LOCATION ISLES FLEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy, siliceous, superactive, hyperthermic Arenic Endoaqualfs
TYPICAL PEDON: Isles muck--in a tidal swamp. (Colors are for moist soil.)
Oa--0 to 5 inches; dark reddish brown (5YR 2/2) muck, about 80 percent fiber unrubbed, less than 5 percent rubbed; massive; friable; about 0.8 percent sulfur; 19 mmho/cm conductivity; slightly acid; clear wavy boundary. (0 to 5 inches thick)
A--5 to 11 inches; very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) mucky fine sand; massive; friable; about 10 percent well decomposed organic material in krotovinas and along root channels; many fine and medium roots, common coarse roots; about 2.0 percent sulfur; 13.65 mmho/cm conductivity; slightly acid; gradual wavy boundary. (1 to 6 inches thick)
E--11 to 39 inches; grayish brown (10YR 5/2) fine sand; massive; friable; about 5 percent organic material in krotovinas and along root channels; about 1.0 percent sulfur; 6.15 mmho/cm conductivity; common medium distinct light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) areas of depletions; moderately acid; gradual wavy boundary. (16 to 32 inches thick)
Btg--39 to 47 inches; grayish brown (10YR 5/2) fine sandy loam; weak medium subangular blocky structure; friable; about 1.0 percent sulfur; 3.85 mmho/cm conductivity; common fine distinct dark greenish gray (5BG 4/1) and common medium prominent light olive brown (2.5Y 5/6) areas of depletions; neutral; abrupt irregular boundary. (5 to 28 inches thick)
R--47 inches; fractured limestone bedrock.
TYPE LOCATION: Charlotte County, Florida; approximately 0.5 mile south of Alligator Creek and 1.5 miles west of State Road 765; SE 1/4, SE 1/4, SW 1/4, Sec. 30, T. 41 S., R. 23 E.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Solum thickness ranges from 40 to 60 inches. Reaction ranges from strongly acid to neutral in the surface and subsurface and moderately acid to moderately alkaline in all other horizons.
The Oa horizon has hue of 5YR to 10YR, value of 2 or 3, and chroma of 2. Texture is muck.
The A horizon has hue of 10YR, value of 2 through 4, and chroma of 1 or 2. Texture is sand, fine sand, mucky sand, or mucky fine sand.
The E horizon has hue of 10YR, value of 5 through 7, and chroma of 1 through 4. Redoximorphic features in shades of brown, gray, yellow, or red range from few to common. Texture is sand or fine sand.
The Btg horizon has hue of 10YR to 5Y, value of 4 through 6, and chroma of 1 through 3. Redoximorphic features in shades of brown, yellow, gray, or olive range from few to many. Texture is sandy loam, fine sandy loam, or sandy clay loam.
The Cg horizon, where present, consists of shell fragments or marl ranging from about 4 to 8 inches thick between the Btg horizon and fractured limestone bedrock. Colors and textures are variable.
COMPETING SERIES: These are Boca, Felda, and Ft. Green series. Boca and Felda soils are on similar positions. In addition, Boca soils are moderately deep limestone bedrock while Felda soils are very deep. The poorly drained Ft. Green soils are on higher positions, have between 15 and 30 percent cobbles in the Bt horizon, and are very deep to limestone bedrock.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Isles soils are in tidal swamps, sloughs, and depressions in the lower Coastal Plain. Slopes range from 0 to 1 percent. They formed in loamy marine sediments over limestone bedrock. The climate is humid subtropical. The average annual precipitation ranges from 50 to 55 inches, and the average annual air temperature ranges from 72 to 74 degrees F.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These include the competing
Boca and
Felda series along with
Estero,
Kesson,
Peckish,
Wabasso, and
Wulfert series. The very poorly drained Estero are on similar positions, are very deep, always have mucky surfaces, and are Spodosols. The very poorly drained Kesson soils are in tidal areas, are very deep, and are sandy throughout. The very poorly drained Peckish soils are on similar positions, are very deep, have weakly expressed spodic horizons, and are sandy throughout. Wabasso soils are on slightly higher positions, are deep or very deep to limestone bedrock, and are Spodosols.
The very poorly drained Wulfert soils are in tidal areas, are very deep, and are Histosols.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Very poorly drained or poorly drained; moderate permeability.
USE AND VEGETATION: Most areas of Isles soils are used for wildlife habitat. A few areas have been filled and used for urban development. The natural vegetation is dominated by red mangrove, black mangrove, cabbage palm, water oak, cypress, pickerelweed, maidencane, fern, melaleuca, popash, batis, and sea purslane.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Southwest peninsular Florida. The series is of small known extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Auburn, Alabama.
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Charlotte County, Florida; 1982.
REMARKS: Diagnostic features and horizons in this pedon:
Ochric epipedon: the zone from 5 to 39 inches (A and E horizons).
Arenic feature: the zone from 0 to 39 inches (Oa, A, and E horizons).
Depth to limestone bedrock: at a depth of 47 inches (R horizon).
Under natural conditions, the tidal areas are flooded during normal daily high tides. Depressions are ponded for about 3 to 6 months or more in most years. In most years, in sloughs, the water table is within depths of 10 inches of the surface for 1 to 3 months and between 10 and 40 inches for about 9 months. During periods of high rainfall, the soil in the slough is covered by a slowly moving layer of shallow water for periods of about 1 to 7 days or more.