LOCATION AQUAPAUG RI

Established Series
Rev. MKP-JDT
04/2016

AQUAPAUG SERIES

The Aquapaug series consists of subaqueous soils permanently submerged beneath 0 to about 3 meters of water on submerged outwash landscapes of freshwater ponds, lakes, and reservoirs. These soils formed in over 100 cm. of sandy outwash material. Slope ranges from 0 to 3 percent. The mean annual temperature is about 9 degrees C and the mean annual precipitation is about 1143 millimeters.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Mixed, mesic Psammentic Frasiwassents

TYPICAL PEDON: Aquapaug loamy sand on a 1percent slope permanently submerged beneath 1 meter of fresh water. (Colors are for moist soil unless noted differently.)

A1--0 to 11 cm; black (7.5YR 2.5/1) loamy sand, light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) dry; massive; 2 percent organic matter; nonfluid; nonsaline; very strongly acid (pH 5.0); abrupt boundary.

A2--11 to 23 cm; black (5YR 2.5/1) sandy loam, brown (7.5YR 4/2) dry; massive; 2 percent organic matter; nonfluid; nonsaline; very strongly acid (pH 4.7); abrupt boundary. (Combined thickness of A horizons is 0 to 23 cm.)

CA--23 to 41 cm; brown (10YR 4/3) sand; single grain; loose; 1 percent organic matter; nonfluid; nonsaline; extremely acid (pH 4.1); clear smooth boundary. (0 to 60 cm. thick)

Cg1--41 to 87 cm; dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) sand; single grain; loose; 1 percent organic matter; nonfluid; nonsaline; extremely acid (pH 4.4); clear smooth boundary.

Cg2--87 to 132 cm; gray (2.5Y 6/1) fine sand; single grain; loose; 1 percent organic matter; nonfluid; nonsaline; extremely acid (pH 4.1); abrupt smooth boundary.

Cg3--132 to 200 cm; dark gray (2.5Y 4/1) fine sand; single grain; loose; 1 percent organic matter; nonfluid; nonsaline; very strongly acid (pH 4.8); abrupt smooth boundary.

Cg4--200 to 257 cm; dark gray (2.5Y 4/1) loamy fine sand; single grain; loose; 1 percent organic matter; nonfluid; nonsaline; strongly acid (pH 5.1). (Combined thickness of Cg horizons is 70 to 180 cm.)

TYPE LOCATION: Washington County, Rhode Island; type location is located in the southeast end of Watchaug Pond; USGS Carolina, RI topographic quadrangle; latitude 41 degrees, 22 minutes, 38 seconds N. and longitude 71 degrees, 41 minutes, 12 seconds W., NAD 1983.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: The soils are permanently submerged. All horizons contain less than 35 percent rock fragments.

The A horizon, where present, has a hue of 2.5Y, 10YR, or 7.5YR, value of 2 to 5, and chroma of 1 to 3. Texture ranges from very fine sandy loam to sand. Reaction ranges from very strongly acid to moderately acid.

The CA or AC horizon has a hue of 2.5Y or 10YR, value of 2 to 5, and chroma of 1 to 3. Texture ranges from loamy fine sand to coarse sand. Reaction ranges from extremely acid to moderately acid.

The Cg horizon has a hue of 5Y, 2.5Y, 10YR, or is neutral, value of 3 to 6, and chroma of 1 or 2. Texture ranges from loamy very find sand to coarse sand. Reaction ranges from extremely acid to slightly acid.

COMPETING SERIES: There are currently no series in the same family.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Aquapaug soils are permanently submerged beneath freshwater in ponds, lakes, and reservoirs. Slope ranges from 0 to 3 percent.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are Shannock (T), Tuckertown, Wickford, and Burlingame on nearby landscapes. Shannock (T) soils are on lake bottoms and have an umbric epipedon. Tuckertown and Wickford soils have greater than 40 cm. of organic material and are on lake bottoms. Burlingame soils have materials finer than loamy fine sand within the particle size control section and are on submerged till plain landscapes.

DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY: Subaqueous soil, peraquic soil moisture regime, moderately high or high saturated hydraulic conductivity due to soil texture. The soil is permanently submerged with water.

USE AND VEGETATION: Areas of this soil are used for recreational fishing, swimming, and aquatic wetland habitat. Vegetation includes bladderwort (Utricularia sp.), fanwort (Cabomba caroliniana), variable milfoil (Myriophyllum heterophyllum), white water lily (Nymphaea ordorata), and yellow water lily (Nuphar variegatum). Water bodies these soils are mapped in have an average pH of 6.5 and average temperature of 20 degrees C during the summer months.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: These soils occur in freshwater ponds of the Northeast in MLRAs 149B and 144A. This series is of small extent.

MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Amherst, Massachusetts.

SERIES ESTABLISHED: MLRA 144A Freshwater Soil Survey Project, 2012.

REMARKS: This series is named for the Boy Scouts of America Camp Aquapaug located on Worden Pond in Rhode Island.

Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon include:
1. Peraquic feature - positive soil water potential (permanently submerged) at the soil surface
2. Ochric epipedon - the zone from 0 to 23 cm. (A1 and A2 horizons)
3. Particle size control section - the zone from 25 to 100 cm. (CA, Cg1, and Cg2 horizons)

ADDITIONAL DATA: Reference sample 2011RI009028, by the University of Rhode Island, 2011 is the typical pedon. Additional reference samples include pedons 2011RI009031, 2011RI009016, 2011RI009004, 2011RI009038, 2011RI007004, 2011RI009025, 2011RI009034, 2011RI009039; by the University of Rhode Island, 2011.

National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.