LOCATION LIGNUMVITAE FL
Established Series
Rev. GWH-MFV-AMS
12/2025
LIGNUMVITAE SERIES
MLRA(s): 156A
Depth Class: Moderately deep
Drainage Class: Very poorly drained
Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity: Moderately high to very high in the marl material and negligible in the rock material
Parent Material: calcareous brackish water silty marl deposits over oolitic limestone bedrock
Slope: 0 to 1 percent
Elevation: -0.3 to 1 meter above mean sea level.
Mean Annual Air Temperature: 24 degrees C (75 degrees F.)
Mean Annual Precipitation: 1143 millimeters (45 inches)
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Coarse-silty, carbonatic, isohyperthermic Typic Fluvaquents
TYPICAL PEDON: Lignumvitae marly silt loam on a native mangrove swamp. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)
Lma1--0 to 10 centimeters (0 to 4 inches); light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) marly silt loam, white (10YR 8/1), dry; weak coarse platy structure parting to moderate medium granular; very friable, soft; slightly sticky, nonplastic; many fine and common medium roots; common fine and very fine pores; strongly effervescent with 1N HCl; moderately alkaline (ph 8.0); clear wavy boundary.
Lma2--10 to 81 centimeters (4 to 32 inches); light gray (10YR 7/1) marly clay loam; weak coarse platy structure parting to weak fine granular; very friable, soft; slightly sticky, nonplastic; common fine and very fine pores; strongly effervescent with 1N HCl; moderately alkaline (pH 8.1); abrupt irregular boundary. (Combined thickness of the Lma horizons is 50 to 100 centimeters)
2R--81 centimeters (32 inches); weakly to strongly cemented oolitic limestone bedrock; solution holes up to 100 centimeters or more deep can be filled with sandy and/or marly material.
TYPE LOCATION: Monroe County, Florida; USGS quadrangle Plantation Key, FL.
Latitude: 24.952097
Longitude: -80.590372
Datum: WGS84
Estimated from GPS
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Solum thickness: 50 to 100 centimeters
Depth to seasonally high-water table: 0 to 15 centimeters (0 to 6 inches)
Soil Reaction: Neutral to moderately alkaline (pH 6.6 to 8.4) throughout
Depth to limestone bedrock: 50 to 100 centimeters (20 to 40 inches)
Rock and/or shell fragments: 0 to 14 percent throughout
Calcium carbonate equivalence: 40 to 80 percent or more in the marl
EC (mmhos/cm): 16 to 32 or more
Sodium Absorption Ratio: 13 to 50 percent or more
Exchangeable Sodium Percent: 13 to 50 percent or more
Particle-size control section (weighted averages):
Clay content: 5 to 34 percent
Carbonate Clay content: 4 to 32 percent
Silt content: 50 to 95 percent
Oase horizon, where present:
Hue: 5YR, 7.5YR, 10YR, or Neutral
Value: 2 to 4
Chroma: 1 or 2
Texture: muck
von Post: H7 to H9
Lma horizons:
Hue: 10YR, 2.5Y. or 5Y
Value: 4 to 8
Chroma: 1 or 2
Texture: marly silt loam, silt or clay loam
2R horizon: weakly to strongly cemented porous oolitic limestone bedrock, with solution holes filled with sandy and/or marly materials. Solution holes can be up to 100 centimeters or more.
COMPETING SERIES: There are
Pennsuco and
Perrine series.
Pennsuco soils have bedrock at depths greater than 100 centimeters, are derived from freshwater marsh deposits, and do not occur on landforms in the tidal zone that are very frequently flooded.
Perrine soils are formed in freshwater marsh deposits, have similar depths to limestone bedrock, and do not occur on landforms in the tidal zone that are very frequently flooded.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Landscape: Lower Coastal Plain
Landform(s): marine and brackish marshes, swamps, or low broad coastal flats on the Key West Islands and/or along the southern coast of the Florida Peninsula
Parent material: calcareous brackish silty marl deposits over oolitic limestone bedrock
Mean annual temperature: 24 to 27 degrees C (75 to 81 degrees F)
Mean annual precipitation: 1397 to 1778 millimeters (55 to 70 inches)
Frost-free period: 365 days
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the
Cudjoe,
Islamorada,
Keylargo,
Keyvaca,
Keywest,
Matecumbe,
Pennekamp, and
Saddlebunch series.
Cudjoe soils: have bedrock at depths less than 5 centimeters (20 inches) and occur on similar landform positions in the tidal zone.
Islamorada soils: have bedrock at depths of 50 to 100 centimeters, are entirely composed of sapric organic materials, and occur on similar landform positions in the tidal zone.
Keylargo soils: have bedrock at depths greater than 150 centimeters, are entirely composed of sapric organic materials, and occur on similar landform positions in the tidal zone.
Keyvaca soils: have bedrock at depths less than 25 centimeters, are composed of calcareous loamy material derived from limestone bedrock and occur on slightly higher landform positions.
Keywest soils: have bedrock at depths of greater than 150 centimeters, are stratified with silty marl sediments and sapric organic materials and occur on similar landform positions in the tidal zone.
Matecumbe soils: have bedrock at depths less than 25 centimeters, are composed of sapric organic materials, and occur on slightly higher landform positions.
Pennekamp soils: have bedrock at depths less than 25 centimeters, have rock fragments greater than 35 percent by volume, have better internal soil drainage, and occur on landform positions on upland rises.
Saddlebunch soils: have bedrock at depths 25 to 50 centimeters and are on slightly higher landform positions.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY:
Drainage class: Very poorly drained
Saturated hydraulic conductivity (KSAT): Moderately high to high
Runoff: High to very high
Depth to seasonal high-water table: 0 to 15 centimeters (0 to 6 inches)
Flooding frequency and duration: very frequent and brief duration from daily tides, subject to flooding by storm surges and hurricanes
USE AND VEGETATION:
Major uses: wildlife habitat and water quality.
Dominant vegetation: black mangroves, red mangroves, white mangroves, saltwort, and glasswort.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT:
General area: Florida Everglades and associated areas
Land Resource Region: U - Florida Subtropical Fruit, Truck Crop, and Range Region
Major Land Resource Area: 156A
Extent: Small
SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (SSRO) RESPONSIBLE: Auburn, Alabama
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Monroe County, Florida, 1989.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features in this pedon:
Particle-size control section: 25 to 81 centimeters
Limnic soil material: 0 to 81 centimeters (Lma1, Lma2 horizons)
Lithic contact: 81 centimeters (2R horizon)
Calcium carbonate equivalence: of 40 to 80 percent or more.
Aquic conditions: Endosaturation - 0 to 81 centimeters (0 to 32 inches)
Hydric Soil Indicator: F10 Marl
ADDITIONAL DATA:
Laboratory data is available on the National Soil Survey website at: http://ncsslabdatamart.sc.egov.usda.gov/querypage.aspx
OSD User Site ID: S1988FL087005
OSD User Pedon ID: S1988FL087005
National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.