Ecological site group DX035X03CESG06
Defiance Plateau - Sedimentary or Loamy
Last updated: 10/31/2022
Accessed: 05/02/2024
Ecological site group description
Key Characteristics
- Defiance Plateau
- Soils not sodic
- Soils not saline
- Soils not limy
- Soils not silty
- Soils not sandy
- Parent Material is Sedimentary or soil is Loamy
Provisional. A provisional ecological site description has undergone quality control and quality assurance review. It contains a working state and transition model and enough information to identify the ecological site.
Physiography
These sites occur on valley floors, floodplains and low floodplain steps of perennial or intermittent streams with perennial subsurface flows. It receives additional moisture from occasional, very brief periods of flooding. Where present, depth to a seasonal high water table is 0 to 40 inches that also benefits the site. Slopes generally range from 0-15%. The site also occurs on fan terraces of undulating plateaus that do not benefit significantly from run-on moisture from other sites.
Climate
The climate of this land resource unit is semiarid with warm summers and cool winters. The mean annual precipitation ranges from 13 – 17 inches, but it is very erratic, often varying substantially from year to year. The majority of the precipitation comes from October through April. This precipitation comes as gentle rain or snow from frontal storms coming out of the Pacific Ocean. Snow is common from November through February. Generally no more than a few inches of snow accumulates, melting within a few days, but may last a week or more. The remaining precipitation comes from July through September as spotty, unreliable and sometimes violent thunderstorms. The moisture for this precipitation originates in the Gulf of Mexico (and the Pacific Ocean in the fall) and flows into the area on the north end of the Mexican monsoon. Late May through late June is generally a dry period. The mean annual air temperature ranges from 47 to 49 degrees Fahrenheit (F). The frost-free period (air temperature > 32 degrees F) ranges from 113 to 144 days (at 50 percent probability). Strong winds are common, especially in the spring.
Soil features
Soils are deep, and very deep and moderately well to well drained. Parent material is alluvium derived from sandstone, granite and quartzite, and metamorphic and igneous materials. Surface textures include fine sandy loam to clay loam and may have gravels or cobbles. Subsurface textures include very gravelly loamy sand to fine sandy loam, sandy clay to clay, and there may be subsurface gravel or cobbles. Hazard of water erosion is moderate to severe and hazard of wind erosion is slight to high. Soils are non-saline and non-sodic with pH range of 6.1-8.4. The soils are non to slightly effervescent in the surface and non to strongly effervescent in the subsurface horizons.
Major Land Resource Area
MLRA 035X
Colorado Plateau
Subclasses
- DX035X01I112–Loamy Wash 10-14" p.z.
- DX035X01I113–Loamy Upland 10-14" p.z.
- DX035X03B625–Loamy Upland (PIED, JUOS) 13-17" p.z. (Provisional)
- DX035X03B630–Clay Loam Upland 13-17" p.z. (PIED)
- F035XF637AZ–Loamy Bottom 13-17" p.z.
- F035XH808AZ–Loamy Upland 17-25" p.z. (PIPO)
- R035XB201AZ–Mudstone/Sandstone Hills 6-10" p.z.
- R035XB210AZ–Loamy Upland 6-10" p.z.
- R035XB283AZ–Mudstone Slopes 6-10" p.z.
- R035XC302AZ–Sedimentary Cliffs 10-14" p.z.
- R035XC312AZ–Loamy Wash 10-14" p.z.
- R035XC313AZ–Loamy Upland 10-14" p.z.
- R035XF601AZ–Sedimentary Cliffs 13-17" p.z.
- R035XF603AZ–Clay Loam Upland 13-17" p.z.
- R035XF605AZ–Loamy Upland 13-17" p.z.
- R035XF608AZ–Limestone / Sandstone Upland 13-17" p.z.
- R035XH802AZ–Loamy Cienega 17-25" p.z.
- R035XH807AZ–Loamy Upland 17-25" p.z.
Correlated Map Unit Components
22397164, 22397155, 22397159, 22397161, 22397154, 22397153, 22397176, 22397149, 22397178, 22397586, 22397233, 22397232, 22397611, 22397610, 22397255, 22397256, 22397219, 22397217, 22397260, 22397227, 22397623, 22397211, 22529492, 22529600, 22529597, 22529599, 22529793, 22529488, 22529486, 22529663
Stage
Provisional
Contributors
Curtis Talbot
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