LOCATION POCATY VAEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Euic, thermic Typic Sulfisaprists
TYPICAL PEDON: Pocaty peat - in a marsh at about sea level. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated. When described, the soil was saturated to the surface.)
0i--0 to 12 inches; very dark brown (10YR 2/2) peat (fibric material) comprised of partially decomposed leaves, stems, and roots; about 75 percent fiber rubbed; massive; many fine and medium roots; weak sulfide odor; strongly acid; gradual smooth boundary. (0 to 16 inches thick)
0e--12 to 20 inches; very dark brown (10YR 2/2) mucky peat (hemic material); about 35 percent fiber rubbed; massive; many fine and medium roots; moderate sulfide odor; moderately acid; clear smooth boundary. (6 to 16 inches thick)
0a1--20 to 41 inches; black (10YR 2/1) muck (sapric material); about 15 percent fiber rubbed; massive; common fine and medium roots; flows easily between fingers when squeezed; moderate sulfide odor; slightly acid; clear smooth boundary.
0a2--41 to 48 inches; black (10YR 2/1) muck (sapric material); less than 5 percent fiber rubbed; massive; few fine and medium roots; flows easily between fingers when squeezed; moderate sulfide odor; slightly acid; clear smooth boundary.
0a3--48 to 60 inches; dark gray (10YR 4/1) muck (sapric material); less than 5 percent fiber rubbed; massive; flows easily between fingers when squeezed; moderate sulfide odor; slightly acid; clear smooth boundary. (Combined thickness of the 0a layer ranges from 40 to 80 inches)
2Cg--60 to 80 inches; dark gray (10YR 4/1) silt loam; massive; slightly sticky, non-plastic; flows easily between fingers when squeezed; slightly acid.
TYPE LOCATION: City of Virginia Beach, Virginia; approximately 4,800 feet east of intersection of Indian Creek Road and Blackwater Road, 900 feet north of Milldam Creek.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Thickness of Organic Matter: Greater than 51 inches Mineral strata less than 12 inches thick are in some pedons within the control section.
Depth to Bedrock: Greater than 60 inches
Depth to Seasonal High Water Table: +12 to 0 inches, January to December
Soil Reaction: Very strongly acid through neutral
Sulfur Content: Ranges from 0.75 percent to about 4.0 percent in individual layers within a depth of about 40 inches
Conductivity: Conductivity of the saturation extract of layers at depths below about 6 inches is less than 16 mmho/cm
Oe or Oa horizon upper tier:
Color--hue of 7.5YR through 5Y, value of 2 through 4, and chroma of 1 through 3
Texture--commonly is hemic or fibric, but ranges to sapric (muck) in some pedons
Oa or Oe horizon lower tier:
Color--hue of 7.5YR through 5Y or is neutral, value of 2 through 4, and chroma of 0 through 4
Texture--dominantly sapric (muck) but includes hemic material
2Cg horizon:
Color--hue of 7.5YR through 5Y or is neutral, value of 2 through 6, and chroma of 0 through 4
Texture--commonly is loamy but ranges from sandy to clayey
Redoximorphic features (if they occur)--iron masses in shades of brown, yellow, or red and iron depletions in shades of olive or gray
COMPETING SERIES: There are no known competing series
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Landscape: Coastal Plain
Landform: Marshes along creeks, rivers, and sounds of the Atlantic Coastal Plain. They are regularly flooded by tidal action or irregularly flooded by wind tides throughout the year.
Elevation: 0 to 5 feet above mean sea level
Parent Material: Formed in highly decomposed herbaceous plant materials
Mean Annual Air Temperature: 59 degrees
Mean Annual Precipitation: 45 inches
Frost Free Period: 190 to 240 days
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS:
Currituck soils--very poorly drained soils with organic layers less than 51 inches thick with no sulfidic materials (seasonal high water table 0 to 6 inches)
Rappahannock soils--very poorly drained soils with organic layers less than 51 inches thick (seasonal high water table 0 to 6 inches) on adjacent flood plains
Backbay soils--very poorly drained mineral soils (seasonal high water +12 to 0 inches) on similar landscapes
Chowan soils--poorly drained soils (seasonal high water table 0 to 6 inches) on adjacent flood plains
Dorovan soils--very poorly drained soils (seasonal high water table 0 to 6 inches) on adjacent flood plains
Dragston soils--somewhat poorly drained soils (seasonal high water table 0 to 12 inches) in coarse-loamy family on higher landscapes
Levy soils-very poorly drained soils (seasonal high water table +24 to 0 inches) on similar landscapes
Munden soils--moderately well drained soils (seasonal high water table 18 to 30 inches) in coarse-loamy family on much higher landscapes
Chesapeake soils--well drained soils (seasonal high water table 48 to 72 inches) in fine-loamy family on much higher landscapes
Tetotum soils--moderately well drained soils (seasonal high water table 18 to 30 inches) in fine-loamy family on much higher landscapes
Yeopim soils--moderately well drained soils (seasonal high water table 18 to 36 inches) on much higher landscapes
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY:
Agricultural Drainage Class: Very poorly drained
Permeability: Moderate
USE AND VEGETATION:
Major Uses: Wetland wildlife habitat
Dominant Vegetation: dominantly needlegrass rush (Juncus roemerianus), saltmarsh bulrush (Scripus robustus), big cordgrass (Spartina cynosuroides), narrowleaf cattail (Typha angustifolia), and other aquatic plants. Areas transitional to higher elevations have scattered eastern baccharis (Baccharis halimifolia), southern bayberry (Myrica cerifera), and black willow (Salix nigra) shrubs
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT:
Distribution: Lower Coastal Plain of Virginia and possibly North Carolina
Extent: Moderate
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Raleigh, North Carolina
SERIES ESTABLISHED: City of Virginia Beach, Virginia, 1980.
REMARKS:
ADDITIONAL DATA: Values for sulfur are based on data from the NSSL, Lincoln, NE and a Masters Thesis, Pedogenic Investigation of Tidal Marsh Soils in Virginia, by Gary A. Reusche, VPI & SU, 1975.
TABULAR SERIES DATA:
SOI-5 Soil Name Slope Airtemp FrFr/Seas Precip Elevation VA0169 POCATY 0-1 59- 65 190-240 40- 50 0-5SOI-5 FloodL FloodH Watertable Kind Months Bedrock Hardness VA0169 FREQ 0-1.0 APPARENT JAN-DEC 60-60
SOI-5 Depth Texture 3-Inch No-10 Clay% -CEC- VA0169 0-12 PEAT MPT MUCK - - 0-0 - VA0169 12-20 MPT MUCK - - 0-0 - VA0169 20-60 MUCK - - 0-0 - VA0169 60-80 VAR - - 5-50 -
SOI-5 Depth -pH- O.M. Salin Permeab Shnk-Swll VA0169 0-12 4.5- 7.3 20-60 2-16 2.0-6.0 LOW VA0169 12-20 4.5- 7.3 20-60 2-16 0.6-2.0 LOW VA0169 20-60 4.5- 7.3 20-60 2-16 0.6-2.0 LOW VA0169 60-80 4.5- 7.3 - 0-2 0.06-0.2 LOW