LOCATION LIGHTER                 FL

Tentative Series
ARW
09/2026

LIGHTER SERIES

MLRA(s)--152A
Depth class--Very deep
Drainage class--Subaqueous
Water depth range--0 to 3 meters (0 to 10 feet)
Parent material--Fine-loamy estuarine deposits
Geomorphic location--Brackish estuarine tidal streams
Slope range--0 to 5 percent
Mean annual air temperature--21 degrees C (70 degrees F)
Mean annual water temperature--21 degrees C (70 degrees F)

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, mixed, active, nonacid, hyperthermic Grossic Hydrowassents

TYPICAL PEDON: Lighter sandy clay loam in an estuarine tidal stream under 1.7 meters of brackish water. (colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated; electrical conductivity is 1:5 by volume solution mixture unless otherwise stated).

Aseg--0 to 32 centimeters; 80 percent very dark gray (2.5Y 3/1) and 20 percent black (2.5Y 2.5/1) sandy clay loam; massive; slightly sticky, nonplastic; very fluid; few fine roots throughout; no sulfurous odor; color change with 3 percent hydrogen peroxide; strong effervescence with 30 percent hydrogen peroxide; saline (3.1 dS/m); neutral (pH 7.3), strongly acid (pH 5.4) oxidized pH; clear boundary (10 to 40 centimeters thick)

Cseg1--32 to 60 centimeters; 70 percent dark gray (2.5Y 4/1), 20 percent black (2.5Y 2.5/1), and 10 percent gray (5Y 5/1) fine sandy loam; massive; slightly sticky, nonplastic; very fluid; no sulfurous odor; color change with 3 percent hydrogen peroxide; strong effervescence with 30 percent hydrogen peroxide; saline (3.0 dS/m); neutral (pH 7.3), strongly acid (pH 5.1) oxidized pH; clear boundary

Cseg2--60 to 159 centimeters; 90 percent gray (2.5Y 5/1), 5 percent gray (5Y 6/1), and 5 percent very dark gray (2.5Y 3/1) clay loam; massive; moderately sticky, nonplastic; moderately fluid; no sulfurous odor; color change with 3 percent hydrogen peroxide; strong effervescence with 30 percent hydrogen peroxide; saline (0.8 dS/m); neutral (pH 7.2), slightly acid (pH 6.1) oxidized pH; 3 percent plant fibers; clear boundary

Cseg3--159 to 180 centimeters; 35 percent gray (10YR 6/1), 30 percent dark gray (2.5Y 4/1), 20 percent very dark grayish brown (2.5Y 3/2), and 15 percent very dark gray (2.5Y 3/1) loamy fine sand; single grain; nonsticky, nonplastic; nonfluid; no sulfurous odor; no color change with 3 percent hydrogen peroxide; slight effervescence with 30 percent hydrogen peroxide; saline (0.8 dS/m); neutral (pH 6.7), strongly acid (pH 5.3) oxidized pH; abrupt boundary

Cseg4--180 to 188 centimeters; dark gray (2.5Y 4/1) clay loam; massive; slightly sticky, slightly plastic; moderately fluid; no sulfurous odor; no color change with 3 percent hydrogen peroxide; strong effervescence with 30 percent hydrogen peroxide; saline (0.7 dS/m); neutral (pH 6.8), strongly acid (pH 5.3) oxidized pH; abrupt boundary

Cseg5--188 to 205 centimeters; light gray (10YR 7/1) fine sand; single grain; nonsticky, nonplastic; nonfluid; no sulfurous odor; no color change with 3 percent hydrogen peroxide; moderate effervescence with 30 percent hydrogen peroxide; saline (0.8 dS/m); moderately acid (pH 5.8), very strongly acid (pH 4.7) oxidized pH

TYPE LOCATION: Franklin County, Florida; Sams Creek Cutoff; approximately 4.3 kilometers (2.7 miles) west of Bay Tower Pier, approximately 2.3 kilometers (1.4 miles) south by southeast of Butcher Pen Landing, and 7.1 kilometers (4.4) miles northeast of Turtle Harbor; USGS topographic quadrangle: Beverly, FL

Latitude--29.784592
Longitude-- -84.954841
Datum--WGS84
Coordinate source--from hand-held GPS

