LOCATION SHIOYA GU+ MP PBEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Carbonatic, isohyperthermic Typic Ustipsamments
TYPICAL PEDON: Shioya loamy sand, on a 2 percent easterly slope under a forest of Leucaena leucocephala. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated. Textures are apparent field textures.)
A1--0 to 6 inches; dark brown (10YR 3/3) loamy sand, grayish brown (10YR 5/2) dry, with few very fine pockets of very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2); single grained; loose, nonsticky and nonplastic; many very fine and fine and few medium roots; many interstitial pores; about 5 percent fine gravel with an occasional cobble; moderately saline; violently effervescent; slightly alkaline (pH 7.8); clear smooth boundary. (2 to 6 inches thick).
A2--6 to 10 inches; brown (10YR 4/3) loamy sand, brown (10YR 5/3) dry, with a few thin discontinuous streaks of very pale brown (10YR 7/3); single grained; loose, nonsticky and nonplastic; common very fine and few fine roots; many interstitial pores; about 5 percent fine gravel with an occasional cobble; moderately saline; violently effervescent; slightly alkaline (pH 7.8); abrupt boundary. (0 to 6 inches thick)
C1--10 to 24 inches; very pale brown (10YR 7/3) and very pale brown (10YR 7/4) sand, with an irregular, wedge-shaped krotovina of brown (10YR 4/3), 4 inches wide in the upper part; massive; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; few very fine roots; many interstitial pores; about 5 percent fine gravel with an occasional cobble; strongly saline; violently effervescent; sand grains are very weakly cemented by carbonate filaments visible under a hand lens; few fine light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) organic stains near boundary with A horizon; moderately alkaline (pH 8.3); diffuse boundary. (0 to 20 inches thick)
C2--24 to 43 inches; very pale brown (10YR 7/3) sand; massive; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; many interstitial pores; about 5 percent gravel and 5 percent cobbles; strongly saline; violently effervescent; sand grains are very weakly cemented by carbonate filaments visible under a hand lens; moderately alkaline (pH 8.3); diffuse boundary. (8 to 39 inches thick)
C3--43 to 60 inches; very pale brown (10YR 8/3) and very pale brown (10YR 8/4) sand, colors vary with individual grains; massive; slightly hard, friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; many interstitial pores; about 5 percent gravel and 5 percent cobbles; strongly saline; violently effervescent; sand grains are weakly cemented by filaments and coatings of carbonates, visible under a hand lens; moderately alkaline (pH 8.4).
TYPE LOCATION: Guam; about 250 feet west of the unvegetated beachline, about l,300 feet south of Togcha cemetery; lat. 13 degrees 22 minutes 50 seconds N. and long. 144 degrees 46 minutes 16 seconds E.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil moisture - Usually dry in the soil moisture control section for 90 to 120 cumulative days, primarily between February and May. The moisture control section is usually moist from July through November.
Mean annual soil temperature - 77 to 86 degrees F., with less than 4 degrees F. variation between summer and winter.
Depth to contrasting material - Dominantly greater than 60 inches to very gravelly sand, coralline limestone or indurated sand, but ranges to 40 inches.
A horizon
Total thickness: 2 to 12 inches.
Color: 10YR 2/1, 3/1, 3/2, 3/3, 4/2, 4/3, 5/2.
Texture: Dominantly loamy sand, ranges to sand and sandy loam.
Rock fragments: 1 to 10 percent gravel, 0 to 5 percent cobbles.
C horizon
Color: 10YR 6/4, 7/2, 7/3, 7/4, 7/6, 8/3, 8/4, 2.5Y 7/2, 7/4, depending on the color of individual sand grains.
Texture: Dominantly sand, some strata of loamy sand.
Rock fragments above 40 inches: 2 to 10 percent gravel, 0 to 10 percent cobbles, individual strata contain up to 20 percent gravel. Rock fragments below 40 inches: 2 to 20 percent gravel, 0 to 10 percent cobbles, individual strata contain up to 30 percent gravel and cobbles.
Other features: Buried A horizons are in some pedons. Weak carbonate cementation is not present in all pedons. Some areas are affected by an oceanic water table, below 40 inches during periods of high tide.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Jaucas and Puuone series in the same family, and Catano and Ngedebus series in similar families. Jaucas soils have darker surface horizons and have sand-textured horizons. Puuone soils have a cemented C horizon above 60 inches. Catano and Ngedebus soils have udic moisture regimes.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Level to gently sloping coastal strand areas. Slopes range from 0 to 5 percent. These soils formed in water-deposited coral sand. Mean annual precipitation is about 85 inches, most of which falls between June and November. Mean annual temperature is 79 degrees F., with less than 4 degrees F. difference between mean winter and mean summer temperatures. Elevation ranges from sea level to 30 feet.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Chinen, Guam, Inarajan, and Pulantat soils. All of these soils are clayey.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Excessively drained; very low runoff; rapid permeability. This soil is subject to flooding from wave action during typhoons.
USE AND VEGETATION: This soil is used mainly for recreation, wildlife habitat and urban development. A few areas are farmed. Vegetation is mainly strand forest.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands. This series is inextensive.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Davis, California
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Guam; July 1985.
REMARKS: Carbonatic mineralogy is assumed.
ADDITIONAL DATA: The pH, organic carbon, and electrical conductivity data were run by the University of Guam Soils Laboratory.
Taxonomic Version: Keys to Soil Taxonomy, 10th edition 2006.