat.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: North central New Mexico and northern Arizona. The series is of small extent. MLRAs 35 & 36.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Phoenix, Arizona
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Cibola County, New Mexico, 1985.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon - The zone from the surface of the soil to a depth of 5 inches (A horizon)
Gypsic horizon - The zone from about 5 inches to 25 inches. Percentage gypsum times thickness in centimeters is 3000 or greater. (By1, By2, and By3 horizons)
ADDITIONAL DATA: Lab Data for S80NM-043-001, NSSL, confirms classification.
Soil Taxonomy: Ninth Edition 2003