LOCATION HONGA                   MD+VA

Established Series
SYD-RBT/Rev. MDJ-ATD
02/2025

HONGA SERIES

MLRA(s)--149A, 153C, 153D
Depth class--Very deep
Drainage class--Very poorly drained
Flooding--Very frequent, very brief (twice daily by tides)
Parent material--Herbaceous organic deposits over loamy fluviomarine deposits
Geomorphic location--Submerged upland tidal marshes
Slope--0 to 2 percent
Elevation--0 to 1 meter
Mean annual air temperature--13 degrees C (55 degrees F)
Mean annual precipitation--1144 millimeters (45 inches)

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

TYPICAL PEDON: Honga peat, on a smooth 0 percent slope, in a submerged upland tidal marsh. (Colors are for a moist soil unless otherwise stated).

Oise--0 to 18 centimeters; dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) peat; fiber content 70 percent by volume after rubbing; von Post value H3; many fine, medium, and coarse roots throughout; neutral (pH 7.0); clear smooth boundary. (thickness range is 0 to 28 centimeters)

Oese--18 to 33 centimeters; dark brown (10YR 3/3) mucky peat; fiber content 50 percent by volume after rubbing; von Post value H5; common fine and medium roots throughout; neutral (pH 7.0); clear smooth boundary. (thickness range is 15 to 64 centimeters)

Oase--33 to 56 centimeters; black (10YR 2/1) muck; fiber content 10 percent by volume after rubbing; von Post value H8; neutral (pH 7.0); clear smooth boundary. (thickness range is 0 to 33 centimeters)

Ag--56 to 61 centimeters; black (5Y 2.5/1) silt loam; massive; friable; slightly sticky, slightly plastic; nonfluid; neutral (pH 7.0); gradual smooth boundary. (thickness range is 5 to 13 centimeters)

Eg--61 to 91 centimeters; gray (10YR 5/1) silt loam; massive; firm; slightly sticky, slightly plastic; nonfluid; neutral (pH 7.0); gradual smooth boundary. (thickness range is 0 to 30 centimeters)

Btg1--91 to 122 centimeters; dark gray (5Y 4/1) silty clay loam; moderate coarse prismatic structure; very firm; slightly sticky, slightly plastic; nonfluid; common medium distinct olive (5Y 5/3) iron concentrations; neutral (pH 7.0); gradual smooth boundary.

Btg2--122 to 200 centimeters; gray (10YR 5/1) silty clay loam: moderate coarse prismatic structure; very firm; slightly sticky, slightly plastic; nonfluid; common medium prominent strong brown (7.5YR 5/8) and common medium prominent light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) iron concentrations; neutral (pH 7.0). (Combined thickness range of Btg horizons is 30 to 119 centimeters)

TYPE LOCATION:
Dorchester County, Maryland; on the western shore of Middle Hooper Island approximately 1.2 kilometers south-southeast of the town of Hoopersville, approximately 0.54 kilometers south-southeast of the intersection of Hoopersville Road and Doeller Road, approximately 0.71 kilometers southwest of Dick's Point, approximately 1.21 kilometers northwest of Cow Point, and approximately 30 meters east of the Chesapeake Bay shoreline. USGS topographical quadrangle--Honga, Maryland

Latitude--38.251667
Longitude-- -76.174164
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
Soil moisture regime--Peraquic (tidally flooded twice daily)
Electrical conductivity--Greater than 8 dS/m (5.6 ppt or greater) throughout
Depth to sulfidic materials--0 to 100 centimeters
Rock fragments--0 to 5 percent by volume throughout the profile, mostly rounded quartz gravels
Reaction--Slightly acid to neutral throughout (pH 6.1 to 7.3)
Organic carbon stock 0 to 100 centimeters--25 to 47 kg m-2
Organic carbon stock 0 to 200 centimeters--31 to 71 kg m-2
Other features--Mineral horizons have a fluidity class ranging from nonfluid to moderately fluid

Oise horizon (where present):
Hue--10YR to 5Y
Value--2 to 4
Chroma--1 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
Value--2 to 4
Chroma--1 to 3
Texture--Mucky peat
Von Post--H4 to H6
Organic carbon density--24 to 122 kg m-3
Other characteristics--some pedons have thin layers of mineral soil material

Oase horizon (where present):
Hue--10YR 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
Other characteristics--some pedons have thin layers of mineral soil material

Aseg or Ag horizon:
Hue--10YR to 5Y
Value--2 to 5
Chroma--1 or 2
Texture--silt loam, loam, sandy clay loam, fine sandy loam, or sandy loam
Organic carbon density--4 to 61 kg m-3

Eseg or Eg horizon (where present):
Hue--10YR to 5Y
Value--4 to 7
Chroma--1 or 2
Texture--silt loam, loam, fine sandy loam, or sandy loam
Organic carbon density--4 to 21 kg m-3

