Appendix 2 Description of Shark Slough Soils

Transect 1, meter 900 (sparse sawgrass):

Soil Description:

·0”-3” – Dark organic 10YR3/1, with broken shells and abundant roots.

·3”-6” – Marl (2.5YR6/2) strongly mixed with organic, with abundant roots.

·6”-9” – Black organic layer (10YR2/1) with many fine dead roots.

Transect 1, meter 1500 (spikerush marsh):

Vegetation:Sagittaria lancifolia, Eleocharis cellulosa, Utricularia purpurea, & Potamogeton illinoensis

Conductivity:0.5 mS/cm/s.

Soil Description:

·0”-3” – Marl suffused with small shells (10YR6/1 to 10YR7/1), overlain by broken-up periphyton floc (color mix of 10YR7/1 and 10YR3/1). Marl includes mixture of fine live and dead roots, spotted with accumulations of organic material. In places, marl is up to 5” in depth, with weak blocky structure.

In spots closer to sawgrass edge, we found the following profile:

·0”-3” – 10YR7/1 marl.

·3”-6” – black peat.

·6”-8” – 2.5YR5/2 marl.

·8”-10” – black organic.

Transect 1, meter 3500 (tall sawgrass):

Soil Depth: 64 cm

Conductivity: 0.5 mS/cm/s.

Soil Description:

0”-5” – Black non-fibrous organic, 10YR2/1, abundant roots.

·5”-14” – Gray (10YR7/1) marl, silt loam texture; abundant roots and rhizomes; frequent shells, especially in contact with organic horizon below.

·14”-22” – Black organic horizon (10YR 2/1), non-fibrous, with dead roots.

·22”-28” – Slightly redder organic (10YR2/2).

Transect 2, meter 500 (sparse sawgrass):

Vegetation: Cladium jamaicense & Eleocharis cellulosa.

Soil depth: 112 cm

Conductivity: 0.5 mS/cm/s.

Soil Description:

·0”-15” – Decomposed organic (10YR3/1); frequent live and dead roots; no shells. Sampled from top 10”.

·15”-30” – Decomposed organic, as above but with occasional shell material. Sampled from 15”-25”.

·30”-39” – Organic (10YR2/2), as above except for color.

Transect 2, meter 1100 (tall sawgrass):

Vegetation: Cladium jamaicense, >2.2 meters tall.

Soil depth: 177 cm

Conductivity: 0.4 mS/cm/s.

Soil Description:

·0”-70” – Entire profile uniformly non-fibrous organic, brown (10YR3/2) in color. Live roots in first 10”. Some broad-leaved plant material at 40”-50”. Rock broken at limestone interface with soil profile.Collected soils from 0”-10”, 20”-30”, 40”-50”, and 60”-70”.

Transect 2, meter 1200 (spikerush marsh):

Vegetation: Panicum hemitomon, Eleocharis cellulosa, Utricularia purpurea, & Paspalidium geminatum

Soil Depth, 108 cm.

Soil Description:

·Color and soil materials similar to T2-1100.

Transect 2, meter 2300 (spikerush marsh):

Soil Depth: 81 cm.

Soil Description:

·0”-20” – Organic layer (10YR3/2) with abundant live roots in upper section. Sampled 0”-10” (S1) and 10”-20” (S2) separately.

·20”-32” – Organic stratum slightly darker (10YR3/1) than above.

Transect 2, meter 2600 (spikerush marsh):

Vegetation: Utriculariapurpurea and U. foliosa, Eleocharis cellulosa, Cladium jamaicense &

periphyton.

Soil Depth: 86 cm.

Soil Description:

·0”-15” – Organic soil (10YR3/1) with abundant plant material, live (top) and dead roots. Sampled from 0”-9” (S1) and 9”-15” (S2).

·15”-30” – Organic (10YR3/2) layer with abundant plant material, including leaves. Sampled from 15”-25” (S3).

·30”-34” – Marl (10YR5/1), with silt loam texture. Frequent shells.

Vulture Hammock (tropical hardwood hammock):

Vegetation: Bursera simarouba, Mastichodendron foetidissimum, Celtis laevigata, Eugenia axillaris, &

Chrysophylum oliviforme.

Soil Depth: 53 cm.

Soil Description:

·0”-7” – Dark (10YR3/1) silt loam with medium and fine roots. Quartz particles visible in sun. (S1)

·7”-21” – Marl (10YR4/1 – 10YR5/1) with broken, rounded rock pieces; some thin shell-like fragments.

Transect 2, meter 5600 (tall sawgrass):

Soil Depth: 57 cm.

Soil Description:

·0”-22” – Organic soil (10YR3/1) throughout profile. Live roots confined to upper 3”. No shells. Collected in 2 layers: 0”-10” (S1) and 10”-22” (S2)

Transect 2, meter 5900 (sparse sawgrass):

Vegetation: Cladium jamaicense (<1.5 m tall), Eleocharis cellulosa, & Utricularia foliosa.

Conductivity: 0.3 mS/cm/s.

Soil Depth: 10 cm.

·0”-4” – Non-fibrous organic (10YR3/1) on limestone, with floc layer on top. Frequent roots, no shells. Bare limestone may exceed 50% of surface. (S1)

Transect 3, meter 300 (spikerush marsh):

Vegetation: Eleocharis cellulosa, Nymphaea odorata. Sampled near edge of sawgrass.

Conductivity: 0.5 mS/cm/s.

Soil depth: 53 cm

Soil Description:

·0”-14” – Non-fibrous organic 10YR3/2; very abundant shells; abundant live and dead roots. Sampled from top 10”.

·14”-20” – Organic 10YR3/1, with abundant shells.

Transect 3, meter 400 (tall sawgrass):

Vegetation: Cladium jamaicense >2.5 meter height

Conductivity: 0.5 mS/cm/s.

Soil Depth: 33 cm

Soil Description:

·0”-12” – Organic 10YR3/1; no shells. Greasy feel toward bottom of core may indicate increase in silty minerals. Yellow spots of decomposed carbonate rock at base of profile.

Transect 3, meter 5500 (spikerush marsh):

Vegetation: Paspalidium geminatum, Eleocharis cellusosa, & Cladium jamaicense.

Conductivity, 0.4 mS/cm/s.

Soil Depth: 91 cm

Soil Description:

·0”-22” – Non-fibrous organic 10YR3/3; no shells; thick rhizomatous layer at top. Sampled from upper 10”

·22”-25” – Marl (10YR7/1); well mixed with organic material and shells.

·25”-35” – Non-fibrous organic (10YR3/1); shells toward upper boundary only.

Transect 3, meter 5600 (tall sawgrass):

Vegetation: Cladium jamaicense ~2 meters tall

Soil depth: 83 cm

Soil Descripton:

·0”-20” (S1) – Organic 10YR3/2; abundant fine roots, lots of rhizomes; no shells.

·20”-25” (S2) – Marl (10YR7/1) with streaks of dark (10YR3/1) organic; common fine roots; abundant shells.

·25”-32” (S3) – Organic (10YR3/2); abundant dead roots; small round shells.

Transect 4, meter 200 (sparse sawgrass):

Vegetation: Cladium jamaicense, Peltandra virginica, & periphyton.

Soil Depth: 36 cm

·0”-8” – Organic layer (10YR3/1) with root material, few shells (S1).

·8”-14” – Organic layer (10YR3/2), with thin layer of marl (10YR5/1) at 8”-9”; shells associated with marl, otherwise there are none (S2)

Transect 4, meter 1340 (spikerush marsh):

Vegetation: predominantly Eleocharis cellulosa & Panicum hemitomon

Soil Depth: 65 cm (but varies considerably)

Soil Description:

·0”-23” – Organic material 10YR3/1 throughout the profile; in bottom 1”, this is mixed with 10YR7/1 calcareous mud, probably rubbed off rock, with a few large shells. Sampled at 0”-9” (S1) and 16”-25” (S2).

Transect 4, meter 2900 (spikerush marsh):

Vegetation: Panicum hemitomon, Elecharis cellulosa, & Nymphaea odorata

Soil Depth: 84 cm

·0”-20” – Organic 10YR3/2, with live roots largely confined to upper 4”, dead roots present throughout.Sample is from upper 10” (S1)

·20”-27” – Peaty marl (relatively even mixture of 10YR3/2 and 10YR5/1), with many shells and rock fragments; at 20”-22”, there is a more pure marl layer with less organic (S2)

Transect 4, meter 4000 (bayhead):

Vegetation: Chrysobalanus icaco, Myrica cerifera, Persea borbonia, Cepalanthus occidentalis.

