LOCATION OYSTER RIVER CT

Established Series
BEF-CEP-DCP
10/2024

OYSTER RIVER SERIES

MLRA(s)--144A, 145
Depth class--Very deep
Drainage Class--Very poorly drained
Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity--Low to high
Parent material--Estuarine deposits over herbaceous organic material
Slope range for series--0 to 2 percent
Mean annual air temperature--10 degrees C (50 degrees F)
Mean annual precipitation--1295 millimeters (51 inches)

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Coarse-loamy, mixed, superactive, nonacid, mesic Thapto-histic Sulfaquents

TYPICAL PEDON: Oyster River mucky fine sandy loam on a linear, zero percent slope in a tidal marsh. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated).

Aseg--0 to 10 centimeters; greenish black (10Y 2.5/1) mucky fine sandy loam; massive; nonfluid; many very fine, fine, and medium roots throughout; moderate sulfurous odor; slight reaction to 30 percent hydrogen peroxide; ultra acid (pH 3.1), ultra acid (pH 3.0) oxidized pH; clear boundary. (Combined thickness of Aseg horizons is 0 to 48 centimeters)

Cseg1--10 to 44 centimeters; dark olive gray (5Y 3/2) mucky fine sandy loam; massive; slightly fluid; many very fine, fine, and medium roots throughout; moderate sulfurous odor; slight reaction to 30 percent hydrogen peroxide; 40 percent plant fibers; ultra acid (pH 3.0), ultra acid (pH 2.7) oxidized pH; clear boundary.

Cseg2--44 to 52 centimeters; dark grayish brown (2.5Y 4/2) mucky silt loam; massive; moderately fluid; many very fine and fine, few medium roots throughout; moderate sulfurous odor; slight reaction to 30 percent hydrogen peroxide; 40 percent plant fibers; very strongly acid (pH 4.8), extremely acid (pH 3.8) oxidized pH; gradual boundary. (Combined thickness of Cseg horizons is 39 to 103 centimeters)

Oaseb--52 to 174 centimeters; very dark gray (2.5Y 3/1) and black (2.5Y 2.5/1) rubbed, muck; 40 percent fibers; 10 percent rubbed fibers; H7 von Post humification scale; many very fine and fine, common medium roots throughout; moderate sulfurous odor; very strongly acid (pH 4.8), extremely acid (pH 3.8) oxidized pH; abrupt boundary. (Combined thickness of Oase horizons is 40 to 136 centimeters)

C'seg1--174 to 191 centimeters; dark gray (2.5Y 4/1) mucky silt loam; massive; very fluid; common very fine and fine roots throughout; moderate sulfurous odor; slight reaction to 30 percent hydrogen peroxide; 10 percent plant fibers; extremely acid (pH 3.5), ultra acid (pH 2.9) oxidized pH; abrupt boundary.

C'seg2--191 to 202 centimeters; very dark gray (2.5Y 3/1) mucky silt loam; massive; moderately fluid; common very fine and fine roots throughout; moderate sulfurous odor; 20 percent plant fibers; ultra acid (pH 3.1), ultra acid (pH 3.1) oxidized pH. (Combined thickness of C'seg horizons is 0 to 28 centimeters)

TYPE LOCATION: Middlesex County, Town of Old Saybrook, Connecticut; Along the Oyster River, approximately 1,560 feet Northeast (31 degree bearing) of intersection of Boston Post Road and Old Boston Post Road and approximately 1,325 feet west of the intersection of King Street and Boston Post Road. USGS topographic quadrangle: Essex, CT

Latitude--41.2913890
Longitude-- -72.3881670
Datum--WGS84
Coordinates source--from hand-held GPS

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Depth to bedrock--Greater than 200 centimeters
Soil moisture--Saturated; peraquic moisture regime
Reaction throughout--Ultra acid to moderately acid (pH <3.5 to 6.0)
Oxidized reaction--Ultra acid or extremely acid (pH <3.5 to 4.4)
Electrical conductivity (EC 1:5 water)--Greater than 0.6 dS/m
Depth to hypersulfidic materials (incubated pH 4.0 or less)--0 to 50 centimeters
Wood fragments--0 to 20 percent, by volume
Coarse fragments--0 to 50 percent fine and medium gravels, by volume in individual horizons

