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Yuma County, Colorado
<br />Habitat favorable for ring-necked pheasant, mourning
<br />dove, and many nongame species can be developed on
<br />cropland by establishing nesting and escape cover.
<br />Undisturbed nesting cover is vital for pheasants and
<br />should be planned for, especially in areas of intensive
<br />agriculture. Trees and shrubs used in windbreaks can
<br />also be used as habitat for openland wildlife.
<br />The soils making up this map unit generally are well
<br />suited to windbreaks and environmental plantings.
<br />Summer fallow a year before planting, supplemental
<br />water during planting and in the early stages of growth,
<br />and continued cultivation for weed control are needed to
<br />insure the establishment and survival of plantings. The
<br />trees that are best adapted and that have a good
<br />chance of survival are Rocky Mountain juniper,
<br />ponderosa pine, Siberian elm, Russian-olive, and
<br />hackberry; the shrubs are skunkbush,sumac, lilac,
<br />Siberian peashrub, and American plum.
<br />These soils are suited to use as homesites, but,
<br />because of the low bearing strength of the soils,
<br />foundation footings need to be sufficiently wide to
<br />provide a safety margin of support for the weight of
<br />buildings. Backfilling foundations with coarser textured
<br />material can reduce the effects of soil shrinking and
<br />swelling. The Kuma soil has a moderate limitation for
<br />use as septic tank filter fields because of slow
<br />permeability. Leach lines have to be more extensive than
<br />typical.
<br />Capability subclass llc, nonirrigated; and lie, irrigated.
<br />26-(Laird fine sandy loam. This is a deep, well
<br />drained soil in swales in sandhill valleys. This soil formed
<br />in wind-reworked alluvium. The areas generally are
<br />rounded and range to 200 acres in size. They are mainly
<br />in the northeastern part of the county:
<br />Included in mapping are Haxtun loamy sand, which
<br />makes up about 10 percent of this map unit, and Dailey
<br />loamy sand, which makes up less than 5 percent.
<br />Typically, the surface layer is grayish brown and light
<br />brownish gray fine sandy loam about 27 inches thick.
<br />The underlying material, to a depth of about 46 inches, is
<br />light gray very fine sandy loam and has abundant
<br />calcium and magnesium salts and some snail shells; to a
<br />depth of 60 inches or more, the underlying material is
<br />light gray loamy fine sand.
<br />Permeability is moderate to a depth of 40 inches or
<br />more and is rapid below that. The available water
<br />capacity is moderate. The effective rooting depth is more
<br />than 60 inches. The underlying material is moderately
<br />alkaline to strongly alkaline. Surface runoff is slow. Water
<br />erosion is a slight hazard, and soil blowing is a severe
<br />hazard.
<br />In many areas, this soil is used for crops. It is poorly
<br />suited to use as nonirrigated cropland because of the
<br />severe soil blowing hazard. About 50 percent of the
<br />acreage of this soil is irrigated cropland. The salts in this
<br />soil tend to stunt the growth of cover and turn it yellow.
<br />The main concerns in managing irrigated cropland are
<br />controlling soil blowing and maintaining fertility. Soil
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<br />blowing can be controlled by leaving crop residue on the
<br />surface when crops are not grown. Crops can be seeded
<br />directly. into the crop residue, which serves as a
<br />protective mulch that can prevent damage to emerging
<br />seedlings by soil blowing. Grasses and legumes grown in
<br />rotation about one-fourth of the time help restore organic
<br />matter lost by soil blowing. Decomposition of organic
<br />matter has a stabilizing effect that helps the soil resist
<br />soil blowing.
<br />This soil is suited to sprinkler irrigation. Surface
<br />irrigation is feasible with some land leveling. Fertilizers
<br />that add nitrogen and phosphorus to the soil are needed
<br />for optimum yields. Iron and possibly zinc need to be
<br />added to the soil to prevent yellowing and stunted
<br />growth. Soil tests can help to determine the amount of
<br />fertilizer needed.
<br />The main concerns in managing nonirrigated cropland
<br />are controlling soil blowing and conserving moisture. This
<br />soil is best suited to grain sorghum; however, small
<br />grains can also be grown. To help maintain the organic
<br />matter content and soil structure, an alfalfa-grass or
<br />grass mixture should be grown for 2 or 3 years and then
<br />alternated with annual crops. Crop residue can be left on
<br />the surface to reduce the hazard of soil blowing. Light
<br />applications of nitrogen fertilizer normally increase crop
<br />yields and the amount of crop residue produced. Crops
<br />should be planted at right angles to the prevailing wind,
<br />and the newly planted fields should be left in a ridged
<br />condition. Ridges equivalent to those left by a deep
<br />furrow drill are most effective.
<br />The potential native vegetation on this soil is
<br />dominantly needleandthread, switchgrass, little bluestem,
<br />indiangrass, and western wheatgrass. Overgrazing the
<br />range will cause indiangrass, switchgrass, western
<br />wheatgrass, and needleandthread to decrease in the
<br />plant community, and saltgrass and sand dropseed will
<br />increase. Proper grazing use and deferred grazing can
<br />maintain the productive potential of the range.
<br />Badly deteriorated range or cropland can be reseeded
<br />with a mixture selected from recommended varieties of
<br />little bluestem, sideoats grama, blue grama, prairie
<br />sandreed, switchgrass, and indiangrass. These grasses
<br />should be seeded in a firm seedbed as free as possible
<br />of competition from perennial plants or in the clean, firm
<br />stubble of sorghum or millet. For best results, seeding
<br />should take place early in spring. After seeding, grazing
<br />should be deferred for two growing seasons to insure
<br />the establishment and survival of seedlings.
<br />This soil has good potential for the development of
<br />habitat for openland wildlife, including pheasant,
<br />cottontail, mourning dove, and songbirds, especially in
<br />areas under irrigation where a variety of crops and cover
<br />types can be grown. The habitat for openland wildlife
<br />can be improved by planting trees and shrubs and by
<br />establishing undisturbed nesting cover. Windbreaks can
<br />also be established to improve the habitat for openland
<br />wildlife. Rangeland wildlife, including antelope, jackrabbit,
<br />lark bunting, and horned lark, can be encouraged on
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