Soil Depth: 143 cm.

·0”-43” – Organic material, 10YR3/1, composed primarily of dead roots. No woody tissues at all throughout core. Sampled at 0”-10” (S1) and 24”-37” (S2).

·43”-51” – Organic material of slightly browner color (10YR3/2) than above. Shells, some small clams, in bottom 1”, with decomposing rock or marl. (S3)

Transect 4, meter 5300 (sparse sawgrass):

Vegetation: Cladium jamaicense, & Eleocharis cellulosa

Conductivity: 0.4 mS/cm/s

Soil Depth: 59 cm

Soil Description:

·0”-23” – Organic soil, 10YR3/2, with live and dead roots. Sampled in 2 layers: 0”-9” (S1) and 15”-23” (S2).

Transect 4, meter 7400 (spikerush marsh):

Vegetation: Eleocharis cellulosa, Bacopa caroliniana, &Panicum hemitomon

Soil Depth: 50 cm

Soil Description:

·0”-3” – Relatively even mixture of 10 YR3/2 organic and 10YR5/1 marl; very abundant shells; live and dead roots (S1).

·3”-22” – Greyish marl (10YR5/1 – 10YR6/1), of silt loam texture; many shells; live and dead roots(S2).

Transect 4, meter 7500 (tall sawgrass):

Soil Depth: 58 cm

Soil Description:

·0”-4” – Organic layer (10YR3/2) with abundant roots and rhizomes, very little shell material (S1)

·4”-20” – Marl (10YR 4/1 – 10YR5/1), silt loam in texture. Many small shells, and with spots of 10YR3/2 organic matter. Roots often within organic matter spots. (S2)

·20”-23” – Marl of same color as above, but finer in texture (silty clay loam). Fewer shells. (S3)

Transect 5, meter 100 (sparse sawgrass):

Soil Depth: 38 cm

Soil Description:

·0”-4” – Marl (10YR6/2), silt loam in texture; many shells; roots evident; inclusions of 10YR3/2 organic matter (S1)

4”-15” – Primarily organic layer (10YR3/1), but with spots of marl, and many shells. (S2)
15”-20” – Organic (10YR3/1) with no evidence of marl; shells present as above (S3)

Transect 5, meter 1500 (sparse sawgrass):

Conductivity: 0.5 mS/cm/s

Soil Depth: 59 cm

0”-10” – Organic layer (10YR3/2) of loose consistency, with few shells, and live roots mostly in upper 3” (S1)

·10”-20” – Organic as above.However, thin layer of 10YR3/1 at 15”-17” has abundant shells (S2)

20”-24” – Organic layer of similar color (10YR3/2) but firmer consistency than higher in the profile (S3)

Transect 5, meter 4200 (sparse sawgrass):

Vegetation: Cladium jamaicense about 1.9 m tall

Soil Depth: 40 cm

Soil Description:

0”-3” – Marl (10YR5/1) with many shells, roots, and a good mixture of 10YR3/1 organic matter (S1)

·3”-13” – Organic layer (10YR2/1) with some shells, especially near top of stratum. Base of profile features 10YR6/2 broken limestone with yellowish cast, some shells. (S2)

Transect 5, meter 4600 (spikerush marsh):

Vegetation: Eleocharis cellulosa & Panicum hemitomon

Conductivity: 0.5 mS/cm/s

Soil Depth: 43 cm

Soil Description:

·0”-9” – Organic layer (10YR3/2) with few shells. At 2”, there is a thin (1/2”) layer of 10YR6/1 marl, with many shells (S1)

·9”-18” – Darker organic (10YR2/1), mostly dead but some live roots. Bottom 3-4” with abundant shells, but few above. (S2)

Transect 5, meter 9000 (spikerush marsh):

Vegetation: Eleocharis cellulosa & Paspalidium geminatum.

