SOIL SURVEY OF BANNER COUNTY. NEBRASKA. 59 



DUNESAND. 



The areas mapped as Dunesand consist of a gray to yellowish-gray 

 or brownish-gray sand of fine to medium texture, with fine sand pre- 

 dominating. There is almost no change in texture to a depth of 3 

 or more feet. The structure is usually very smooth and incoherent, 

 with little variation from soil to subsoil. In a few places a stratum 

 of slightly coarser material, varying in thickness from 1 to 3 inches, 

 is encountered at depths between 24 and 36 inches. 



There is generally some organic matter in the surface 6 inches, 

 but this is never sufficient to hold the soil against drifting when the 

 native grasses are destroyed. Neither the soil nor the subsoil is cal- 

 careous. 



Dunesand is not extensively developed in Banner County. It oc- 

 curs as small isolated bodies in the Pumpkin Creek Valley. The 

 largest and most typical area lies north of the creek, in the northern 

 part of the county. A smaller body occurs 2^ miles northeast of 

 Harrisburg. 



The materials forming this type have been accumulated by wind 

 action from the surrounding sandy« soils. 



The topography is sharply rolling on a miniature scale. Small 

 hmnmocks of wind-lodged sand, hollows, and blow-outs are of com- 

 mon occurrence. In a few places the sand is heaped into dunes 20 

 to 30 feet high. Only a small proportion of the type is under active 

 wind erosion at the present time. 



There are no continuous waterways through the areas of Dune- 

 sand, as the loose, porous sand is so absorptive that there is little 

 run-off, even on the steepest slopes. The type is unusually retentive 

 of moisture, considering its loose structure. 



The Dunesand is of no importance in crop production, but has con- 

 siderable value as pasture land. The surface in most places is well 

 sodded with grasses, of which long-leafed reed grass, western stipa, 

 and redfieldia are the most common. Soapweed or yucca is occa- 

 sionally encountered. During the spring and summer the native 

 grasses afford excellent pasturage, but in the winter they are killed 

 by frost and can not be depended upon for grazing. The type will 

 support from 40 to 50 head of cattle per section during the summer 

 months. 



Dunesand sells for $12 to $15 an acre, the price depending mainly 

 upon the covering of grasses. 



The preservation of the native grasses is essential to the utilization 

 of this type. Patches along old roads, where the wind has had an 

 opportunity to work on the bare surface, plainly show the disastrous 

 effects of disturbing the soil-binding roots. Care must be taken to 

 control fires which burn off the protective covering of grasses. 



