The Eda series consists of very deep, somewhat excessively drained, rapidly permeable soils. (Soil Survey of Harper County, Oklahoma; by Troy Collier and Steve Alspach, Natural Resources Conservation Service)

These soils formed in sandy eolian deposits on dunes and side slopes in the Central Rolling Red Plains (MLRA 78C) and the Central Rolling Red Prairies (MLRA 80A). Slope ranges from 0 to 15 percent. Mean annual temperature is 14 degrees C (61 degrees F), and mean annual precipitation is 635 mm (25 in).

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Mixed, thermic Lamellic Ustipsamments

Solum thickness: 61 to 127 cm (24 to 50 in)

Free carbonates: below a depth of 102 cm (40 in)

Reaction: The solum ranges from moderately acid to neutral

Other features: The illuvial horizons contain less than 3 percent more clay than the overlying eluvial horizon. Where lamellae are present, combined thickness of lamellae which are 1 cm or thicker, is less than 15 cm (6 in).

USE AND VEGETATION: Less sloping areas are usually cultivated; wheat is the principal crop with lesser acreage of grain sorghum and alfalfa. Steeper slopes are mostly in native range. Native vegetation is dominated by sand bluestem, Indiangrass, and little bluestem.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: LRR-H-Central Great Plains Winter Wheat and Range Region; Central Rolling Red Plains (MLRA-78C) and Central Rolling Red Prairies (MLRA-80A) North-central and western Oklahoma, southern Kansas and adjacent parts of the Texas Panhandle. The series is of large extent.

For additional information about the survey area, visit:

www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_MANUSCRIPTS/oklahoma/OK059...

For a detailed soil description, visit:

soilseries.sc.egov.usda.gov/OSD_Docs/E/EDA.html

For acreage and geographic distribution, visit:

casoilresource.lawr.ucdavis.edu/see/#eda

The Devol series consists of very deep, well drained, moderately rapidly permeable soils. (Soil Survey of Woods County, Oklahoma; by Richard Gelnar, Jimmy Ford, Clay Salisbury, Clay Wilson, and Glen Williams, Natural Resources Conservation Service)

These soils formed in loamy and sandy eolian sediments of Pleistocene age. These soils are on nearly level to moderately steep dunes and wind reworked sandsheets on terraces of the Central Rolling Red Plains (MLRA 78B, 78C). Slope ranges from 0 to 20 percent. Mean annual precipitation is about 635 mm (25 in) and the mean annual temperature is about 16 degrees C (61 degrees F).

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Coarse-loamy, mixed, superactive, thermic Typic Haplustalfs

Solum thickness: 76 to 152 cm (30 to 60 in)

Depth to carbonates: greater than 76 cm (30 in)

Particle-size control section (weighted average):

Clay content: 8 to 18 percent

DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY:

Drainage class: Well drained

Permeability: Moderately rapid

Runoff: negligible on 0 to 1 percent slopes, very low on slopes of 1 to 5 percent, and low on 5 to 20 percent slopes

USE AND VEGETATION: The undulating slopes are used mainly for growing wheat, sorghums and cotton. The hummocky slopes are used for native range. The native vegetation includes tall grasses such as sand bluestem, Indiangrass, little bluestem and shrubs such as sand sagebrush.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: LRR H-Central Great Plains Winter Wheat and Range Region; Central Rolling Red Plains (MLRA-78B, 78C) of Oklahoma and Texas. The series is moderately extensive.

For additional information about the survey area, visit:

www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_MANUSCRIPTS/oklahoma/OK151...

For a detailed soil description, visit:

soilseries.sc.egov.usda.gov/OSD_Docs/D/DEVOL.html

For acreage and geographic distribution, visit:

casoilresource.lawr.ucdavis.edu/see/#devol

Sampling a permafrost soil in soil in Alaska. A soil scientist is a person who is qualified to evaluate and interpret soils and soil-related data for the purpose of understanding soil resources as they contribute to not only agricultural production, but as they affect environmental quality and as they are managed for protection of human health and the environment. The university degree should be in Soil Science, or closely related field (i.e., natural resources, environmental science, earth science, etc.) and include sufficient soils-related course work so the Soil Scientist has a measurable level of understanding of the soil environment, including soil morphology and soil forming factors, soil chemistry, soil physics, and soil biology, and the dynamic interaction of these areas.

A State Soil Scientist provides leadership for developing, managing, and directing a comprehensive and integrated technical soil services programs for the state. Serves as a state liaison with National Cooperative Soil Survey (NCSS) cooperators. Provides supervision to members of the State Soils Program staff and/or Resource Soil Scientists.

For more information about describing and sampling soils, visit:

www.nrcs.usda.gov/resources/guides-and-instructions/field...

or Chapter 3 of the Soil Survey manual:

www.nrcs.usda.gov/sites/default/files/2022-09/The-Soil-Su...

For additional information on "How to Use the Field Book for Describing and Sampling Soils" (video reference), visit:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_hQaXV7MpM

For additional information about soil classification using USDA-NRCS Soil Taxonomy, visit:

www.nrcs.usda.gov/resources/guides-and-instructions/keys-...

or;

www.nrcs.usda.gov/resources/guides-and-instructions/soil-...

For more information about Hydric Soils and their Field Indicators, visit:

www.nrcs.usda.gov/resources/guides-and-instructions/field...

Soil profile: A representative soil profile of the Dewey soil series. (Soil Survey of Macon County. Tennessee, by Charlie McCowan, Natural Resources Conservation Service)

Landscape: Dewey soils are on gently sloping to steep uplands of 2 to 40 percent slope. The Dewey soils are in the foreground. (Soil Survey of Roane County, Tennessee; by Harry C. Davis and Jennifer R. Yaeger, Natural Resources Conservation Service)

The Dewey series consists of very deep, well drained, moderately permeable soils on uplands. These soils formed in residuum of limestone or in 1 to 2 feet of old alluvium and the underlying residuum from limestone. Slopes range from 2 to 40 percent.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine, kaolinitic, thermic Typic Paleudults

Thickness of the solum and depth to limestone bedrock are more than 60 inches. The soil is strongly acid or very strongly acid unless limed. Rock fragments are mostly gravel size chert and range from 0 to 15 percent in each horizon. Some horizons range up to 25 percent below 40 inches.

USE AND VEGETATION: Most areas are cleared and used for row crops, small grain, hay, pasture. The native vegetation is mixed hardwoods.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Southern Appalachian Ridges (MLRA 128) and Valleys and the Highland Rim and Pennyroyal (MLRA 122) in Tennessee, northwest Georgia, and northern Alabama. The series is of large extent.

For additional information about the survey area, visit:

www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_MANUSCRIPTS/tennessee/maco...

and...

www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_MANUSCRIPTS/tennessee/TN14...

For a detailed soil description, visit:

soilseries.sc.egov.usda.gov/OSD_Docs/D/DEWEY.html

For acreage and geographic distribution, visit:

casoilresource.lawr.ucdavis.edu/see/#dewey

Soil profile: A representative soil profile of Olmedo very gravelly sandy loam, 1 to 8 percent slopes. The dominant feature of this soil is the layer of indurated or strongly cemented secondary calcium carbonate known as a petrocalcic layer. The petrocalcic layer starts at about 46 cm. The petrocalcic layer reduces the water holding capacity and severely restricts roots. (Soil Survey of Duval County, Texas; by John L. Sackett III, Natural Resources Conservation Service)

Landscape: Soils that have a petrocalcic horizon within 40 inches of the soil surface often support dense communities of brush. This area of the Olmedo soils with brush species include ceniza, mesquite, agarita, and guajillo.

The Olmedo series consists of soils that are very shallow and shallow over a petrocalcic horizon. These well drained, moderately permeable soils formed in calcareous, loamy residuum of the Goliad Formation of Miocene-Pliocene age. These nearly level to undulating soils are on summits on interfluves or ridges. Slope ranges from 1 to 8 percent. Mean annual air temperature is about 22 degrees C (72 degrees F) and mean annual precipitation is about 711 mm (28 in).

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy-skeletal, carbonatic, hyperthermic, shallow Petrocalcic Calciustolls

Soil moisture: An ustic moisture regime bordering on aridic. The soil moisture control section remains moist in some or all parts for less than 90 consecutive days in normal years. The soil is driest during the months June through August and December through February. These soils are intermittently moist in September through November and March through May.

Mean annual soil temperature: 21 to 23 degrees C (70 to 73 degrees F)

Depth to petrocalcic horizon: 30 to 46 cm (12 to 18 in)

Particle size control section (weighted average)

Clay content: 12 to 24 percent

Rock Fragments: 35 to 85 percent

USE AND VEGETATION: The major uses are livestock grazing and wildlife habitat. Native vegetation consists of Arizona cottontop, pinhole bluestem, plains bristlegrass, sideoats grama, cenizo, guajillo, elbowbush, mescalbean, vine ephedra, and Texas Kidneywood. The ecological site is Shallow Ridge, PE 19-31 (RO83CY485TX)

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Northern Rio Grande Plain (MLRA 83A in LRR I) and Central Rio Grande Plain (MLRA 83C in LRR I) of southern Texas. The series is of moderate extent.

For additional information about the survey area, visit:

www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_MANUSCRIPTS/texas/TX131/Du...

