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BAYAMON - The Representative Soil of Puerto RicoUpdated June 10, 2008 
Bayamon soils are interspersed between limestone hills (haystacks) along northern Puerto Rico. They are used for sugarcane, pineapples (seen in picture), a wide variety of food crops, pasture, and hayland.
The Bayamon soils formed in highly weathered, clayey marine sediments. These soils have low to medium fertility and are strongly to extremely acidic throughout the profile. Crops respond well to applications of lime and fertilizer. When Christopher Columbus discovered the island
of Puerto Rico on his second voyage (1493), the inhabitants were the Tainos
Indians. The word "Bayamon" was derived from a local Indian chief
named Bahamon. Bayamon is also the name of one of Puerto Rico's main cities and a river.
Selected chemical properties of Bayamon soils
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| Horizon | Depth (In) | Organic Carbon | CEC (meq/l00g) | Extractable Cations (meq/l00g) |
Extr (meq/l00g) | ECEC (meq/l00g) | pH (CaCl2) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (%) | NH4OAC | Ca | Mg | Na | K | Al | NH4OAC | |||
|
Ap1 |
0-6 |
1.74 |
15 |
-- |
-- |
0.1 |
1.1 |
1.8 |
0.04 |
3.8 |
|
Ap2 |
6-11 |
1.52 |
12 |
0.6 |
TR |
TR |
0.5 |
3.8 |
0.07 |
3.5 |
|
Bo1 |
11-20 |
0.24 |
7 |
0.1 |
TR |
-- |
0.2 |
3.6 |
0.06 |
3.6 |
|
Bo2 |
20-33 |
0.23 |
8 |
0.2 |
TR |
TR |
0.2 |
3.4 |
0.06 |
3.6 |
|
Bo3 |
33-47 |
0.17 |
8 |
0.2 |
TR |
-- |
0.2 |
3.0 |
0.05 |
3.6 |
|
Bo4 |
47-61 |
0.16 |
9 |
3.0 |
0.5 |
0.2 |
0.5 |
0.8 |
0.07 |
4.3 |
|
Bo5 |
61-66 |
0.10 |
8 |
2.7 |
0.5 |
TR |
0.5 |
0.5 |
0.06 |
4.3 |
| Horizon | Depth (In) | Sand % | Silt % | Clay % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Ap1 |
0-6 |
24.4 |
6.9 |
68.7 |
|
Ap2 |
6-11 |
25.7 |
3.5 |
68.8 |
|
Bo1 |
11-20 |
26.1 |
3.8 |
70.1 |
|
Bo2 |
20-33 |
30.5 |
3.3 |
66.2 |
|
Bo3 |
33-47 |
31.8 |
4.7 |
63.5 |
|
Bo4 |
47-61 |
24.4 |
7.9 |
67.7 |
|
Bo5 |
61-66 |
10.8 |
17.0 |
72.2 |
| Very-fine, kaolinitic, isohyperthermic Typic Hapludox |
| Bayamon soils are in the Oxisols soil order. The stability of the landform enhances the weathering processes, leaching of bases and weatherable minerals, and the accumulation of more stable minerals and sesquioxides. The term "very-fine" indicates that the subsoil has 60 percent or more (by weight) clay. The term "kaolinitic" indicates more than 50 percent-(by weight) kaolinite clay in the less than 0.002 mm fraction. The term "isohyperthermic" refers to an average annual soil temperature of 22C (72F) or higher and an annual fluctuation of less than 5 degrees (C) at a depth of 50 cm. |
For additional information on Caribbean Area soils, please contact: Carmen L. Santiago
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A
typical Bayamon soil profile consists of a 20 cm topsoil layer of dark reddish brown
clay and a weak red clay subsoil layer to a depth of 2 meters or more.
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