This subaqueous soil is on lake beds
and kettle ponds. Wickford soils are formed in highly decomposed organic
materials overlying glacial till, outwash, or lacustrine material.
Mapped areas are irregular in shape and range from 0.5 to 55 hectares (1
to 136 acres). Slope ranges from 0 to 3 percent. Some areas have
Typically, this soil has a highly decomposed organic surface layer, 40
to 130 cm thick. The substratum is dark gray or grayish brown silt loam,
sandy loam, loamy sand, or sandy glacial deposits. Some areas have large
stumps of Atlantic White Cedar trees emergent and submerged.
This soil is permanently submerged with up to 3 meters of fresh water.
All horizons have a pH of less than 4.5. Phosphorus concentration in the
upper 10 cm ranges from 31.7 to 774.2 ppm with a mean of 356.5 ppm.
Carbon pools in the upper meter of Wickford soils range from 232 to 641
Mg C ha-� with a mean of 434 Mg C ha-�.
Included with this soil in mapping are small areas of Tuckertown soils
in areas with deeper organic layers. Small areas of Shannock, Aquapaug,
and Burlingame soils may also be included in areas where glacial parent
materials are closer to the surface. Included areas make up about 15
percent of this map unit.
Fishing and recreational boating are common in the areas within this map
unit. Most areas are vegetated with native and invasive submerged
aquatic vegetation including white pond lily, yellow pond lily,
bladderwort, native milfoil, fanwort, and variable milfoil. Turtles are
commonly found in areas with emergent stumps.
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