For a detailed soil description, visit:

soilseries.sc.egov.usda.gov/OSD_Docs/O/OLMEDO.html

For acreage and geographic distribution, visit:

casoilresource.lawr.ucdavis.edu/see/#olmedo

Soil profile: A profile of a Trailhead soil. These very deep soils have distinctive strong red subsurface layers. They are on stable ridges and upper mountain slopes. (Soil Survey of Redwood National and State Parks, California; by Joseph P. Seney and Alaina C. Frazier, Natural Resources Conservation Service, and James H. Popenoe, Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Retired)

The Trailhead series consists of very deep, well drained soils formed in residuum and colluvium derived from schist and sandstone. Trailhead soils are on mountains and have slopes of 0 to 50 percent. The mean annual precipitation is about 2160 millimeters (85 inches) and the mean annual temperature is about 11 degrees C (52 degrees F).

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine, parasesquic, isomesic Typic Palehumults

Soil Moisture: The soil is usually moist in all parts in the soil moisture control section in most years, but becomes nearly dry in the upper part from about September 15 to October 15 in most years. The soils have an Udic moisture regime.

Soil Temperature: The mean annual soil temperature is 10 to 13 degrees C (50 to 55 degrees F). The difference between mean summer and mean winter temperature is 2 to 4 degrees C.

Organic Matter: There is 12 to 25 kg per square meter of organic carbon to a depth of one meter.

CEC to clay ratio is 16 to 24 meq/100g in the major part of the argillic horizon.

Reaction is strongly or very strongly acid throughout. Base saturation is 5 to 35 percent between depths of 25 to 202 centimeters.

Surface fragments: 0 to 10 percent gravel

Particle-Size Control Section (weighted average):

Rock fragments: 0 to 15 percent gravel

Clay content: 40 to 60 percent clay

Note: There is 91 percent resistant minerals in the very fine sand fraction. The very fine sand and silt fractions are mostly quartz, although coarser sand and gravel fractions are predominantly schist fragments. Vermiculite, kaolinite, and chlorite are identifiable clay minerals by x-ray analysis. Although vermiculite is a major clay mineral, the CEC is kept low by the combined influence of ferric iron, gibbsite, and kaolinite.

USE AND VEGETATION: This soil has been used for commercial timber and is used for recreation, wildlife and watershed. Natural vegetation consists of redwood, Douglas-fir, western hemlock, tanoak, huckleberry, and Pacific rhododendron.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: California Coastal Redwood Belt; MLRA 4B. The series is not extensive.

For additional information about the survey area, visit:

www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_MANUSCRIPTS/california/CA6...

For a detailed soil description, visit:

soilseries.sc.egov.usda.gov/OSD_Docs/T/TRAILHEAD.html

For acreage and geographic distribution, visit:

casoilresource.lawr.ucdavis.edu/see/#trailhead

Prairie potholes are depressional wetlands (primarily freshwater marshes) found most often in the Upper Midwest, especially North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. This formerly glaciated landscape is pockmarked with an immense number of potholes, which fill with snowmelt and rain in the spring. Some prairie pothole marshes are temporary, while others may be essentially permanent. Here a pattern of rough concentric circles develops. Submerged and floating aquatic plants take over the deeper water in the middle of the pothole while bulrushes and cattails grow closer to shore. Wet, sedgy marshes lie next to the upland.

For more information about pothole soils, visit;

www.epa.gov/wetlands/prairie-potholes

In the fall of 2007, an effort was initiated by the National Technical Committee for Hydric Soils (NTHCS) to photograph hydric soil features for the republication of the Field Indicators of Hydric Soils in the United States. This publication is a joint project between the USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service and the US-Army Corps of Engineers. It is a guide specifically designed to aid in the identification and delineation of hydric soils and wetlands.

The guide was developed by soil scientists of NRCS in cooperation with the USA-COE, the Environmental Protection Agency, the US Fish and Wildlife Service, and many regional, state, and local agencies. The hydric soil indicators listed in the publication are those approved by the NTCHS for use in identifying, delineating, and verifying hydric soils in the field.

For additional information about soil classification using USDA-NRCS Soil Taxonomy, visit:

www.nrcs.usda.gov/resources/guides-and-instructions/keys-...

or;

www.nrcs.usda.gov/resources/guides-and-instructions/soil-...

For more information about Hydric Soils and their Field Indicators, visit:

www.nrcs.usda.gov/resources/guides-and-instructions/field...

Soil profile: A soil profile of Marbleyard very cobbly sandy loam. Rock fragment content averages 35 percent or more in the subsoil. (Soil Survey of Rockbridge County, Virginia; by Mary Ellen Cook, Natural Resources Conservation Service)

The Marbleyard series consists of moderately deep, well drained or somewhat excessively drained soils formed in material weathered from low-grade metasedimentary quartzite and metasandstone. Slopes are dominantly between 35 and 80 percent but range from 3 to 95 percent.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy-skeletal, siliceous, semiactive, mesic Typic Dystrudepts

Solum thickness and depth to bedrock range from 20 to 40 inches. Rock fragments, dominantly quartzite and metasandstone, range from 15 to 60 percent in the A, E, BE or BA horizons, 20 to 75 percent in the Bw horizon and 50 to 90 percent in the C horizon. Weighted average rock fragment content is 35 percent or more in the particle-size control section. Average clay content typically is between 6 to 15 percent but ranges up to 18 percent in the particle-size control section.

USE AND VEGETATION: Most Marbleyard soils are in forests of mixed oaks, mainly Chestnut Oak, Scarlet Oak, Blackjack Oak, and Pitch Pine, Virginia Pine, and Table Mountain Pine.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Areas of Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina and Tennessee within MLRA 130. The series is of moderate extent. Marbleyard soils replace areas within MLRA 130 previously mapped as Dekalb. The CEC activity class is semiactive, but includes some areas of active.

For additional information about the survey area, visit:

www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_MANUSCRIPTS/virginia/rockb...

For a detailed soil description, visit:

soilseries.sc.egov.usda.gov/OSD_Docs/M/MARBLEYARD.html

For acreage and geographic distribution, visit:

casoilresource.lawr.ucdavis.edu/see/#marbleyard

A soil profile of a Calciargid in New Mexico. The subsoil below a depth of about 40 cm consists of a clay-enriched argillic horizon (reddish brown) underlain abruptly by a calcic horizon (white) in which calcium carbonate has accumulated. The upper boundary of the calcic horizon is wavy, fluctuating between depths of about 80 and 110 cm. The profile has been smoothed on the right side; the natural soil structure is exposed on the left.

Calciargids have, below the clay-enriched argillic horizon, a calcic (calcium carbonate accumulation) horizon within a depth of 150 cm. Where the argillic horizon is calcareous, it is generally thought to have been recharged with calcium carbonate, possibly from dust, after the argillic horizon formed. Calciargids are commonly on late-Pleistocene erosional surfaces or on gentle to steep slopes.

(Soil Survey Staff. 2015. Illustrated guide to Soil Taxonomy. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service, National Soil Survey Center, Lincoln, Nebraska)

For additional information about soil classification, visit:

www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detail/soils/survey/cla...

The Holly series consists of very deep, very poorly and poorly drained soils formed in loamy alluvium on flood plains. Saturated hydraulic conductivity is moderately high through high in the mineral soil. Slope ranges from 0 through 3 percent. Mean annual precipitation is about 36 inches, and mean annual temperature is about 51 degrees F.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, mixed, active, nonacid, mesic Fluvaquentic Endoaquepts

Thickness of the solum ranges from 20 through 44 inches. Thickness of loamy alluvium over other materials ranges from 40 to more than 60 inches. The average clay content in the particle size control section ranges from 18 through 30 percent.

USE AND VEGETATION: Some areas of Holly soils have been cleared and used for pasture or cultivation. Many areas are used as natural areas for wetland wildlife habitat. Native vegetation is soft maple, elder, willow, and other trees tolerant of wet sites.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Illinois, Ohio, southern New York, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. MLRA's 101, 114, 124, 125, 126, 127, 128, 139, 140, 147, and 148. The series is of large extent, about 248,000 acres.

For additional information about the survey area, visit:

www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_MANUSCRIPTS/new_jersey/dwg...

For a detailed description, visit:

soilseries.sc.egov.usda.gov/OSD_Docs/H/HOLLY.html

For acreage and geographic distribution, visit:

casoilresource.lawr.ucdavis.edu/see/#holly

A soil profile of a well drained, sandy Haplorthod in Michigan. This soil has an ochric epipedon consisting of a dark brown surface

layer (about 10 centimeters thick) and an underlying light gray albic horizon (between depths of 10 and about 30 centimeters).

Note the irregular lower boundary of the albic horizon. Below the albic horizon is a brown and reddish yellow spodic horizon that extends to a depth of about 90 centimetrs. Note the brown streaks extending into the reddish yellow material. The tongues of albic and spodic materials reflect the flow of water through the soil. (Soil Survey Staff. 2015. Illustrated guide to Soil Taxonomy. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service, National Soil Survey Center, Lincoln, Nebraska)

Haplorthods are the relatively freely drained Orthods that either have an albic (light-colored and leached) horizon and a spodic (accumulation of translocated organic matter in complex with aluminum and also commonly iron) subsoil horizon or, under cultivation, commonly have only a spodic horizon below an Ap horizon. The spodic horizon may rest on a lower sequum with an argillic (clay accumulation) subsoil horizon or kandic (very low cationexchange capacity) subsoil horizon over relatively unaltered unconsolidated materials or on rock. Most Haplorthods have, or used to have, forest vegetation, mainly conifers but also hardwoods in some areas. A majority of these soils formed in sandy deposits or in materials weathered from sandstone or quartzite.

