• Ocean County, New Jersey, is the central county of the state, bounded by the Atlantic Ocean on the east and New Jersey's ecologically significant Pine Barrens region on the west. Further west lies Philadelphia, and less than 70 miles to the north sits New York City. Soil types in Ocean County, New Jersey, support farmland, protect ground water resources and underlie the vast coastal wetlands.
  
  

Sand

• Sand dominates Ocean County soils. Six of the seven general soil types, listed by the USDA Soil Conservation Service's General Soil Map for this county, are sand-based. Ocean County's soil is not only sandy but also acidic, according to the Ocean County Soil Conservation District's guide book, "Low Maintenance Landscaping for the Barnegat Bay Watershed."
  
  Planting and maintaining traditional landscaping in this region requires the addition of significant soil amendments and fertilizers which can harm the wetland ecosystem and groundwater resources of the Barnegat Bay environment. Native plants adapted to these soils require less maintenance and enhance rather than harm the environment.
  
  

Sulfaquents

• Sulfaquent soils underlie the wetlands and tidal inlets surrounding Barnegat Bay, according to the USDA's general soil map. Sulfaquent soils include strong components of clay, are rich in organic matter from rotting wetland vegetation and have a high mineral content, primarily iron. Tidal marsh soils are anaerobic and contain sulfur-reducing bacteria which act in concert with iron to turn the sulfates in sea water into iron sulfide, according to professors Randall Schaetzl and Sharon Anderson in their book "Soils:Genesis and Geomorphology." The process releases sulfuric acid, creating the distinct smell of a salt water marsh at low tide.
  
  

Loamy, Prime Farm Soils

• The regions of higher ground between coastal streams in Ocean County are laced with loamy, well-drained soils which the USDA map classifies as belonging to the Downer-Evesboro association. For farmers, however, this nomenclature means these regions are on prime farm soil, according to the Ocean County Agriculture Development Board's Comprehensive Farmland Management Plan.
  
  Development pressure threatens the loss of these prime agriculture soil areas to industrial, commercial, and residential construction, the board advises. Many towns within the county have adopted a series of incentives, including purchases of agricultural conservation easements as well as protective measures like soil conservation zoning districts, to help keep these prime farm soils open for local food production.