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Depth to bedrock--Greater than 200 centimeters
Manner of failure--Slightly to very fluid in all horizons between 20 and 100 centimeters
Sulfurous odor--None to moderate throughout
Soil reaction--Strongly acid to slightly alkaline throughout profile (pH 5.1 to 7.8)
Oxidized reaction--Extremely acid to slightly acid throughout profile (pH 3.5 to 6.5)
Depth to sulfidic materials (oxidized pH 4.0)--Greater than 100 centimeters
Electrical conductivity (1:5 soil to water solution)--0.6 to 3.0 dS m-1 throughout profile
Particle-size control section (weighted average):
Shell fragments--0 to 5 percent
Wood fragments--0 to 5 percent
Sand--30 to 80 percent
Clay--18 to 35 percent
Total soil organic carbon stock 0 to 100 centimeters--15 to 25 kg m-2
Total soil organic carbon stock 0 to 200 centimeters--25 to 45 kg m-2

Aseg horizon:
Hue--2.5Y to 10Y or N
Value--2.5 or 3
Chroma--0 or 1
Texture--Clay loam, sandy clay loam, loam, fine sandy loam and their mucky analogs
Organic carbon density--10 to 25 kg m-3

Cseg horizons:
Hue--10YR to 10Y
Value--2 to 7
Chroma--1 or 2
Texture--Clay loam, sandy clay loam, loam, sandy loam, fine sandy loam, and stratified combinations of loamy sand and fine sand below 100 centimeters
Organic carbon density--2 to 20 kg m-3

COMPETING SERIES:
These are the Apalachicola and Cash series.
Apalachicola soils--formed on lagoon and bay bottoms, have up to 35 percent shell fragments in the particle-size control section and have 1:5 electrical conductivity exceeding 2.0 dS/m throughout the profile.
Cash soils--formed on mainland coves, have reaction classes greater than slightly alkaline and electrical conductivity greater than 1.5 dS/m throughout the profile.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Landscape--Bays and Lagoons along the Gulf Coast
Landform--Brackish estuarine tidal streams
Parent material--Fine-loamy estuarine deposits
Slope--0 to 5 percent
Water depth range--0 to 3 meters (0 to 10 feet) below mean sea level
Water salinity range--2 to 15 parts per thousand
Water temperature range--16 to 31 degrees C (61 to 88 degrees F)
Soil temperature range--18 to 28 degrees C (64 to 82 degrees F)

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS:
These are the Apalachicola, Blueway, Cash, Eastpoint, Mckissack, Sandbank, and Sandfly soils.
Blueway soils--Are on freshwater estuarine tidal streams, formed in fine-loamy estuarine deposits, and have an electrical conductivity less than 0.6 dS/m throughout the profile.
Eastpoint soils--Are on submerged wave-cut platforms on the mainland side and formed in sandy lagoonal and estuarine deposits.
Mckissack soils--Are on estuarine tidal streams and formed in sandy, eroded spodic soil materials
Sandbank soils--Are on estuarine tidal stream deltas, formed in sandy estuarine materials and have mica flakes in some part of the profile.
Sandfly soils--Are in estuarine tidal streams, formed in coarse-loamy lagoonal over fluviomarine deposits, and contain 20 centimeters or more of buried A horizons.

DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY:
Drainage class--Subaqueous
Saturated hydraulic conductivity--Moderately high to high
Soil moisture regime--Peraquic
Soil is continuously inundated by brackish water.

USE AND VEGETATION:
Major uses--The area is used for recreational fishing, hunting, and boating. Lower energy Lighter soils are important habitat for crustaceans and juvenile aquatic species.
Typical vegetation--Typically present in shallow areas with less turbid water, light penetration, and less variable salinity throughout the water column. Common vegetation is tape grass (Vallisneria americana), widgeon grass (Ruppia maritima), and sago pondweed (Stuckenia pectinata).

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT:
General area--Brackish estuarine tidal streams on the Gulf Coast of Florida
Land Resource Region(s)--T - Atlantic and Gulf Coast Lowland Forest and Crop Region
MLRA(s)--152A
Extent--Small

SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (SSRO) RESPONSIBLE: Special Projects Office

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Franklin County, Florida, 2026

REMARKS:
Typical Pedon Taxonomic Features:
Ochric epipedon--The zone from 0 to 18 centimeters
Reduced matrix--The zone from 0 to 205 centimeters has a soil color matrix with a chroma of 2 or less
Hyposulfidic materials--The zone from 0 to 205 centimeters has an initial pH that decreases by 1 or more units but remains at a value of 4.0 or more after 16 weeks of moist aerobic incubation
Fluidity--Moderately or very fluid from 0 to 159 centimeters; moderately fluid from 180 to 188 centimeters
Peraquic feature--Zero or positive soil water potential at the soil surface (permanently submerged)
Taxonomic Version: Keys to Soil Taxonomy, Thirteenth Edition, 2022
Other: Named after flat-bottomed, shallow-draft vessels used to transfer heavy cargo between the riverbanks and deep-water ships. Lighter soils were previously mapped as water in Florida soil surveys.

NASIS User Site and Pedon ID: S2024FL037019
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National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.