soil map units where 3A Soso is dominant
Soil properties
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Geographic distribution | All islands |
| Landscape position | Marine marshes in the lowlands and foothills |
| Soil parent material | estuarine alluvium |
| Slope | Flat to near level (0-1°). Commonly hummocky microrelief. |
| Surface outcrops | No surface rock outcrops. No surface stones or boulders. |
| Brief soil profile description | - |
| Soil profile texture | 0-8cm peaty silty clay. 8-67cm clay. 67-95cm silty clay. 95-142cm silty clay loam. 142cm+ loamy fine sand. |
| Minimum effective rooting depth | <40cm. Note high water table and low subsoil nutrient status. |
| Soil pH (acidity) | 0-44cm extremely acid. 44-67cm strongly acid. 67-95cm moderately acid. 95-160cm slightly acid. |
| Salinity | Moderately saline. |
| Soil fertility under natural conditions | Low phosphorus (P). Very low nitrogen (N) below 8cm. |
| Soil moisture regime | aquic |
| Susceptibility to drought | In normal years soil moisture deficits are never experienced. |
| Soil drainage | Very poorly drained. |
| Susceptibility to waterlogging | In normal years the soil is waterlogged permanently below about 40cm though the water fluctuates daily with the tides. |
| Susceptibility to flooding | Water table permanently high and fluctuates with the tides. Not flooded above 30-50cm during normal high tide. Major flooding relates to spring tides and major storm events. |
