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Chernozem (from Russian: chernozyom, is a black-colored soil containing a high percentage of humus (4% to 16%) and high percentages of phosphoric acids, phosphorus, and ammonia. Chernozem is very fertile and can produce high agricultural yields with its high moisture storage capacity. Chernozems are a Reference Soil Group of the World Reference Base for Soil Resources (WRB).
Russian soil scientists rank the deep, central Chernozems among the best soils in the world. With less than half of all Chernozems in Eurasia being used for arable cropping, these soils constitute a formidable resource for the future. Preservation of the favorable soil structure through timely cultivation and careful irrigation at low watering rates prevent wind and water erosion. Application of P fertilizers is required for high yields.
Wheat, barley and maize are the principal crops grown, alongside other food crops and vegetables. Part of the Chernozem area is used for livestock rearing. In the northern temperate belt, the possible growing period is short and the principal crops grown are wheat and barley, in places in rotation with vegetables. Maize and sunflower are widely grown in the warm temperate belt. Maize production tends to stagnate in drier years unless the crop is irrigated adequately (WRB, 2016)
Soil profile: (Photo courtesy of Yakov Kuzyakov, revised.)
For more information about this soil, visit;
wwwuser.gwdg.de/~kuzyakov/soils/WRB-2006_Keys.htm
Landscape: Chernozems are relict soils in Poland, covering only small patches of our country. In recent years, discussions on genesis, transformation and relations of Chernozems with other soil types have been revived. Interdisciplinary research conducted jointly with archaeologists broadened knowledge and verified scenarios of Cherznozems evolution in selected regions of Poland. On the other hand, there are reports of significant degradation or even disappearance of Chernozems due to intensive cultivation and soil erosion. It indicates the great importance to protect these fertile soils. Therefore, despite the fact that Chernozem is “the first among soils”, from recognizing the genesis of which modern soil science has begun, we still see exciting research challenges and practical needs regarding these soils in Poland, as well as in Central and Eastern Europe. (Cezary Kabała)
For more information about "Chernozem – Soil of the Year 2019", visit;
Kentucky State Soil
Soil profile: A representative soil profile of the Crider series. (Soil Survey of Floyd County, Indiana; by Steven W. Neyhouse, Byron G. Nagel, and Dena L. Marshall, Natural Resources Conservation Service)
archive.org/details/FloydIN2007
When photographing soils, a soil scientist will commonly use a knife to pick the profile face to show natural soil structure (left side of profile). Or, they may use a knife or shovel to smooth the surface (right side of the profile) which helps show change in color or horizonation.
Landscape: Wheat in an area of Crider silt loam, 2 to 6 percent slopes. These soils are on nearly level to sloping uplands. Slopes commonly range from 0 to 12 percent. Many areas are undulating to rolling karst topography. The upper 50 to 100 centimeters of the solum formed in loess and the lower part formed in limestone residuum or old alluvium. (Soil Survey of Christian County, Kentucky, by Ronald D. Froedge, Natural Resources Conservation Service)
The Crider series consists of very deep, well drained, moderately permeable soils on uplands. They formed in a loess mantle and the underlying residuum from limestone. Slopes range from 0 to 30 percent. Near the type location, the mean annual precipitation is 48 inches and the mean annual temperature is 57 degrees F.
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-silty, mixed, active, mesic Typic Paleudalfs
Thickness of the solum ranges from 60 to more than 100 inches. Depth to bedrock ranges from 60 to more than 160 inches; commonly more than 100 inches. Fragments of chert ranges from 0 to about 15 percent; in some pedons it ranges 0 to 35 percent below the lithologic discontinuity. Reaction is from neutral to strongly acid to a depth of 40 inches, and from moderately acid to very strongly acid below 40 inches.
USE AND VEGETATION: Nearly all of the soil is used for growing crops and pasture. The chief crops are corn, small grains, soybeans, tobacco,and hay; truck crops are grown in a few places. The original vegetation was mixed hardwood forest, chiefly of oaks, maple, hickory, elm, ash, and hackberry.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: The Pennyroyal and the western Outer Bluegrass of Kentucky; the northern part of the Highland Rim of Tennessee, and Illinois, Indiana, and Missouri. The soil is of large extent, about 1 million acres.
For a detailed soil description, visit:
soilseries.sc.egov.usda.gov/OSD_Docs/C/CRIDER.html
For acreage and geographic distribution, visit:
A representative soil profile and landscape of the Ford End soil series from England. (Photos and information provided by LandIS, Land Information System: Cranfield University 2022. The Soils Guide. Available: www.landis.org.uk. Cranfield University, UK. Last accessed 14/01/2022). (Photos revised.)
These and associated soils are moderately permeable calcareous loamy soils over chalky gravel variably affected by groundwater.
They are classified as Calcaric Gleysols by the WRB soil classification system. (www.fao.org/3/i3794en/I3794en.pdf)
For more information about this soil, visit:
This photo accompanies Figure 8.—Indicator A1, Histosol or Histel. [Field Indicators of Hydric Soils in the United States].
