LOCATION KEESE TXEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy, mixed, active, thermic, shallow Typic Haplustepts
TYPICAL PEDON: Keese coarse sandy loam--native rangeland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise stated.)
A--0 to 5 inches, dark brown (7.5YR 4/4) coarse sandy loam, dark brown (7.5YR 3/4) moist; weak medium granular structure; slightly hard, very friable; common fine roots; 8 percent granite pebbles; few fine fragments of granite 8 to 15 inches across the long axis; slightly acid; clear smooth boundary.
Bw1--5 to 10 inches; dark brown (7.5YR 4/4) coarse sandy loam,, dark brown (7.5YR 3/4) moist; weak medium subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, friable; common fine roots; 10 percent granite pebbles; few fragments of granite 8 to 15 inches across the long axis; slightly acid; clear smooth boundary.
Bw2--10 to 14 inches; strong brown (7.5YR 4/6) gravelly coarse sandy loam, strong brown (7.5YR 4/6) moist; weak medium subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, very friable; common fine roots; 20 percent granite pebbles; few fine fragments of granite 8 to 15 inches across the long axis; slightly acid; abrupt smooth boundary.
Cr--14 to 16 inches; reddish brown weathered granite (grus material) with fragments up to 4 inches in diameter.
TYPE LOCATION: Llano County, Texas. About 18 miles west of Llano, Texas. From intersection of Texas Highway 16 and Ranch Road 152 in Llano, Texas, 18.2 miles west on Ranch Road 152, 3.5 miles south on county road, 2.0 miles east and north on private road, 20 feet east in rangeland.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Solum thickness and depth to granite (grus) bedrock ranges from 10 to 20 inches. The A and B horizons are moderately acid or slightly acid. Fragments of feldspar and quartz, 1 to 15 mm across the major axis, comprise 5 to 30 percent by volume. Coarse fragments of granite or gneiss from 8 to 20 inches across the long axis cover 2 to 15 percent of the surface, or make up 2 to 12 percent.
The A horizon has hue of 5YR to 10YR, value of 5 or 6, and chroma of 4 to 6. Texture is sandy loam, coarse sandy loam or their gravelly counterparts.
The B horizon has hue of 7.5YR or 10YR, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 4 to 6. Texture is sandy loam, coarse sandy loam or their gravelly counterparts.
Some pedons have a C horizon, 2 to 5 inches thick that consist of 70 to 90 percent of weathered granite (grus).
The Cr layer is weathered granite grus in shades of red, brown or gray or weathered, gneiss in shades of red or brown. These materials are weakly to strongly cemented when dry but can be chipped or dug with a spade when moist. These materials become harder with depth.
COMPETING SERIES: These include the Quinlan (OK) series in the same family. Similar soils include the Darnell, Dugout, Nebgen, and Yates series. Quinlan soils moderately alkaline to slightly alkaline and have finer textures. Darnell soils are underlain by weakly cemented sandstone and have siliceous mineralogy. Nebgen soils have a lithic contact with sandstone. Dugout soils have carbonatic mineralogy. Yates soils do not have a cambic horizon, have more than 35 percent coarse fragments in the control section, and are underlain by limestone.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Keese soils are on gently sloping to steep uplands. Slopes are dominantly 1 to 8 percent but range from 1 to 30 percent. These soils developed in weathered granite or gneiss. Mean annual precipitation ranges from 24 to 30 inches, and mean annual temperature from 65 to 67 degrees F. Frost free days range from 215 to 235 days, and elevation ranges from 900 to 1,400 feet. Thornthwaite P-E index ranges from 34 to 46.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are Castell, Click, Katemcy, Ligon, Lou and the Voca series. All these soils have an argillic horizon. Castell, Click, Katemcy, Lou, and Voca soils are more than 20 inches thick.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained. Permeability is moderately rapid. Runoff is negligible on 0 to 3 percent slopes, very low on 3 to 5 percent slopes, low on 5 to 10 percent slopes, medium on 10 to 20 percent slopes, and high on slopes greater than 20 percent.
USE AND VEGETATION: Used entirely for rangeland. Native vegetation on better ranges is mostly little bluestem, purpletop, and sand lovegrass with scattered post oak and live oak trees. The vegetation on poorer ranges is mostly Texas persimmon, ash, juniper, tasajillo, threeawn grass, and numerous forbs.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: In the Central Basin of Texas, possibly in south central Oklahoma. The series is of moderate extent.
MLRA OFFICE RESPONSIBLE: Temple, Texas
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Gillespie County, Texas; 1970.
REMARKS: These soils are in the active cation exchange activity class based on NSSL data (S86TX-299-003). Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon - 0 to 5 inches. (A horizon)
Cambic horizon - 5 to 14 inches. (Bw horizons)
Paralithic contact - Occurs at 14 inches with weathered granite.
ADDITIONAL DATA: National Soil Survey Laboratory data from Llano County; S86TX-299-2 and S86TX-299-3.
Soil Interpretation Record No.: TX0436