For additional information about soil classification, visit:

www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detail/soils/survey/cla...

Soil profile: A representative soil profile of an Oxisol from the Cerado physiographic region--a vast tropical savanna ecoregion of Brazil, particularly in the states of Goiás, Mato Grosso do Sul, Mato Grosso, Tocantins, Minas Gerais and the Federal District of Brazil. (Horizonation is by Brazil soil classification system.)

Landscape: Typical landscape and vegetation (pastureland) occurring on upland interfuve and side-slopes in Brazil.

Oxisols are a soil order in USDA soil taxonomy. Oxisols are weathered soils that are low in fertility. They are most common on the gentle slopes of geologically old surfaces in tropical and subtropical regions. Their profiles are distinctive because of a lack of obvious horizons. Their surface horizons are normally somewhat darker than the subsoil, but the transition of subsoil features is gradual. Some oxisols have been previously classified as laterite soils.

In the Brazil soil classification system, these Latossolos are highly weathered soils composed mostly of clay and weathering resistant sand particles. Clay silicates of low activity (kaolinite clays) or iron and aluminum oxide rich (haematite, goethite, gibbsite) are common. There are little noticeable horizonation differences. These are naturally very infertile soils, but, because of the ideal topography and physical conditions, some are being used for agricultural production. These soils do require fertilizers because of the ease of leaching of nutrients through the highly weathered soils.

For additional information about these soils, visit:

sites.google.com/site/soil350brazilsoilsla/soil-formation...

and...

For additional information about U.S. soil classification, visit:

www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/main/soils/survey/class...

The Orangeburg series consists of red, very deep, well drained, moderately permeable soils on uplands of the Southern Coastal Plain (MLRA 133A). They formed in loamy and clayey marine sediments. Near the type location, the average annual temperature is about 65 degrees F., and the average annual precipitation is about 52 inches. Slopes range from 0 to 25 percent.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, kaolinitic, thermic Typic Kandiudults

Most areas of Orangeburg soils are used for growing cotton, corn, hay, tobacco and peanuts. Some areas are in pasture and woodland. Forest species include longleaf pine, shortleaf pine, loblolly pine, various oaks, hickory and dogwood.

For more information on Soil Taxonomy, visit:

www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/main/soils/survey/class/

For more photos related to soils and landscapes visit:

www.flickr.com/photos/soilscience/sets/72157622983226139/

Photo Credit: Jeffrey Dubinsky

Copyright: DubinskyPhotography.com

May not be used for commercial or editorial purposes without the express consent of Dubinsky Photography.

A soil profile of a well drained Paleustoll in a semiarid area of the southern Great Plains. It has a mollic epipedon about 26 cm thick. Below this epipdon is an argillic horizon that extends to a depth of about 110 cm. Below 110 cm is a calcic horizon. The left side of the scale is in 20-cm increments. (Soil Survey Staff. 2015. Illustrated guide to Soil Taxonomy. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service, National Soil Survey Center, Lincoln, Nebraska)

Paleustolls are the Ustolls on old stable surfaces, as evidenced by the development of a thick, reddish argillic horizon, a clayey argillic horizon that has an abrupt upper boundary, or a petrocalcic (cemented by calcium carbonate) horizon. These soils commonly have been partly or completely calcified during the Holocene, and calcium carbonate has accumulated in the previously formed argillic horizon. The Paleustolls in the United States are mainly in the central and southern parts of the Great Plains. At the time of settlement, they had mostly grass vegetation. Their history during the Pleistocene has had little study. The petrocalcic horizon, where it occurs, may be complex, suggesting a number of alternating cycles of humidity and aridity and slow accretion of dust and sediment from the arid regions to the west.

For additional information about soil classification, visit:

www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detail/soils/survey/cla...

A profile of a Grady soil, which formed in clayey marine sediments. Grady soils are poorly drained and are frequently ponded from December through April. They are very limited as building sites. (Soil Survey of Houston County, Alabama)

For more information about the "Soil Survey of Houston County, Alabama", click HERE.

The Grady series consists of poorly drained, slowly permeable soils in upland depressions but are also along drains of the Southern Coastal Plain Major Land Resource Area (MLRA 133A). They formed in thick beds of clayey marine sediments. Near the type location the mean annual temperature is about 67 degrees F., and the mean annual precipitation is about 53 inches. Slopes range from 0 to 2 percent.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine, kaolinitic, thermic Typic Paleaquults

For more information about soil classification and to view, print, or save a pdf copy of the latest version of the "Keys to Soil Taxonomy" visit Keys to Soil Taxonomy.

Solum thickness ranges from 60 to more than 80 inches. Reaction ranges from strongly acid to extremely acid throughout.

USE AND VEGETATION: Most areas are in woodland, but a few areas have been cleared, drained, and are used mostly for pasture. Native vegetation includes cypress, blackgum, live oak, and water oak. The undergrowth is water tolerant sedges and grasses.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Georgia, Alabama, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia. The series is of large extent with about 26,000 acres in Miller County, Georgia.

For more information about the Grady soil series using "Soil Data Explorer" click HERE.

A soil profile of a Gypsitorrert in Sudan. The white streaks in the subsoil are accumulations of gypsum. (Soil Survey Staff. 2015. Illustrated guide to Soil Taxonomy. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service, National Soil Survey Center, Lincoln, Nebraska)

Gypsitorrerts have a gypsic (gypsum accumulation) subsoil horizon that has its upper boundary within a depth of 100 cm. They occur in arid areas of the world where the parent materials have a high content of gypsum. A high shrink-swell potential and the gypsum content limit many construction activities (urban development) unless measures that counteract the shrinking and swelling and the dissolution of gypsum are applied. These soils occur in the southwestern United States.

For additional information about soil classification, visit:

www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detail/soils/survey/cla...

A representative soil profile of Cayo fine sandy loam in an area of Cayo fine sandy loam, 0 to 1 percent slopes. These soils formed in a much wetter climate as evidenced by the relict redox features. The left side of the profile exhibits natural soil structure; the right side of the profile has been smoothed. (Soil Survey of Kenedy and Kleberg Counties, Texas; by Nathan I. Haile, and Dennis N. Brezina, Natural Resources Conservation Service)

The Cayo series consists of very deep, moderately well drained, moderately rapid permeable soils that formed in sandy and loamy sediments of Holocene and Pleistocene age. These nearly level soils are in interdunes on the Sandsheet Prairie of the South Texas Coastal Plain. Slope ranges from 0 to 1 percent. Mean annual air temperature is about 22 degrees C (72 degrees F), and mean annual precipitation is about 660 mm (26 in).

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Coarse-loamy, mixed, semiactive, hyperthermic Typic Calciustepts

Soil Moisture: An ustic moisture regime. The soil moisture control section (SMCS) is dry in some or all parts for more than 90 days cumulative in normal years. The SMCS is also either moist in some or all parts for 180 cumulative days or more, or moist for 90 or more consecutive days in normal years. June through August and December through February are the driest months. These soils are intermittently moist in September through November and March through May.

Depth to secondary calcium carbonate: 15 to 38 cm (6 to 15 in)

Depth to cambic horizon: 15 to 36 cm (6 to 14 in)

Depth to calcic horizon: 36 to 76 cm (14 to 30 in)

Depth to redox concentrations: 102 to 152 cm (40 to 60 in)

Depth to redox depletions: 102 to 152 cm (40 to 60 in)

Particle-size control section (weighted average)

Clay content: 11 to 18 percent

USE AND VEGETATION: Used for livestock grazing and wildlife habitat. Native vegetation is mesquite, lotebush, whitebrush, spiny hackberry, Brazil, tasajillo, Hooded windmillgrass, Bermudagrass, Texas bristlegrass, Purple threeawn, and Western ragweed. The ecological site is Sandy loam, PE 31 to 44 (R083EY702TX).

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Sandsheet Prairie (MLRA 83E in LRR I) of southern Texas. The series is of moderate extent.

For additional information about the survey area, visit:

www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_MANUSCRIPTS/texas/kenedykl...

For a detailed soil description, visit:

soilseries.sc.egov.usda.gov/OSD_Docs/C/CAYO.html

For acreage and geographic distribution, visit:

casoilresource.lawr.ucdavis.edu/see/#cayo

A representative soil profile of Reilly sandy loam, 0 to 2 percent slopes, frequently flooded. Reilly soils are characterized by a surface layer of sandy loam and stratified subsurface layers of sand, gravels, and cobbles. (Soil Survey of San Germán Area, Puerto Rico; by Jorge L. Lugo-Camacho, Natural Resources Conservation Service)

The Reilly series consists of very deep, excessively drained, rapidly permeable soils on slightly higher natural levees along stream and river channels of floodplains of the Humid Coastal Plains MLRA. They formed in stratified alluvial deposits of mixed origin. Near the type location, the mean annual temperature is about 77 degrees F., and the mean annual precipitation is about 57 inches. Slopes range from 0 to 2 percent.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Sandy-skeletal, mixed, isohyperthermic Mollic Udifluvents

Depth of alluvial deposition is 60 inches or more. Reaction ranges from neutral to moderately alkaline throughout.

DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Excessively drained; rapid permeability.

