LOCATION LONGSHOAL NCEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Euic, thermic Typic Haplosaprists
TYPICAL PEDON: Longshoal mucky peat, salt water marsh--wildlife habitat.
(Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)
Oe--0 to 12 inches; dark reddish brown (5YR 2/2) broken face and rubbed, mucky peat; about 55 percent fiber unrubbed, 30 percent fiber rubbed; massive; friable; slightly fluid; many fine and medium roots; strong sulfur odor; moderately acid; gradual smooth boundary. (0 to 12 inches thick)
Oa1--12 to 30 inches; dark reddish brown (5YR 2/2) broken face and rubbed, muck; about 40 percent fiber unrubbed, 15 percent fibers rubbed; massive; moderately fluid; slightly sticky; many fine and medium roots; strong sulfur odor; neutral; gradual smooth boundary.
Oa2--30 to 80 inches; very dark brown (10YR 2/2) broken face and rubbed, muck; about 45 percent fibers unrubbed, 10 percent rubbed; massive; friable; moderately fluid; few fine and medium roots; strong sulfur odor; neutral. (Combined thickness of the Oa is 39 to 51 inches thick.)
TYPE LOCATION: Hyde County, North Carolina; in Swanquarter about 0.7 mile west of the intersection of Secondary Road 1136 and North Carolina Highway 45, 100 feet north of Secondary Road 1136, in marsh; Swanquarter USGS topographic quadrangle; lat. 35 degrees 24 minutes 15 seconds N. and long. 76 degrees 20 minutes 20 seconds W.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Thickness of the underlying material and depth to bedrock is more than 60 inches. Depth to mineral layers is more than 51 inches. Reaction ranges from very strongly acid to moderately alkaline. Upon drying reaction is slightly lower. Sodium Absorption Ratio (SAR) is more than 13. Longshoal soils are strongly saline and electrical conductivity is more than 16 millimhos per centimeter.
The organic materials in the surface tier (the Oe or Oa horizon from 0-12 inches) have hue of 5YR to 10YR, value of 2 to 4, and chroma of 1 or 2. It is mucky peat or muck. The fiber content after rubbing is less than about 40 percent. Some pedons have mineral overwash layers 2 to 10 inches thick. Some pedons have thin (less than 5 inches thick) layers of fibric material (peat).
The organic materials in the subsurface tier (the Oa horizon from 12 to 36 inches) and the bottom tier (from 36 to 51 inches) have hue of 5YR to 10YR, value of 2 or 3, and chroma of 1 or 2. It is muck. The fiber content after rubbing is less than about 15 percent. Some pedons have thin (less than 5 inches thick) strata of loamy or sandy material.
The Ag or Cg horizons, where present, have hue of 5YR to 5BG, value of 2 to 5, and chroma of 1 or 2, or hue of N, value of 2 to 5. Texture is sandy, loamy, or clayey.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Hobonny, Joice, and Rindge series. Hobonny soils are directly influenced by freshwater and have SAR of less than 13. Joice and Rindge soils have mean annual precipitation of less than 20 inches and are along coastal areas of California.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Longshoal soils are on low-lying brackish marshes of the Lower Coastal Plain. They formed in a mixture of herbaceous plant remains underlain by marine and fluvial sediments. These soils are subject to wind tides and storm surges. Elevation typically is at sea level, and is 2 feet or less. Slope is 1 percent or less. The mean annual air temperature ranges from 57 to 70 degrees F., the frost free season ranges from 215 to 250 days, and the average annual precipitation ranges from 46 to 58 inches.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Acredale, Argent, Backbay, Brookman, Delway, and the Hydeland series. Except for Delway, all of these are mineral soils and are at higher elevations. Delway soils have organic layers 16 to 51 inches thick.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Very poorly drained soils with moderately rapid permeability. Surface runoff is very slow to ponded. The water level is at or above the soil surface throughout the year. Wind tides and storm tides may cause inundation of up to 5 feet.
USE AND VEGETATION: These soils are used for wetland wildlife habitat. The vegetation is water tolerant herbaceous plants and includes marshhay cordgrass, switchgrass, saltmarsh bulrush, saltmarsh cordgrass, saltmeadow cordgrass, olney bulrush, big cordgrass, and needlegrass rush (black needlerush).
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Coastal marshes in North Carolina and possibly South Carolina and Virginia. The series is of small extent.
MLRA OFFICE RESPONSIBLE: Raleigh, North Carolina
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Hyde County, North Carolina; 1996.
REMARKS: Longshoal soils were previously mapped with the Lafitte series (LA). The Lafitte series was reclassified as loamy, mixed, euic, hyperthermic Terric Medisaprists.
Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon:
Histic epipedon - the zone from the surface to a depth of 16 inches. (Oe and upper Oa1 horizon)
Aquic conditions - endosaturation; observed water table throughout all layers to a depth of 80 inches.
MLRA = 153B
ADDITIONAL DATA: Reference data is available from the Soil Survey Laboratory, Lincoln, NE for the following pedons: S89NC-095-004; S89NC-095-005; and S89NC-095-006
TABULAR SERIES DATA:
SOI-5 Soil Name Slope Airtemp FrFr/Seas Precip Elevation NC0295 LONGSHOAL 0- 1 57- 70 215-250 46- 58 0- 2SOI-5 FloodL FloodH Watertable Kind Months Bedrock Hardness NC0295 FREQ - APPARENT - 60-60
SOI-5 Depth Texture 3-Inch No-10 Clay% -CEC- NC0295 0-80 MPT MUCK 0- 0 - - 50- 95
SOI-5 Depth -pH- O.M. Salin Permeab Shnk-Swll NC0295 0-80 4.5- 8.4 30-70 16-70 2.0- 20 LOW