LOCATION HARDOL NVEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy-skeletal, carbonatic Pachic Calcicryolls
TYPICAL PEDON: Hardol very gravelly silt loam--rangeland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.) The soil surface is covered with approximately 20 percent gravel, 20 percent cobbles and 2 percent stones. A discontinuous layer about 1 inch thick of slightly decomposed needles, leaves, and twigs is also present.
A--0 to 8 inches; dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) very gravelly silt loam, very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) moist; moderate fine and medium subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; many very fine, fine and medium, and common coarse roots; common fine tubular pores; 30 percent gravel, 10 percent cobbles, and 5 percent stones; slightly effervescent; slightly alkaline (pH 7.7); clear smooth boundary. (3 to 10 inches thick)
Bk1--8 to 12 inches; dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) very gravelly silt loam, very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) moist; moderate fine and medium subangular blocky structure; hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; many very fine, fine and medium, and common coarse roots; common fine tubular pores; 40 percent gravel and 2 percent cobbles; few fine concretions of secondary calcium carbonate on bottom of rock fragments; slightly effervescent; slightly alkaline (pH 7.7); clear wavy boundary. (2 to 19 inches thick)
Bk2--12 to 33 inches; dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) extremely gravelly silt loam, very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) moist; weak fine subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; many very fine, fine, medium and common coarse roots; common fine tubular pores; 75 percent gravel, 5 percent cobbles, and 2 percent stones; few fine threads and masses of secondary calcium carbonate and common pendants of secondary calcium carbonate on bottom of rock fragments; strongly effervescent; slightly alkaline (pH 7.8); clear wavy boundary. (5 to 30 inches thick)
Bk3--33 to 60 inches; dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) extremely gravelly loam, very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) moist; massive; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky and nonplastic; common fine and medium and few very fine and coarse roots; many fine tubular and interstitial pores; 60 percent gravel, 20 percent cobbles, and 5 percent stones; common fine threads and masses of secondary calcium carbonate, common pendants of secondary calcium carbonate on bottom of rock fragments, and common coats on top of rock fragments; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.0).
TYPE LOCATION: White Pine County, Nevada; about 6 miles east of Lund near Sawmill Canyon in the Egan Range; approximately 1,400 feet south and 2,100 feet west of the northeast corner of section 21, T. 12 N., R. 63 E.; USGS Sawmill Canyon 7.5 minute topographic quadrangle; 38 degrees 53 minutes 24 seconds north latitude and 114 degrees 53 minutes 44 seconds west longitude, NAD27.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil moisture - Usually moist during late fall through early summer, dry mid-summer through mid-fall; Typic xeric moisture regime.
Mean annual soil temperature - 38 to 45 degrees F.
Mean summer soil temperature - 43 to 47 degrees F.
Mollic epipedon thickness - 30 inches or more.
Depth to calcic horizon - 30 to 40 inches.
Calcium carbonate content: 40 to 50 percent in the less than 20 millimeter fraction.
Organic matter content - 1 to 3 percent.
Particle-size control section - Clay content: 20 to 27 percent;
Rock fragments: averages 60 to 85 percent, with 40 to 70 percent gravel and 5 to 25 percent cobbles and stones. Lithology of rock fragments are limestone or dolomite.
A horizon
Value: 4 or 5 dry, 2 or 3 moist.
Chroma: 2 or 3, dry or moist.
Reaction: Slightly alkaline or moderately alkaline.
Bk horizons
Value: 4 through 6 dry, 2 through 5 moist.
Chroma: 2 through 4, dry or moist.
Structure: Weak to moderate, fine or medium, subangular blocky or massive.
Consistence: Soft to hard dry, very friable or friable moist, nonplastic or slightly plastic wet.
Reaction: Slightly alkaline or moderately alkaline in the Bk1 and Bk2 horizons and moderately alkaline in the Bk3 horizon.
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 4 to 10 percent in the Bk1 horizon, 10 to 20 percent in the Bk2 horizon, and 15 to 25 percent in the Bk3 horizon.
Identifiable secondary carbonates: Evidence of secondary calcium carbonate occurs as fine threads and masses in peds and as concretions or pendants on rock fragments. Few to common (less than 5 percent) in the Bk1 and Bk2, and common to many (5 to 25 percent) in the Bk3 horizon.
Other features: Only the Bk3 horizon consistently qualifies as part of the calcic horizon.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Coalkiln, Meegero, and Wardbay series.
Coalkiln soils have mollic epipedons that are 16 to 30 inches thick and have depth to the calcic horizon of 16 to 30 inches. Meegero soils have an mean summer soil temperature of 47 to 50 degrees F. and have mollic epipedons that are 17 to 28 inches thick. Wardbay soils are deep to lithic contacts and have depth to the calcic horizon of 15 to 25 inches.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Hardol soils are on mountains. They typically occur on backslope positions. These soils formed in residuum and colluvium derived from limestone and dolomite. Slopes are 15 to 75 percent. Elevations range from 6,000 to 11,000 feet. The climate is semiarid with cold, moist winters and cool, dry summers. The mean annual precipitation is 20 to 30 inches, the mean annual temperature is 39 to 43 degrees F., and the frost-free period is 50 to 70 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Haunchee and Hardzem soils. Haunchee soils are shallow to lithic contacts and do not have calcic horizons. Hardzem soils are moderately deep to paralithic contacts, have ochric epipedons and argillic horizons, and have mixed mineralogy.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; medium or high surface runoff; moderate permeability (moderately high saturated hydraulic conductivity).
USE AND VEGETATION: Hardol soils are used for livestock grazing and wildlife habitat. The present vegetation is bluebunch wheatgrass, mountain big sagebrush, curlleaf mountainmahogany, and scattered white fir.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Central Nevada. These soils are moderately extensive. MLRA 28B.
MLRA OFFICE RESPONSIBLE: Reno, Nevada.
SERIES ESTABLISHED: White Pine County, Nevada (Western Part), 1990.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Mollic epipedon - The zone from the soil surface to 60 inches (A, Bk1, Bk2, and Bk3 horizons).
Calcic horizon - The zone from 33 to 60 inches (Bk3 horizon).
Particle-size control section - The zone from 10 to 40 inches (Bk2 horizon and parts of the Bk1 and Bk3 horizons).
ADDITIONAL DATA: A pedon of Hardol has full characterization data by the Soil Survey Laboratory (SSL), Lincoln, NE, as pedon ID 81NV033024 (pedon # 81P0666).