Musgrave soil and landscape
Soil profile: A profile of Musgrave silty clay in an area of Musgrave silty clay, 1 to 20 percent slopes. Musgrave soils very shallow or shallow densic material. The densic material begins at a depth of about 50 cm. (Soil Survey of Big Bend National Park, Texas; by James Gordon, Soil Scientist, James A. Douglass, Soil Scientist, and Dr. Lynn E. Loomis, Soil Scientist, Natural Resources Conservation Service)
Landscape: Lechuguilla, purple prickly pear, leatherstem, tobosagrass, and false grama are the dominant plant species on this area of Musgrave silty clay, 1 to 20 percent slopes. The Musgrave soil is shallow to tuffaceous mudstone bedrock in the lower portion of the Chisos Formation. Musgrave soils are in the Clay Hill ecological site, Hot Desert Shrub vegetative zone of MLRA 42—Southern Desertic Basins, Plains, and Mountains. False grama and leatherstem are indicators of the hyperthermic soil temperature.
The Musgrave series consists of soils that are very shallow and shallow to weathered tuff bedrock. They are well drained soils that have moderately slowly permeable surface layers over slowly permeable tuffaceous bedrock of the Duff and Pruett Formations. They formed in residuum derived from tuff. These soils are on scarps and erosional remnants. Slopes range from 1 to 30 percent.
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Clayey, mixed, superactive, calcareous, hyperthermic, shallow Ustic Torriorthents
Soil moisture - Intermittently moist in some part of the soil moisture control section during July-September. Ustic aridic soil moisture regime. Geographically associated soils occur in the thermic temperature regime.
Depth to weathered tuff bedrock: 4 to 20 inches
Clay content of the particle-size control section: 35 to 55 percent
Calcium carbonate equivalent: less than 15 percent
Ignimbrite, tuff, limestone, and chert pebbles, cobbles, stones, and boulders cover 35 to 95 percent of the surface
These soils do not have subsoil horizons above the densic contact that have soil structure.
Reaction: moderatelt alkaline to strongly alkaline
USE AND VEGETATION: This soil is used for livestock grazing and wildlife habitat. Woody species include creosotebush, ocotillo, whitethorn acacia, and range ratany. Grass species include black grama, chino grama, sideoats grama, bush muhly, plains bristlegrass, Arizona cottontop, and slim tridens.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Trans-Pecos Texas in the Southern Desertic Basins, Plains, and Mountains, Desert Shrub vegetative zone. This soil occurs in LRR-D, MLRA 42. The soil is of moderate extent.
For additional information about the survey area, visit:
www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_MANUSCRIPTS/texas/bigbendT...
For a detailed soil description, visit:
soilseries.sc.egov.usda.gov/OSD_Docs/M/MUSGRAVE.html
For acreage and geographic distribution, visit:
casoilresource.lawr.ucdavis.edu/see/#musgrave
Musgrave soil and landscape
Soil profile: A profile of Musgrave silty clay in an area of Musgrave silty clay, 1 to 20 percent slopes. Musgrave soils very shallow or shallow densic material. The densic material begins at a depth of about 50 cm. (Soil Survey of Big Bend National Park, Texas; by James Gordon, Soil Scientist, James A. Douglass, Soil Scientist, and Dr. Lynn E. Loomis, Soil Scientist, Natural Resources Conservation Service)
Landscape: Lechuguilla, purple prickly pear, leatherstem, tobosagrass, and false grama are the dominant plant species on this area of Musgrave silty clay, 1 to 20 percent slopes. The Musgrave soil is shallow to tuffaceous mudstone bedrock in the lower portion of the Chisos Formation. Musgrave soils are in the Clay Hill ecological site, Hot Desert Shrub vegetative zone of MLRA 42—Southern Desertic Basins, Plains, and Mountains. False grama and leatherstem are indicators of the hyperthermic soil temperature.
The Musgrave series consists of soils that are very shallow and shallow to weathered tuff bedrock. They are well drained soils that have moderately slowly permeable surface layers over slowly permeable tuffaceous bedrock of the Duff and Pruett Formations. They formed in residuum derived from tuff. These soils are on scarps and erosional remnants. Slopes range from 1 to 30 percent.
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Clayey, mixed, superactive, calcareous, hyperthermic, shallow Ustic Torriorthents
Soil moisture - Intermittently moist in some part of the soil moisture control section during July-September. Ustic aridic soil moisture regime. Geographically associated soils occur in the thermic temperature regime.
Depth to weathered tuff bedrock: 4 to 20 inches
Clay content of the particle-size control section: 35 to 55 percent
Calcium carbonate equivalent: less than 15 percent
Ignimbrite, tuff, limestone, and chert pebbles, cobbles, stones, and boulders cover 35 to 95 percent of the surface
These soils do not have subsoil horizons above the densic contact that have soil structure.
Reaction: moderatelt alkaline to strongly alkaline
USE AND VEGETATION: This soil is used for livestock grazing and wildlife habitat. Woody species include creosotebush, ocotillo, whitethorn acacia, and range ratany. Grass species include black grama, chino grama, sideoats grama, bush muhly, plains bristlegrass, Arizona cottontop, and slim tridens.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Trans-Pecos Texas in the Southern Desertic Basins, Plains, and Mountains, Desert Shrub vegetative zone. This soil occurs in LRR-D, MLRA 42. The soil is of moderate extent.
For additional information about the survey area, visit:
www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_MANUSCRIPTS/texas/bigbendT...
For a detailed soil description, visit:
soilseries.sc.egov.usda.gov/OSD_Docs/M/MUSGRAVE.html
For acreage and geographic distribution, visit:
casoilresource.lawr.ucdavis.edu/see/#musgrave