LOCATION ZIMBOB NV

Established Series
Rev. CEJ/JR/JVC/JBF
12/2016

ZIMBOB SERIES

The Zimbob series consists of very shallow and shallow, well drained soils that formed in residuum and colluvium derived from limestone and dolomite. Zimbob soils are on hills and mountains. Slopes are 4 to 75 percent. The mean annual precipitation is about 300 mm and the mean annual temperature is about 9 degrees C.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy-skeletal, carbonatic, mesic Lithic Xeric Torriorthents

TYPICAL PEDON: Zimbob extremely gravelly loam--rangeland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.) The soil surface is covered with approximately 75 percent gravel and 15 percent cobbles.

A--0 to 3 cm; light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) extremely gravelly loam, brown (10YR 5/3) moist; weak thin platy structure; soft, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; few very fine and fine roots; common fine vesicular pores; 50 percent gravel, 15 percent cobbles, and 1 percent stones; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.4); clear smooth boundary. (3 to 8 cm thick)

Bw--3 to 13 cm; pale brown (10YR 6/3) gravelly loam, yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) moist; weak fine subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common very fine and common fine roots; common fine tubular pores; 30 percent gravel and 1 percent stones; violently effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.4); clear smooth boundary. (0 to 13 cm thick)

Bk--13 to 30 cm; pale brown (10YR 6/3) very gravelly loam, yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) moist; weak fine subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common very fine and fine roots; common fine tubular pores; common coarse masses of secondary calcium carbonate on the bottom of rock fragments; 40 percent gravel and 5 percent cobbles; violently effervescent; strongly alkaline (pH 8.6); clear wavy boundary. (8 to 28 cm thick)

R--30 cm; fractured limestone; fine to coarse pendants of secondary calcium carbonate on bottom of bedrock plates.

TYPE LOCATION: White Pine County, Nevada; in the Pancake Range about 3 miles south-southwest of Pancake Summit; approximately 1,800 feet north and 1,600 feet west of the southeast corner of section 6, T. 17 N., R. 56 E.; USGS Pancake Summit SW 7.5 minute topographic quadrangle; latitude 39 degrees 22 minutes 7 seconds N and longitude 115 degrees 42 minutes 28 seconds W; WGS84 Decimal Degrees 39.3686111 latitude, -115.7077778 longitude.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil moisture: Usually moist in winter and spring, dry in summer and fall; aridic soil moisture regime that borders on xeric.
Mean annual soil temperature: 8 to 11 degrees C.
Depth to bedrock: 10 to 36 cm to a lithic contact.
Reaction: Moderately alkaline or strongly alkaline.
Calcium carbonate content: 35 to 55 percent in the less than 2 mm fraction; 50 to 70 percent in the less than 20 mm fraction.

Particle-size control Section - Clay content: 10 to 18 percent.
Rock fragments: Averages 35 to 50 percent, mainly gravel. Lithology of fragments is limestone or dolomite.

A horizon
Value: 6 or 7 dry, 3 through 5 moist.
Chroma: 2 through 4, dry or moist.
Effervescence: Strongly effervescent or violently effervescent.

Bw horizon (when present)
Value: 6 or 7 dry, 4 or 5 moist.
Chroma: 2 through 4, dry or moist.
Texture: Very gravelly loam or very gravelly sandy loam.
Consistence: Soft or slightly hard dry, very friable or friable moist.

Bk horizon
Value: 5 through 7 dry, 4 or 5 moist.
Chroma: 2 through 4, dry or moist.
Texture: Very gravelly loam or very gravelly sandy loam.
Identifiable secondary calcium carbonate: Few or common distinct or prominent masses and pendant on the bottom of rock fragments.

COMPETING SERIES: These are the Eaglepass, Izod, Kram, Kyler, Logring, and Tiki series.

Eaglepass soils are moist for 10 to 20 days cumulative between July and October and have 60 to 75 rock fragments in the particle-size control section. Izod soils have 18 to 25 percent clay in the particle-size control section. Kram soils have 50 to 70 percent calcium carbonate equivalent in the less than 20 millimeter fraction and do not have horizons with identifiable secondary calcium carbonate. Kyler soils are moist for 10 to 20 days cumulative between July and October and have mean annual soil temperature of 12 to 15 degrees C. Logring soils are moist for 10 to 20 days cumulative between July and October. Tiki soils have hue of 2.5YR or 5YR.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Zimbob soils are on hills and mountains. They typically occur on all hillslope positions. These soils formed in residuum and colluvium derived from limestone and dolomite. Small areas have parent materials derived from calcareous siltstone. Slopes are 4 to 75 percent. Elevations range from 1,550 to 2,680 meters. The climate is semiarid with cool, moist winters and warm, dry summers. The mean annual precipitation is 275 to 350 mm, the mean annual temperature is 7 to 9 degrees C, and the frost-free period is 90 to 110 days.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: This is the Pookaloo soil. Pookaloo soils have calcic horizons and are 36 to 50 cm deep to bedrock.

DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY: Well drained; moderately high saturated hydraulic conductivity.

USE AND VEGETATION: Zimbob soils are used for livestock grazing and wildlife habitat. The present vegetation on shallow soils is mainly black sagebrush, shadscale, Indian ricegrass, and bluebunch wheatgrass. On very shallow soils vegetation is mainly scattered Utah juniper, black sagebrush, shadscale, bluebunch wheatgrass, Thurber's needlegrass, and some bottlebrush squirreltail near areas of bedrock exposures.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: East-central Nevada. These soils are extensive with about 140,000 acres of the series mapped to date. MLRA 28B.

MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Davis, California.

SERIES ESTABLISHED: White Pine County (Western Part), Nevada, 1990.

REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon - The zone from the soil surface to 18 cm (A, Bw, and part of Bk horizons).
Identifiable secondary carbonates - The zone from 13 to 30 cm (Bk horizon).
Lithic contact - The boundary at 30 cm to underlying hard bedrock (R layer).
Particle-size control section - The zone from the soil surface to 30 cm (A, Bw, and Bk horizons).

Future study is needed to determine whether the shallow depth class of this series should be correlated to another series classified as Loamy-skeletal, carbonatic, mesic Lithic Xeric Haplocalcids.

ADDITIONAL DATA: A pedon sampled as Zimbob has full characterization data by the Soil Survey Laboratory (SSL), Lincoln, NE, as pedon ID S05NV-007-008 (pedon # 06N0249).

National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.