LOCATION ST. LUCIE FLEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Hyperthermic, uncoated Typic Quartzipsamments
TYPICAL PEDON: St. Lucie sand-scrub (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise stated.)
A--0 to 2 inches; gray (10YR 5/1) sand; single grain; loose; few fine and very fine roots; very strongly acid; clear smooth boundary. (1 to 4 inches thick)
C--2 to 80 inches; white (10YR 8/1) sand; single grain; loose; extremely acid.
TYPE LOCATION: Highlands County, Florida; approximately 0.6 miles south of State Road 70 and about 0.4 mile west of the Seaboard Coast Line rail line, Archbold Experiment Station. NW 1/4, SE 1/4, Sec 6, T. 38 S., R. 30 E.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: The sand extends to depths of more than 80 inches and lacks subsurface diagnostic horizons within 7 feet. The silt plus clay content is less than 5 percent. Soil reaction ranges from extremely acid to neutral.
The A or Ap horizon has hue of 10YR, value of 4 to 8, chroma of 1 or 2. Texture is fine sand or sand.
The C horizon has hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 6 to 8, chroma of 1 or 2; or it is neutral with value of 6 to 8. Texture is fine sand or sand.
COMPETING SERIES: These include the Archbold, Astatula, Candler, Neilhurst, Palm Beach, and Tavares series in the same family. The well drained Archbold soils are on slightly lower positions and have a water table at depths of 42 to 80 inches. Astatula soils are on similar positions but have matrix colors of chroma 3 or higher in the C horizon. Candler soils are on similar positions but have lamellae ranging from 1 to 9 mm in thickness between 40 to 80 inches. Neilhurst soils are in rolling ridges and valleys of sandy reclaimed areas and mine spoil. Palm Beach soils are on lower positions that parallel the coast and contain multicolored shells and shell fragments throughout. The moderately well drained Tavares soils are on lower positions and have chroma of 3 or more in the C horizon.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: St. Lucie soils are on dune-like ridges and on isolated knolls. They formed in marine or eolian sand. The climate is humid semitropical. Slopes range from 0 to 20 percent. The average annual air temperature ranges from 72 to 74 degrees F., and the average annual precipitation ranges from 50 to 70 inches.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These include the competing Astatula and Palm Beach series, along with the Basinger, Immokalee, Myakka, Satellite, and Placid series. Basinger, Immokalee, Myakka, Satellite, and Placid soils are on lower adjacent positions. In addition, Basinger, Immokalee, and Myakka soils are poorly and very poorly drained and have spodic horizons, Satellite soils are somewhat poorly drained, and Placid soils are very poorly drained.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Excessively drained; very rapid permeability.
USE AND VEGETATION: Most areas of St. Lucie soil are in scrub forest. Some areas are used for building sites and as a source of sand for concrete. Vegetation is dominated by sand live oak, sand pine, dwarf willow, sawpalmetto, rosemary, pricklypear cactus, and lichens.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Peninsular Florida. The series is of moderate extent.
MLRA OFFICE RESPONSIBLE: Auburn, Alabama.
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Indian River area, Florida; 1913.
REMARKS: Genesis of the St. Lucie soils is not clearly understood. No subsurface diagnostic horizons are within depths of 7 feet, but the uncoated sand grains suggest an albic horizon similar to, but thicker than those of the Pomello and Leon soils. Low chroma colors are not indicative of wetness, and the seasonal water table is more than 72 inches deep.
Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon - the zone from 0 to 2 inches (A horizon)
Uncoated feature - The silt plus clay content is less than 5 percent in the control section.
Additional Data: IFAS Soil Characterization Data: Sample S28-7 is unpublished data. Published are Samples S5-27 and S49-1, Soil Science Research Report number 74-1, and samples S50-20 and S56-10, Soil Science Research Report number 78-1, Characterization Data For Selected Florida Soils. Samples by IFAS, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL.