LOCATION BARN ISLAND             CT

Established Series
BEF-CEP-DCP
10/2024

BARN ISLAND SERIES

MLRA(s)--144A, 145
Depth class--Very deep
Drainage Class--Very poorly drained
Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity--low to high
Surface Runoff--negligible
Parent material--Sapric herbaceous organic deposits over loamy alluvium, estuarine or glacial deposits
Slope range for series--0 to 2 percent
Mean annual air temperature--10 degrees C (50 degrees F)
Mean annual precipitation--1295 millimeters (51 inches)

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy, mixed, euic, mesic Terric Sulfisaprists

TYPICAL PEDON: Barn island mucky peat on a linear, zero percent slope in a tidal marsh. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise noted).

Oese--0 to 32 centimeters (0.0 to 12.6 inches); very dark brown (10YR 2/2) mucky peat; many very fine to medium roots throughout; 80 percent unrubbed plant fiber, 40 percent rubbed plant fiber; H5 von Post humification scale; slight sulfurous odor; moderately acid (pH 5.6), extremely acid (pH 4.0) oxidized pH; clear boundary. (10 to 50 centimeters thick)

Oase--32 to 96 centimeters (12.6 to 37.8 inches); very dark brown (10YR 2/2) muck; common very fine to medium roots throughout; 25 percent unrubbed plant fiber, 12 percent rubbed plant fiber fragments; H8 von Post humification scale slight sulfurous odor; strongly acid (pH 5.3), slightly acid (pH 6.1) oxidized pH; gradual boundary. (hemic material is 20 to 90 centimeters thick, combined thickness of organic horizons is 40 to 130 centimeters)

Aseg--96 to 112 centimeters (37.8 to 44.1 inches); black (N 2.5/), silt loam; structureless, massive; nonsticky, nonplastic; very fluid; few very fine roots throughout; slight sulfurous odor; strongly acid (pH 5.4), moderately acid (pH 5.6) oxidized pH; clear boundary.

ACseg--112 to 129 centimeters (44.1 to 50.8 inches); 90 percent very dark gray (5Y 3/1) and 10 percent greenish gray (10Y 5/1) fine sandy loam; structureless, massive; nonsticky, nonplastic; slightly fluid; slight sulfurous odor; extremely acid (pH 3.8), very strongly acid (pH 4.9) oxidized pH; clear boundary.

2Cg--129 to 200 centimeters (50.8 to 72.0 inches); greenish gray (10Y 5/1) fine sand; structureless, single grain; nonsticky, nonplastic, nonfluid; strongly acid (pH 5.2), extremely acid (pH 4.4) oxidized pH.

TYPE LOCATION: New London County, Town of Stonington, Connecticut; Barn Island Wildlife Management Area, approximately 2,100 feet north of Barn Island Boat Ramp, and 450 feet East of Palmer Neck Road in a tidal marsh. USGS topographic quadrangle: Mystic, CT.

Latitude--41.3433330
Longitude-- -71.8765420
Datum--WGS84
Coordinates source--from hand-held GPS

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Depth to bedrock--Greater than 200 centimeters
Soil moisture--Saturated; peraquic moisture regime
Reaction throughout--Extremely acid to moderately alkaline (pH 3.5 to 6.0)
Oxidized reaction--Extremely acid to slightly acid (pH 3.5 to 6.5)
Electrical Conductivity (EC 1:5 water)--Greater than 0.6 dS/m throughout
Depth to hypersulfidic materials (incubated pH 4.0 or less)--0 to 50 centimeters
Coarse fragments--0 to 50 percent fine and medium gravels, and/or 0 to 10 percent fine and medium shells in the underlying mineral horizons
Total Soil Organic Carbon Stock--45 to 56 kg m-2

Oa, Oase, Oe, Oese, Oi, or Oise horizons (Oase horizons often dominate the surface and subsurface tiers, other types of O horizons are thin or absent)
Hue--7.5YR, 10YR, 2.5Y, 5Y, or N
Value--2 to 4
Chroma--0 to 3
Texture--muck, mucky peat, or peat
Horizon Organic Carbon Density--13 to 59 kg m-3
Von Post Scale of Humification - typically ranges from H7 to H10