(Foreground): These are very deep, very poorly drained soils that formed in partially decomposed organic material (Typic Cryohemists). See Keys to Soil Taxonomy (Soil Survey Staff) for a complete definition.
They are on depressional bench-like areas associated with drumlinoid hills and the toeslope, lower backslopes, and floors of valleys. They have moderately rapid permeability and slow runoff. The water table is near or at the surface year-round. Mean annual temperature is about 45 degrees F, and the mean annual precipitation is about 100 to 130 inches.
The thickness of the organic material is greater than 52 inches. The surface tier is dominantly hemic material (mucky peat) with the uppermost layer typically fibric material (peat).
Vegetation is dominantly sedges, Sphagnum sp., and hydrophytic forbs, along with stunted lodgepole pine, western hemlock, and Alaska yellow cedar. These soils are used primarily for wildlife habitat, recreation, and watershed protection. The soils are extensive in Southeast Alaska.
General setting: White Rim region of The Maze and Island in the Sky Districts, Canyonlands National Park
Elevation: 3,980 to 5,210 feet (1,214 to 1,587 meters)
Mean annual precipitation: 5 to 9 inches (127 to 229 millimeters)
Mean annual air temperature: 53 to 59 degrees F (11.7 to 15.0 degrees C)
Mean annual soil temperature: 55 to 61 degrees F (12.8 to 16.1 degrees C)
Frost-free period: 175 to 195 days
Major Land Resource Area: 35–Colorado Plateau
Map Unit Composition
Goblin and similar soils: 90 percent
Minor Components:
• Rock outcrop (Moenkopie Formation sandstone, Schnabkaib Member)
• Moderately deep gypsic soils–Desert Gypsum Loam (Torrey Mormon tea)
Taxonomic classification: Loamy-skeletal, gypsic, mesic Lithic Haplogypsids
Landform: Hills
Geology: Moenkopie Formation Sandstone, Schnabkaib Member (Triassic)
Parent material: gypsiferous residuum weathered from sandstone
Slope: 6 to 45 percent, north to northwest aspects
Ground Cover: (% Cover) (fig. 42)
Plant Canopy: 25-30
Litter <5mm: 3-8
Rock Fragments: 12-20
Bare Soil: 0-5
Cyanobacteria Crust: 8-12
Lichen Crust: 30-40
Moss Crust: 0-5
Salt Crust: 0
Gypsum Crust: 5-10
Depth to restrictive feature(s): 6 to 16 inches to bedrock, lithic
Drainage class: somewhat excessively drained
Slowest permeability: 2.0 to 6.0 in/hr (moderately rapid)
Available water capacity total inches: about 0.5 (very low)
Shrink-swell potential: about 1.5 LEP (low)
Flooding hazard: none
Ponding hazard: none
Seasonal water table minimum depth: greater than 60 inches
Runoff class: very high
Hydrologic group: D
Calcium carbonate maximum: about 5 percent
Gypsum maximum: about 40 percent
Salinity maximum: about 8 mmhos/cm (slightly saline)
Sodium adsorption ratio maximum: about 0 SAR (nonsodic)
Ecological site name: Desert Very Shallow Gypsum (Torrey’s Jointfir)
Ecological site number: R035XY142UT
Present vegetation (in most areas): shadscale saltbush, rubber rabbitbrush, galleta,
Torrey Mormon tea, scarlet globemallow, buckwheat
Land capability (non irrigated): 7s
For a detailed description, visit:
soilseries.sc.egov.usda.gov/OSD_Docs/G/GOBLIN.html
For acreage and geographic distribution, visit:
Soils are critical to life on Earth. Indeed, they are as essential as water for the sustenance of humans and a multitude of other species. They serve many crucial functions - from food production to groundwater storage to carbon sequestration. It might not seem obvious, but soils store more carbon than is contained in all aboveground vegetation and regulate emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.
Unfortunately, soils have been in decline over the past decades. Studies show that some 33% of the world’s soils suffer from moderate to severe degradation. From erosion to salinization to nutrient depletion to loss of soil biodiversity, soils are under threat from man-made and natural factors.
So it is very important to ensure their sustainable use for food production and other purposes. And building awareness is a first step in this direction.
There are a number of dedicated soil museums in different countries, including the UAE. They serve to spread knowledge about the importance of soils and promote efforts on environmental protection and sustainable development.
However, until recently, there was no up-to-date, comprehensive information about the status of soil museums worldwide.
So a major study published recently in Advances in Agronomy sought to fill this gap. The study collected the latest information about soil museums and museums with permanent exhibitions on soils around the world, including the Emirates Soil Museum hosted by the International Center for Biosaline Agriculture (ICBA).
Conducted by an international team of soil experts, the study identified 38 soil museums specifically dedicated to soils, 34 permanent soil exhibitions, and 32 collections of soils that are accessible by appointment. It also analyzed the number of soil museums since the early 1900s, as well as information about their locations, contents, and visitors.
According to the study, the number of soil museums has increased since the early 1900s, and there was a noticeable growth between 2015 and 2019. It shows that Europe, East and South-East Asia have the highest concentration of soil museums and permanent exhibitions related to soils, with Russia having the largest number of soil monoliths exhibited and the International Soil Reference and Information Centre (ISRIC) - World Soil Museum having the richest and most diverse collection of soil monoliths.
