LOCATION BESTPITCH               MD+NJ

Established Series
JEB-WDC/Rev. ATD
02/2025

BESTPITCH SERIES

MLRA(s)--153C, 153D
Depth class--Very deep
Drainage class--Very poorly drained
Flooding--Very frequent, very brief
Parent material--Herbaceous organic deposits over estuarine deposits
Geomorphic location--Coastal and estuarine tidal salt marshes
Slope--0 to 1 percent
Elevation--0 to 1 meter
Mean annual air temperature--13 degrees C (56 degrees F)
Mean annual precipitation--1144 millimeters (45 inches)

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Clayey, mixed, euic, mesic Terric Sulfihemists

TYPICAL PEDON: Bestpitch peat, on a hummocky 0 percent slope, in an estuarine tidal marsh. (Colors are for a moist rubbed soil unless otherwise stated.)

Oise--0 to 23 centimeters; dark brown (7.5YR 3/2) peat; fiber content is three-fourths of the soil volume after rubbing; von Post value H3; common fine, medium, and coarse roots; neutral (pH 7.0), extremely acid (pH 4.0) oxidized pH; gradual smooth boundary. (Oise thickness range is 8 to 43 centimeters)

Oese--23 to 84 centimeters; very dark brown (10YR 2/2) mucky peat; fiber content is one-third of the soil volume after rubbing; von Post value H5; few fine and medium roots; neutral (pH 7.0), extremely acid (pH 3.8) oxidized pH; clear smooth boundary. (Oese thickness range is 23 to 64 centimeters)

Oase--84 to 107 centimeters; very dark gray (10YR 3/1) muck; fiber content is one-tenth of the soil volume after rubbing; von Post value H8; neutral (pH 7.0), ultra acid (pH 2.4) oxidized pH; clear smooth boundary. (Oase thickness range is 0 to 61 centimeters)

Cseg1--107 to 117 centimeters; very dark gray (5Y 3/1) silty clay; massive; friable; slightly sticky, nonplastic; very fluid; 10 percent masses of organic soil material; neutral (pH 7.0), ultra acid (pH 2.2) oxidized pH; gradual smooth boundary.

Cseg2--117 to 200 centimeters; dark gray (5Y 4/1) silty clay; massive; friable; slightly sticky, nonplastic; very fluid; 10 percent masses of organic soil material; neutral (pH 7.0), ultra acid (pH 2.2) oxidized pH.

TYPE LOCATION: Dorchester County, Maryland; approximately 399 meters southeast of the intersection of Bestpitch Ferry Road and Hog Island Road, approximately 162 meters northeast of the Bestpitch Ferry boat ramp, approximately 58 meters south of Bestpitch Ferry Road, and approximately 58 meters east of the Transquaking River. USGS topographic quadrangle--Chicamacomico River, MD

Latitude-- 38.4166679
Longitude-- -75.9925003
Datum--WGS84
Coordinate source--unknown

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Depth to bedrock--Greater than 200 centimeters
Thickness of organic soil material--40 to not more than 130 centimeters
Rock Fragments--0 to 5 percent, by volume, throughout the profile, mostly rounded quartz gravels
Electrical conductivity (EC 1:5 water)--Greater than 8 dS/m (5.6 ppt), typically greater than 16 dS/m
Depth to hypersulfidic materials (incubated pH 4.0 or less)--0 to 100 centimeters
Reaction--Slightly acid to moderately alkaline throughout (pH 6.1 to 8.4)
Oxidized reaction--Ultra acid to strongly acid throughout (pH <3.5 to 5.5)
Sulfur Content--0.75 percent to about 3.5 percent in individual layers within a depth of 100 centimeters
Organic carbon stock 0 to 100 centimeters--34 to 47 kg m-2
Organic carbon stock 0 to 200 centimeters--59 to 77 kg m-2
Other Features--mineral horizons are moderately fluid to very fluid and have bulk densities of less than 1.00 g cm-3

Oise horizon (where present)
Hue--10YR to 5Y or neutral
Value--2 to 4
Chroma--0 to 3
Texture--peat
Von Post--H2 to H3
Organic carbon density--20 to 54 kg m-3

Oese horizon
Hue--7.5YR to 5Y or neutral
Value--2 to 4
Chroma--0 to 3
Texture--mucky peat
Von Post--H4 to H6
Organic carbon density--24 to 122 kg m-3

Oase horizon (where present)
Hue--7.5YR to 5Y
Value--2 to 5
Chroma--1 to 3
Texture--muck
Von Post--H7 to H9
Organic carbon density--19 to 66 kg m-3

