LOCATION POPASH FLEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy, siliceous, active, hyperthermic Grossarenic Endoaqualfs
TYPICAL PEDON: Popash mucky fine sand--pasture. (Colors are for moist soil.)
A1--0 to 10 inches; black (10YR 2/1) mucky fine sand; weak medium granular structure; friable; many fine roots; few medium faint dark gray (10YR 4/1) sand pockets; about 10 percent organic matter; moderately acid; gradual smooth boundary.
A2--10 to 21 inches; very dark gray (10YR 3/1) fine sand; weak fine granular structure; friable; many fine roots; common medium faint dark gray (10YR 4/1) and few coarse faint gray (10YR 5/1) sand pockets; about 5 percent organic matter; moderately acid; clear wavy boundary. (Combined thickness of the A horizon ranges from 10 to 20 inches.)
Eg1--21 to 32 inches; light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) fine sand; single grained; loose; few fine and medium faint very dark gray (10YR 3/1) and dark gray (10YR 4/1) stains along old root channels; many fine roots; slightly acid; gradual wavy boundary.
Eg2--32 to 52 inches; grayish brown (10YR 5/2) fine sand; single grained; loose; many fine roots; few fine and medium faint dark gray (10YR 4/1) and very dark gray (10YR 3/1) stains along old root channels; slightly acid; gradual wavy boundary. (Combined thickness of the Eg horizon ranges from 25 to 60 inches.)
Btg--52 to 80 inches; light brownish gray (2.5Y 6/2) sandy loam; weak coarse subangular blocky structure; slightly plastic; sand grains bridged and coated with clay, few uncoated sand grains; few fine faint dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) and few fine distinct light olive brown (2.5Y 5/4) masses of iron accumulation; neutral.
TYPE LOCATION: Hardee County, Florida; approximately 2.0 miles west of Wauchula; SE 1/4, SE 1/4, SW 1/4, Sec. 6; T. 34 S., R. 25 E.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Solum thickness is 80 or more inches. Soil reaction ranges from extremely acid to slightly acid in the A and Eg horizons and from moderately acid to neutral in the Btg horizon. The base saturation is more than 35 percent at depths of 50 inches below the top of the argillic horizon.
Some areas have a layer of muck less than 3 inches thick on the surface. Where present, it has hue of 5YR to 10YR, value of 2 or 3, and chroma of 1 or 2. Texture is muck.
The A horizon has hue of 10YR to 5Y, value of 2 or 3, and chroma of 1 or less. Texture is mucky fine sand, mucky sand, mucky loamy sand, fine sand, sand, or loamy sand.
The Eg horizon has hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 2 or less. Redoximorphic accumulations in shades of brown or yellow range from none to common. Some pedons have thin tongues of material in shades of gray to black extending from the A horizon in shades of gray to black. Texture is sand or fine sand.
The Btg horizon has hue of 10YR to 5Y, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 2 or less. Redoximorphic features in shades of brown, yellow, or gray range from none to common. Texture is sandy loam, fine sandy loam, or sandy clay loam.
COMPETING SERIES: The Holopaw and Malabar series are in the same family and the closely related Lokosee series is in the subactive family. The very poorly to poorly drained Holopaw soils are on similar to higher positions and have a substratum within 80 inches of the surface. Malabar soils are on similar positions but have cambic horizons above the argillic horizon. The poorly drained Lokosee soils are on slightly higher positions.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Popash soils are in depressional areas in the lower Coastal Plain. Slopes range from 0 to 2 percent. They formed in sandy and loamy marine sediments. The climate is humid subtropical. The average annual precipitation ranges from 50 to 60 inches, and the average annual temperature ranges from 70 to 74 degrees F.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These include competing Holopaw, Malabar, and Lokosee series and the Delray, Felda, Floridana, Manatee, Placid, Pompano, and Wabasso series. Delray soils are on similar positions and have a mollic epipedon. The poorly and very poorly drained Felda soils are on similar positions and have sandy surface and subsurface horizons 20 to 40 inches in thickness. Floridana and Manatee soils are Mollisols and are on similar positions. In addition, Floridana soils have sandy surface and subsurface layers of 20 to 40 inches in thickness and Manatee soils have coarse-loamy control sections. Placid and Pompano soils are on similar to lower positions and are sandy throughout. In addition, Placid soils have umbric epipedons. The poorly or very poorly drained Wabasso soils are on similar to higher positions and have spodic horizons.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Very poorly drained; rapid permeability in the A and Eg horizons and slow or very slow permeability in the Btg horizon.
USE AND VEGETATION: Most areas of Popash soils are in its natural state and used for wildlife habitat. Where water control is adequate, it is used for improved pasture, cabbage, tomatoes, sweet corn, and green beans and other truck crops. The natural vegetation consists of southern bayberry, pickerelweed, sedges, reeds, water tolerant grasses, and widely spaced cypress, bay, and tupelo trees.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Peninsular Florida. The series is of moderate extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Auburn, Alabama.
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Hardee County, Florida, 1981.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon:
Umbric epipedon the zone from 0 to 21 inches (A1 and A2 horizons).
Grossarenic feature the zone from 0 to 52 inches (A1, A2, Eg1, and Eg2 horizons).
Argillic horizon the zone from 52 to 80 inches (Btg horizon).
Popash soils were formerly included with the Delray soils. Soil samples from the lab showed the base saturation to be less than 50 percent in the surface layer.
The water table is above the surface for more than 6 months in most years. It is within 12 inches of the surface for most of the remainder of the year.