LOCATION TORRES PREstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine, kaolinitic, isohyperthermic Plinthic Palehumults
TYPICAL PEDON: Torres loamy sand - pasture. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)
Ap--0 to 10 inches; very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) loamy sand; single grained; loose; nonsticky, nonplastic; common fine roots; few fine black concretions; strongly acid; gradual smooth boundary. (8 to 12 inches thick)
A11--10 to 21 inches; dark brown (10YR 3/3) loamy sand; weak coarse subangular blocky structure; very friable, nonsticky, nonplastic, few fine roots; few fine black concretions; strongly acid; gradual smooth boundary. (8 to 14 inches thick)
A12--21 to 28 inches; dark brown (10YR 3/3) sandy loam; weak coarse subangular blocky structure; very friable, nonsticky, nonplastic; common fine black concretions; strongly acid; abrupt smooth boundary. (6 to 10 inches thick)
B21t--28 to 36 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/8) clay with few fine prominent red (10R 4/8) mottles; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; firm, sticky, plastic; thin clay films along surfaces of peds; few sand sized quartz grains; strongly acid; gradual smooth boundary. (6 to 10 inches thick)
B22t--36 to 43 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/8) clay with common medium prominent red (10R 4/6) mottles; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; firm, sticky, plastic; thin clay films on faces of peds; few sand sized quartz grains; strongly acid; gradual smooth boundary. (6 to 10 inches thick)
B23t 43 to 64 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/8) clay with common medium prominent dark red (10R 3/6) and few medium prominent light gray (5Y 7/1) mottles; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; firm, sticky, plastic; thin continuous clay films on faces of peds; few fine quartz grains; strongly acid.
TYPE LOCATION: San Juan SCD, Puerto Rico, 0.15 miles on a dirt road south of kilometer marker 25.5 of highway No. 2, and 60 feet west of the dirt road.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Thickness of the solum is over 60 inches. The soil is strongly or very strongly acid.
The A horizons have colors in hues of 10YR or 7.5 YR, values of 3, and chromas of 2 to 4 inclusive. They range from sand to sandy loam inclusive. Black concretions in these horizons have matrix colors in hues of 10YR, 7.5YR, or 5YR, values of 4 through 6, and chromas of 6 through 8. Mottles range from few to common, from fine to medium, and are red or dark red.
Gray mottles are usually in the lower B horizon. The B horizons are dominantly clay. Structure is moderate or strong subangular blocky and clay films are thin patchy or thin continuous.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Aceitunas, Guanajibo, Guerrero, Jobos, Vega Alta, and Yunque series. The Aceitunas soils lack plinthite. The Guanajibo, Guerrero, Jobos, and Vega Alta soils have lower organic matter content in the upper B horizon. The Guanajibo, Jobos, and Vega Alta soils have thinner B horizons. The Yunque soils lack plinthite and have yellowish brown upper B colors and hues become redder with depth.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: The Torres soils occur in gently sloping coastal plains and trapped valleys among the haystack hills, on slope gradients of 2 to 5 percent. The soil formed in iron rich, fine textured sediments overlain by coarser textured sediments high in quartz grains. The climate is humid subtropical. The average annual precipitation varies from 60 to 80 inches and the mean annual temperature from 76 to 79 degrees F.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the competing Vega Alta and the Almirante, Bayamon, and Matanzas soils, all of which occur in the humid coastal plains. The Almirante soils lack the thick, dark sandy A horizons. The Bayamon and Matanzas soils have redder colors throughout and lower cation exchange capacity and lack the thick sandy surface layers.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Excessively drained; slow runoff; rapid permeability in the surface and moderate in the subsoil.
USE AND VEGETATION: Most of the acreage is in native pasture. Small areas are used for food crops.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Humid coastal plains and valleys between limestone hills. The series is of minor extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Raleigh, North Carolina
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Soil Survey of Puerto Rico; 1942.
REMARKS: The Torres soils were formerly classified in the Reddish-Brown Lateritic great soil group. The concept of the series has been refined to comprise soils with plinthite and thick coarse textured surface horizons.