LOCATION MATUNUCK RI+MA MD NH NYEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Sandy, mixed, mesic Typic Sulfaquents
TYPICAL PEDON: Matunuck mucky peat - salt grass tidal marsh, undrained. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise noted.)
Oe--0 to 12 inches; very dark gray (10YR 3/1) mucky peat, dark gray (10YR 6/1) dry; 65 percent fiber, 25 percent rubbed; dense mat of roots, stems, and leaves; massive; many very fine, fine, and medium roots; fibers herbaceous; admixtures of fine and medium sand; 55 percent organic matter; total salts 25,000 ppm; slightly acid; abrupt smooth boundary. (8 to 16 inches thick)
Cg1--12 to 18 inches; gray (10YR 5/1) sand, gray (5Y 6/1) dry; thin lenses of very dark grayish brown organic materials; single grain; loose; common fine and medium roots; total salts 20,000 ppm; neutral; clear wavy boundary. (0 to 10 inches thick)
Cg2--18 to 72 inches; gray (2.5Y 5/1) sand, gray (5Y 6/1) dry; single grain; loose; total salts 20,000 ppm; neutral.
TYPE LOCATION: Washington County, Rhode Island; town of Narragansett, 0.6 mile east of the village of Galilee and 200 feet north of Galilee Road.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Thickness of the organic surface layer and depth to the sandy materials range from 8 to 16 inches. Reaction ranges from strongly acid through mildly alkaline. Total salt content is generally more than 10,000 ppm, but ranges from 1,000 to 40,000 ppm.
The 0 horizon is neutral or has hue of 5YR through 5Y, value of 2 through 4, and chroma of 0 through 2. It is typically hemic materials, but some pedons have fibric or sapric materials. Fiber content ranges from 25 to 80 percent, rubbed fiber content ranges from 10 to 50 percent. Organic matter content ranges from 20 to 90 percent.
The C horizon is neutral or has hue of 10YR through 5GY, value of 2 through 7, and chroma of 0 through 4. Texture ranges from loamy sand through very coarse sand. Some pedons have up to 10 inches of fine sandy loam or sandy loam in the upper part of the horizon. Organic matter content ranges from 0 to 10 percent. The C horizon has 0 to 10 percent gravel by volume. Shell fragments and herbaceous fibers are common in most pedons.
COMPETING SERIES: Matunuck series is the only series in this family. The Handsboro, Ipswich, Pawcatuck, and Westbrook series are similar soils in related families. Handsboro and Ipswich soils have organic materials thicker than 51 inches. Pawcatuck and Westbrook soils are underlain by mineral materials at a depth of 16 to 51 inches.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Matunuck soils are level soils in tidal marshes along the Atlantic Ocean. They are subject to tidal flooding twice daily except, in areas protected by dikes and tide gates. Matunuck soils formed in thick sand deposits with organic surfaces. Mean annual temperature ranges from 45 to 55 degrees F., and mean annual precipitation ranges from 40 to 50 inches.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the competing Ipswich, Pawcatuck, and Westbrook soils also of tidal marsh areas. They are near a wide variety of inland soils formed in glacial drift or marine deposited mineral materials.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Very poorly drained. Runoff is very slow. Permeability is rapid in the organic surface horizon and very rapid in the underlying sands. Unless protected, these soils are flooded by tidewaters twice daily.
USE AND VEGETATION: Most areas are in salt marsh and provide food and habitat for fish, shellfish, and wildfowl. Small scattered areas are used for saltgrass hay. The most common grasses are salt meadowgrass, salt water grass, and spike grass. Other vegetation includes blackgrass, sea lavender, saltwort, seaside goldenrod, aster, and purple gerardi. In areas where total salt content is below 10,000 ppm, vegetation consists principally of tall reeds and sedges.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and New York. The series is of small extent.
MLRA OFFICE RESPONSIBLE: Amherst, Massachusetts
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Washington County, Rhode Island, 1977.
REMARKS: Matunuck soils were formerly mapped as Tidal marsh, undifferentiated. Some of the Matunuck soils are classified and mapped at the Great Group level. Matunuck soils have also been included with Sulfihemists in mapping. These soils become extremely acid when drained.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
1. Histic epipedon - the zone from 0 to 12 inches (Oe horizon).
2. Sandy particle-size class - the control section from 12 to 42 inches (C horizon).
3. Sulfaquents feature - sulfidic materials are within 50 cm of the mineral soil surface.
ADDITIONAL DATA: Refer to publication "Tidal Marshes of Connecticut and Rhode Island," Hill, D.E. and Shearin, A.E., Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station Bulletin 709, Feb. 1970.