LOCATION JOCAL CAEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, mixed, active, mesic Typic Haploxerults
TYPICAL PEDON: Jocal loam; forested on a 32 percent slope at about 4,600 feet.
Oi--2 to 0 inches; decomposing fir litter.
A--0 to 4 inches; brown (7.5YR 4/4) heavy loam, dark brown (7.5YR 3/4) moist; moderate fine granular structure; slightly hard, firm, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common fine roots; many very fine interstitial pores; 10 percent pebbles; moderately acid (pH 6.0); clear smooth boundary. (3 to 7 inches thick)
AB--4 to 15 inches; strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) silt loam, yellowish red (5YR 4/6) moist; strong fine granular structure; slightly hard, firm, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common moderately thick clay films on ped faces and lining pores; common fine and medium roots; many very fine interstitial and common fine tubular pores; 5 percent pebbles; moderately acid (pH 5.8); gradual smooth boundary. (0 to 15 inches thick)
Bt1--15 to 22 inches; reddish yellow (7.5YR 6/6) silty clay loam, yellowish red (5YR 5/6) moist; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; hard, firm, sticky and plastic; continuous thick clay films on ped faces and lining pores; few fine, common medium and coarse roots; common fine tubular pores; 5 percent pebbles; moderately acid (pH 5.8); clear smooth boundary. (7 to 15 inches thick)
Bt2--22 to 45 inches; reddish yellow (7.5YR 6/6) silty clay loam, yellowish red (5YR 5/6) moist; moderate medium and coarse subangular blocky structure; hard firm, sticky and plastic; continuous thick clay films in pores and on ped faces; common medium and coarse roots; common very fine interstitial and common fine tubular pores; 5 percent pebbles; moderately acid (pH 5.7); clear smooth boundary. (20 to 35 inches thick)
C--45 to 61 inches; reddish yellow (5YR 7/6) sandy clay loam, yellowish red (5YR 5/6) moist; massive; hard, firm, sticky, plastic; few coarse roots; few very fine interstitial pores; 5 percent pebbles; moderately acid (pH 5.6). (10 to 24 inches thick)
TYPE LOCATION: El Dorado County, California; about 1.25 miles north of Camp Seven, about 20 feet west of U.S. Forest Service Road 12 N 53; in the SE 1/4 of the SW 1/4, section 31, T.12 N., R.13 E., Pollock Pines Quadrangle, MDBM.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: The soil is 40 to greater than 60 inches deep. Base saturation (by sum of cations) in the lower B and C horizons is 20 to 35 percent. The mean annual soil temperature is 47 to 54 degrees F. The soils are dry in early July to mid October for 90 to 110 consecutive days in all parts of the moisture control section.
The A horizon has dry colors of 5YR 4/3, 5/3, 4/4, 5/4, 4/6, 5/6, 6/6; 7.5YR 3/2, 4/2, 5/2, 3/4, 4/4, 5/4 or 10 YR 4/3. Moist colors are 5YR 3/2, 3/3, 3/4, 4/4; 7.5YR 3/2, or 3/4. It is gravelly loam, loam, or silt loam. Reaction is slightly acid or moderately acid.
The Bt horizon has dry colors of 2.5YR 5/6, 4/8, 5/8; 7.5YR 4/6, 5/6, 6/6 7/6, 8/6 or 5YR 4/6, 5/6, 6/6, 6/8 or 7/4 Moist colors are 2.5YR 4/4, 4/6, 4/8; 5YR 3/4, 4/4, 4/6, 5/6, , 6/6, 5/8, 4/8 or 7.5YR 4/4, 5/4, 5/6, 4/6. It is loam, sandy clay loam, silty clay loam, clay loam or gravelly clay loam with 25 to 35 percent clay. Reaction is moderately to very strongly acid.
The C horizon, when present, has dry colors of 5YR 4/8, 7/6, or 7.5YR 7/8. Moist colors are 2.5YR 4/6, 5YR 5/6, or 7.5YR 5/8. Textures are silty clay loam, clay loam, sandy clay loam, and silt loam. Clay content averages 25 to 30 percent but ranges to 35 percent.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Acker, Diamond Springs, and Josephine series. Acker soils have a Bt horizon with moist hue yellower than 7.5YR and are underlain by rhyolitic tuff. Diamond Springs soils are 24 to 40 inches deep to paralithic contact, have a Bt horizon dominantly yellower than 7.5YR hue and are structureless. Josephine soils are dry in all parts of the control section for less than 80 consecutive days in the summer.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Jocal soils are on mountain slopes. Slopes are 2 to 75 percent. The soils formed in material weathered from metasedimentary rock. Elevations are 2,000 to 5,000 feet. The climate is warm, nearly dry summers and cold, wet winters. Mean annual precipitation is 30 to 85 inches. Snow covers the higher elevations from December until March. Mean annual temperature is about 50 to 58 degrees F. Mean January temperature is about 40 degrees F.; mean July temperature is about 75 degrees F. Frost-free season is about 140 to 240 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Mariposa and Sites soils. Mariposa soils are less than 40 inches deep. Sites soils have oxidic mineralogy. They are in similar landscape positions, often complex.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; slow to very rapid runoff; moderate permeability.
USE AND VEGETATION: Used mainly for timber production, watershed, and wildlife habitat. Vegetation is typically mixed coniferous forest-shrub, with ponderosa pine, sugar pine, Douglas-fir, California black oak, whiteleaf manzanita and mountain misery.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: The central Sierra Nevada of California. The soils are extensive. MLRA is 22.
MLRA OFFICE RESPONSIBLE: Davis, California
SERIES ESTABLISHED: El Dorado County, California (Eldorado National Forest), 1985.
REMARKS: Soils formerly mapped as Josephine series in Amador, Nevada, and Placer Counties, California would now be called Jocal.
The activity class was added to the classification in February of 2003. Competing series were not checked at that time. - ET