A tour is a professional field trip that occurs prior to or following the 2024 SSSA Bouyoucos Summer Conference on Sunday, June 9 or Thursday, June 13. Registration for tours closed on May 16.
Sunday, June 9, 2024
Tour #1: Grounded in Flavor: Exploring Jayuya's Coffee Heritage and Soils
Sunday, June 9, 7:00 AM–5:30 PM
Explore the dynamics of coffee production in Jayuya, one of Puerto Rico’s most important coffee production regions. Participants will travel to the Cordillera Central of Puerto Rico where they will learn about the influence of climatic conditions, altitude, rainfall patterns and soils on coffee production. The group will visit Hacienda San Pedro which specializes in hand-picked coffee, the best varieties suited to the conditions, careful quality control in coffee berry processing and drying and unique toast and milling, resulting in the highest quality coffee. The predominant soils are Lirios clay loam (LcF2, Hapludults), Pellejas clay loam (PeF, Dystrudepts). A second visit to Hacienda Encantos (Puerto Rico Coffee Roasters) will permit observation of coffee varieties and Los Guineos soil (LgE & LgF. Haploperox).
Includes transportation, lunch, snacks and water on bus, tour fees and tips.
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Tour #2: Exploring the Guánica State Forest: A United Nations Biosphere Reserve and World’s Most Extensive Subtropical Dry Forest
Sunday, June 9, 7:00 AM–4:00 PM
Visit Bosque Estatal de Guánica (Guánica State Forest) on the semiarid southwest coast of Puerto Rico. This 4,400 hectare forest reserve has immense significance as one of Puerto Rico's most important natural treasures. Designated as a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO, it is considered one of the best preserved subtropical dry forests in the world. The area is of great complexity, natural richness, and scientific importance hosting programs such as NEON Atlantic Neotropical Domain. The diverse dry forest ecosystem includes semi-deciduous, mixed-evergreen, evergreen-sclerophyllous and thorn-scrub forest types that harbor numerous plant species, some of which are endangered. The forest's botanical wonders attract visitors with their beauty and capacity for resilience to droughts and hurricanes, offering a quick look into the challenges that have been overcome by natural adaptations. Alongside the diverse flora, remarkable fauna can be found, including endangered species such as the sapo concho (crested toad), bien-te-veo, and guabairo. The main soils of the area are La Covana-Seboruco complex (Calciargids and Petrocalcids), Guayacán clay (Haplocalcids) and Paso Seco (Haplusterts). There are various ecosystems surrounding the main forest ecosystem such as mangroves, coral reefs, caverns, and lagoons.
Includes transportation, lunch, snacks and water on bus, and tips.
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Tour #8: Saline-sodic Soils of the Southwest
Sunday, June 9, 7:00 AM–5:00 PM
The Southwest Project of southwestern Puerto Rico was constructed between 1948 and 1955 to provide irrigation, drainage, flood control, energy, and potable water to the Lajas Valley. The project was part of an extraordinary effort during the mid-twentieth century to strengthen the economic development of the country. The climate, geomorphology, and the availability of irrigation water favor the development of an intensive and mechanized agriculture. The Lajas Valley is relatively dry, with spatial fluctuations in mean annual precipitation in an east to west gradient in the range of 87 to 115 cm. Explore the valley’s fertile soils, considered by their high organic matter content, high cation exchange capacity and potential nutrient supply. Soils in this region are generally very deep with a high and virtually uniform content of expansive and contractive clays. Adequate soil, water, and nutrient management are of importance to achieve the highest crop yields. Saline and sodic soils were first described by Roberts in 1942 and multiple studies thereafter have described higher artesian groundwater pressures and saline and sodic soils. This tour will observe areas and soil profiles affected by excess salts and sodium. The soils to be observed are Guayacán (Haplocalcids), San Antón (Haplustolls), Fraternidad (Haplusterts), Cartagena (Sodic Haplusterts), Guánica (Calciaquerts).
Includes transportation, brunch, snacks and water on bus, tour fees and tips.
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Thursday, June 13, 2024
Tour #4: Exploring the Hidden Gems of the El Yunque National Forest Soils and Their Unique Characteristics
Thursday, June 13, 7:15 AM–4:00 PM
Explore El Yunque National Forest, also known as the Luquillo Experimental Forest that spans 11,540 hectares. This is the largest area of primary forests in Puerto Rico with the most pristine rivers on the island. El Yunque holds the distinction of being one of the most extensively studied tropical forests on the planet. The climate is subtropical moist to subtropical rainforest, the average temperatures range from 19 to 25oC and rainfall varies between 200 to 500 cm annually. The primary vegetation is evergreen broadleaf tropical forest with over 240 tree species, different forest types, with different species composition, structural development, and dominance with elevation. There are four soil associations representing 19 soil series. Dominant soils are deep, highly weathered and leached clays, with low pH and base saturation less than 35 percent at a depth of 1.25 m. We will visit and explore three emblematic soils: Dwarf (Haplaquox)-El Duque (Humaquept), Picacho (Aquic Dystrudepts), and Utuado (Aquic Humic Dystrudepts) series.
Includes transportation, lunch, snacks and water on bus, tour fees and tips.
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Tour #5: Unearthing Nature's Canvas: From a Soil Expedition in Southwest Puerto Rico, Featuring Oxisols, Ultisols, Mollisols, and Aridisols to an Art Exhibition
Thursday, June 13, 6:30 AM–5:00 PM
Join us on an exciting soil tour as part of our Soil Heritage project, a gamification and education campaign aimed at promoting domestic tourism and leisure recreation. One of the extraordinary places we'll visit is Punta Guaniquilla in Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico. Here, you'll find Mollisols and Aridisols, and a landscape of boulders in the middle of a lagoon, which is truly out-of-this-worldly. These rock formations are part of the southern karst belt and date back to geological processes more than 11,000,000 years old, when Laja's Sierra Bermeja was one of the islands in the Puerto Rican archipelago. In Monte Pirata, you'll get to appreciate the Rosario soil series formed by weathered serpentinite. Serpentinite in Sierra Bermeja has been classified as part of a serpentinite mélange, containing pieces of Early Jurassic to Cretaceous chert, amphibolite, metabasalt, schist, gneiss, and greenstone. Another interesting soil series you'll encounter is the Guanajibo soil series with the redox patterns with plinthite. We will finish this tour with a stop at the University of Puerto Rico Mayaguez to appreciate an art exhibition of soils curated by Arte-Suelo-Ser.
Includes transportation, lunch, snacks and water on bus, tour fees and tips.
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