LOCATION URSULA PR
Established Series
SRT/ASR/RBT
11/2021
URSULA SERIES
MLRA(s): 273
MLRA Soil Survey Regional Office (SSRO) Responsible: Raleigh, North Carolina
Depth Class: Very deep
Drainage Class: Very poorly drained
Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity: Moderately low to moderately high
Parent Material: Fine fluviomarine deposits
Slope: 0 to 1 percent
Mean Annual Air Temperature: 26 degrees C. (79 degrees F.)
Mean Annual Precipitation: 1041 millimeters (41 inches)
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine, mixed, superactive, nonacid, isohyperthermic Typic Sulfaquents
TYPICAL PEDON: Ursula muck-wildlife habitat. (Colors are for moist soil.)
Oase--0 to 10 centimeters (0 to 4 inches); black (N 2.5/) muck; 20 percent unrubbed and 9 percent rubbed fiber content; H9 von Post; strong sulfurous odor; moderately alkaline (pH 8.0); very abrupt smooth boundary.
Cseg1--10 to 23 centimeters (4 to 9 inches); dark greenish gray (10Y 3/1) silty clay; moderate sulfurous odor; massive; firm, very sticky, very plastic; moderately alkaline (pH 8.0); clear smooth boundary.
Cseg2--23 to 64 centimeters (9 to 25 inches); dark greenish gray (10Y 4/1) silty clay; 1 percent fine dark olive brown (2.5Y 3/3), masses of oxidized iron in the matrix and 10 percent medium greenish gray (5G 5/1), masses of reduced iron in the matrix; moderate sulfurous odor; massive; firm, very sticky, very plastic; moderately alkaline (pH 8.0); clear smooth boundary.
Cseg3--64 to 109 centimeters (25 to 43 inches); 50 percent greenish gray (10Y 5/1) and 50 percent dark greenish gray (5G 4/1) clay; 1 percent fine and medium dark olive brown (2.5Y 3/3), masses of oxidized iron in the matrix and 1 percent fine and medium olive (5Y 4/3), masses of oxidized iron in the matrix; moderate sulfurous odor; massive; firm, very sticky, very plastic; moderately alkaline (pH 8.0); clear smooth boundary.
Cseg4--109 to 203 centimeters (43 to 80 inches); dark greenish gray (10Y 4/1) broken face clay; 1 percent fine and medium greenish gray (5GY 5/1), masses of reduced iron in the matrix; 5 percent shell fragments; slight sulfurous odor; massive; firm, very sticky, very plastic; moderately alkaline (pH 8.0); clear smooth boundary.
TYPE LOCATION: Salinas Municipality, Jobos Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve property. Approximately 695 feet southeast at bearing 128.69 degrees from observation tower south of Jagueyes trail and approximately 1,711 feet southwest at bearing 207.87 degrees from the intersection at Jagueyes trail. OSD location can be accessed bordering the tidal flat from the end of Jagueyes trail. Latitude: 17 degrees 56 minutes 59.70 seconds north, Longitude: 66 degrees 15 minutes 20.60 seconds west WGS 84.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Depth of organic material: 0 to less than 20 centimeters (0 to 8 inches)
Depth to seasonally high water table: 0 to 15 centimeters (0 to 6 inches)
Soil Reaction: Moderately alkaline throughout
Sulfurous odor: Slight to strong throughout and odor intensity decreases with depth
Salinity: Ranges from 32 to 100 ppt but averages 60 to 70 ppt
Range of Individual Horizons:
Oase horizon, where present:
Color-Hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 2 or 3, and chroma of 1 or 2.
Texture--muck
Ase horizon, where present:
Color-Hue of 10YR to 5Y or neutral, value of 2 to 4, and chroma of 1 or 2.
Texture-Clay or silty clay with mucky analogs.
Shell fragments-0 to less than 15 percent
Cseg horizon (upper substratum):
Color-hue of 2.5Y, 5GY, 10Y or 10GY, value of 4 or 5 and chroma of 1 or 2.
Redoximorphic features range from 0 to 10 percent
Texture-clay or silty clay
Shell fragments-0 to less than 15 percent
Cseg horizon (lower substratum):
Color-hue of 5Y, 5GY, 10Y, or 10GY, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 1.
Redoximorphic features range from 0 to 2 percent
Texture-clay or silty clay
COMPETING SERIES:
Naniak soils have coarser textured materials throughout that developed from volcanic lava and organic deposits in Micronesia
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Landscape: Semiarid coastal plain in southern Puerto Rico (MLRA 273).
Landform: Tidal mangrove swamps and flats in estuaries in and near coastal areas.
Parent Material: Fine fluviomarine deposits
Mean Annual Air Temperature: 22 to 31 degrees C. (71 to 88 degrees F.)
Mean Annual Precipitation: 508 to 1,600 millimeters (20 to 63 inches)
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS:
Boqueron soils do not contain sulfidic soil materials, receive less tidal flooding and occur on slightly higher landscape positions.
Manglillo and
Mareas soils have thick organic soil horizons and both occupy landscape positions lower in elevation.
San Felipe soils have thick organic soil horizons and occur on similar landscape positions.
Serrano soils have coarser textured horizons and occur on slightly higher landscape positions.
DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY:
Drainage class: Very poorly drained
Saturated hydraulic conductivity (KSAT): Moderately low to moderately high
Flooding frequency and duration: Very frequent for extremely brief duration from tides, these areas are subject to flooding by storm surge and hurricanes
USE AND VEGETATION:
Major Uses: Water quality, water storage, and wildlife habitat. Significant portions of these soils are in nature preserves with some areas used for harvesting crabs.
Dominant Vegetation: Consists of black mangrove trees and other halophytic plants
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Coastal areas of Puerto Rico (MLRA 273). The series is of small extent.
SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (SSRO) RESPONSIBLE: Raleigh, North Carolina.
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Puerto Rico Soil Survey (Roberts, 1942), was inactive but reactivated in 2021.
REMARKS:
Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon include:
1. Sapric soil material - the zone from 0 to 10 centimeters (0 to 4 inches, Oase horizon).
2. Ochric epipedon - the zone from 0 to 10 centimeters (0 to 4 inches, Oase horizon).
3. Peraquic feature - tidal brackish water at or above the soil surface throughout the year and endosaturation ranges from 0 to 203 centimeters (0 to 80 inches).
4. Sulfidic feature - the zone from 0 to 203 centimeters (0 to 80 inches) contains sulfidic soil materials.
National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.