LOCATION NANTICOKE MD+DE NJ PAEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-silty, mixed, active, nonacid, mesic Typic Hydraquents
TYPICAL PEDON: Nanticoke silt loam, on a smooth 0 percent slope, in a estuarine tidal marsh. (Colors are for a moist soil).
Ag--0 to 25 cm (0 to 10 inches); black (5Y 2.5/2) silt loam; massive; friable; slightly sticky, slightly plastic; n-value greater than 1.0, material flows easily between the fingers when squeezed; 5 percent organic soil material; moderately acid; clear smooth boundary. (13 to 36 cm thick)
Cg1--25 to 61 cm (10 to 24 inches); dark greenish gray (5GY 3/1) silt loam; massive; friable; slightly sticky, slightly plastic; n-value greater than 1.0, material flows easily between the fingers when squeezed; common fine faint light gray (10YR 7/2) iron depletions; moderately acid; gradual smooth boundary.
Cg2--61 to 203 cm (24 to 80 inches); dark greenish gray (5GY 4/1) silty clay loam; massive; firm; moderately sticky, moderately plastic; n-value greater than 1.0, material flows easily between the fingers when squeezed; common fine faint light gray (10YR 7/2) iron depletions; moderately acid.
TYPE LOCATION: Dorchester County, Maryland, about 5,000 feet NNW of Brookview, Maryland and Route 14; about 3,000 feet west of Puckum Road on the west side of the Marshyhope Creek, 30 feet into the tidal marsh; USGS Rhodesdale topographic quadrangle; latitude 38 degrees 35 minutes 19 seconds N. and longitude 75 degrees 48 minutes 9 seconds W., NAD 83; Major Land Resource Area 153D
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Depth to Bedrock: Greater than 183 cm (72 inches)
Depth to Seasonal High Water Table: 0 to 25 cm (0 to 10 inches), January to December
Rock Fragments: Less than 2 percent, by volume throughout the profile
Soil Reaction: Moderately acid to neutral, throughout the profile
Electrical conductivity: 1 to 4 mmhos/cm
Other Features: n-value is typically greater than 1.0 and ranges from 0.7 to 1.0 in the lower Cg horizon
RANGE OF INDIVIDUAL HORIZONS:
Ag horizon:
Color--hue of 10YR to 5GY, value of 2 or 3, chroma of 1 or 2, or is neutral with value of 2 to 4
Texture--silt loam or mucky silt loam
Organic matter content--3 to 10 percent
Cg horizon:
Color--hue of 10YR to 5GY, value of 3 or 4, chroma of 1 or 2, or is neutral with value of 3 to 5
Texture--silt loam, silty clay loam, or very fine sandy loam. Some pedons have thin sandy layers less than 1 inch thick, stratified within the horizon.
Organic matter content--0.5 to 5 percent. Some pedons have thin organic layers stratified within the horizons.
COMPETING SERIES: None
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Landscape: Coastal Plain
Landform: Tidal flat, mud flat, and flood plain
Elevation: 0 to 1 meter (0 to 3 feet) above mean sea level
Parent Material: Silty estuarine deposits
Frost Free Period: 180 to 220 days
Mean Annual Air Temperature: 11 to 14 degrees C. (52 to 58 degrees F.)
Mean Annual Precipitation: 1067 to 1219 mm (42 to 48 inches)
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS:
Puckum soils--have organic surface layers more than 51 inches thick, on swamp landforms
DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY:
Drainage Class (Agricultural): Very poorly drained
Flooding Frequency and Duration: Very frequent and very brief
Ponding Frequency and Duration: None
Index Surface Runoff: Negligible
Internal Free Water Occurrence: Very shallow, 0 to 25 cm (0 to 10 inches) and permanent (present continuously)
Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity: Moderately high
Permeability (obsolete): Moderately slow
USE AND VEGETATION:
Major Uses: Wetland wildlife habitat
Vegetation: Spatterdock (Nuphar luteum), arrow-arum (Peltandra virginica), arrowhead (Sagittaria spp.), and pickerelweed (Pontederia cordata).
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT:
Distribution: Coastal Plain of Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania
Extent: Small
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Morgantown, West Virginia
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Dorchester County, Maryland, 1992
REMARKS: Nanicoke soils were formerly included in tidal marsh miscellaneous area.
Diagnostic horizons and other diagnostic soil characteristics recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon--the zone from the soil surface to a depth of 25 cm (Ag horizon)
High n-value--the zone from 0 to 200 cm has an n-value greater than 1.0, the material flows easily between the fingers
Aquic conditions--the zone from the soil surface to a depth of 200 cm is periodically saturated (endosaturation)
ADDITIONAL DATA:
Database Information: Representative Pedon Data Mapunit--459369
Series Interpretation Record(s): MD0153