LOCATION WEDEKIND NVEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy, mixed, superactive, mesic, shallow Aridic Argixerolls
TYPICAL PEDON: Wedekind gravelly loam--rangeland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.)
A--0 to 2 inches; brown (10YR 5/3) gravelly loam, dark brown (10YR 3/3) moist; moderate fine granular structure; soft, friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; common very fine roots; many very fine interstitial pores; 30 percent fine pebbles; slightly acid (pH 6.4); abrupt wavy boundary. (1 to 7 inches thick)
Bt1--2 to 6 inches; brown (10YR 5/3) coarse sandy loam, dark brown (7.5YR 3/2) moist; weak fine subangular blocky structure; hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common very fine and few fine roots; many very fine interstitial and few very fine tubular pores; few faint clay films on faces of peds and lining pores; neutral (pH 6.6); abrupt wavy boundary. (2 to 6 inches thick)
Bt2--6 to 14 inches; brown (7.5YR 5/4) sandy clay loam, brown (7.5YR 4/4) moist; massive; hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; few very fine and few fine roots; common very fine interstitial and few very fine tubular pores; few faint clay films bridging sand grains and lining pores; neutral (pH 6.8); abrupt irregular boundary. (6 to 10 inches thick)
Crt--14 inches; strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) extremely weathered andesite, dark brown (7.5YR 3/2) moist; massive; fractured; few very fine roots in cracks; fractures in upper part lined with clay films.
TYPE LOCATION: Washoe County, Nevada; about 5 miles north of Reno between Panther Valley and Golden Valley; about 1,200 feet south and 1,300 feet east of the northwest corner of section 14, T. 20 N., R. 19 E.; USGS Reno 7.5 minute topographic quadrangle; 39 degrees 36 minutes 16 seconds north latitude and 119 degrees 49 minutes 16.5 seconds west longitude, NAD 27.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil moisture - Usually dry, moist in winter and spring, dry in summer and fall; aridic moisture regime that borders on xeric.
Mean annual soil temperature - 49 to 52 degrees F.
Mollic epipedon thickness - 7 to 10 inches; includes the Bt1 horizon.
Depth to bedrock - 10 to 20 inches to a paralithic contact. The paralithic materials below the contact are weathered volcanic rocks such as andesite or rhyolite.
Control section - Clay content: averages 18 to 27 percent; Rock fragments: averages 5 to 35 percent, mainly pebbles. Lithology of fragments are mainly volcanic rocks such as andesite.
Reaction - Neutral or slightly acid.
A horizon - Value: 4 or 5 dry, 2 or 3 moist.
Chroma: 2 or 3, dry or moist
Structure: Platy or granular.
Clay content: 5 to 15 percent.
Organic matter content: 1 to 3 percent.
Bt horizons - Hue: 7.5YR or 10YR.
Value: 4 or 5 dry, 3 or 4 moist.
Chroma: 2 through 4, dry or moist.
Texture: Sandy clay loam, clay loam, or gravelly sandy clay loam; some pedons have thin subhorizons of coarse sandy loam.
Clay content: 20 to 35 percent.
Organic matter content: 0.5 to 2 percent.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Arclay, Crawley (T), Luppino, and Siscab series.
Arclay soils average 27 to 35 percent clay in the particle-size control section and have an abrupt increase in clay between the A and Bt horizons. Crawley soils average 27 to 35 percent clay and less than 15 percent very fine sand and coarser sands in the particle-size control section. Luppino soils are shallow to weathered granitic rock, have paralithic materials which are only 3 to 12 inches thick, and have harder bedrock within 20 inches of the soil surface. Siscab soils are very shallow and shallow to weathered granite and are dominated by fine pebbles in the particle-size control section.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Wedekind soils are on hills, mountains, and plateaus. These soils formed in residuum derived from andesite and rhyolite. Slopes are 2 to 50 percent. Elevations range from 4,500 to 6,200 feet. The climate is semiarid with cool, moist winters and warm, dry summers. The mean annual precipitation is 10 to 12 inches, mean annual temperature is 46 to 50 degrees F., mean January temperature is 30 to 32 degrees F., mean July temperature is 68 to 70 degrees F., and the frost-free period is 100 to 110 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Mizel, Northmore, Oppio, Risley, Surgem, Verdico, and Yuko soils. Mizel soils lack mollic epipedons and an argillic horizon and are less than 10 inches deep. Northmore soils are very deep. Yuko soils lack mollic epipedons and have A and B horizons less than 10 inches thick. Oppio, Risley, Surgem, and Verdico soils have A and B horizons 20 to 30 inches thick.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; very high surface runoff; moderately slow permeability.
USE AND VEGETATION: Wedekind soils are used for rangeland, recreation, and urban development. The vegetation is mainly Wyoming big sagebrush, rabbitbrush, Nevada ephedra, horsebrush, wild currant, antelope bitterbrush, bottlebrush squirreltail, and cheatgrass.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Western and northern Nevada. These soils are moderately extensive. The series concept and main acreage occurs in MLRA 26. Other acres of this series are mapped in MLRAs 25 and 27.
MLRA OFFICE RESPONSIBLE: Reno, Nevada.
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Washoe County (South Part), Nevada, 1980.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Mollic epipedon - The zone from the soil surface to 7 inches (A and Bt1 horizons and part of the Bt2 horizon).
Argillic horizon - The zone from 2 to 14 inches (Bt1 and Bt2 horizons).
Paralithic contact - The boundary at 14 inches to underlying soft, weathered bedrock (Crt layer).
Particle size control section - The zone from 2 to 14 inches. (Bt1 and Bt2 horizons).