View allAll Photos Tagged lithics
Viola lithion, rock crevices, upper slopes of Currant Mountain, White Pine Co., NV, 18 Jul 1996. Still on the subject of Viola, this is my one photo of this rare endemic of the isolated mountain ranges of central Nevada, which was only described about 10 years ago. I found it while searching for populations of Castilleja viscidula in the southern part of its range.
Taxonomic Classification: Petrogypsic Haplosalids, sandy, mixed, hyperthermic, shallow (USDA-Keys to Soil Taxonomy, 11th Edition, 2010)
Updated Taxonomic Classification: Petrogypsic Lithic Haplosalids, sandy, mixed, hyperthermic (UAE-Keys to Soil Taxonomy, 2014)
The Al Hamra series is a shallow sandy soil overlying a petrogypsic layer. The soils are typically well to excessively drained. They occur on flats and depressions within level to gently undulating deflation and sabkha plains. They are formed from eolian sands that overlie petrogypsic materials.
These soils predominantly occur on depressions and flats within level to gently undulating deflation and sabkha plains. They are formed from eolian sands that overlie petrogypsic materials.
These soils are used for rangeland grazing of camels though vegetation cover is frequently less than 5% and often absent. Common vegetation species recorded are Haloxylon salicornicum with occasional Zygophyllum spp.
This soil has been described from the northern part of the Ghayathi sub-area and is also relatively common within the As Sila’ sub-area. Occasional sites have also been described in the Al Ain subarea. The main feature of this soil is the shallow depth (<50cm) to a petrogypsic horizon and the high salinity levels in the soil overlying the hardpan. The soil material above the hardpan is sandy and also contains gypsum. The high level of salinity and limited depth to the hardpan layer are major constraints to the irrigable use of this soil. Limited depth to the hardpan layer restricts water movement, moisture retention and presents a barrier to root development further restricting the availability of nutrients. This soil is considered unsuitable for irrigated agriculture.
I used to spend a bit of time in Marysville for work. Like Beechworth, which always reminds me of Daylesford, Maryville always reminded me of my 'core of my heart' Hepburn Springs.
As sad as seeing what nature can do to the physical watching the town recover not only makes you humble in the face of such resilience but brings to mind how apt Dorothea MacKellar's 'My Country is' - it sums up what it means to be Australian - all you who have not loved her you will not understand.
....
I love a sunburnt country,
A land of sweeping plains,
Of ragged mountain ranges,
Of droughts and flooding rains.
I love her far horizons,
I love her jewel-sea,
Her beauty and her terror
The wide brown land for me!
The stark white ring-barked forests,
All tragic to the moon,
The sapphire-misted mountains,
The hot gold hush of noon,
Green tangle of the brushes
Where lithe lianas coil,
And orchids deck the tree-tops,
And ferns the warm dark soil.
Core of my heart, my country!
Her pitiless blue sky,
When, sick at heart, around us
We see the cattle die
But then the grey clouds gather,
And we can bless again
The drumming of an army,
The steady soaking rain.
Core of my heart, my country!
Land of the rainbow gold,
For flood and fire and famine
She pays us back threefold.
Over the thirsty paddocks,
Watch, after many days,
The filmy veil of greenness
That thickens as we gaze ...
An opal-hearted country,
A wilful, lavish land
All you who have not loved her,
You will not understand
though Earth holds many splendours,
Wherever I may die,
I know to what brown country
My homing thoughts will fly.
**
Dorothea Mackeller
Figure 4. Sedmerovec-Kašnák. Southeastern profile. 1 - humus soil; 2 - light orange layer of debris (parent rock mixed with soil); 3 - debris layer with fine material; 4 - bedrock; 5 - dark grey soil-clay layer with fragments (up to 10 cm) of underlying rock; 6 - grey-yellow debris layer (parent rock mixed with soil); 7 - dark grey to black soil-clay layer with fragments (up to 5 cm) of underlying rock; 8 - grey-yellow layer of fine debris (parent rock mixed with soil). Illustration by: B. Balžan, M. Cheben.
This lacustrine shoreline consists of lithic gravel composed of Devonian-aged carbonate rocks (limestone) - many of the clasts are boulders. The island is Kelleys Island in Lake Erie, Ohio. The exposed bedrock here is the Columbus Limestone (Middle Devonian).
Locality: northern shoreline of Kelleys Island, western Lake Erie, far-northern Ohio, USA
Taxonomic classification: Lithic Haplogypsids, sandy, mixed, hyperthermic
The Al Dhagar series is a shallow sandy soil overlying bedrock (typically calcareous sandstone). The soils are typically moderately well to excessively drained. They occur on flats and gentle slopes within level to gently undulating deflation plains. They are formed from eolian sands overlying calcareous sandstone and occur in older landscapes.
These soils are used for rangeland grazing of camels though vegetation cover is frequently less than 5%. The major vegetation species recorded is Haloxylon salicornicum with, less often, Zygophyllum spp. and Stipagrostis plumosa.
The main feature of this soil is the shallow depth (<50cm) to a lithic contact. The soil material above the hardpan is sandy and contains a gypsic horizon. The shallow depth to the hardpan layer is the main restriction for this soil. This restricts water movement, moisture retention and presents a barrier to root development further restricting the availability of nutrients. The presence of gypsum also suggests that salinity might be a problem under irrigation. Soil subsidence may also be an issue as gypsum is leached from the soil under irrigation. This soil is considered unsuitable for irrigated agriculture.