Btg horizon:
Hue--10YR to 5GY or N
Value--3 to 6
Chroma--0 to 2
Texture--silt loam, silty clay loam, loam, or clay loam
Redoximorphic features--iron depletions in shades of olive or gray and iron concentrations in shades of red, brown, yellow, or olive
Organic carbon density--1 to 14 kg m-3

BCg or Cg horizon (where present):
Hue--10YR to 5GY or N
Value--3 to 6
Chroma--0 to 2
Texture--silty clay loam, clay loam, sandy clay loam, Silt loam, coarse sandy loam, sandy loam, loamy coarse sand, loamy sand, or sand
Redoximorphic Features--iron depletions in shades of olive or gray and iron concentrations in shades of red, brown, yellow, or olive
Organic carbon density--0.5 to 14 kg m-3

COMPETING SERIES:
These are the Mispillion and Westbrook soils:
Mispillion soils--do not have an underlying argillic horizon and have n-value of more than 0.7 in the mineral soil layers, on similar landforms
Westbrook soils--do not have an underlying argillic horizon and have n-value of less than 0.7 in the mineral soil layers, on similar landforms

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Parent material--Herbaceous organic deposits over loamy fluviomarine deposits
Landscape--Coastal plain
Landform--Submerged upland tidal marshes
Slope range--0 to 2 percent
Elevation--0 to 1 meter
Mean annual air temperature range--11 to 15 degrees C (52 to 59 degrees F)
Mean annual precipitation range--1052 to 1240 millimeters (41 to 49 inches)

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS:
These are the Bestpitch, Elkton, Othello, Sunken, Tangier, and Transquaking soils:
Bestpitch soils--have underlying mineral materials with a clay content of 35 percent or greater (clayey), a fluidity class of fluid to very fluid, lack an argillic horizon, and are on slightly lower tidal marsh landforms
Elkton and Othello soils--are poorly drained mineral soils, not saline or brackish, not tidally flooded, and are on higher landforms with argillic horizons
Sunken soils--have less than 20 centimeters of organic soil materials, on slightly higher elevations with lower salinity (high marsh), on similar landforms
Tangier soils--have less than 20 centimeters of organic soil materials, on similar landforms
Transquaking soils--have greater than 130 centimeters of organic soil materials, on slightly lower tidal marsh landforms

DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY:
Drainage Class--Very poorly drained
Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity--High to very high in the organic material and moderately low to moderately high in the mineral material
Soil Moisture Regime--Peraquic (continuously saturated throughout)
Flooding--Very frequent, very brief (twice daily by tides)

USE AND VEGETATION:
Major Uses--Honga soils are mainly used for their important 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--Typically black needlerush (Juncus roemerianus), saltmeadow cordgrass (Spartina patens), saltmarsh cordgrass (Spartina alterniflora), saltgrass (Distichlis spicata), marsh-elder (Iva frutescens), and groundsel-tree (Baccharis halimifolia).

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT:
General Area--Coastal plain of Maryland and Virginia
Land Resource Regions (LRR)-- S - Northern Atlantic Slope Diversified Farming Region and T - Atlantic and Gulf Coast Lowland Forest and Crop Region
MLRA(s)--149A, 153C, 153D
Extent--Moderate

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

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Dorchester County, Maryland, 1992

REMARKS:
Honga soils were formerly mapped as Tidal Marsh miscellaneous areas. They are flooded twice daily by tidal waters. These soils may become extremely acid to ultra 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 18 centimeters has a fiber content after rubbing that is three-fourths or more of the soil volume (Oise horizon)
Hemic soil materials--the zone from 18 to 33 centimeters has a fiber content after rubbing that is between one-sixth and three-fourths of the soil volume (Oese horizon)
Sapric soil materials--the zone from 33 to 56 centimeters has a fiber content after rubbing that is less than one-sixth of the soil volume (Oase horizon)
Hypersulfidic materials--the zone from 0 to 56 centimeters has a sulfur content of 0.75 percent or greater by dry mass, mostly in the form of sulfides
Fluidity--the mineral horizons (zone from 56 to 165 centimeters) are nonfluid (low n-value)
Argillic horizon--the zone from 91 to 200 centimeters (Btg horizons)
Control section--the zone from 0 to 130 centimeters.

ADDITIONAL DATA:

NASIS site and pedon ID for typical pedon: S1986MD019008

Characterization data for the typical pedon is available from Kellogg Soil Survey Laboratory.

Refer to publication "Tidal Marsh Soils of Maryland", Darmody, R.G. and Foss, J.E., Maryland Agricultural Experiment Station Publication MP 930, October 1978.

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National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.