FLOOD07893

• County: Weld
• Basin: South Platte
• Title: Soil Survey of Weld County, Northern Part
• Date: 4/14/1999
• Prepared For: Weld County
• Prepared By: USDA Soil Conservation Service
• Floodplain - Doc Type: Data

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hazard of water erosion is slight The hazard of soil
biowing is moderate.
Most areas of this unit are used as rangeland. A few
areas are used as nonirrigated cropland. Winter wheat is
the main crop.
The potential plant community on this unit is mainly
blue grama, prairie sandreed, and needleandthread. The
average annual production of air-dry vegetation ranges
from 800 to 2,000 pounds. .
If the range is overgrazed, the proportion of preferred
forage plants decreases and the proportion of less
preferred forage plants increases. Therefore, livestock
grazing should be managed so that the desired balance
of preferred species is maintained in the plant
community.
Range seeding is suitable if the range is in poor
condition. The plants selected for seeding should meet
the seasonal requirements of livestock or wildlife, or
both. Other management practices that are suitable for
use on this unit are proper range use, deferred grazing,
and rotation grazing. If the plant cover is disturbed,
protection from soil blowing is needed. Loss of the
surface layer results in a severe decrease in productivity
and in the potential of the soil to produce plants suitable
for grazing.
This unit is suited to winter wheat, barley, oats, and
sorghum. Because precipitation is not sufficient for
annual cropping, a cropping system that includes small
grain and summer fallow is most suitable. Precipitation
usually is too low for crops on this unit to make efficient
use of fertilizer.
Maintaining crop residue on or near the surface
reduces runoff, reduces soil blowing, and helps to
maintain soil tilth and organic matter content. Stubble-
mulch farming, stripcropping, and minimum tillage help to
control erosion and conserve moisture. Terraces reduce
runoff and the risk of ercsion and help to conserve.
moisture.
This unit is well suited to windbreaks and
environmental plantings. It is limited mainly by the hazard
of soil blowing where the surface layer is barren of
vegetation. Soil blowing can be reduced by cultivating
only in the tree rows,and by leaving a strip of vegetation
between the rows. Supplemental irrigation may be
needed when planting and during dry periods.
This map unit is in capal:lility subclass IVe,
non irrigated, and in Sandy Plains range site.

47-0tero sandy loam, 3 to 9 percent slopes. This
deep, wen drained soil is on moderately dissected to
highly dissected plains and fans. It formed in calcareaus
loamy alluvium and colluvium.
Typically, the surface layer is brown sandy loam 5
inches thick. The underlying material to a depth of 60
inches or more is sandy loam. The soil is calcareous
throughout.
Included in this unit are small areas of Stoneham fine
sandy loam, soils that have a gravelly surface layer or

Soil survey

gravelly underlying material, Kim and Mitchell soils,
Bushman fine sandy loam, and soils that have slopes of
less than 3 percent. Included areas make up about 20
percent of the total acreage.
Permeability of this Otero soil is mOderately rapid.
Available water capacity is moderate. Effective rooting
depth is 60 inches or more. Runoff is medium, and the
hazard of water erosion is moderate to high. The hazard
of soil blowing is moderate.
This unit is used as rangeiand.
The potential plant community on this uni.t is mainly
. blue grama, prairie sandreed, and needleandthread. The
average annual production of air-dry vegetation ranges
from 700 to 1,800 pounds.
If the range is overgrazed, the proportion of preferred
forage plants decreases and the proportion of less
preferred forage plants increases. Therefore, livestock
grazing should be managed so that the desired balance
of preferred species is maintained in the plant
community.
Range seeding is suitable if the range is in poor
condition. The plants selected for seeding should meet
the seasonal requirements of livestock or wildlife, or
both. Other management practices that are suitable for
use on this unit are proper range use, deferred grazing,
and rotation grazing. If the plant cover is disturbed,
protection from ercsion is needed. Loss of the surface
layer results in a severe decrease in productivity and in
the potential of the soil to produce plants suitable for
grazing.
This unit is well suited to windbreaks and
environmental plantings. it is limited mainly by the hazard
of soil blowing where the surface layer is barren of
vegetation. Soil blowing can be reduced by cultivating
only in the tree rows and by leaving a strip of vegetation
between the rows. Supplemental irrigation may be
needed when planting and during dry periods.
This map unit is in capability subclass Vie,
nonirrigated, and in Sandy Plains range site.

4S-otero- Tassel complex, 6 to 30 percent slopes.
This map unit is en highly dissected, convex shoulders
and slightly dissected to highly dissected, concave .
backslopes and foot slopes of breaks.
This unit is about 50 percent Otero sandy loam and
about 25 percent Tassel loamy fine sand. The Otero soil
. is on the backslopes and foot slopes, and the Tassel soil
is on the shoulders. The individual components of this
unit are in areas so narrow that it was not practical to
map them separately at the scale used.
Included in this unit are small areas of Kim loam in
drainageways between foot slopes; Rock outcrop on
shoulders; and soils, on backslopes, that are moderately
deep to calcareous sandstone. Included areas make up
25 percent of the total acreage.
The Otero soil is deep and well drained. It formed in
calcareous loamy alluvium. Typically, the surface layer is
brown sandy loam 5 inches thick. The underlying