Cseg horizons
Hue--7.5YR to 5GY or neutral
Value--2 to 4
Chroma--0 to 2
Texture--silty clay loam or silty clay with mucky analogs
Organic carbon density--12 to 46 kg m-3
Other characteristics--some pedons have thin organic layers and/or thin sandy layers up to several centimeters thick stratified within the Cseg horizon

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

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Parent material--Herbaceous organic deposits over estuarine deposits
Landscape--Coastal plain estuaries
Landform--Tidal marshes
Slope range--0 to 1 percent
Elevation--0 to 1 meter
Mean annual air temperature--11 to 15 degrees C (52 to 59 degrees F)
Mean annual precipitation--1052 to 1240 millimeters (41 to 49 inches)
Frost free period--190 to 260 days

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS:
These are the Appoquinimink, Boxiron, Broadkill, Honga, Mispillion, Sunken, and Transquaking soils.
Appoquinimink soils--have buried organic layers at least 40 centimeters thick overlain by fine-silty mineral materials (thapto-histic), on similar landforms
Boxiron soils--have an organic surface at least 20 but less than 40 centimeters thick (histic epipedon), on similar landforms
Broadkill soils--have organic soil materials less than 20 centimeters thick, on similar landforms
Honga soils--have organic soil materials 40 to 130 centimeters thick underlain by loamy, nonfluid flvuiomarine deposits with a former argillic horizon, on submerging upland landforms
Mispillion soils--have organic soil materials 40 to 130 centimeters thick underlain by loamy estuarine deposits, on similar landforms
Sunken soils--have organic soil materials less than 20 centimeters thick underlain by fine-silty fluviomarine deposits with a former argillic horizon, on slightly higher submerging upland landforms
Transquaking soils--have organic soil materials greater than 130 centimeters thick, on similar landforms

DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY:
Drainage class--Very poorly drained
Saturated hydraulic conductivity--High to very high in the organic horizons and moderately low to moderately high in the underlying mineral horizons
Soil moisture regime--Peraquic (continuously saturated throughout)
Flooding--Very frequent and very brief (twice daily by tides)

USE AND VEGETATION:
Major uses--Bestpitch soils are mainly used for their ecological and environmental benefits as tidal salt marsh ecosystems that provide essential plant and animal habitat, water quality benefits, and coastal protection from storms and sea level rise.
Natural vegetation-Typical vegetation includes olney threesquare (Scirpus americanus), saltmeadow cordgrass (Spartina patens), saltmarsh cordgrass (Spartina alterniflora), saltgrass (Distichlis spicata) and marsh hibiscus (Hibiscus palustris)

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT:
General area--Tidal salt marshes of the mid-Atlantic coastal plain within the states of Maryland and New Jersey
Land Resource Regions (LRR)-- T - Atlantic and Gulf Coast Lowland Forest and Crop Region
MLRA(s)--153C, 153D
Extent--Moderate

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

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Dorchester County, Maryland, 1992

REMARKS:
Bestpitch soils were formerly mapped as Tidal Marsh miscellaneous areas. They are flooded twice daily by saline or brackish tidal waters. Oxidized pH analysis indicate these soils have hypersulfidic materials (pH of 4.0 or less after 16 weeks of moist incubation), causing them to typically become ultra acid to extremely acid when drained. Historically, large areas of these soils were ditched for mosquito control, which has led to marsh degradation in some areas.

Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon (Keys to Soil Taxonomy, Thirteenth Edition):
Aquic conditions--the zone from 0 to 200 centimeters is continuously saturated (endosaturation)
Fibric soil materials--the zone from 0 to 23 centimeters has a fiber content after rubbing that is three-fourths or more, by volume
Hemic soil materials--the zone from 23 to 84 centimeters has a fiber content after rubbing that is between one-sixth and three-fourths, by volume
Sapric soil materials--the zone from 84 to 107 centimeters has a fiber content after rubbing that is less than one-sixth, by volume
Hypersulfidic materials-the zone from 0 to 200 centimeters has an incubated pH of 4.0 or less in the typical pedon description.
Fluidity--the zone from 107 to 200 centimeters has a fluidity class of very fluid (n value > 1.0)

ADDITIONAL DATA:
Database information:
NASIS site and pedon ID for typical pedon--S1986MD019004
Characterization data for the typical pedon is available from the Kellogg Soil Survey Laboratory.
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National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.