LOCATION PISHAGQUA RI+CT+MA+NH+NY

Established Series
Revised MKP-JDT-DCP
09/2023

PISHAGQUA SERIES

MLRA(s)--144A, 145, 149B
Depth class--Very deep
Drainage class--Subaqueous
Water depth range--50 to 500 centimeters
Parent material--Silty estuarine deposits
Geomorphic location--Lagoon bottom and lagoon channels
Slope range for Series--0 to 3 percent
Mean annual air temperature--10 degrees C (50 degrees F)
Mean annual precipitation--1295 millimeters (51 inches)

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-silty, mixed, superactive, nonacid, mesic Fluventic Sulfiwassents

TYPICAL PEDON: Pishagqua silt loam on a south facing, 1 percent concave slope in an eelgrass (Zostera marina) bed of a lagoon bottom under 2.0 meters of estuarine water. Tidal range is 24 cm. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise noted).

Aseg--0 to 15 centimeters; black (5Y 2.5/2) mucky silt loam; gray (5Y 6/1) dry; massive; very fluid; 1 percent shell fragments; 5 percent fine macroalgal fragments; moderate sulfurous odor; 15% organic matter; slightly alkaline (pH 7.6); extremely acid (pH 3.9) oxidized pH; clear boundary. (0 to 38 cm thick)

Cseg1--15 to 110 centimeters; black (5Y 2.5/1) mucky silty clay loam; gray (5Y 5/1) dry; massive; very fluid; 1 percent shell fragments; 5 percent fine macroalgal fragments; moderate sulfurous odor; 16% organic matter; neutral (pH 7.2); extremely acid (pH 3.7) oxidized pH; gradual boundary.

Cseg2--110 to 160 centimeters; black (5Y 2.5/1) mucky silt loam; gray (5Y 6/1) dry; massive; moderately fluid; 1 percent shell fragments; 5 percent fine macroalgal fragments; moderate sulfurous odor; 12% organic matter; neutral (pH 7.2); ultra acid (pH 3.3) oxidized pH; gradual boundary.

Cseg3--160 to 200 centimeters; black (5Y 2.5/1) silt loam; gray (5Y 6/1) dry; massive; moderately fluid; 1 percent shell fragments; 5 percent fine macroalgal fragments; moderate sulfurous odor; 9% organic matter; neutral (pH 7.3); ultra acid (pH 3.4) oxidized pH.

TYPE LOCATION: Washington County, Rhode Island; Town of Charlestown, Fort Neck Cove of Ninigret Pond, 1,360 feet north of the western tip of Potato Point and 1,260 feet south-west of the eastern-most shoreline position of Tautog Cove. USGS topographic quadrangle: Carolina, RI

Latitude-- 41.3760472
Longitude-- -71.6467972
Datum--WGS84
Coordinate source--Estimated from narrative description

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Depth to bedrock--Greater than 200 centimeters
Particle--size control section--Less than 15 percent sand
Soil moisture--Continuously inundated
Reaction throughout--Neutral to strongly alkaline (pH 6.6 to 9.0)
Oxidized reaction--Ultra to extremely acid (pH <3.5 to 4.4)
Electrical conductivity (1:5 soil-water) throughout--0.6 dS/m or greater
Depth to sulfidic materials (oxidized pH4.0)--0 to 50 centimeters
Manner of failure--Moderately fluid to very fluid
Shell fragments throughout--0 to 15 percent

Aseg or ACseg (where present)-
Hue--2.5Y to 10Y or is neutral
Value--2.5 or 3, moist, 5 to 7, dry
Chroma--2 or less, moist or dry
Texture--Silt loam or silty clay loam with mucky analogs

Cseg horizon-
Hue--5Y, 10Y or is neutral
Value 2.5 to 4, moist, 5 to 7 dry
Chroma--2 or less
Textures--Very fine sandy loam, silt loam, or silty clay loam with mucky analogs

Thin strata of sandy material are found in some pedons.

Some areas are underlain at a depth greater than 100 cm by buried organic deposits, sandy estuarine material, loess, and/or glaciofluvial deposits.

COMPETING SERIES: There are no competing series.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Parent material-Fine-silty estuarine deposits
Landscape--Coastal lagoons
Landform--Lagoon bottoms and lagoon channels
Slope--0 to 3 percent
Mean annual precipitation--1016 to 1397 millimeters (40 to 55 inches)
Mean annual air temperature--2.3 to 15.8 degrees C (36 to 65 degrees F)
Water salinity range--18 to 30 parts per thousand
Frost-free period--350 to 365 days

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Anguilla, Billington, Marshneck, Massapog, Napatree and Wequetequock soils.

Anguilla and Napatree--In mainland coves and on submerged mainland beaches; lithologic discontinuity within 100 centimeters of the soil surface
Billington--In mainland coves and have buried organic horizons
Marshneck--On flood tidal delta slopes and have coarse-loamy family particle-size
Massapog--On flood tidal delta flats and have sandy particle-size throughout
Nagunt--On washover fan flats and slopes and have sandy particle-size throughout
Wequetequock--In mainland coves and submerged stream channels and have buried organic horizons

DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY:
Drainage class--Subaqueous
Saturated hydraulic conductivity--Moderately high or high
Soil moisture regime--Peraquic
Soil is continuously inundated by saline and brackish water.

USE AND VEGETATION:
Major uses--Used for recreational boating, fishing, and swimming, marinas, mooring fields, and commercial shellfish harvesting; benthic species include tubeworms, clams, juvenile blue crabs, scallops and juvenile finfish
Native vegetation--Rooted and floating algae, eelgrass (Zostera marina) and widgeon grass (Ruppia maritima); vegetative cover ranges from 0 through 100 percent

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT:
General area--Located along the coasts of Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, and Rhode Island
Land Resource Regions--R - Northern Forage and Forest Region and S - Northern Atlantic Slope Diversified Farming Region
MLRA(s)--144A, 145, 149B
Extent--Small

SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (SSRO) RESPONSIBLE: Amherst, Massachusetts

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Washington County, Rhode Island, 2010

REMARKS:
Diagnostic horizons and features in this pedon include--
Peraquic feature--Positive soil water potential (permanently submerged) at the soil surface. (under 2 meters of salt water).
Particle-size control section--The zone from 0 to 100 cm (0 to 40 inches). Ochric epipedon--The zone from 0 to 18 cm (Aseg and upper Cseg1 horizon).
Sulfidic materials--from 0 to 200 cm (Aseg and Cseg horizons).
Fluventic Feature--Soil organic carbon content of greater than 0.2 percent at a depth of 125 cm
N-value >.07--The zone from 0 to 100 cm (A and Cseg1 horizons).
Taxonomic version--Keys to Soil Taxonomy, 13th edition (2022)

ADDITIONAL DATA:
Characterization data for the typical pedon, S2004RI009001, and additional pedon data, S2004RI009002 analyzed by the University of Rhode Island. Additional pedon data include S2005RI009004, S2005RI009005, and S2005RI009013 analyzed by the KSSL, Lincoln, NE.

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National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.