LOCATION ACEITUNAS PREstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine, kaolinitic, isohyperthermic Typic Paleudults
TYPICAL PEDON: Aceitunas clay--in a sugarcane field. (Colors are for moist soil)
Ap--0 to 7 inches; dark reddish brown (5YR 3/4) clay; moderate medium granular structure; firm; slightly sticky, plastic; many fine roots; many fine quartz grains; very strongly acid; abrupt smooth boundary. (5 to 10 inches thick)
Bt1--7 to 15 inches; yellowish red (5YR 4/6) clay; moderate fine and medium subangular blocky structure; firm; slightly sticky, plastic; common fine roots; few faint clay films on ped faces; many fine quartz grains; very strongly acid; clear smooth boundary.
Bt2--15 to 23 inches; yellowish red (5YR 4/6) clay; weak fine and medium subangular blocky structure; firm; slightly sticky, plastic; few fine roots; common faint clay films on ped faces; common fine quartz grains; common root channels; very strongly acid; clear wavy boundary.
Bt3--23 to 36 inches; yellowish red (5YR 4/6) clay; weak fine subangular blocky structure parting to weak fine granular; friable; slightly sticky, plastic; few fine roots; common faint clay films on ped faces; common fine quartz grains; common root channels; very strongly acid; clear wavy boundary.
Bt4--36 to 60 inches; red (2.5YR 4/8) clay; weak fine subangular blocky structure; firm; slightly sticky, plastic; few fine roots; common distinct clay films on ped faces; many fine quartz grains; very strongly acid.
TYPE LOCATION: Noroeste SCD, Puerto Rico; approximately 2.5 miles southeast of the town of Aquadilla. About 2.3 kilometers south on unnumbered paved road from kilometer marker 123.5 of highway 2 and about 25 feet west of highway.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Solum thickness is more than 60 inches. Reaction is very strongly acid to strongly acid throughout.
The A or Ap horizon has hue of 2.5YR or 5YR, value of 2 to 4, and chroma of 2 to 4. Texture is clay loam or clay.
The Bt horizon has hue of 2.5YR or 5YR, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 6 to 8. Texture is clay.
COMPETING SERIES: There are no other known series in the same family.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Aceitunas soils are on foot slopes, alluvial fans, and valleys associated with limestone hills. Slopes range from 2 to 12 percent. They formed in fine-textured regolith that washed from the surrounding limestone hills. The climate is humid tropical. The average annual precipitation ranges from 62 to 72 inches and the average annual temperature ranges from 76 to 78 degrees F.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Coto, Matanzas, and Tanama soils. Coto soils are on similar to higher positions, are less red in the subsoil, have more clay in the control section, and are Oxisols. Matanzas soils are on similar positions, are shallow to hard limestone bedrock, have redder subsoils, and are Oxisols. Tanama soils are on similar to higher positions, are shallow to hard limestone bedrock, have mixed mineralogy in the control section, and are Alfisols.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; moderate permeability.
USE AND VEGETATION: Most areas of Aceitunas soils are cultivated and planted in sugarcane.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Northwestern coastal plains of Puerto Rico. The series is of minor extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Raleigh, North Carolina.
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Noroeste SCD, Puerto Rico, 1963.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon:
Ochric epipedon - the zone from 0 to 7 inches (Ap horizon).
Argillic horizon - the zone from 7 to more than 60 inches (Bt1, Bt2, Bt3, and Bt4 horizons).
These soils were formerly included in the Coto series.
ADDITIONAL DATA: S72PR-16-1; sample by NSSL, Lincoln, NE.