LOCATION PAIA                    HI

Established Series
Rev. SN
01/2021

PAIA SERIES


The Paia series consists of well drained soils that formed in material weathered from basic igneous rock. Paia soils are on uplands and have slopes of 3 to 15 percent. The mean annual rainfall is about 33 inches and the mean annual temperature is about 73 degrees F.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Very-fine, parasesquic, isohyperthermic Torroxic Haplustolls

TYPICAL PEDON: Paia silty clay - irrigated sugarcane. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise noted. All textures are "apparent field textures.")

Ap1--0 to 11 inches; dark reddish brown (5YR 3/2) silty clay, dark reddish brown (5YR 3/3) dry; weak fine granular structure; hard, friable, sticky and plastic; many fine roots; many fine pores; many 1/4 to 2 mm fragments of coral; few fine black concretions; violent effervescence with hydrogen peroxide; slightly alkaline (pH 7.6); gradual wavy boundary. (8 to 15 inches thick)

Ap2--11 to 19 inches; dark reddish brown (5YR 3/2), dark reddish brown (5YR 3/3) dry; weak fine subangular blocky structure; hard, firm, very sticky and very plastic; many roots; many fine and very fine pores; many 1/4 to 2 mm fragments of coral; few fine black concretions; violent effervescence with hydrogen peroxide; slightly alkaline (pH 7.5); clear smooth boundary. (6 to 10 inches thick)

B1--19 to 30 inches; dark reddish brown (5YR 3/3) clay, dark reddish brown (5YR 3/4) dry; moderate fine subangular blocky structure; hard, firm, sticky and plastic; many roots that tend to follow lower boundary; many fine and very fine pores; few to common fine black stains; dusky red and black stains effervesce violently with hydrogen peroxide, dark reddish brown stains effervesce slightly with hydrogen peroxide; slightly alkaline (pH 7.5); clear smooth boundary. (8 to 12 inches thick)

B21--30 to 41 inches; dark reddish brown (5YR 3/2) clay, dark reddish brown (5YR 3/3) dry; moderate fine angular and subangular blocky structure; hard, friable when removed, sticky and plastic; compact in place; few fine roots at top, none at bottom; many fine pores; continuous pressure faces on peds; common sand-size particles that are resistant to crushing; few to common black stains; slight effervescence with hydrogen peroxide in matrix, violent effervescence on black stains; slightly alkaline (pH 7.4); clear smooth boundary. (8 to 14 inches thick)

B22--41 to 53 inches; dark reddish brown (5YR 3/3) clay, dark reddish brown (5YR 3/4) dry; moderate fine angular and subangular blocky structure; hard, friable when removed, sticky and plastic; many fine pores; continuous pressure faces on peds; 30 to 40 percent of matrix contains black stains that effervesce violently with hydrogen peroxide; slightly alkaline (pH 7.5); gradual wavy boundary. (11 to 15 inches thick)

B23--53 to 60 inches; dark reddish brown (5YR 3/3) clay, dark reddish brown (5YR 3/4) dry; moderate fine angular and subangular blocky structure; hard, friable when removed, sticky and plastic; many fine pores; slightly alkaline (pH 7.6).

TYPE LOCATION: Island of Maui, Maui County, Hawaii; Paia Quadrangle - 20 degrees 55' 10" north latitude and 156 degrees 21' 10" west longitude; 15 feet north of upper Hamakuapoko Road and 1,200 feet west of Maui High School in field 101 of Hawaiian Commercial and Sugar Company plantation, 1.6 miles northeast of Paia.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Thickness of the solum is more than 40 inches. Mean annual soil temperature is 73 degrees F. The A horizon has 5YR or 7.5YR hue, value of 2 or 3 moist, and chroma of 2 or 3. The B horizon has value of 2 or 3 moist and 3 or 4 dry, and chroma of 2 or 3. It is silty clay or clay.

COMPETING SERIES: These are the Haliimaile, Hawi, Hoolehua, Kunia, and Makaweli series. Haliimaile soils have moderate structure in the A horizon, and mean annual soil temperature is 71 degrees F. Hawi soils have strong structure in the A horizon, and 7.5YR or yellower hue in the B horizon. Hoolehua soils have an umbric epipedon and about 4 times as much phosphate throughout the soil. Kunia soils have an umbric epipedon and 2.5YR or redder hue in the B horizon. Makaweli soils have 2.5YR or redder hue and are fine textured in the control section.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Paia soils are on uplands at elevation from sea level to 1,000 feet. Slope is 3 to 15 percent. The soils formed in material weathered from basic igneous rock and contain volcanic ash in the upper part. The average annual precipitation ranges from 25 to 40 inches. Mean annual temperature is about 73 degrees F., average January temperature is 71 degrees F., and average July temperature is 75 degrees F.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the competing Haliimaile soils and the Ewa, Iao, Keahua, Molokai, and Pulehu soils. Ewa and Keahua soils are silty clay loam in the B horizon. Iao soils have 10YR or yellower hue throughout the solum. Molokai soils have a torric moisture regime and are silty clay loam in the solum. Pulehu soils are fine-silty in the control section.

DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; slow to medium runoff depending on slope; moderate permeability.

USE AND VEGETATION: These soils are used for growing irrigated sugarcane. The natural vegetation is ilima (Sida cordifolia), kiawe (Prosopis pallida), lantana (Lantana camara), Natal redtop (Rhynchelytrum repens), uhaloa (Waltheria indica), and yellow foxtail (Setaria geniculata).

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Island of Maui, Maui County, Hawaii. This series is about 5,600 acres in extent.

MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Davis, California

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Soil Survey, Territory of Hawaii, 1949.

OSED scanned by SSQA. Last revised by state on 5/78.


National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.