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<br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br /> <br />1848 <br /> <br />characteristics of project area soils impact the capability of Ute <br />Indian Reservation lands to sustain economic levels of agricultural <br />production by 1) influencing crop yield, 2) increasing annual crop <br />production expense, 3) increasing initial development/reclamation <br />costs, and 4) limiting crop suitability. Soil physical <br />characteristics which impact these factors include soil texture, <br /> <br />effective rooting depth, slope, drainage, available water holding <br /> <br />capacity, permeability, coarse fragments, and miscellaneous factors <br /> <br />such as erosion and overflow hazards, tree canopy, and lime content. <br /> <br />Soil chemical characteristics which affect these factors include <br /> <br />salinity and sodium concentrations. Based on reported soil <br /> <br />characteristics, crop suitability projections were made for each <br />arable land class and subclass. Soil characteristics requiring <br />reclamation were also identified. Increased production costs <br /> <br />(equipment, irrigation, or drainage related costs) that would be <br /> <br />incurred as a result of soil limitations were also set forth. The <br />following general guidelines were developed to project <br />irrigated/dryland crop suitability to reservation lands. <br />Restricted available water holding capacity (<6 inches) will <br />eliminate dryland farming operations. <br />Saline/sodic conditions cannot be reclaimed under dryland <br />farming operations which restrict the cropping pattern to crops <br />tolerant of these conditions. <br /> <br /> <br />Very slowly permeable soils (< .06 inches per hour) cannot <br /> <br /> <br />infiltrate adequate water for dry land farming. <br /> <br /> <br />Soil depth (<40 inches) eliminates alfalfa and apples. <br /> <br />1- 10 <br />