USE AND VEGETATION: Most areas of Reilly soils are in pastureland and abandoned sugar cane plantations and are used for grazing. The vegetation consists of native and introduced grasses and shrubs.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: River flood plains in the humid coastal plains of Puerto Rico. The series is small extent

For additional information about the survey area, visit:

www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_MANUSCRIPTS/puerto_rico/PR...

For a detailed soil description, visit:

soilseries.sc.egov.usda.gov/OSD_Docs/R/REILLY.html

For acreage and geographic distribution, visit:

casoilresource.lawr.ucdavis.edu/see/#reilly

The Dothan series consists of very deep, well drained soils that formed in thick beds of unconsolidated, medium to fine-textured marine sediments. Dothan soils are on interfluves. Slopes range from 0 to 15 percent. Mean annual temperature is about 18 degrees C (65 degrees F), and the mean annual precipitation is about 1360 millimeters (53 inches).

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, kaolinitic, thermic Plinthic Kandiudults

Plinthite: Depth to horizons that contain 5 percent or more plinthite ranges from 60 to 152 centimeters (24 to 60 inches).

Silt content is less than 20 percent.

Clay content is between 18 to 35 percent in the upper 51 centimeters (20 inches) of the Bt horizon.

Depth to Redox features: Predominantly greater than 102 centimeters (40 inches), but some pedons have iron depletions below a depth of 76 centimeters (30 inches).

USE AND VEGETATION:

Most areas of Dothan soils have been cleared and are used for the production of corn, cotton, peanuts, vegetable crops, hay, and pasture. Forested areas are in longleaf pine, loblolly pine, sweetgum, southern red oak, and hickory.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT:

Major Land Resource Areas (MLRA): The series occurs primarily in the Southern Coastal Plain (MLRA 133A), but it also occurs to a lesser extent in the Atlantic Coast Flatwoods (MLRA 153A).

Extent: large extent

For additional information about the survey area, visit:

www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_MANUSCRIPTS/alabama/AL005/...

For a detailed soil description, visit:

soilseries.sc.egov.usda.gov/OSD_Docs/D/DOTHAN.html

For acreage and geographic distribution, visit:

casoilresource.lawr.ucdavis.edu/see/#dothan

A soil profile of a red, clayey Kandiustox in Thailand. It has an ochric epipedon about 10 cm thick underlain by a kandic horizon that extends beyond the base of the photo. Although this soil has a high content of clay throughout, it has granular structure and so is porous. (Soil Survey Staff. 2015. Illustrated guide to Soil Taxonomy. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service, National Soil Survey Center, Lincoln, Nebraska)

Kandiustox have a clayey surface layer and a kandic (very low cation-exchange capacity) subsoil horizon that has its upper boundary within a depth of 150 cm. There is a noticeable increase in clay content from the surface to the subsoil. They have, in all subhorizons of the kandic horizon within 150 cm of the mineral soil surface, an apparent ECEC of 1.50 or more cmol(+) per kg clay or a pH value (1N KCl) of less than 5.0. They also have base saturation (by NH4OAc) of less than 35% in some horizon within a depth of 125 cm. The subsoil has a moderate grade of blocky structure in most pedons. The epipedons are either dark- or light-colored. The subsoil shows evidence of translocated clay only in a few areas. In some pedons, it tends to have a weak or moderate grade of blocky structure. In most of the soils; however, there is a strong secondary structure that is fine granular. Supplemental irrigation is needed for continuous cropping.

For additional information about soil classification, visit:

www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detail/soils/survey/cla...

A representative soil profile of the moderately deep Pyle series with soft bedrock starting at about 60 centimeters,

The Pyle series consists of moderately deep, somewhat excessively drained soils that formed in colluvium over residuum derived from granodiorite, quartz monzonite, quartz diorite and other related rocks. These soils are on mountain slopes and ridges. Slopes are 5 to 70 percent. The mean annual precipitation is about 750 mm, and the mean annual air temperature is about 4.0 degrees C.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Mixed Lamellic Cryopsamments

Note: Clay films as bridges between sand particles are in the lower part of the horizon in some pedons. More clayey bands or lamellae less than 0.3 inch thick are below depths of 50 cm. Neither clay films nor lamellae are sufficient to meet the requirements of an argillic horizon.

Mean annual soil temperature - 2.5 to 6.7 degrees C

Mean summer soil temperature at a depth of 50 cm - 12.8 to 15.0 degrees C (without an O horizon)

Soil Moisture - dry in all horizons between depths of 30 and 90 cm, or to bedrock if shallower, for 60 consecutive days in more than 7 out of 10 years.

Depth to a paralithic contact - ranges from 50 to 100 cm

Particle Size Control Section - loamy sand or coarser throughout

USE AND VEGETATION: Used for forestry, recreation, grazing, wildlife habitat and watershed. On northerly slopes, Douglas-fir, huckleberry, and ninebark are dominant. The south-facing slopes support ponderosa pine, Douglas-fir, elk sedge, and pinegrass. Shrub species are snowbrush, ninebark, willow, bitter cherry, and chokecherry.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Western part of the Idaho batholith; moderate extent. MLRA 43B.

For additional information about Idaho soils, please visit:

storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/97d01af9d4554b9097cb0a477e04...

For a detailed soil description, visit:

soilseries.sc.egov.usda.gov/OSD_Docs/P/PYLE.html

For acreage and geographic distribution, visit:

casoilresource.lawr.ucdavis.edu/see/#pyle

Profile of Kintner loam, 1 to 3 percent slopes, occasionally flooded, very brief duration. The soil has a high content of gravelly material over indurated limestone bedrock at a depth of about 3.5 feet. Measurements are in feet. (Soil Survey of Harrison County, Indiana by Steven W. Neyhouse, Sr., Byron G. Nagel, Gary R. Struben, and Steven Blanford, Natural Resources Conservation Service).

The Kintner series consists of deep, moderately well drained soils formed in alluvium over limestone bedrock. The alluvial sediments are loamy and in the lower part contain a high amount of gravel. These soils are on flood plains and alluvial fans. They have slopes of 1 to 3 percent. Mean annual precipitation is about 1092 mm (43 inches), and mean annual temperature is about 12.8 degrees C (55 degrees F).

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy-skeletal, mixed, active, mesic Oxyaquic Eutrudepts

Depth of medium-textured alluvial material: 25 to 76 centimeters (10 to 30 inches)

Depth to base of cambic horizon: 30 to 150 centimeters (12 to 59 inches)

Depth to lithic contact: 100 to 152 centimeters (40 to 60 inches)

USE AND VEGETATION: Most areas are used for pasture, hay, and woodland. Some areas of this soil are cropped to corn, soybeans, and small grains. Native vegetation is mixed, deciduous hardwood forest.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: South-central Indiana. The Kintner series is of small extent in MLRA 122.

This soil was included with the Haymond soils in the 1975 Harrison County Soil Survey and has been correlated as Beanblossom, hard bedrock substratum, in other parts of the MLRA. The acreage of this soil is expected to increase as more counties in MLRA 122 are updated.

For additional information about the survey area, visit:

www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_MANUSCRIPTS/indiana/IN061/...

For a detailed description, visit:

soilseries.sc.egov.usda.gov/OSD_Docs/K/KINTNER.html

For acreage and geographic distribution, visit:

casoilresource.lawr.ucdavis.edu/see/#kintner

A representative of profile of the Songjeong soil (fine-loamy, Typic Hapludult) from the Oklahoma training area along the Civilian Control Zone in South Korea. The image is illustration 3.2 from the Planning Level Survey, 8th US Army Korea (1998). The primary purpose of planning level surveys are to ensure Army activities and natural resources conservation measures on mission land are integrated and consistent with federal stewardship requirements and host nation agreements.

Songjeong soils are on low undulating hills. Elevation ranges from about 5 to 50 meters. The native vegetation is mixed deciduous hardwood forest. The soils formed in material weathered from granite. The land is primarily forested or cultivated.

The central concept or Typic subgroup of Hapludults is fixed on freely drained soils that are moderately deep or deeper to hard rock. Typic Hapludults are of very large extent in the Eastern and Southeastern United States. The natural vegetation consisted of forest plants. Slopes range from nearly level to steep. Where slopes are suitable, many of these soils are used as cropland. Many of the soils, particularly those that are steep, are used as forest. Some are used as pasture or homesites.

For more information about Korea soil series, visit:

soil.rda.go.kr/eng/series/series.jsp

Soil profile: A soil profile of Vanella cobbly fine sandy loam. The lower part of the argillic horizon starting at approximately 80 centimeters is red, cobbly clay loam. These soils formed in old colluvium derived from sandstone, shale, siltstone, limestone, dolomitic limestone, quartzite, metasandstone, and phyllite. (Soil Survey of Rockbridge County, Virginia; by Mary Ellen Cook, Natural Resources Conservation Service)

Landscape: Hills and mountains

Landform: Debris flows, hillslopes and mountain slopes

MLRA(s): 130A, 147

Hillslope Profile Position: Summits, backslopes and footslopes

Geomorphic Component: Interfluve, crest, nose slope, side slope, base slope and mountainflank

Parent Material: Old colluvium derived from sandstone, shale, limestone, quartzite, metasandstone and phyllite.

Slope: 3 to 35 percent.

Elevation: 1,000 to 3,000 feet

Frost-free period: 130 to 205 days

Mean Annual Air Temperature: 53 to 56 degrees F

Mean Annual Precipitation: 38 to 42 inches

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, siliceous, subactive, mesic Typic Paleudults

Thickness of the Ochric epipedon: 0 to 60 cm (0 to 24 inches) (A, E and BE horizons)

Depth of the Argillic horizon: 60 to 165 cm (24 to 65 inches) (Bt horizons). The weighted average of clay is 18 to 35 percent in the particle-size control section.

Solum thickness: Greater than 150 cm (60 inches)

Depth to bedrock: Greater than 150 cm (60 inches)

Depth Class: Very Deep

Rock fragment content: 0 to 35 percent in the upper horizons and particle-size control section. Rock fragments can range from 0 to 60 percent below the control section. They consist of a mixture of subrounded and subangular fragments of sandstone, shale, quartzite, metasandstone and phyllite.

Soil Reaction: Very strongly acid or strongly acid except where limed.

USE AND VEGETATION:

Major Uses: Most areas are in forest. Some areas are used for pasture and cultivated crops.

Dominant Vegetation: Chestnut oak, scarlet oak, post oak, Virginia pine, eastern white pine, and pitch pine.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT:

Distribution: The Northern Appalachian Ridges and Valleys (MLRA 147) and the metasedimentary areas along the western flank of the Northern Blue Ridge (MLRA 130A).

Extent: Moderate

For additional information about the survey area, visit:

www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_MANUSCRIPTS/virginia/rockb...

For a detailed soil description, visit:

soilseries.sc.egov.usda.gov/OSD_Docs/V/VANELLA.html

For acreage and geographic distribution, visit:

casoilresource.lawr.ucdavis.edu/see/#vanella

Soil profile: Profile of Monwebb clay, 0 to 1 percent slopes, occasionally flooded. The presence of slickensides (starting at at depth of about 25 cm) indicates the high shrink-swell potential of this soil. Other soil features influencing soil properties are the presence of secondary calcium carbonates, gypsum crystals, and salt crystals. (Soil Survey of Duval County, Texas; by John L. Sackett III, Natural Resources Conservation Service)

Landscape: Innudation is common on areas of Monwebb clay, 0 to 1 percent slopes, occasionally flooded. Flooding typically occurs during the spring, late summer, and fall months. In the foreground, is an area of Mata very gravelly sandy clay loam, 1 to 8 percent slopes. (Soil Survey of McMullen County, Texas; by Clark K. Harshbarger, Jon Wiedenfeld, and Gary Harris, Natural Resources Conservation Service)

Setting

Major land resource area: MLRA 83B—Western Rio Grande Plain

Elevation: 175 to 485 feet

Mean annual precipitation: 22 to 26 inches

Mean annual air temperature: 70 to 72 degrees F

Frost-free period: 265 to 301 days

Composition

Major components:

Monwebb occasionally flooded and similar soils: 80 percent

Minor components: 20 percent

Soil Description

Monwebb soils, occasionally flooded

Landscape: Inland, dissected coastal plains

Landforms: Valley flats

Down-slope shape: Linear

Across-slope shape: Concave

Parent material: Clayey alluvium

Typical Profile

A and An—moderately alkaline clay

Bnss—moderately alkaline clay

Bnssz—moderately alkaline clay

Bknz—moderately alkaline clay

Properties and Qualities

Slope: 0 to 1 percent

Depth to first restrictive layer: No restrictive layer

Slowest soil permeability to 60 inches, above first cemented restrictive layer: 0.001 to

0.06 in/hr (very slow)

Salinity, representative within 40 inches: Non-saline

Salinity, maximum within 40 inches: Saline

Sodicity, representative within 40 inches: Sodic

Sodicity, maximum within 40 inches: Sodic

Representative total available water capacity to 60 inches: About 9.1 inches (high)

Natural drainage class: Moderately well drained

Runoff: Very low

Flooding frequency: occasional

Interpretive Groups

Land capability nonirrigated: 4s

Land capability irrigated: None specified

Ecological site name: Clay Flat 18-25" PZ

Ecological site number: R083BY415TX

Typical vegetation: Pink pappusgrass, buffalograss, curly-mesquite, whiplash pappusgrass, other perennial forbs, other perennial grasses, plains bristlegrass, sideoats grama, Texas wintergrass, vine mesquite, tobosagrass, alkali sacaton, white tridens, multiflower false Rhodes grass, other annual forbs, other shrubs, other trees

Use and Management

Major land uses: The major land uses for this soil are wildlife habitat and livestock grazing.

Wildlife habitat: This soil is well suited to wildlife habitat. Deer, dove, javelina, and quail are common in areas of this soil.

For additional information about the survey area, visit:

www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_MANUSCRIPTS/texas/TX131/Du...

For a detailed soil description, visit:

soilseries.sc.egov.usda.gov/OSD_Docs/M/MONWEBB.html

For acreage and geographic distribution, visit:

casoilresource.lawr.ucdavis.edu/see/#monwebb

Soil profile: A representative soil profile of the Kenn soil series. (Soil Survey of Sevier County, Arkansas; by Alex L. Winfrey, Natural Resources Conservation Service)

The Kenn series consists of very deep, well drained, moderately permeable soils that formed in loamy alluvium. These level to gently sloping soils are on flood plains of the Ouachita Mountains and the Arkansas Valley and Ridges. Slopes are 0 to 4 percent. Mean annual temperature is 63 degrees F., and mean annual precipitation is 1168 cm (46 in).

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, siliceous, active, thermic Ultic Hapludalfs

Solum thickness is 102 to 152 cm (40 to 60 in). Depth to the gravelly 2BC ranges from 51 to 102 cm (20 to 40 in). Depth to bedrock is greater than 152 cm (60 in).

USE AND VEGETATION: Used mainly for tame pasture and woodland. The vegetation is primarily post oak, southern red oak, sweetgum, and shortleaf pine.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Flood plains of the Ouachita Mountains and the Arkansas Valley and Ridges of Arkansas and Oklahoma. The series is of minor extent.

For additional information about the survey area, visit:

www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_MANUSCRIPTS/arkansas/AR133...

For a detailed soil description, visit:

soilseries.sc.egov.usda.gov/OSD_Docs/K/KENN.html

For acreage and geographic distribution, visit:

casoilresource.lawr.ucdavis.edu/see/#kenn

A representative soil profile of Pullback sandy loam. Pullback soils are shallow to unweathered, hard bedrock and have thick, dark surface layers. They occur on high mountains in the western and southern parts of the county. (Soil Survey of Graham County, North Carolina; by Brian Wood and Southern Blue Ridge Soil Survey Office, Natural Resources Conservation Service)

Landscape: A high mountain grassy bald on Huckleberry Knob in an area of Breakneck-Pullback complex, windswept, 15 to 30 percent slopes, very rocky. Areas such as this are highly desirable for wildlife and were once used as summer pasture.

The Pullback series consists of shallow, well drained soils on strongly sloping to very steep summits and side slopes in the high elevations of the Southern Blue Ridge mountains, MLRA 130B. They formed in residuum affected by soil creep in the upper part, and weathered from low-grade metasedimentary rocks, primarily metasandstone. Slope ranges from 8 to 95 percent.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy, isotic, frigid Lithic Humudepts

Note: Although Pullback soils may exhibit some of the characteristics of andic soil properties, they lack the volcanic glass found in soils of similar taxa in the Western United States.

Solum thickness and depth to lithic contact is less than 20 inches. The content of rock fragments is less than 35 percent by volume throughout. Reaction is extremely acid to strongly acid.

Most of the acreage is in public ownership and is used for watershed protection, recreation, and wildlife habitat. In areas higher than about 5400 feet, red spruce and fraser fir are the dominant trees. At the lower elevations, northern red oak, black oak, American beech, yellow birch, black cherry, sugar maple, eastern hemlock, and yellow buckeye are common trees. Common understory plants are serviceberry, striped maple, American chestnut sprouts, silverbell, pin cherry, rhododendron, flame azalea, and blueberry. Common forbs are hay-scented fern, woodfern, New York fern, Solomons seal, yellow mandarin, and trillium. A small acreage is covered by heath balds. These balds are vegetated with rhododendron, mountain laurel, blueberry, flame azalea, hawthorn, and mountain ash. Vegetation ranges for spruce/fur to northern hard woods, heath and grass balds.

For additional information about the survey area, visit:

www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_MANUSCRIPTS/north_carolina...

For a detailed soil description, visit:

soilseries.sc.egov.usda.gov/OSD_Docs/P/PULLBACK.html

For acreage and geographic distribution, visit:

casoilresource.lawr.ucdavis.edu/see/#pullback

The petrogypsic horizon is a surface or subsurface soil horizon cemented by gypsum so strongly that dry fragments will not slake in water.

Rob Fitzpatrick is a soil scientist whose career has focused on the interface of soil science (pedology), regolith science, mineralogy, biogeochemistry, forensic science, mineral exploration and climate change as applied to landscape processes andadvanced techniques to characterize, map, monitor and manage soil-regolith systems and criminal and environmental forensic techniques for soils and regolith. He has over 40 years experience in leading major multi-disciplinary research projects; conducted over 500 specialised soil-regolith investigations and surveys, covering a wide range of regions and climates worldwide.

For more information about soil classification in the UAE, visit:

vdocument.in/united-arab-emirates-keys-to-soil-taxonomy.h...

