LOCATION KOEHLER WA+OREstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Sandy, mixed, mesic Xeric Haplodurids
TYPICAL PEDON: Koehler loamy fine sand - rangeland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise stated.)
A--0 to 4 inches; grayish brown (10YR 5/2) loamy sand, very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) moist; single grain; loose; many roots; slightly alkaline (pH 7.8); clear wavy boundary. (2 to 5 inches thick)
Bw--4 to 12 inches; light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) loamy sand, very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) moist; single grain; loose; common roots; moderately alkaline (pH 7.9); slight effervescence with dilute HCL; clear wavy boundary. (2 to 16 inches thick)
Bk1--12 to 25 inches; light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) loamy fine sand, dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) moist; single grain; loose; few roots; 10 percent lime-silica duripan fragments; moderately alkaline (pH 8.2); common spheroidal secondary lime aggregates; violently effervescent; abrupt wavy boundary. (10 to 15 inches thick)
Bk2--25 to 31 inches; light gray (10YR 7/2) very gravelly loamy fine sand, dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) moist; massive; very friable; few matted roots; 70 percent lime-silica duripan fragments; moderately alkaline (pH 8.2); common spheroidal secondary lime aggregates; violently effervescent; abrupt wavy boundary. (0 to 6 inches thick)
2Bkqm--31 inches; indurated lime-silica duripan.
TYPE LOCATION: Benton County, Washington; about 1-1/3 miles north of Plymouth, 75 feet east of intersection of Umatilla Road and PSH #8, in the NW1/4 SW1/4 section 32, T. 6 N., R. 28 E.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: The mean annual soil temperature at a depth of 20 inches is 52 to 56 degrees F for 120 to 135 consecutive days. These soils have a soil temperature above 41 degrees F for about 210 days annually. The soils are usually dry between depths of 12 to 35 inches or to the duripan if shallower. Depth to the duripan ranges from 20 to 40 inches.
The A horizon has value of 5 through 7 dry, 3 through 5 moist, and chroma of 2 or 3 dry or moist.
The Bw and Bk horizons have value of 5 through 8 dry, 3 through 5 moist, and chroma of 2 or 3 dry or moist. They are loamy sand, loamy fine sand, or fine sand. Lime-silica fragments average 5 to 25 percent. Thin sandy loam lenses occur immediately above the duripan in some pedons.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Poman series and the similar Ekrub, Prineville, Quincy, Taunton, and Winchester series in other families. Ekrub soils are 10 to 20 inches deep to a duripan. Poman soils lack duripan fragments in the particle-size control section have, a mean annual soil temperature of 48 to 52 degrees F and are dry for more than 135 consecutive days. Prineville and Taunton soils are coarse-loamy. Quincy and Winchester soils lack a duripan.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Koehler soils are on terraces at elevations of 300 to 2,200 feet. Slopes are 0 to 15 percent. The soils formed in eolian sands over a duripan. Koehler soils are in an arid climate with hot, dry summers and cool, moist winters. The mean annual precipitation is 6 to 9 inches. Mean July temperature is 76 degrees F. The mean January temperature is 29 degrees F. The mean annual temperature is 50 to 53 degrees F. The frost-free season is 150 to 210 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Burbank and Finley soils and the competing Ekrub, Quincy, and Winchester soils. Burbank and Finley soils lack a duripan.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Somewhat excessively drained, very slow to medium runoff; rapid permeability above the duripan.
USE AND VEGETATION: This soil is used for livestock grazing and irrigated cropland. Irrigated crops are potatoes, hay, pasture, small grains, grapes, and tree fruits. Native vegetation is needleandthread, Indian ricegrass, hop sage, rabbitbrush, antelope bitterbrush, and big sagebrush.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: South-central Washington and north-central Oregon. Series is of moderate extent.
MLRA OFFICE RESPONSIBLE: Portland, Oregon
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Franklin County, Washington, 1914.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are an ochric epipedon from 0 to 4 inches, a zone of carbonate removal from 4 to 12 inches, a zone of carbonate accumulation from 12 to 31 inches, and a lime-silica duripan at 31 inches. This soil is reclassified based on amendment 17 of Soil Taxonomy.