LOCATION TUFTUFF NMEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy-skeletal, mixed, superactive, thermic Pachic Argiustolls
TYPICAL PEDON: Tuftuff extremely gravelly loam--rangeland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise stated.)
A1--0 to 3 inches; brown (7.5YR 4/2) crushed, extremely gravelly loam, very dark brown (7.5YR 2.5/2) moist; 22 percent clay; weak fine subangular blocky structure; soft, very friable; slightly sticky and slightly plastic; many fine roots throughout; 60 percent nonflat subangular 0.1-to 3-inch tuff gravel; noneffervescent by HCl, 1 normal; neutral; gradual smooth boundary.
A2--3 to 10 inches; brown (7.5YR 4/2) crushed, very gravelly silt loam, very dark brown (7.5YR 2.5/2) crushed, moist; 22 percent clay; weak medium subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, friable; slightly sticky and slightly plastic; many fine roots throughout; common fine dendritic tubular pores; 25 percent nonflat subangular 0.1-to 3-inch tuff gravel and 10 percent nonflat subangular 3-to 10-inch tuff cobbles; noneffervescent by HCl, 1 normal; neutral; gradual smooth boundary.
A3--10 to 17 inches; brown (7.5YR 4/4) crushed, very gravelly loam, dark brown (7.5YR 3/2) crushed, moist; 24 percent clay; weak medium subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, friable; slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common fine roots throughout; fine few dendritic tubular pores; 25 percent nonflat subangular 0.1-to 3-inch tuff gravel and 15 percent nonflat subangular 3-to 10-inch tuff cobbles; noneffervescent by HCl, 1 normal; neutral; gradual smooth boundary. (combined thickness of the A horizons 12 to 20 inches thick)
Bt1--17 to 30 inches; brown (7.5YR 4/4) crushed, extremely gravelly clay loam, dark brown (7.5YR 3/3) crushed, moist; 28 percent clay; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; moderately hard, firm; moderately sticky and moderately plastic; few fine roots throughout; few fine dendritic tubular pores; 15 percent patchy faint clay films on faces of peds; 45 percent nonflat subangular 0.1-to 3-inch tuff gravel and 15 percent nonflat subangular 3-to 10-inch tuff cobbles; noneffervescent by HCl, 1 normal; neutral; clear smooth boundary.
Bt2--30 to 36 inches; brown (7.5YR5/4) crushed, extremely gravelly clay loam, dark brown (7.5YR 3/4) crushed, moist; 33 percent clay; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; hard, very firm; moderately sticky and moderately plastic; few fine roots throughout; very few fine dendritic tubular pores; 20 percent patchy faint clay films on faces of peds; 50 percent nonflat subangular 0.1-to 3-inch tuff gravel and 25 percent nonflat subangular 3-to 10-inch tuff cobbles; noneffervescent by HCl, 1 normal; neutral. (combined thickness of the Bt horizons 20 to 30 inches thick)
R--36 inches; thickly bedded massive tuff.
TYPE LOCATION: Dona Ana County, New Mexico; approximately 5.7 miles west and 6.2 miles south of White Sands, 2,190 feet east and 810 feet south of the northwest corner of sec. 30, T. 23 S., R. 4 E.. USGS Organ Peak topographic quadrangle; latitude 32 degrees, 17 minutes, 03 seconds north and longitude 106 degrees 34 minutes 23 seconds west. UTM zone 13S, 351853E, 3572834N; NAD 27.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil moisture: usually dry in some or in all parts for six-tenths or more of the time that the soil temperature exceeds 41 degrees F. Some part of the epipedon is moist for more than 90 cumulative days in most years when the soil temperature exceeds 41 degrees F. Aridic ustic moisture regime.
Mean annual soil temperature: 59 to 62 degrees F.
Depth to lithic contact: 21 to 40 inches
Depth to argillic horizon: 12 to 20 inches
Thickness of mollic epipedon: 20 to 34 inches
Particle-size control section (weighted average):
Clay content: 18 to 35 percent
Coarse fragment content: 60 to 75 percent
Reaction: slightly acid to neutral
A horizon:
Hue: 5YR or 7.5YR
Value: 1 to 4 dry, 1 to 3 moist
Chroma: 1 to 3, dry or moist
Coarse fragments: tuff fragments; 35 to 65 percent total fragments; 20 to 65 percent gravel and 0 to 15 percent cobbles.
Bt horizons:
Hue: 5YR or 7.5YR
Value: 3 or 5 dry, 2 or 3 moist
Chroma: 2 to 4, dry or moist
Texture modifier: very gravelly or extremely gravelly
Coarse fragments: tuff fragments; 45 to 75 percent total coarse fragments; 35 to 65 percent gravel; 10 to 30 percent cobbles.
COMPETING SERIES: This is the Overlook (AZ) series. The Overlook soils are very deep.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Parent material: Colluvium from tuff.
Landform: Mountain flanks and bases
Slope: 5 to 35 percent
Mean annual temperature: 58 to 61 degrees
Mean annual precipitation: 13 to 15 inches
Precipitation pattern: precipitation falls mostly during the months of July through September. The driest months are March and April. Precipitation during the months of January, February, and March is less than 13 percent of the total.
Frost-free period: 140 to 180 days
Elevation: 4,700 to 6,300 feet
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the
Silktassel,
Thaad,
Arbol,
Reduff and
Crotalus soils.
Silktassel, Arbol, and Reduff soils are shallow to bedrock and are on mountain tops and flanks.
Thaad soils have a slightly moister control section and are on mountain flanks and bases.
Crotalus soils have calcic horizons and are on mountain flanks and bases.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained. Permeability is moderate. Runoff is medium on slopes of 5 to 20 percent, high on slopes of 20 to 35 percent.
USE AND VEGETATION: Used for livestock grazing. Vegetation is of the montane shrubland type consisting of hairy grama, blue grama, sideoats grama, prairie junegrass, muhly spp., alligator juniper, and Rhus spp.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Southern New Mexico; LRR D MLRA 42. The series is of small extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Phoenix, Arizona
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Dona Ana County, New Mexico; 2001.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Particle-size control section: The zone from 17 to 36 inches. (Bt1 and Bt2 horizons)
Mollic epipedon: The zone from 0 to 30 inches. (A1, A2, A3 and Bt1 horizons).
Argillic horizon: The zone from 17 to 36 inches. (Bt1 and Bt2 horizons).
Aridic feature: Soil has an ustic moisture regime that borders on the aridic moisture regime.
The assignment of the cation exchange capacity is inferred from lab data from similar soils in the surrounding area.
Classified according to Soil Taxonomy Second Edition, 1999; Keys to Soil Taxonomy Tenth Edition, 2006.