LOCATION WOHLY CAEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, mixed, superactive, mesic Ultic Haploxeralfs
TYPICAL PEDON: Wohly loam - on a southwest-facing complex slope of 48 percent under tanoak, live oak, black oak, madrone and Douglas-fir at 720 feet elevation. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise stated. When described July 14, 1978, the soil was dry throughout.)
Oi--0.5 inch to 0; litter of tanoak, live oak and madrone.
A--0 to 4 inches; pale brown (10YR 6/3) loam, dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) moist; weak medium and moderate fine subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, very friable, slightly sticky and nonplastic; common very fine and fine roots; common fine interstitial and tubular pores; slightly acid (pH 6.2); clear smooth boundary. (2 to 5 inches thick)
Bt1--4 to 10 inches; variegated light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) and strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) loam, brown (7.5YR 4/4) moist; moderate fine and medium subangular blocky structure; hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; few coarse and common very fine and fine roots; common fine interstitial and few medium tubular pores; few thin clay films lining pores; 5 percent pebbles (2 to 7 mm); moderately acid (pH 5.8); clear wavy boundary. (2 to 8 inches thick)
Bt2--10 to 26 inches; variegated very pale brown (10YR 7/4) and reddish yellow (7.5YR 6/6) clay loam, strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) moist; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; hard, friable, sticky and plastic; few very fine and coarse, and common fine roots; common fine interstitial and few fine tubular pores; common moderately thick clay films on faces of peds and lining pores; 5 percent pebbles (2 to 40 mm); 4 inch krotovina; strongly acid (pH 5.3); clear wavy boundary. (10 to 18 inches thick)
Bt3--26 to 31 inches; very pale brown (10YR 7/4) gravelly clay loam, strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) moist; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; hard, firm, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common fine and few coarse roots; few fine interstitial and tubular pores; common moderately thick clay films on faces of peds and lining pores; 15 percent pebbles (5 to 75 mm); strongly acid (pH 5.4); abrupt irregular boundary. (3 to 10 inches thick)
Ct--31 to 60 inches; light yellowish brown (2.5Y 6/3) very paragravelly fine sandy loam, olive brown (2.5Y 4/3) moist; hard, friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; few fine through very coarse roots; common moderately thick clay films on paragravel faces; 55 percent weakly cemented paragravel (5 to 75 mm) strongly acid (pH 5.4).
TYPE LOCATION: Mendocino County, Western Part, California; about 1.1 miles west of Highway 128 on Mountain View Road, 75 feet south of road at fir stump; about 100 feet west of southeast corner of the southwest quarter of southeast quarter, section 3, T.13 N., R.14 W.; Boonville Southwest Quadrangle.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil Moisture: The soil between depths of 6 to 17 inches is moist in all parts from November 1 to May 15 (moist for more than 180 days) and is dry in all parts from July 1 to October 1 (dry for 90 to 120 days) in most years.
Depth to highly weathered bedrock and thickness of the A and Bt horizons is 20 to 40 inches.
Mean annual soil temperature: 54 to 59 degrees F.
The A horizon:
Value: 10YR, 7.5YR or 5YR
Hue: 5, 6 or 7; 3 or 4 moist
Chroma: 3 or 4 dry or moist
Rock fragments: 0 to 15 percent.
Reaction: moderately acid to neutral.
The Bt horizon:
Value: 10YR, 7.5YR or 5YR
Hue: 5 through 7 dry; 3 through 6 moist
Chroma: 4 through 8 dry; 4 through 6 moist
Texture of the fine earth: loam, sandy clay loam, or clay loam
Clay content: 25 to 35 percent.
Rock fragments: 0 to 15 percent in the upper part and 15 to 35 percent in the lower part.
Base saturation (sum of cations) averages: 40 to 75 percent.
Reaction: strongly acid to neutral.
The C horizon consists of highly weathered fractured bedrock which is typically non-cemented to weakly cemented sandstone. The non-cemented material slakes in water with textures of loamy fine sand or fine sandy loam. Clay ranges from 5 to 15 percent. The weakly cemented material is paragravel, 5 to 75 mm in size, and ranges from 35 to 60 percent of the matrix. Reaction is strongly acid to neutral.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Beal (T OR), Boardburn (T CA), Boomer (CA), Casabonne (CA), Cherryhill (OR), Cle Elum (WA), Cohasset (CA), Crozier (CA), Dalig (T WA), Fives (OR), Fong (T CA), Fordcreek (T ID), Gunn (T WA), Hood (OR), Latourell (OR), Lettia (OR), Norling (OR), Para (T WA), Pishpishee (T CA), Rosehaven (T OR), Sanhedrin (CA), Tigit (T WA), Trelk (T WA), Ulhalf (CA), Underwood (WA), Varelum (WA) and Wilkeson (WA) soils. Beal, Boardburn, Boomer, Casabonne, Cherryhill, Cohasset, Dalig, Fives, Fong, Fordcreek, Gunn, Hood, Latourell, Lettia, Para, Pishpishee, Rosehaven, Sanhedrin, and Varelum soils do not have highly fractured bedrock material within 40 inches. Cle Elum, Hood, Norling, and Tigit soils have mean annual soil temperatures of 47 to 54 degrees F. Crozier soils have a base saturation of less than 35 percent throughout the Bt horizon.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: The Wohly soils occur on hills and mountains. Slopes are 9 to 75 percent. Elevations are 300 to 4,000 feet. The soils are formed in material weathered from sandstone. The climate is subhumid with hot dry summers and cool moist winters. Mean annual precipitation ranges from 35 to 70 inches. Mean January temperature is about 48 degrees F; and mean July temperature is about 68 degrees F. The mean annual temperature is about 55 degrees F. The frost-free period is 150 to 290 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the competing Casabonne and the Gube, Hopland, Ornbaun, and Zeni soils. Gube soils are clayey and have base saturations less than 35 percent. Hopland soils have base saturations (sum) that do not fall below 75 percent in the argillic horizon. Ornbaun soils are more than 40 inches deep. Ornbaun and Zeni soils have an isomesic soil temperature regime.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; surface runoff under bare soil conditions is medium through very rapid; moderate permeability.
USE AND VEGETATION: This soil is used for limited commercial timber production, firewood production, wildlife habitat and watershed. Vegetation consists of Douglas-fir, tanoak, interior live oak, black oak, Pacific madrone, manzanita and poison oak.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Northern coastal California. The series is not extensive. MLRA 5.
MLRA OFFICE RESPONSIBLE: Davis, California
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Mendocino County, California, Eastern Part, 1985.
REMARKS: When first described in 1978 the C horizon was described as highly fractured sandstone bedrock with fractures less than 1 mm wide and 5 to 75 mm apart that slakes in water. Further investigation determined the portion of this material that slaked it water was considered soil and the more resistant material paragravel. The activity class was added to the classification in March of 2003. Competing series were revised in 2006. - ET
Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon - the zone from the soil surface to about 4 inches (the A horizon).
Argillic horizon - the zone from about 4 inches to about 31 inches (the Bt1, Bt2, and Bt3 horizons).
Fractured bedrock material the zone from about 31 to 60 inches.
Particle size control section - the zone from about 4 to 24 inches (the Bt1 and a portion of the Bt2 horizon).