Aseg or ACseg horizon (where present)
Hue--7.5YR, 10YR, 2.5Y, 5Y, 10Y or N
Value--2 to 3
Chroma--0 to 2
Texture--Silt loam, very fine sandy loam, fine sandy loam, sandy loam, coarse sandy loam including mucky analogues.
Manner of failure/fluidity class--slightly fluid to moderately fluid
Horizon Organic Carbon Density--19 to 66 kg m-3

2Cseg or 2Cg horizon (where present)
Hue--2.5Y, 5Y, 10Y, or N
Value--2.5 to 5
Chroma--0 to 3
Texture--ranges from coarse sand to silty clay loam, coarser textures are typically below 130 centimeters in glacial deposits.
Horizon Organic Carbon Density--18 to 57 kg m-3
Clay content--5 to 25 percent
Manner of failure / fluidity class--nonfluid to very fluid

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

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Parent material--Sapric herbaceous organic material over estuarine, alluvial or glacial deposits
Landscape--Estuaries, coastal lowlands, and tidal rivers
Landform--Tidal marshes
Slope--0 to 2 percent
Mean annual precipitation--1023 to 1320 millimeters (40 to 52 inches)
Mean annual air temperature--4 to 13 degrees C (39.2 to 55.4 degrees F)
Frost-free period--180 to 225 days

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS:
These are the Hammonasset, Ipswich, Oyster River, Pawcatuck, Quinnipiac, and Westbrook soils.
Hammonasset soils--formed in thick deposits (greater than 130 centimeters) of sapric dominated organic soil materials.
Ipswich soils--formed in thick deposits of hemic dominated organic soil materials.
Oyster River soils--formed coarse-loamy mineral soil materials with buried organic soil materials 40 centimeters thick within 200 centimeters of the mineral soil surface.
Pawcatuck soils--formed in hemic organic soil materials over sandy mineral soil materials.
Quinnipiac soils--formed in loamy alluvium and do not have histic epipedons.
Westbrook soils--formed in hemic dominated organic soil materials over loamy mineral soil materials

DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY:
Drainage class--Very poorly drained
Saturated hydraulic conductivity--Low to High
Soil moisture regime--Peraquic
Flooded twice daily by tides in addition to periodic riverine flooding at times.

USE AND VEGETATION:
Major uses--Most areas are in salt marsh and provide food and habitat for fish, shellfish and wildfowl.
Vegetation--Phragmites australis, Spartina alterniflora, Spartina patens, and Salicornia spp. may occur on these soils.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT:
General area--These soils are located along the Connecticut coast.
Land Resource Regions--R - Northeastern Forage and Forest Region
MLRA(s)--144A, 145
Extent--Small

SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (SSRO) RESPONSIBLE: SPECIAL PROJECTS OFFICE

SERIES ESTABLISHED: New London County, Connecticut, 2024.

REMARKS:

Diagnostic horizons and features in this pedon include--
Peraquic feature--Zero or positive soil water potential at the soil surface.
Particle-size control section--The zone from 0 to 130 centimeters.
Organic soil materials--0 to 96 centimeters
Sapric soil materials--The zone from 32 to 96 centimeters (Oase horizon).
Hypersulfidic materials--The zone from 0 to 129 centimeters (Oese, Oase, 2Aseg, and 2ACseg horizons) have oxidized reactions with pH values less than 4 after 16 weeks.
Lithologic Discontinuity--129 to 200 centimeters.
Taxonomic version--Keys to Soil Taxonomy, 13th edition (2022)
Series Name - Named for the Barn island River, a tidal tributary of the Connecticut River in Old Lyme, CT.

ADDITIONAL DATA: Type location taken from S2023CT011317 in Barn Island Wildlife Management area, Stonington, CT.
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National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.