LOCATION STUTZVILLE CAEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, mixed, superactive, thermic Typic Haplosalids
TYPICAL PEDON: Stutzville silty clay loam - saltbush, pickleweed and sacaton (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.)
C1--0 to 0.75 inches; (salty crust) pale brown (10YR 6/3) silty clay loam, brown (10YR 5/3) moist; weak thick and very thick platy structure; hard, friable, sticky, plastic; common fine interstitial pores; strongly saline; strongly effervescent; strongly alkaline (pH 8.5); abrupt smooth boundary. (1/4 to 2 inches thick)
C2sa--0.75 to 7 inches; pale brown (10YR 6/3) silty clay loam, dark brown (10YR 4/3) moist; strong very coarse prismatic structure; very hard, firm, sticky, plastic; few fine and many medium roots; few fine tubular and many medium and coarse interstitial pores; thin coating of crystalline salt on faces of peds and faint mycelial salt accumulations within peds; strongly saline; strongly effervescent with disseminated lime; strongly alkaline (pH 8.5); abrupt wavy boundary. (O to 12 inches thick)
C3sa--7 to 35 inches; dark brown (10YR 4/3 dry and moist) silty clay loam; common fine prominent mottles of very pale brown and very dark gray; massive; hard, friable, sticky, plastic; many medium coarse and few fine roots; few fine tubular and few medium and coarse interstitial pores, continuous 1/2 to 1-1/2 inch thick pale brown fine sand strata at depths of 22, 29 and 34 inches; many prominent mycelial salt accumulations; strongly saline; strongly effervescent; strongly alkaline (pH 8.5); gradual irregular boundary. (0 to 30 inches thick)
C4sa--35 to 48 inches; brown (10YR 5/3) silty clay, dark brown (10YR 4/3) moist; many medium distinct mottles of dark grayish brown, very pale brown and reddish brown moist; massive; very hard, firm, sticky, plastic; many medium and coarse and few very fine and fine roots; many medium, fine and very fine tubular pores; many 1/4-1/2 inch lime nodules and many mycelial accumulations of soft salt crystals; strongly saline; strongly effervescent; strongly alkaline (pH 8.5); gradual irregular boundary. (0 to 15 inches thick)
C5sa--48 to 66 inches; light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) silty clay, dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) moist; many large prominent mottles of grayish brown, light red, red, dark red, dark grayish brown, light gray and yellowish brown; massive; very hard, firm, sticky, plastic; few very fine, fine, medium and coarse roots; few fine tubular pores; pockets 1/2 to 1-1/2 inches across of very pale brown sand mottled with dark brown; many mycelial and nodular accumulations of salts; strongly saline; strongly effervescent; strongly alkaline (pH 8.5); abrupt wavy boundary. (0 to 26 inches thick)
IIC6sa--66 to 72 inches; grayish brown (2.5y 5/2) fine sand, dark grayish brown (2.5Y 4/2) moist; many medium prominent mottles of reddish brown, dark reddish brown and light gray; massive; soft, very friable; many very fine interstitial pores; strongly saline; very slightly effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.0).
TYPE LOCATION: Santa Barbara County, California; 3 miles east of Russell Brothers Ranch headquarters, approximately 650 feet north of ranch road.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: The mean annual soil temperature is about 60 degrees F. and the soil temperature usually is below 47 degrees F. from in December until some time in March. The soil between depths of about 5 and 15 inches is usually dry all of the time from April until January and is moist in some part all the rest of the year. Under natural conditions these soils were saturated in most years to within 20 to 40 inches of the surface during the spring period or longer in years of unusually high runoff. Rock fragments are less than 1 percent. Some pedons have 0.5 to 5.0 percent salt other than gypsum in all horizons. Other pedons, mostly because of reclamation, have as little as 0.1 to 0.2 salt to a depth of about 20 to 30 inches. The soils are light brownish gray to dark brown (lOYR 6/2, 6/3, 6/4, 7/3, 7/4, 5/2, 5/3, 5/4, 4/3, 4/4; 2.5Y 6/2, 6/4, 5/2, 5/4, 5/6). Some pedons have thin strata 1/4 to 2 inches thick of reddish color in hue of 5YR or 2.5YR. Textures range from fine sand to silty clay and there is moderate to strong stratification. Dominant textures are fine sandy loam, loam, silt loam and silty clay loam. The 10 to 40 inch control section has 18 to 35 percent clay and more than 15 percent particles coarser than very fine sand. Few to many fine crystals and segregations of salt, mostly sodium chloride and calcium carbonate are present in all or most horizons. Some pedons have some fine gypsum crystals.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Land, Levis, Milham, Panoche, and Rosamond series. Land soils are silty with less than 15 percent particles coarser than very fine sand Levis soils have more than 35 percent clay. Milham soils lack a salic horizon and the dominant accumulation is calcium carbonate. Panoche and Rosamond soils lack salic horizons, lack periods of saturation, and lack mottles.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: The Stutzville soils are nearly level and are in a basin position at elevations of 1,800 to 2,000 feet. They formed in young alluvium from sedimentary rock sources. The climate is arid with hot dry summers and cold moist winters. Mean annual precipitation is 6 to 7 inches. Average January temperature is about 43 degrees F.; average July temperature is about 75 degrees F.; mean annual temperature is about 58 degrees F. The freeze-free season is 190 to 220 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the competing Panoche soils.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Somewhat poorly drained; very slow runoff; moderately slow permeability. Natural deepening of channels and pumping for irrigation has lowered the water table.
USE AND VEGETATION: Used mostly for range, with low forage production. A small portion, particularly areas with sandy surface textures have been reclaimed and are used mainly for growing alfalfa. Vegetation is atriplex, pickleweed, ink weed, alkali sacaton, saltgrass and some annual grasses and forbs.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Cuyama Valley, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo Counties, California. The soils are inextensive.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Davis, California
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Santa Barbara County, California, 1973.
REMARKS: The Stutzville soils were formerly classified as Solonchak soils.
The activity class was added to the classification in March of 2003. Competing series were not checked at that time. - ET
OSED scanned by SSQA. Last revised by state on 11/73.