LOCATION SCHWALBE NVEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy-skeletal, mixed, superactive, mesic Aridic Haploxerolls
TYPICAL PEDON: Schwalbe very stony fine sandy loam, rangeland. (Colors are for dry soils unless otherwise noted.)
The surface is covered with 30 percent pebbles, 20 percent cobbles and 10 percent stones.
A1--0 to 1 inch; brown (10YR 5/3) very stony fine sandy loam, dark brown (10YR 3/3) moist; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; few fine roots, many very fine tubular and interstitial pores; 25 percent pebbles, 20 percent cobbles, 10 percent stones; neutral (pH 7.0); abrupt smooth boundary. (1 to 8 inches thick)
A2--1 to 6 inches; brown (10YR 5/3) cobbly fine sandy loam, dark brown (10YR 3/3) moist; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; common very fine and fine roots, many very fine tubular and interstitial pores; 10 percent pebbles, 10 percent cobbles, 1 percent stones; neutral (pH 7.2); clear smooth boundary. (1 to 8 inches thick)
A3--6 to 15 inches; brown (10YR 5/3) very gravelly fine sandy loam, dark brown (10YR 3/3) moist; moderate fine and medium subangular blocky structure; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; many very fine and fine, few medium roots, many very fine tubular and interstitial pores; 40 percent pebbles, 10 percent cobbles, 1 percent stones; mildly alkaline (pH 7.2); clear smooth boundary. (0 to 12 inches thick)
Bw--15 to 21 inches; pale brown (10YR 6/3) very gravelly loam, dark brown (10YR 3/3) moist; weak fine subangular blocky structure; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; many very fine, common fine and medium roots; many very fine tubular pores; 45 percent pebbles, 10 percent cobbles, 1 percent stones; mildly alkaline (pH 7.4); clear smooth boundary. (5 to 10 inches thick)
C--21 to 28 inches; pale brown (10YR 6/3) extremely gravelly very fine sandy loam, dark yellowish brown (10YR 3/4) moist; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; common very fine and fine roots; 40 percent pebbles, 10 percent cobbles, 5 percent stones; mildly alkaline (pH 7.4); abrupt irregular boundary. (0 to 12 inches thick)
R--28 inches; hard fractured andesitic tuff with soil and roots in fractures.
TYPE LOCATION: Nye County, Nevada, 400 feet east and 50 south of the northwest corner of section 33, T.8N., R.46E.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil moisture - Moist in winter and spring, dry in summer and fall except for 10 to 20 days cumulative July to October due to convection storms.
Soil temperature - 47 to 53 degrees F.
Depth to bedrock - 20 to 40 inches.
Reaction: Neutral or mildly alkaline.
Mollic epipedon thickness: 10 to 15 inches but does not include the Bw horizon.
Control section - Clay content: 6 to 18 percent.
Rock fragments: Averages 50 to 70 percent.
A horizons - Value 4 or 5 dry, 2 or 3 moist
Chroma: 2 or 3.
Bw horizon - Value 5 or 6 dry, 3 or 4 moist.
Chroma: 3 or 4.
Texture (less than 2mm.): Loam, fine sandy loam or very fine sandy loam.
Consistence: Nonsticky to slightly sticky, nonplastic to slightly plastic.
COMPETING SERIES: These are Cheviot (T WA), Donica (CA), Grinrod (WA), Hencratt (T CA), Holbrook (NV), Pait (OR), Redcliff (OR) and Whichman (NV) soils. Cheviot, Donica, Hencratt, Holbrook, Pait and Whichman soils are greater than 40 inches deep to bedrock. Grinrod soils contain 18 to 25 percent clay in the control section. Redcliff soils average 18 to 30 percent clay in the particle size control section.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Schwalbe soils are on mountain and hill sideslopes. They formed in colluvium and residuum from volcanic rocks. Schwalbe soils are at elevations of 6700 to 8000 feet. Slopes range from 15 to 75 percent slopes. The mean annual precipitation is 10 to 12 inches. The average annual air temperature is 46 to 51 degrees F. The frost free season is 90 to 120 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are Beelem, Bellehelen and Stewval soils. These soils are less than 20 inches to hard bedrock.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; medium to rapid runoff; moderately rapid permeability.
USE AND VEGETATION: Rangeland and wildlife habitat. The vegetation is Wyoming big sagebrush, snowberry, bluegrass, Thurber needlegrass, bottlebrush squirreltail and Indian ricegrass.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: South-Central Nevada. The soils are inextensive. MLRA 29.
MLRA OFFICE RESPONSIBLE: Reno, Nevada
SERIES PROPOSED: Nye County, Nevada, Northwest Part, 1994.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Mollic epipedon - The zone from the surface to 15 inches. (A1, A2 and A3 horizons)
Cambic horizon - The zone from 15 to 21 inches. (Bw horizon)
Lithic contact - The zone at 28 inches. (R horizon)
Particle-size control section - The zone from 10 inches to 28 inches. (A3, Bw and C 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.