Soil Depth: 36 cm; soil depth very patchy, ranging from 0-100 cm

Soil Description:

Sample A:

0”-8” – Organic material (10YR3/1), including live and dead roots; no shells (S1)
8”-11” – Marl (10YR5/1), with inclusions of organics (10YR3/1) and shells (S2)

Sample B (2’ from Sample A, appears to be more typical of site):

0”-3” – Marl (10YR5/1), with inclusions of organics (10YR3/1) and shells (S3)
3”-10” – Organic layer (10YR3/2), with dead roots and assorted plant material, including sawgrass leaves. (S4)

Transect 5, meter 10800 (dead sawgrass):

Vegetation: Scattered Cladium jamaicense, Cephalanthus occidentalis, & Peltandra virginica

Soil Depth: 108 cm

Soil Description:

·0”-36” – Blackish (10YR2/1) organic soil, abundant dead roots, live roots nr surface; no shells; sawgrass remains apparent, especially below. Sampled at 0”-11” (S1) and 32”-36” (S2).

·36”-41” – Mixture of marl (10YR4/1), organics (10YR2/1), shells. Marl prevails in 36”-38” layer, organics below (S3).

Transect 5, meter 11500 (sparse sawgrass):

Vegetation: Cladium jamaicense, Eleocharis cellulosa, & periphyton

Conductivity: 0.3 mS/cm/s

Soil Depth: 39 cm

Soil Description:

· 0”-2” – Marl (10YR5/1) with spots of lighter marl (10YR7/1) and organic matter (10YR3/1); silt loam in texture; few shells, very few roots (S1).

2”-11” – Organic layer (10YR3/2) with roots and rhizomes, few shells (S2).

Transect 6, meter 0 (sparse sawgrass):

Vegetation: Cladium jamaicense is 2 meters or so in height

Soil Depth: 115 cm

Soil Description:

0”-4” – Gray marl (10YR6/1) of silt loam texture; roots and rhizomes (S1)
4”-21” – Organic material (10YR3/2) (S2)

·21”-25” – Mixture of organic material (10YR3/1) with large shells; reminiscent of shell layer in T5-1500 (S3)

25”-33” – Gray marl (10YR6/1), with spots of organic matter; some shells (S4)
33”-41” – Organic layer (10YR3/2), blackening downward; occasional shells (S5)
41”-53” – Black organic (10YR2/1); greasy feel is evidence of some marl present (S6)

Transect 6, meter 2300 (sparse sawgrass):

Vegetation: Cladium jamaicense nearly as high as above.

Soil Depth: 135 cm

Soil Description:

0”-9” – Organic material (10YR3/2), roots live above 3”, mostly dead below; few shells (S1)
9”-34” – Organic layer with same color as above, but with shells present; dead roots (S2)

·34”-40” – Dark silt loam marl (10YR4/1); inclusions of 10YR2/1 organics; shells. Bottom 3” of stratum has thin layer of organic, then marl again at base (S3)

40”-46” – Organic material (10YR3/1) (S4)

Transect 6, meter 4000:

Vegetation: Cladium jamaicense mostly about 60 cm tall, very open; thick periphyton mat; red mangrove

encroaching from the side.

Soil Depth: 110 cm

Soil Description:

0”-8” – Gray marl (10YR7/2 – 10YR6/2), mixed with 10YR3/2 organics; shells present (S1)

·8”-20” – Organic material (10YR3/2) mixed with marl (10YR5/3); organic predominant by about 70:30 (S2).

·20”-26” – Yellowish (10YR6/3) marl, with organic inclusions (10YR3/2); big shells; dead sawgrass rhizomes present; strong sulfur smell(S3)

26”-35” – Organic layer (10YR3/2), with shells (S4)
35”-45” – Marl layer (10YR5/3), but mixed with 10YR3/2 organics; many shells (S5)
45”-51” – Black (10YR2/1) organic layer; large shells (S6)

P38 A, (intermediate sawgrass):

Vegetation:Cladium jamaicense

Soil Depth: 19”

Soil Description:

·0”-6” – Peaty marl with shells and coarse roots (10YR6/2).

·6”-14” – Peat with some marl and shells with small fine roots (10YR3/1).

·14”-19” – Peat with shells and fine roots (10YR3/1).

P38 B, (spikerush marsh):

Vegetation:Eleocharis cellulosa, Sagittaria latifolia, Rhynchospora tracyi, Oxypolis filiformis, and Cladium jamaicense.

Soil Depth:26”

Soil Description:

·0”-8” – Marl with shells and living fine roots along with plant detritus (10YR7/2).

·8”-14” – Marl with shells and thick roots (10YR6/2).

·14”-26” – Marly-peat with small shell fragments (10YR3/2).