Depth Class: very deep

Drainage Class (Agricultural): well drained

Internal Free Water Occurrence: moderately deep to deep, common

Index Surface Runoff: medium to high

Permeability: moderately slow to slow

Landscape: Coastal Plain

Landform: Upland

Geomorphic Component: flat

Parent Material: Marine sediments

Slope: commonly 1 to 6 percent, but range from 0 to 50 percent

Elevation (type location): 20 to 150 feet

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, siliceous, subactive, thermic Typic Hapludults

Depth to Bedrock: Greater than 72 inches

Depth to Seasonal High Water Table: 36 to 54 inches, November to April

Rock Fragment content: Gravel size rock fragments ranges from 0 to 35 percent in the solum and 0 to 60 percent in the C horizon

Soil Reaction: very strongly acid through moderately acid, except where limed

Other Features: Some pedons have a lithologic discontinuity generally below 40 inches

Other Features: Exchangeable aluminum is less than 6 meq/100 grams of soil in the solum

Other Features: Some part of the Bt or BC horizon of most pedons commonly has firm or very firm consistence in place

Other Features: Mica flakes range from none to common, and are present only in some pedons

USE AND VEGETATION:

Major Uses: crops, some forestry

Dominant Vegetation: Where cultivated-- peanuts, soybeans, cotton, corn, and tobacco. Where wooded-- loblolly pine, Virginia pine, oaks, hickory, sweet gum, and red maple.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT:

Distribution: Atlantic Coastal Plain in Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and possibly in Alabama and Georgia

Extent: large

For additional information about the survey area, visit:

www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_MANUSCRIPTS/virginia/VA036...

For a detailed soil description, visit:

soilseries.sc.egov.usda.gov/OSD_Docs/E/EMPORIA.html

For acreage and geographic distribution, visit:

casoilresource.lawr.ucdavis.edu/see/#emporia

(Soil Survey of Polk County, Minnesota; by Charles T. Saari and Rodney B. Heschke, Natural Resources Conservation Service)

The Knute series consist of very deep, moderately well drained soils formed in calcareous loamy glacial till. These soils are typically on convex positions on ground and end moraines. The permeability is moderate. Slopes range from 0 to 3 percent. Mean annual air temperature is about 40 degrees F. Mean annual precipitation is about 22 inches.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, mixed, superactive, frigid Oxyaquic Argiudolls

Depth to the base of the argillic horizon typically ranges from 14 to 24 inches. The mollic epipedon ranges from 7 to 16 inches in thickness. The depth to the calcic horizon ranges from 16 to 30 inches. A thick solum phase is recognized where the depth to carbonates is 28 to 60 inches and the depth to the base of the argillic is more than 24 inches. Rock fragments of mixed lithology make up 2 to 10 percent by volume of the profile. The soil moisture control section is not dry in any part for as long as 45 consecutive days during the 120 days following the summer solstice. It is also not dry in any part for as long as 90 cumulative days per year in 6 out of 10 years.

USE AND VEGETATION: Most areas are cropped to small grain, corn, soybeans, and hay.Some areas are in woodland. Native vegetation is mixed hardwoods and prairie grasses.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Northwest and West Central Minnesota. Inextensive.

For additional information about the survey area, visit:

www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_MANUSCRIPTS/minnesota/MN11...

For a detailed soil description, visit:

soilseries.sc.egov.usda.gov/OSD_Docs/K/KNUTE.html

For acreage and geographic distribution, visit:

casoilresource.lawr.ucdavis.edu/see/#knute

Out for some soil sampling with Ivong, Lewiin and Valentin

The Ras Al Khaimah series is a very deep soil formed in loamy alluvial deposits. (NE019).

Taxonomic classification: Typic Haplocambids, coarse-silty, carbonatic, hyperthermic

Diagnostic subsurface horizon described in this profile is: Cambic horizon 10 to 200 cm.

The pH (1:1) ranges from 7.0 to 8.3 throughout the profile. The EC (1:1) is generally less than 1 dS/m in all horizons, but ranges to 3.0. EC (1:1) may be higher in some areas that have been irrigated. Most pedons have a deflation gravel lag on the surface covering 2 to 10% of the area. Gravel content is mostly 0 to 5% throughout the profile, but some pedons have layers with up to 65% gravel below depths of 100 cm.

The A horizon ranges from about 10 to 20 cm thick. It has hue of 10YR, value of 5 or 6, and chroma of 3 or 4. Texture is fine sandy loam, very fine sandy loam, or loam.

The B horizon commonly extends to more than 200 cm in most pedons, but may be underlain by a C horizon at depths of between 100 and 200 cm. Hue is 10YR, value is 4 to 6, and chroma is 3 to 6. Texture is very fine sandy loam, loam, or silt loam.

Where encountered, the C horizon has hue of 10YR, value 5 or 6, and chroma 3 or 4. It is gravelly to extremely gravelly loamy sand or sandy loam.

A representative soil profile of Tornillo loam in an area of Tornillo loam, 0 to 2 percent slopes, occasionally flooded. Tornillo soils are stratified from depositional events. They are very deep soils. (Soil Survey of Big Bend National Park, Texas; by James Gordon, Soil Scientist, James A. Douglass, Soil Scientist, and Dr. Lynn E. Loomis, Soil Scientist, Natural Resources Conservation Service)

The Tornillo series consists of very deep, well drained, moderately permeable soils that formed in calcareous loamy alluvial materials. These nearly level to very gently sloping soils are on broad valley floors and flood plain steps. Slope ranges from 0 to 3 percent. The mean annual precipitation is about 11 inches and the mean annual air temperature is about 70 degrees F.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, mixed, superactive, hyperthermic Ustifluventic Haplocambids

Soil moisture: Ustic aridic moisture regime. Intermittently moist in the soil moisture control section during July through September.

Mean annual soil temperature: 72 to 78 degrees F.

Reaction: neutral to slightly alkaline

Texture: fine sandy loam, sandy clay loam, loam, silt loam, clay loam, or silty clay loam

Particle-size control section (weighted average):

Clay content: 18 to 35 percent

Rock fragments: 0 to 15 percent igneous and sedimentary gravel

Calcium carbonate equivalent: less than 10 percent

USE AND VEGETATION: Used mostly for livestock grazing. Present vegetation is creosotebush, mesquite, fluffgrass, slim tridens, tobosa, and threeawn.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Southwest Texas in Major Land Resource Area 42. The series is of minor extent.

For additional information about the survey area, visit:

www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_MANUSCRIPTS/texas/bigbendT...

For a detailed soil description, visit:

soilseries.sc.egov.usda.gov/OSD_Docs/T/TORNILLO.html

For acreage and geographic distribution, visit:

casoilresource.lawr.ucdavis.edu/see/#tornillo

Sugarcane is commonly grown on Oxisols in Brazil. Oxisols are an order in USDA soil taxonomy, best known for their occurrence in tropical rain forest, 15-25 degrees north and south of the Equator. They are classified as ferralsols in the World Reference Base for Soil Resources; some oxisols have been previously classified as laterite soils.The main processes of soil formation of oxisols are weathering, humification and pedoturbation due to animals. These processes produce the characteristic soil profile. They are defined as soils containing at all depths no more than 10 percent weatherable minerals, and low cation exchange capacity. Oxisols are always a red or yellowish color, due to the high concentration of iron(III) and aluminium oxides and hydroxides. In addition they also contain quartz and kaolin, plus small amounts of other clay minerals and organic matter.

For more information on Soil Taxonomy, visit:

www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/main/soils/survey/class/

For more photos related to soils and landscapes visit:

www.flickr.com/photos/soilscience/sets/72157622983226139/

Soil profile: A representative soil profile of very deep, excessively drained, disturbed soils in Korea.

Landscape: These Udorthents are in valleys. They formed from cut and fill materials from the surrounding uplands.

Udorthents are the Orthents of cool to hot, moist regions. They have a udic moisture regime and a temperature regime warmer than cryic. Generally, they are acid to neutral. Slopes generally are moderate to steep but are gentle in a few areas. Udorthents commonly occur in areas of very recently exposed regolith, in areas of weakly cemented rocks, or in areas of thin regolith over hard rocks.

Many of the gently sloping soils are the result of earth-moving activities. The vegetation is commonly a deciduous forest, or the soils are used as pasture. Udorthents are extensive soils on steep slopes in the humid parts of the United States.

Orthents are primarily Entisols on recent erosional surfaces. The erosion may be geologic or may have been induced by cultivation, mining, or other factors. Any former soil that was on the landscape has been completely removed or so truncated that the diagnostic horizons for all other orders do not occur. A few Orthents are in areas of recent loamy or fine eolian deposits, Orthents occur in any climate and under any vegetation. They are do not occur in areas that have aquic conditions or a high water table or on shifting or stabilized sand dunes.

