LOCATION ZAIDY              NV

ZAIDY SERIES

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, mixed, superactive, mesic Haploxeralfic Argidurids

TYPICAL PEDON: Zaidy very gravelly fine sandy loam, rangeland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.). The surface is covered by approximately 50 percent pebbles and 5 percent cobbles.

A--0 to 5 inches; light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) very gravelly fine sandy loam, dark brown (10YR 3/3) moist; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common fine and few very fine roots; common very fine and fine tubular pores; 35 percent pebbles; mildly alkaline (pH 7.8); clear smooth boundary. (3 to 7 inches thick)

Bt--5 to 8 inches; light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) loam, dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) moist; common very fine and fine subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common very fine and fine roots; common fine and medium tubular pores; few thin clay films on faces of peds; 5 percent pebbles; moderately alkaline (pH 8.4); clear smooth boundary. (3 to 8 inches thick)

Btk--8 to 14 inches; light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) gravelly clay loam, dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) moist; strong medium subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, friable, sticky and plastic; common very fine and fine roots; common fine and medium tubular pores; common thin and few moderately thick clay films on faces of peds and lining pores; 20 percent pebbles; few fine soft lime masses; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.4); clear wavy boundary. (6 to 15 inches thick)

Bqk--14 to 25 inches; very pale brown (10YR 7/4) loam, yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) moist; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common very fine and few fine roots; few fine tubular pores; 10 percent pebbles; 20 percent weak discontinuous silica cementation; common medium soft lime masses and filaments; violently effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.4); clear wavy boundary. (0 to 14 inches thick)

Bqkm1--25 to 32 inches; very pale brown (10YR 7/4) continuous strongly cemented duripan, yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) moist; strong thick platy structure; extremely hard, extremely firm; few fine and very fine roots along horizontal fracture planes; 5 percent pebbles; 20 percent horizontal seams of weakly cemented material; soft powdery lime is disseminated; violently effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.2); clear wavy boundary. (7 to 22 inches thick)

Bqkm2--32 to 60 inches; very pale brown (10YR 7/4) strongly cemented duripan with a discontinuous thin indurated cap, yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) moist; massive; extremely hard, extremely firm; 10 percent pebbles, 5 percent cobbles; soft powdery lime is disseminated; violently effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.2).

TYPE LOCATION: Lander County, Nevada; in the southern part of Grass Valley; approximately 1,050 feet south and 1,000 feet west of the northeast corner of section 11, T. 20 N., R. 45 E.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:

Soil moisture - Usually dry, moist in some part mid October through May.

Soil temperature - 47 to 50 degrees F.

Depth to base of Btk horizon - 12 to 25 inches.

Depth to carbonates - 8 to 15 inches.

Depth to duripan - 20 to 30 inches.

Control section - Clay content: 25 to 35 percent, when mixed.

Rock fragments: 10 to 35 percent, mainly pebbles.

Reaction - Mildly alkaline to moderately alkaline.

A horizon - Value: 5 or 6 dry, 3 or 4 moist.

Chroma: 2 or 3.

Bt horizon - Value: 5 or 6 dry, 3 through 5 moist.

Chroma: 4 through 6.

Consistence: Very friable to friable, slightly sticky to sticky, slightly plastic to plastic.

Other features: SAR is 6 to l3.

Btk horizon - Value: 5 through 7 dry, 3 through 5 moist.

Chroma: 4 or 5.

Carbonates: Strongly effervescent or violently effervescent.

Consistence: Slightly sticky to sticky and slightly plastic to plastic.

Bqk horizon (when present) - Consistence: Slightly hard to hard, friable to firm.

COMPETING SERIES: These are the Aquinas(NV), Boulflat(NV), Cherry Spring(NV), Spasprey(NV), Yody(NV) and Zoda(T NV) series. Aquinas and Yody soils have duripans at depths of 30 to 40 inches. In addition the Aquinas soils have medium to slightly acid solum and Yody soils have a calcic horizon at depths of 14 to 24 inches. Boulflat soils have bedrock within depths of 20 to 40 inches. Cherry Spring soils have silt loam textured sola dominated by loess high in pyroclastics, strongly alkaline lower Bt horizons and lack Btk horizons. Spasprey soils have mean annual soil temperatures of 5l to 54 degrees F. and have noncalcareous sola. Zoda soils have 20 to 27 percent clay in the control section and are 14 to 30 inches to secondary carbonates.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Zaidy soils are fan piedmont remnants. These soils formed in alluvium from mixed volcanic rocks. Slopes are 2 to 30 percent. Elevations are 5,700 to 7,400 feet. The climate is cool, semiarid with hot, dry summers and cool, moist winters. The mean annual precipitation is 8 to 10 inches; mean annual temperature is 46 to 49 degrees F., and the frost-free season is 90 to 110 days.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Allor, Grassval and Oxcorel soils. Allor soils lack a duripan. Grassval soils have an indurated duripan within 20 inches. Oxcorel soils have more than 35 percent clay in the control section.

DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; slow or medium runoff; moderately slow permeability to the duripan.

USE AND VEGETATION: Livestock grazing and wildlife habitat. The present vegetation is mainly black sagebrush, pine bluegrass, Sandberg bluegrass, and downy rabbitbrush.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Central Nevada. These soils are of small extent. MLRA 28B.

MLRA OFFICE RESPONSIBLE: Reno, Nevada

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Lander County, Nevada, South Part, 1985.

REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:

Argillic horizon - The zone from about 5 to 14 inches (Bt and Btk horizons).

Strongly cemented duripan - The zone from about 25 to 60 inches (Bqkm1 and Bqkm2 horizons).

Particle-size control section - The zone from about 5 to 25 inches (Bt, Btk and Bqk horizons).

The superactive cation exchange activity class was added in 03/2003 to the taxonomic classification by the National Soil Survey Center on request of the Reno MLRA office, without review of the soil series property data. The remainder of this document has not been updated.