LOCATION MATUNUCK RI+MA NY
Established Series
Rev. RAS-EHS-MT
05/2024
MATUNUCK SERIES
The Matunuck series consists of very deep, very poorly drained soils formed in shallow herbaceous organic material underlain by sandy marine or glaciofluvial deposits. They are in tidal marshes subject to tidal flooding by salt water twice daily. Saturated hydraulic conductivity is moderately high to very high in the organic layers and very high in the underlying mineral sediments. Mean annual temperature is 9 degrees C, and mean annual precipitation is 1219 mm.
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Sandy, mixed, mesic Histic Sulfaquents
TYPICAL PEDON: Matunuck mucky peat - salt grass tidal marsh, undrained. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise noted.)
Oe--0 to 30 cm; very dark gray (10YR 3/1) mucky peat, gray (10YR 6/1) dry; 65 percent fiber, 25 percent rubbed; dense mat of roots, stems, and leaves; massive; many very fine, fine, and medium roots; fibers herbaceous; admixtures of fine and medium sand; 55 percent organic matter; total salts 25,000 ppm; slightly acid; abrupt smooth boundary. (20 to 40 cm thick)
Cg1--30 to 45 cm; gray (10YR 5/1) sand, gray (5Y 6/1) dry; thin lenses of very dark grayish brown organic materials; single grain; loose; common fine and medium roots; total salts 20,000 ppm; neutral; clear wavy boundary. (0 to 25 cm thick)
Cg2--45 to 182 cm; gray (2.5Y 5/1) sand, gray (5Y 6/1) dry; single grain; loose; total salts 20,000 ppm; neutral.
TYPE LOCATION: Washington County, Rhode Island; town of Narragansett, 0.6 mile east of the village of Galilee and 200 feet north of Galilee Road. USGS Kingston, RI topographic quadrangle: Latitude 41 degrees, 22 minutes, 34.3 seconds N, Longitude 71 degrees, 30 minutes, 8.6 seconds W., NAD 1983.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Thickness of the organic surface layer and depth to the sandy materials range from 20 to 40 cm. Reaction ranges from strongly acid to slightly alkaline. The electrical conductivity (EC) ranges from 0.0 to 4.0 deciSiemen per meter in a 1:5 soil to water mixture by volume.
The O horizon is neutral or has hue of 5YR to 5Y, value of 2 to 4, and chroma of 0 to 2. It is typically hemic materials, but some pedons have fibric or sapric materials. Fiber content ranges from 25 through 80 percent, rubbed fiber content ranges from 10 to 50 percent. Organic matter content ranges from 20 to 90 percent.
The C horizon is neutral or has hue of 10YR to 5GY, value of 2 to 7, and chroma of 0 to 4. Texture ranges from loamy sand to very coarse sand. Some pedons have up to 25 cm of fine sandy loam or sandy loam in the upper part of the horizon. Organic matter content ranges from 0 to 10 percent. The C horizon has 0 to 10 percent gravel by volume. Shell fragments and herbaceous fibers are common in most pedons.
COMPETING SERIES: The
Purnell series is in the same family. Purnell soils have a mean annual temperature of 14 degrees C and are from MLRA 153D, Northern Tide Water Area of the Delmarva
Peninsula.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Matunuck soils are level soils in tidal marshes along the Atlantic Ocean. They are subject to tidal flooding twice daily except in areas protected by dikes, tide gates, or other restrictions. Matunuck soils formed in thick sand deposits underlying organic material. Mean annual temperature ranges from 7 to 13 degrees C, and mean annual precipitation ranges from 1016 to 1397 mm.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the
Hooksan,
Ipswich,
Nagunt,
Pishagqua,
Pawcatuck,
Sandyhook, and
Westbrook soils on nearby tidal marsh landscapes. Hooksan soils are on higher posiitons on nearby dunes and barrier, along with miscellaneous beaches. Ipswich soils have organic materials thicker than 130 cm. Subaqueous soils mapped in shallow water areas include the Nagunt and Pishagqua soils. Pawcatuck and Westbrook soils are underlain by mineral materials at a depth of 40 to 130 cm. Sandyhook soils have an ochric epipedon.
DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY: Very poorly drained. Runoff is very slow. Saturated hydraulic conductivity is moderately high to very high in the organic surface horizon and very high in the underlying sands. Unless protected, these soils are flooded by tidewaters twice daily.
USE AND VEGETATION: Most areas are in salt marsh and provide food and habitat for fish, shellfish, and wildfowl. Small scattered areas are used for saltgrass hay. The most common grasses are salt meadowgrass, salt water grass, and spike grass. Other vegetation includes blackgrass, sea lavender, saltwort, seaside goldenrod, aster, and purple gerardi. In areas where the 1:5 EC by volume is below 1/5 deciSiemens per meter, vegetation consists principally of tall reeds and sedges.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and New York. MLRAs 144A and 149B. The series is of small extent.
SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (SSRO) RESPONSIBLE: SPECIAL PROJECTS OFFICE
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Washington County, Rhode Island, 1977.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon include:
1. Histic epipedon - the zone from 0 to 30 cm (Oe horizon).
2. Sandy particle-size class - the control section is from 30 to 106 cm (C horizon).
3. Sulfaquents feature - sulfidic materials are within (50 cm of the mineral soil surface). New pedons should include incubation pH measurements to determine if horizons should receive a 'se' subordinate distinction due to sulfate content.
4. Reaction (pH value) is more than 4.5 throughout the control section.
The lab and/or field method for total salts in the Typical Pedon is not known but is retained for historical purposes. Total salt content was previously reported in the RIC is generally more than 10,000 ppm, but ranges from 1,000 through 40,000 ppm.
ADDITIONAL DATA: Refer to publication "Tidal Marshes of Connecticut and Rhode Island," Hill, D.E. and Shearin, A.E., Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station Bulletin 709, Feb. 1970. A copy of this publication is at: http://nesoil.com/ri/Tidal_marshes_CT_RI.pdf[jdt2][jdt2]
National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.