For more information about soils in Korea, visit:

soil.rda.go.kr/eng/atlas/classification.jsp

RMN soil monitoring and sampling at Estero Americano with Sonoma Land Trust. Hilary Allen (PB biologist in Red), Shanti Edwards in grey with SLT

PC: Sophie Noda

A soil profile of a Palexeralf in Victoria, Australia. Clay has been leached from the upper 15 to 25 cm, resulting in a loamy, predominantly gray horizon with a wavy lower boundary. Below this is a thick, reddish, clay-enriched argillic horizon that extends below the base of the photo. (Soil Survey Staff. 2015. Illustrated guide to Soil Taxonomy. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service, National Soil Survey Center, Lincoln, Nebraska)

Palexeralfs have a petrocalcic (cemented by calcium carbonate) subsoil horizon or an argillic (clay accumulation) or kandic (very low cation-exchange capacity) subsoil horizon that is thick or that has, at its upper boundary, both a clayey texture and a large increase in clay content. Many of these soils have some plinthite (firm, iron oxide-rich concentration that irreversibly hardens after exposure to repeated wet-dry cycles) in their lower horizons, but this feature is rare in the United States. Palexeralfs are in relatively stable landscape positions on gentle slopes, and most began their genesis before the late Pleistocene. During pluvial periods of the Pleistocene, carbonates appear to have been almost completely removed from the argillic or kandic horizon of most of these soils, but some of the soils appear to have been recalcified later. Most Palexeralfs formed in acid or in moderately basic parent materials, but some formed in materials as basic as basalt. The native vegetation on the warmest Palexeralfs in the United States was a mixture of annual grasses, forbs, and woody shrubs. The native vegetation on the coolest Palexeralfs was mostly a coniferous forest. Palexeralfs are moderately extensive in the United States as well as in other parts of the world.

For additional information about soil classification, visit:

www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detail/soils/survey/cla...

Soil profile: A representative soil profile of the Lugert soil series. (Soil Survey of Harper County, Oklahoma; by Troy Collier and Steve Alspach, Natural Resources Conservation Service)

Landscape: Rangeland and cropland are the major uses of Lugert soils. Native vegetation is tall grasses with some scattered hardwood bottomland trees.

The Lugert series consists of very deep, well drained, moderately permeable soils that formed in alluvium of Recent age. These soils are on nearly level flood plains in the Central Rolling Red Plains (MLRA 78C). Slopes range from 0 to 1 percent. Mean annual precipitation is 25 inches. Mean annual temperature is 62 degrees F.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Coarse-silty, mixed, superactive, thermic Fluventic Haplustolls

Solum thickness is 20 to more than 40 inches. Depth to secondary carbonates ranges from 15 to 36 inches.

USE AND VEGETATION: Mainly cultivated to small grains, alfalfa, grain sorghum, cotton, and tame pasture. Native vegetation is tall grasses with some scattered hardwood bottomland trees.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Central Rolling Red Plains of Oklahoma and possibly Kansas and Texas. The series is of moderate extent.

For additional information about the survey area, visit:

www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_MANUSCRIPTS/oklahoma/OK059...

For a detailed soil description, visit:

soilseries.sc.egov.usda.gov/OSD_Docs/L/LUGERT.html

For acreage and geographic distribution, visit:

casoilresource.lawr.ucdavis.edu/see/#lugert

The Lugert series consists of very deep, well drained, moderately permeable soils that formed in alluvium of Recent age. These soils are on nearly level flood plains in the Central Rolling Red Plains (MLRA 78C). Slopes range from 0 to 1 percent. Mean annual precipitation is 25 inches. Mean annual temperature is 62 degrees F.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Coarse-silty, mixed, superactive, thermic Fluventic Haplustolls

Solum thickness is 20 to more than 40 inches. Depth to secondary carbonates ranges from 15 to 36 inches.

USE AND VEGETATION: Mainly cultivated to small grains, alfalfa, grain sorghum, cotton, and tame pasture. Native vegetation is tall grasses with some scattered hardwood bottomland trees.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Central Rolling Red Plains of Oklahoma and possibly Kansas and Texas. The series is of moderate extent.

For additional information about the survey area, visit:

www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_MANUSCRIPTS/oklahoma/OK059...

For a detailed soil description, visit:

soilseries.sc.egov.usda.gov/OSD_Docs/L/LUGERT.html

For acreage and geographic distribution, visit:

casoilresource.lawr.ucdavis.edu/see/#lugert

The Palouse series consists of deep, well drained soils formed in loess on hills. Slopes are 0 to 60 percent. The average annual precipitation is about 21 inches, and the mean annual air temperature is about 48 degrees F.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-silty, mixed, superactive, mesic Pachic Ultic Haploxerolls

The mean annual soil temperature ranges from 47 to 52 degrees F. These soils are usually moist but are dry in all parts between 4 and 12 inches from 60 to 75 consecutive days in the summer and fall. Thickness of solum and depth to bedrock ranges from 40 to more than 60 inches. The mollic epipedon is 20 to 40 inches or more thick. The control section is silt loam or silty clay loam with 20 to 35 percent clay.

USE AND VEGETATION: Used mainly for dryland cropland. Small grains, peas, lentils, alfalfa, and grasses for hay and pasture are common crops. Native vegetation is Idaho fescue, bluebunch wheatgrass, Sandberg bluegrass, arrowleaf balsamroot, common snowberry, and wild rose.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Southeastern Washington, northeastern Oregon, and northern Idaho. Series is extensive.

For additional information about the survey area, visit:

soilseries.sc.egov.usda.gov/OSD_Docs/P/PALOUSE.html

For a detailed soil description, visit:

casoilresource.lawr.ucdavis.edu/see/#palouse

Soil profile: Profile of Watahala gravelly silt loam. Yellowish red clay begins at a depth of about 70 Centimeters and extends to below a depth 150 centimeters. (Soil Survey of Bland County, Virginia; by Robert K. Conner, Natural Resources Conservation Service)

The Watahala series consists of very deep, well drained soils formed in residuum from chert or cherty limestone over residuum from purer limestone on low hills and ridges in limestone valleys. Permeability is moderately slow to moderately rapid. Slope ranges from 2 to 60 percent. Mean annual precipitation is about 44 inches and mean annual air temperature is about 57 degrees F.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy over clayey, siliceous over mixed, subactive, mesic Typic Paleudults

Solum thickness and depth to bedrock are more than 60 inches. Depth to the 2Bt horizon ranges from 20 to 50 inches. Coarse fragments are mostly chert, but may include limestone and sandstone and are mostly gravel or cobble size. Percent coarse fragments range from 10 to 45 in individual horizons above the 2Bt, but the control section averages less than 35 percent. Percent coarse fragments range from 0 to 35 in the 2Bt horizon. Reaction is extremely acid to strongly acid in the upper part of the solum, and very strongly acid to strongly acid in the 2Bt horizon.

USE AND VEGETATION: The soils are used for the production of timber and related natural resources. Some areas are used for pasture or have been developed for homesites. Some less sloping areas are used for row crops. The overstory in most areas consists of white oak, red oak, eastern white pine, black locust, chestnut oak, yellow-poplar, red maple, black birch, white ash, and black cherry. The understory contains mountain laurel, huckleberry, azalea, flowering dogwood, sassafras, black locust, black gum, wild grape, red maple, multi-flora rose, Virginia creeper, black birch, black berry and ferns.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: MLRA 128 and 147, Appalachian Ridge and Valley areas of Virginia and northern Tennessee. Series is of moderate extent. Soils now within the range of the Watahala series were correlated as Frederick, gravelly phase in several published soil surveys.

For additional information about the survey area, visit:

www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_MANUSCRIPTS/virginia/VA021...

For a detailed soil description, visit:

soilseries.sc.egov.usda.gov/OSD_Docs/W/WATAHALA.html

For acreage and geographic distribution, visit:

casoilresource.lawr.ucdavis.edu/see/#watahala

The Iberia series consists of very deep, poorly drained, very slowly permeable soils that formed in alkaline clayey alluvium. They are on backswamp positions flanking natural levees on older deta plains of the Mississippi River. Slope is dominantly less than 0.5 percent but ranges up to 1 percent. (Soil Survey of St. Mary Parish, Louisiana; by Donald R. McDaniel and Gerald J. Trahan, Natural Resources Conservation Service)

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Very-fine, smectitic, hyperthermic Typic Epiaquerts

Thickness of the solum ranges from 40 to more than 80 inches. Cracks up to 1 inch wide develop to a depth of 20 inches or more during normal years and remain open for about 10 to 30 days.

USE AND VEGETATION: Used mainly for growing sugarcane and soybeans. A few areas are used for pasture and hardwood timber production.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Lower Mississippi River delta plain of Louisiana, Southern Mississippi Valley Alluvium (MLRA 131). This series is of moderate extent. Series established in Iberia Parish, Louisiana; 1911.

For additional information about the survey area, visit:

www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_MANUSCRIPTS/louisiana/LA10...

For a detailed soil description, visit:

soilseries.sc.egov.usda.gov/OSD_Docs/I/IBERIA.html

For acreage and geographic distribution, visit:

casoilresource.lawr.ucdavis.edu/see/#iberia

A soil profile of Frederick silt loam. The argillic horizon begins at a depth of about 15 centimeters and extends to below a depth of more than 150 centimeters. (Soil Survey of Bland County, Virginia; by Robert K. Conner, Natural Resources Conservation Service)

The Frederick series consists of very deep, well drained soils formed in residuum derived mainly from dolomitic limestone with interbeds of sandstone, siltstone, and shale. They are on are nearly level to very steep uplands. Permeability is moderate. Slopes range from 0 to 60 percent. Mean annual precipitation is about 42 inches, and mean annual temperature is about 55 degrees F.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine, mixed, semiactive, mesic Typic Paleudults

Solum thickness is more than 60 inches. Depth to bedrock is more than 72 inches. Depth to the top of the argillic horizon ranges from 0 to 20 inches. Variegated colors in the solum range from 40 to more than 60 inches below the soil surface. Rock fragments are mostly chert and range from 0 to 60 percent in the A, E, BA, and BE horizons, and 0 to 35 percent in the Bt, BC, and C horizons. In some areas the upper part of the solum is capped with as much as 20 inches of silty material. The soil ranges from very strongly acid through moderately acid, unless limed.

