LOCATION OSTIONES PR
Tentative Series
ASR/AMA
04/2026
OSTIONES SERIES
MLRA(s)--273
Depth Class--Very deep
Drainage Class--Subaqueous drainage
Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity--Moderately low to high
Water depth range--50 to 300 centimeters
Parent Material--Coarse-loamy estuarine deposits
Geomorphic location--Submerged mainland beach
Slope--0 to 1 percent
Mean Annual Air Temperature--26 degrees C (79 degrees F)
Mean Annual Precipitation--1041 millimeters (41 inches)
Mean Annual Water Temperature--28 degrees C (82 degrees F)
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Coarse-loamy, mixed, subactive, nonacid, isohyperthermic Grossic Hydrowassents
TYPICAL PEDON: Ostiones mucky sandy loam on a submerged mainland beach in Jobos Bay lagoon. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated)
Aseg--0 to 21 centimeters; very dark gray (N 3/), mucky sandy loam; structureless, massive; nonsticky, nonplastic; very fluid; 5 percent shell fragments; slight sulfurous odor; color change with 3 percent hydrogen peroxide; slight effervescence with 30 percent hydrogen peroxide; moderately alkaline (pH 8.2), moderately alkaline (pH 8.4) oxidized pH; clear boundary.
Cseg1--21 to 67 centimeters; dark gray (N 4/), sandy loam; structureless, massive; nonsticky, nonplastic; slightly fluid; 10 percent shell fragments; slight sulfurous odor; color change with 3 percent hydrogen peroxide; slight effervescence with 30 percent hydrogen peroxide; moderately alkaline (pH 8.2), moderately alkaline (pH 8.4) oxidized pH; clear boundary.
Cseg2--67 to 132 centimeters; greenish gray (10Y 5/1), parashelly sandy loam; structureless, massive; nonsticky, nonplastic; slightly fluid; 20 percent Halimeda calcifications; moderate sulfurous odor; no color change with 3 percent hydrogen peroxide; no effervescence with 30 percent hydrogen peroxide; moderately alkaline (pH 8.0), moderately alkaline (pH 8.0) oxidized pH; diffuse boundary.
Cseg3--132 to 214 centimeters; gray (N 6/), parashelly sandy clay loam; structureless, massive; slightly sticky, slightly plastic; slightly fluid; 30 percent Halimeda calcifications; moderate sulfurous odor; no color change with 3 percent hydrogen peroxide; no effervescence with 30 percent hydrogen peroxide; moderately alkaline (pH 8.3), moderately alkaline (pH 8.4) oxidized pH.
TYPE LOCATION: Salinas municipality, Puerto Rico. Las Mareas Lagoon, at Jobos Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve property. Approximately 1.34 kilometers (0.80 miles) west of Punta Colchones and 223 meters east-northeast of where camino (pathway) El Indio ends.
Latitude--17.9318830
Longitude-- -66.2445690
Datum--WGS84
Coordinate source--Manually entered from GPS
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Depth to bedrock--Greater than 200 centimeters
Soil moisture--Continuously inundated
Reaction throughout--Moderately alkaline (pH 7.9 to 8.4)
Oxidized reaction-Moderately alkaline (pH 7.9 to 8.4)
Electrical conductivity (1:5 soil-water) throughout--4.0 to 10.0 dS/m
Manner of failure--slightly to very fluid from 0 to 100 centimeters,some horizon below 100 centimeters can be nonfluid
Shell fragments--0 to 35 percent, by volume including parashell fragments from 0 to 100 centimeters
Sulfurous odor--slight to strong throughout, intensity decreases with depth
Oase horizon (where present)-
Hue--10YR. 2.5Y, 5Y, or N
Value--2 or 2.5
Chroma--0 to 1
Texture--Muck
Aseg horizon-
Hue--5Y, 10Y, 5GY, N
Value--2.5 to 8
Chroma--1
Texture--Loamy sand, sandy loam, loam, or silt loam and their mucky and shelly analogs
Cseg horizons-
Hue--N, 10Y, 5Y, 5GY
Value--3 to 6
Chroma--1 to 2
Texture--sandy loam, loam, loamy sand, silt loam, or sandy clay loam with shelly analogs or parashelly analogs for the lower Cseg horizons.
COMPETING SERIES: There are no competing series in the same family.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Parent material--Coarse-loamy estuarine deposits
Landscape--Coastal lagoons in Semiarid coastal plain, Puerto Rico
Landform--submerged mainland beach.
Mean Annual Air Temperature--22 to 31 degrees C (72 to 88 degrees F)
Mean Annual Precipitation--508 to 1,145 millimeters (20 to 63 inches)
Mean Annual Water Temperature--26 to 32 degrees C (79 to 90 degrees F)
Water salinity range--28 to 43 parts per thousand
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS:
These are the
Majaguas and
Placeres soils.
Majaguas soils--are on lagoon bottoms and have finer soil textures.
Placeres soils--have a loamy-skeletal particle size and occur in distinctly different estuarine tidal stream landforms.
DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY:
Drainage class--Subaqueous (permanently submersed)
Saturated hydraulic conductivity--Moderately low to high
Soil moisture regime--Peraquic
Soil is continuously inundated by saline and brackish water
USE AND VEGETATION:
Major Uses--Used for wildlife habitat, recreational boating, fishing, swimming, marinas, mooring fields, and commercial shellfish habitat. These soils provide improved water quality and flood / storm surge water storage. Dominant Vegetation--Common subaquatic vegetation (SAV) species include Thalassia (Turtle grass), Syringodium (manatee grass), halimeda (watercress algae), and Halofila (paddle grass)
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT:
General area--Located along coasts and bays of Puerto Rico.
Land Resource Region--Z - Caribbean Region
MLRA--273 - Semiarid Coastal Plains
Extent--Small
SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (SSRO) RESPONSIBLE: SPECIAL PROJECTS OFFICE
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Humacao Area, Puerto Rico Eastern Part (PR689); Salinas Municipality, Puerto Rico; 2026. The name is from the commonly found Spanish word for oysters (ostiones) found in Mar Negro area where it was originally recognized.
REMARKS: This subaqueous series is mapped in areas previously published as water in Puerto Rico Soil Survey publications.
Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon--
Peraquic soil moisture regime--Positive soil water potential (permanently submerged) at the soil surface. (under 50 to 300 centimeters of salt water).
Ochric epipedon--the zone from 0 to 21 centimeters (0 to 8 inches).
High n-value--Slightly to very fluid, in layers from 20 to 100 centimeters
ADDITIONAL DATA:
OSD pedon: 2022PR123016
Supporting pedons: 2024PR123612, 2022PR123012
________________________________________
National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.