The study also notes that various soil museums are increasingly offering fun activities, including interactive animations for children and adults, guided tours, and conferences. Some museums are also using advanced technologies to attract more visitors, including augmented reality applications, videos, animations, 3D models, and interactive games.
Speaking of the study, Ms. Mai Shalaby, Curator of the Emirates Soil Museum and co-author of the study, said: “Soil museums play a huge role when it comes to building awareness about soils and their link to sustainable development. At the Emirates Soil Museum - a unique facility in the Gulf region established in 2016 - we have been continuously making efforts to disseminate information about soils and threats facing them. Over the years, our museum has become a knowledge hub and has benefitted thousands of students, researchers, professionals, environmentalists, decision- and policy-makers.”
According to the authors, soil museums play a significant role in educating the general public about environmental protection and sustainable development. Therefore, it is important to support them in every way possible. Moreover, the study concludes that, though relatively numerous overall, soil museums and exhibitions still remain sparse in some parts of the world.
Posted Monday, November 30, 2020
Soil profile: The Spivey series consists of very deep, well drained, soils with moderately rapid permeability. They formed in colluvium derived from materials weathered from low-grade metasedimentary rocks.
Landscape: The Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest is a rare example of an old-growth hardwood forest. The dominant cove soils in this area are Spivey, Whiteoak, and Santeetlah.
Spivey soils occur along drainageways, on benches and fans, and in coves in the Southern Blue Ridge mountains (MLRA 130B). Slope ranges from 2 to 95 percent. Near the type location, mean annual temperature is 56 degrees F. and mean annual precipitation is 51 inches.
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy-skeletal, isotic, mesic Typic Humudepts
Solum thickness ranges from 30 to more than 60 inches. Depth to bedrock is greater than 60 inches. Fragments of low-grade metasedimentary rocks such as metasandstone, metagraywacke, slate, phyllite, or arkose, range from 15 to 75 percent in the A and Bw1 horizons, from 35 to 90 percent in the Bw2, BC and C horizon. Reaction is moderately acid to extremely acid throughout. Flakes of mica range from none to common.
USE AND VEGETATION: Most of this soil is in forest. Below 3,000 feet the dominant forest type is yellow poplar. As elevation increases the forest type is more mixed and consists of northern red oak, black cherry, sugar maple, American beech, black oak, black birch, yellow birch, sweet birch, yellow-poplar, eastern hemlock, and black locust. At elevations above 4,000 feet yellow birch replaces yellow-poplar as a common tree. In the drier, warmer part of MLRA 130B, upland oaks, hickory, black gum, red maple, and eastern white pine are associated. Flowering dogwood, mountain-laurel, silverbell, striped maple, serviceberry, rhododendron, red maple, blueberry, trillium, Solomons seal, and wood fern are common understory species.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Southern Blue Ridge (MLRA 130B) of North Carolina, Tennessee and possibly Georgia, and Virginia The series is of large extent. Spivey soils formerly have been included in the Tusquitee, Hayter, and Barbourville series.
For additional information about the survey area, visit:
www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_MANUSCRIPTS/north_carolina...
For additional information about the survey area, visit:
soilseries.sc.egov.usda.gov/OSD_Docs/S/SPIVEY.html
For acreage and geographic distribution, visit:
Depth to a root limiting or restrictive layer is important because it determines the amount of soil material favorable for plant rooting. A shallow soil limits the amount of water the soil can supply plants. A root limiting layer impeds the vertical movement of water, air, and growth of plant roots. If cracks are present, areas that roots can enter are 10 cm or more apart. Examples are: densic materials, hardpan, claypan, fragipan, caliche, or some compacted soils, bedrock and unstructured clay soils.
Consolidation of Sediments. When deposited on a sinking sea-bottom, sediments often accumulate in masses of great thickness, and in such cases the lower portions tend to consolidate from the weight of the overlying masses. We may safely infer that this weight is not without effect. These materials my be affected by one or more cycles with or without intervening soil formation dependent on time of surface exposure as with fluctuating sea levels.
If these sediments are affected by soil genesis, they may develop diagnostic horizons or features such as soil structure, areas of translocated clay, fragic soil properties, and/or redoximorphic features. If unaltered (or relatively unaltered), these consolidated sediments meet the criteria for densic materials if they are root limiting.
The area of difficulty for soil scientists is determining if the materials are geogenic (altered by geologic processes) or pedogenic (soil forming processes). For example: densic material (C horizon) versus a fragipan (B horizon). Both layers are non-cemented, dense, compact, and root limiting. A subjective determination as to their origin and development must be made to consistently describe and classify the soils.
In plinthic soils, these underlying layers act as an aquitard restricting water movement, facilitating the formation of plinthite.
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-...
The greater flamingo (Phoenicopterus roseus) is the most widespread species of the flamingo family. It is found in parts of Africa, southern Asia (Bangladesh and coastal regions of Pakistan and India), the Middle East (Cyprus, Israel) and southern Europe (including Spain, Albania, Greece, