LOCATION SERRANO PR

Established Series
SRT/ASR/RBT
06/2022

SERRANO SERIES

MLRA(s): 273
MLRA Soil Survey Regional Office (SSRO) Responsible: Raleigh, North Carolina
Depth Class: Very deep
Drainage Class: Poorly drained
Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity: High or very high
Parent Material: fine-loamy over sandy or sandy-skeletal fluviomarine deposits
Slope: 0 to 2 percent
Mean Annual Air Temperature: 26 degrees C. (79 degrees F.)
Mean Annual Precipitation: 686 millimeters (27 inches)

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy over sandy or sandy-skeletal, mixed, superactive, nonacid, isohyperthermic Sulfic Endoaquepts

TYPICAL PEDON: Serrano sand--naturalized pastureland (Colors are for moist soil unless stated otherwise).

A--0 to 10 centimeters (0 to 4 inches); very dark grayish brown (2.5Y 3/2) sand; single grain; loose; nonsticky, nonplastic; many fine roots; few fine faint dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) areas of iron depletions; violently effervescent (HCl); very strongly alkaline; clear smooth boundary.

Ag--10 to 23 centimeters (4 to 9 inches); very dark grayish brown (2.5Y 3/2) loamy sand; single grain; loose; nonsticky, nonplastic; common fine roots; about 10 percent, by volume, coarse fragments; common faint dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) areas of iron depletions and many fine distinct black (N 2/) masses of iron-manganese; violently effervescent (HCl); very strongly alkaline; clear smooth boundary. (Combined thickness of the A horizons range from 18 to 30 centimeters, 7 to 12 inches)

Bseg--23 to 36 centimeters (9 to 14 inches); dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) sandy clay loam; weak fine subangular blocky structure; firm; slightly sticky, plastic; about 10 percent, by volume, coarse fragments; many distinct dark greenish gray (5GY 4/1) areas of iron depletions and brown (10YR 4/3) masses of iron accumulation; violently effervescent (HCl); very strongly alkaline; slight sulfurous odor; clear smooth boundary. (10 to 20 centimeters, 4 to 8 inches thick)

Cseg1--36 to 53 centimeters (14 to 21 inches); very dark grayish brown (2.5Y 3/2) loamy sand; single grain; loose; nonsticky, nonplastic; about 10 percent, by volume, coarse fragments; many medium distinct brown (10YR 4/3) masses of iron accumulations and many fine distinct very dark gray (5Y 3/1) areas of iron depletions; violently effervescent(HCl); very strongly alkaline; slight sulfurous odor; clear smooth boundary.

Cseg2--53 to 203 centimeters (21 to 80 inches); very dark gray (5Y 3/1) sand; single grain; loose; nonsticky, nonplastic; about 10 percent, by volume, coarse fragments; violently effervescent (HCl); strongly alkaline. slight sulfurous odor.

TYPE LOCATION: Ponce Municipality, Puerto Rico. Approximately 2.1 miles southeast from the intersection of P.R. Hwy 2 and P.R. Hwy 12, about 0.9 mile southeast of Santa Cruz community, about 1,600 feet southeast from dirt road in a pasture. USGS Playa de Ponce topographic quadrangle, Puerto Rico (1964). Lat. 17 degrees 58 minutes 41 seconds N.; long 66 degrees 34 minutes 56 seconds W.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Solum thickness: Ranges from 28 to 51 centimeters (11 to 20 inches)
Depth to seasonally high water table: Ranges from 10 to 36 cm (4 to 14 inches) below the surface
Rock fragments: Content of volcanic fragments range from 5 to 15 percent, by volume in the A and Bseg horizons, and from 10 to 80 percent, by volume in the Cseg horizon.
Reaction: moderately alkaline to very strongly alkaline throughout
Oxidized pH: Ultra to extremely acid
Sulfurous odor: Slight throughout starting in Bseg horizon and intensity slightly decreases with depth

Range of Individual Horizons:
A or Ag horizon:
Color: Hue of 10YR to 5Y, value of 3 to 6, and chroma of 1 to 3
Redoximorphic features: Shades of brown and black range from none to common
Texture: Sand, loamy sand, sandy loam, or their gravelly analogs

Bseg horizon:
Color: Hue of 10YR to 5GY, value of 3 to 6, and chroma of 1 or 2; or there is no dominant color and it is multicolored in shades of gray, brown, and yellow.
Redoximorphic features: Shades of brown, gray, and yellow range from few to many
Texture: Sandy loam, loam or sandy clay loam

Cseg horizon:
Color: Hue of 10YR to 5G, value of 3 or 4, and chroma of 1 or 2
Redoximorphic features: Shades of brown, gray, and yellow range from few to many
Texture: Sand or loamy sand and loam in the upper Cseg horizon

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

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Landscape: Coastal plain of semiarid south coast 273
Landform: Tidal flats near coastline or estuaries
Parent material: fine-loamy over sandy or sandy-skeletal fluviomarine deposits.
Mean Annual Air Temperature: 26 to 30 degrees C. (79 to 86 degrees F.)
Mean Annual Precipitation: 686 to 914 millimeters (27 to 36 inches)

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS:
These are the Boqueron, Coloso, Manglillo, and Redhook series.
Boquern soils--are on similar landscape positions but slightly lower, have more clay in the control section, and do not have cambic horizons.
Coloso soils--are on adjacent flood plains and have more clay in the control section.
Manglillo soils--are on adjacent lower landscape position tidal marshes and are composed of organic soil materials.
Redhook soils--are on higher landscape positions and adjacent vegetated beaches and are sandy skeletal throughout.

DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY:
Drainage class: Poorly drained
Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity: high or very high
Flooding frequency and duration: Very frequent for brief duration

USE AND VEGETATION:
Major uses: Most areas of Serrano soils are used for wildlife habitat
Dominant vegetation: The vegetation consists of mangrove and salt tolerant hydrophytic grasses

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT:
Semiarid Coastal Plain of Puerto Rico (MLRA 273).
The series is of minor extent.

SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (SSRO) RESPONSIBLE: Raleigh, North Carolina.

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Puerto Rico; 1936.

REMARKS:
Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon:
1. Ochric Epipedon - the zone from 0 to 23 cm (0 to 9 inches; A1 and A2 horizons).
2. Cambic horizon - the zone from 23 to 36 cm (9 to 14 inches; Bg horizon)
3. Sulfidic materials - starting at 23 cm (9 inches; at the Bg horizon)
The seasonal high water table ranges from 10 to 36 centimeters (4 to 14 inches) below the surface.

National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.