Sand sheets are a common feature on the piedmonts of the arid southwest.
I am studying sand sheets within the Socorro, New Mexico area to determine if their hydrologic characteristics in the vadose zone are different from adjacent alluvial fan soils. Sand sheets are gently undulating but predominantly flat eolian landforms which may affect recharge and storage in the vadose zone. The sand sheets are usually identified by changes in vegetation as compared to soils developed in alluvial fan deposits. Sand sheets support the only Pinon Juniper trees in the area. The Pinon Juniper forest is usually found in more moist environments rather than the semi-arid environment near Socorro suggesting that the sand sheets are behaving in a different manner hydrologically than the fan surfaces.