USE AND VEGETATION: Most of these soils are cleared and cultivated. Crops are corn, small grain, hay, tobacco, and apple orchards. Most of the steeper areas are in pasture or forest. Vegetation is largely hardwoods such as oak, hickory, maple, and yellow poplar.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky, Maryland, and Tennessee. The series is of large extent.

For additional information about the survey area, visit:

www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_MANUSCRIPTS/virginia/VA021...

For a detailed soil description, visit:

soilseries.sc.egov.usda.gov/OSD_Docs/F/FREDERICK.html

For acreage and geographic distribution, visit:

casoilresource.lawr.ucdavis.edu/see/#frederick

Photo Credit: Jeffrey Dubinsky

Copyright: DubinskyPhotography.com

May not be used for commercial or editorial purposes without the express consent of Dubinsky Photography.

A representative soil profile of the Tanasee soil series in North Carolina.

The Tanasee series consists of very deep, well drained soils on toe slopes, fans and benches in coves at high elevations in the Southern Blue Ridge mountains, MLRA 130B. They formed in colluvium derived from materials weathered from felsic to mafic igneous and high-grade metamorphic rocks. Near the type location, mean annual air temperature is about 45 degrees F., and mean annual precipitation is about 72 inches. Slope ranges from 2 to 95 percent. (Soil Survey of Buncombe County, North Carolina; by Mark S. Hudson, Natural Resources Conservation Service)

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, isotic, frigid Typic Humudepts

Depth to bedrock is more than 60 inchesContent of offlakes of mica is few or common throughout. Rock fragment content is less than 35 percent in the upper 40 inches and less than 60 percent below 40 inches. In the 10 to 40 inch control section, loamy horizons that overlie sandy horizons have more than 50 percent fine and coarser sand.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: High elevations in the Southern Blue Ridge mountains, MLRA 130B of North Carolina and Virginia, and possibly Tennessee. This series is of moderate extent.

The Tanasee series was formerly included with the Tusquitee series. However, Tusquitee soils are in a mesic family.

The 1/97 revision placed Tanasee soils in a fine-loamy particle-size class. This series was formerly placed in a coarse-loamy particle-size class. Laboratory PSA (pipette method) and corresponding field texture estimates (feel method) indicate control section clay contents of generally 12 to 24 percent, with most pedons marginally coarse-loamy. Fine-loamy particle-size class placement is based on the presence of amorphous (non-crystalline) clay-size material associated with the relatively high organic matter content found in these soils. Although field estimates, laboratory measurements, and calculated values may vary, clay content in the particle-size control section is generally less than 25 percent. Although Tanasee soils may exhibit some of the characteristics of andic soil properties, they lack the volcanic glass found in soils of similar taxa in the Western United States.

For additional information about the survey area, visit:

www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_MANUSCRIPTS/north_carolina...

For a detailed description, visit:

soilseries.sc.egov.usda.gov/OSD_Docs/T/TANASEE.html

For acreage and geographic distribution, visit:

casoilresource.lawr.ucdavis.edu/see/#tanasee

Toisnot soils are in shallow depressions, around the heads of drainageways, and on the outer fringe of stream terraces next to the better drained uplands, in the upper Coastal Plain. They occupy the transition areas between soils with contrasting drainage. On some landscapes, these soils extend down shallow drainageways for short distances. Slopes are generally less than 2 percent. The soil formed in moderately coarse textured fluvial or marine sediments.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Coarse-loamy, siliceous, semiactive, thermic Typic Fragiaquults

Depth to the upper boundary of the fragipan commonly ranges from 20 to 40 inches but in some areas it ranges from 10 to 45 inches. In wet seasons, the fragipan is dry to moist, whereas, the adjacent horizons are saturated. Reaction ranges from extremely acid to strongly acid throughout the profile, unless the surface has been limed.

USE AND VEGETATION: Most areas are in mixed forests of hardwoods and pine. Native trees include oak, maple, sweetgum, yellow-poplar, and loblolly pine, with understory plants as sweet bay, myrtle, gallberry, and smilax. Small acreages have been cleared and used for pasture, corn, and soybeans.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Upper Coastal Plain areas of North Carolina and possibly South Carolina and Virginia. The series is inextensive.

For a detailed description, visit:

soilseries.sc.egov.usda.gov/OSD_Docs/T/TOISNOT.html

For acreage and geographic distribution, visit:

casoilresource.lawr.ucdavis.edu/see/#toisnot

The Kimper series consists of deep and very deep, well drained soils formed in loamy colluvium or colluvium and residuum weathered from sandstone, siltstone and shale. Permeability is moderate to moderately rapid. These sloping to very steep soils are mostly on mountain sides. Slopes range from 5 to 95 percent, but are dominantly 30 to 75 percent.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, mixed, semiactive, mesic Humic Dystrudepts

Thickness of the solum ranges from 40 to more than 60 inches and depth to bedrock ranges from 48 to 100 inches or more. Rock fragments, mostly sandstone channers, range from 5 to 60 percent in individual horizons, but the 10 to 40 inch particle-size control section averages less than 35 percent. Coverage of surface stones ranges from 0 to 15 percent. Reaction ranges from extremely acid to neutral in the A horizon and from very strongly to moderately acid in the B and C horizon.

USE AND VEGETATION: Most areas are in secondary growth hardwood forests with mixed stands of yellow poplar, American basswood, white ash, cucumber tree, northern red oak, black walnut, black locust and umbrella magnolia. Less sloping areas are used as pasture and sites for houses and gardens.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Kimper soils are in the Cumberland-Allegheny Plateau of eastern Kentucky with possible similar areas in Virginia, West Virginia, and eastern Tennessee. The area is estimated to be of large extent, about 150,000 acres.

For additional information about the survey area, visit:

www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_MANUSCRIPTS/kentucky/KY195...

For a detailed description, visit:

soilseries.sc.egov.usda.gov/OSD_Docs/K/KIMPER.html

For acreage and geographic distribution, visit:

casoilresource.lawr.ucdavis.edu/see/#kimper

The Environment Agency-Abu Dhabi (EAD) has completed a $6.5 million (USD) contract with an Australian firm (GRM International) for a soil survey, which involves satellite images, soil analyses and land mapping.

The soil survey project was undertaken in two phases and involved the mapping and classification of the various types of soils in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi in two different scales. In the first phase the entire emirate was surveyed at a scale of 1:100,000, and in the second phase 400,000 hectares of land, evaluated as suitable for irrigated agriculture was surveyed at a scale of 1:25,000.

The project was approved by the Executive Committee of Abu Dhabi last year. The survey, according to the agency, will assist decision-makers in future land use planning on scientific grounds. "It will also provide an on-the-ground, scientific inventory of soil resources, help in developing a soil database using Geographic Information Systems (GIS), prepare a soil survey report and soil and land use maps and build the capacity of UAE nationals," Al Mansouri said after signing the agreement.

Unplanned expansion and developmental activities have caused the deterioration of soil resources. Under the project, the soil, mainly in the Eastern Region of Abu Dhabi, will be mapped and classified using the latest satellite images, and norms and standards of the United States Department of Agriculture.

"Planners, engineers and developers will be able to use the soil survey maps and data to evaluate soil for engineering purposes, select sites for residence, agriculture, industry, construction, routes for highways," said Majid Al Mansouri, EAD Secretary-General.

For more photos related to soils and landscapes visit:

www.flickr.com/photos/soilscience/sets/72157622983226139/

A representative soil profile of Moonville medial loam. Moonville soils generally are in proximity to volcanic vents.

The Moonville series consists of very deep, well drained soils that formed in cinders, and ash. Moonville soils are on lava plains and south-facing mountain sideslopes and have slopes of 0 to 60 percent. The mean annual precipitation is about 18 inches and the mean annual air temperature is about 42 degrees F.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Medial, amorphic, frigid Typic Vitrixerands

The soil moisture control section is dry for 90 to 120 consecutive days. The mean annual soil temperature is 42 to 47 degrees and the mean summer soil temperature is 59 to 66 degrees F. Depth to bedrock is over 60 inches. Depth to the calcic horizon is 20 to 35 inches. Phosphate retention is 50 to 80 percent. Acid-oxalate aluminum plus one-half the iron is 1.0 to 2.0. Glass percent is 5 to 30 percent. the 15-bar water on air dried samples is 12 to 15 percent and 20 to 30 percent on moist samples. Field estimated clay content is 12 to 26 percent. The soil profile contains 2 to 10 percent cinder gravels throughout.

USE AND VEGETATION: Used mainly for rangeland. Some areas are cultivated. Native vegetation is big sagebrush, three-tip sagebrush, antelope bitterbrush, Idaho fescue, bluebunch wheatgrass, Sandberg bluegrass, Thurber needlegrass, western yarrow, and prickly gilia.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Southeastern Idaho; adjacent to Craters of the Moon National Monument. It is inextensive.

For additional information about the survey area, visit:

www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_MANUSCRIPTS/idaho/cratersN...

For a detailed soil description, visit:

soilseries.sc.egov.usda.gov/OSD_Docs/M/MOONVILLE.html

For acreage and geographic distribution, visit:

casoilresource.lawr.ucdavis.edu/see/#moonville