LOCATION ZIEGLER AZEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Clayey over fragmental, smectitic, mesic Aridic Argiustolls
TYPICAL PEDON: Ziegler gravelly clay loam, grazeable woodland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.)
A--0 to 3 inches; reddish brown (5YR 4/3) gravelly clay loam, dark reddish brown (5YR 3/3) moist; weak fine granular structure; hard, friable, sticky and plastic; many very fine roots; many fine and very fine interstitial pores; 10 percent pebbles; neutral (pH 6.6); abrupt smooth boundary. (2 to 5 inches thick)
Bt1--3 to 8 inches; reddish brown (5YR 4/3) gravelly clay loam, dark reddish brown (5YR 3/3) moist; moderate medium and fine subangular blocky structure; hard, friable, sticky and plastic; many very fine roots; many fine and very fine interstitial pores; 10 to 15 percent pebbles; common thin clay films on ped faces and in pores; neutral (pH 7.0); clear smooth boundary. (4 to 7 inches thick)
Bt2--8 to 18 inches; reddish brown (5YR 4/3) gravelly clay, dark reddish brown (5YR 3/3) moist; strong fine and medium angular blocky structure; hard, friable, sticky and plastic; common very fine roots; many very fine interstitial pores; 10 to 15 percent pebbles; many thin clay films on ped faces and in pores; moderately alkaline (pH 8.0); clear smooth boundary. (8 to 16 inches thick)
Btk--18 to 24 inches; reddish brown (5YR 5/4) very gravelly clay loam, yellowish red (5YR 4/6) moist; massive; hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; few coarse roots; many very fine interstitial pores; 25 - 40 percent cinder pebbles; few thin clay films on cinders and in pores; slightly effervescent; few segregated carbonates in pockets; moderately alkaline (pH 8.0); clear irregular boundary. (6 to 12 inches thick)
2Ck--24 to 60 inches; light reddish brown (5YR 6/3) moist cinders; massive; cinders are extremely hard, extremely firm, nonsticky and nonplastic; few coarse roots; many fine and medium interstitial pores; very few thin clay films on cinders; common seams and pockets of lime accretions that are weakly cemented; violently effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.2); abrupt irregular boundary. (20 to 40 inches thick)
TYPE LOCATION: Apache County, Arizona. About 4 1/2 miles west of Vernon, Arizona in pit silo south of house in the SW 1/4 of the NW 1/4 of the SW1/4 of sec. 14, T. 10 N., R. 24 E.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Depth to cinders: 24 - 60 inches
Soil moisture: Intermittently moist in some parts of July-September and December- February. Aridic ustic moisture regime.
Air temperature: 47 - 54 degrees F.
Rock fragments: 15 - 40 percent cinder pebbles
A horizon
Hue: 5YR or 7.5YR
Value: 3 to 5 dry, 2.5 or 3 moist
Chroma: 2 or 3 dry or moist
Texture: gravelly loam, loam, gravelly clay loam, clay loam (20 - 35 percent clay)
Reaction: slightly acid to neutral
Bt horizon
Hue: 2.5YR, 5YR, 7.5YR
Value: 4 or5 dry, 2.5 to 4 moist
Chroma: 2 to 6 dry, 2 to 4 moist
Texture: gravelly clay loam, very gravelly clay loam, gravelly clay (30 - 55 percent clay)
Reaction: Neutral to moderately alkaline
COMPETING SERIES: There are no competing series.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Ziegler soils are on hillslopes and fan terraces at elevations of 6,000 to 7,500 feet. Slope gradients are 1 to 30 percent. The soils formed in basalt pyroclastics. The climate is semiarid continental.
The mean annual precipitation ranges from 14 to 18 inches. The mean annual temperature is 47 to 54 degrees F. The average frost-free period is about 90 to 130 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Aut, Cross, Springerville, Thunderbird and Wilaha soils. The Aut soils have a calcic horizon. The Cross soils have a lithic contact; the Springerville soils lack an argillic horizon and is a Vertisol; the Thunderbird soils are fine and moderately deep, and the Wilaha soils are fine loamy over fragmental.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; medium and rapid runoff; slow permeability.
USE AND VEGETATION: Primarily used for grazing and fuelwood. A few small acres are used for producing dryfarm silage, pasture, and small grains. Vegetation consists of blue grama, Western wheatgrass, sideoats grama, galleta, needleandthread, black grama, winterfat, ponderosa pine, pinyon pine, Utah juniper and one-seed juniper.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Central and northern Arizona. The soils are extensive. MLRA 35 & 39.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Phoenix, Arizona
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Apache County, Arizona, 1967.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Mollic epipedon: The zone from 0 to 18 inches. (A, Bt1, Bt2 horizons)
Argillic horizon: The zone from 3 to
Classified according to Soil Taxonomy Second Edition, 1999; Keys to Soil Taxonomy Tenth Edition, 2006.