Aseg horizons (where present)
Hue--2.5Y, 10Y
Value--2.5 to 4
Chroma--1
Texture--mucky very fine sandy loam, mucky fine sandy loam, mucky loam
Organic matter content--less than 20 percent
Manner of failure / fluidity class--nonfluid to very fluid

Oaseb or Oeseb horizons
Hue--2.5Y, 5Y, 10YR, 7.5YR, or N
Value--2 to 4
Chroma--0 to 1
Texture--muck or mucky peat
Organic matter content--20 percent or more
Von Post humification scale--H4 to H9
Coarse fragments--0 to 20 percent wood fragments

Cseg horizons (where present)
Hue--2.5Y, 5Y, 10Y, or N
Value--2 to 5
Chroma--0 to 2
Texture--mucky silt loam, mucky loam, fine sandy loam, sandy clay loam, loamy sand
Organic matter content--less than 20 percent
Clay content--5 to 25 percent
Manner of failure / fluidity class--slightly fluid to very fluid

2Cseg horizons (where present)
Hue--5Y or 10Y
Value--3 to 5
Chroma--1 to 2
Texture--mucky sandy loam, mucky coarse sandy loam, loamy coarse sand, clay loam
Organic matter content--less than 20 percent
Manner of failure / fluidity class--nonfluid to slightly fluid

COMPETING SERIES:
There are no competing series in the same family.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Parent material--Estuarine deposits over herbaceous organic materials
Landscape--Estuaries, coastal lowlands, and tidal rivers
Landform--Tidal marshes
Slope--0 to 2 percent
Mean annual precipitation--1023 to 1320 millimeters (40 to 52 inches)
Mean annual air temperature--4 to 13 degrees C (39.2 to 55.4 degrees F)
Frost-free period--180 to 225 days
Water salinity range--18 to 30 parts per thousand

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS:
These are the Barn Island, Calves, Hammonasset, Ipswich, Pawcatuck, Quinnipiac, and Westbrook soils.
Barn Island soils--have 40 to 130 centimeters of sapric dominated materials over loamy substrate.
Calves soils--formed in coarse-loamy estuarine deposits over loamy or sandy alluvium and have a histic epipedon.
Ipswich soils--formed in thick deposits of hemic dominated organic soil materials.
Hammonasset soils--have greater than 130 centimeters of sapric dominated materials.
Pawcatuck soils--formed in hemic dominated organic soil materials over sandy mineral soil materials.
Quinnipiac soils--formed in loamy alluvium with no histic epipedon.
Westbrook soils--formed in hemic dominated organic soil materials over loamy mineral soil materials.

DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY:
Drainage class--Very poorly drained
Saturated hydraulic conductivity--Low to high
Soil moisture regime--Peraquic
Flooded twice daily by tides in addition to periodic riverine flooding at times.

USE AND VEGETATION:
Major uses--Most areas are in salt marsh and provide food and habitat for fish, shellfish and wildfowl.
Vegetation--Phragmites australis, Spartina alterniflora, Spartina patens, and Salicornia spp. may occur on these soils.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT:
General area--These soils are located along the Connecticut coast.
Land Resource Regions--R - Northeastern Forage and Forest Region
MLRA(s)--144A, 145
Extent--Small

SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (SSRO) RESPONSIBLE: SPECIAL PROJECTS OFFICE

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Middlesex County, Connecticut, 2024.

REMARKS:
Diagnostic horizons and features in this pedon include--
Peraquic feature--Zero or positive soil water potential at the soil surface.
Particle-size control section--The zone from 25 to 100 centimeters.
Thapto histic feature--buried organic horizon 52 to 174 centimeters (Oaseb horizon)
Hypersulfidic materials--The zone from 0 to 202 centimeters (Aseg, Cseg, Oaseb and C'seg horizons) have oxidized reactions with pH values of 4.0 or less after 16 weeks.
N-value > 0.7--The zone from 10 to 52 and 174 to 202 centimeters (Aseg, Cseg, and C'seg horizons)
Taxonomic version--Keys to Soil Taxonomy, 13th edition (2022)

ADDITIONAL DATA: Type location taken from 2023CT007218 in a tidal marsh along Oyster River in Old Saybrook, CT.
Additional support pedons used to develop this series include 2023CT001219, 2023CT001215, 2023CT001278, 2023CT007223, and 2023CT007224.
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National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.