Salinities at Block II were similar to Block I during the fall-winter 
period (Fig. 10). However, during periods of low precipitation (April 
and October) salinity values were high, with the maximum of 18,500 ppm 
recorded in mid-October. Water salinity at the mechanically shaped 
Block V was similar in magnitude and trends to Block II. 
Water samples from Blocks III and IV fluctuated widely throughout 
the year, but were similar in magnitude at most sampling intervals 
(Fig. 10). The major differences occurred in winter with water from 
Block IV higher in salinity than Block III. In late August, during a 
period of relatively high precipitation, water salinity in Block III 
increased, while in Block IV a decrease was recorded. 
Water salinities fluctuated throughout the year irrespective 
of location, but mirrored the precipitation. In general, the lowest 
readings were in Block I, while the highest occurred as distance from 
Oyster Bayou increased. This resulted in three distinct periods of 
low salinity: winter 1973, early summer 1974, and fall 1974. In 
contrast, two periods of high salinity occurred. The first, of rela- 
tively low magnitude, was from mid-February to mid-May and the second, 
of higher magnitude was from June to November. Periods of low water 
salinity should be favorable for the establishment of transplants while 
the high summer salinity period should be considered as a poor period 
for establishment. The amount of precipitation received was an indica- 
tor of water salinity levels within East Bay. 
V. SOIL CHARACTERISTICS 
1. Soil Texture. 
The shoreline on East Bay has been commonly referred to as clay. 
However, textural analyses of the soil in each block and in 3 zones 
(upper, middle, and lower) and at various depths to 6 inches indicated 
the soil was generally of a loam or clay loam texture (Table 4). 
The surface 2 inches of the upper zone, Block II; lower zone, Block III; 
and lower zone, Block IV were either sandy loam or sandy clay loam in 
texture. In general, the clay loam texture occurred at depths greater 
than 2 inches. Thus, the general sequence of soil texture was a 
surface layer (0 to 2 inches) of loam underlain by a layer (2 to 6 
inches) of clay loam. 
In most blocks the percent sand exceeded that of other particle 
classes and clay particles occurred in the smallest quantities. These 
textural properties result in a highly erodible soil, probably due to 
an unstable structure. The result of this unstable structure is a 
soil substrate that readily erodes with any form of disturbance. Thus, 
the continual wave action results in sloughing of the shoreline and a 
high annual loss. In addition, the disturbance associated with planting 
causes an unstable condition and again the continual wave action disperses 
the soil from around the planted material and ultimately the materials 
are washed out. 
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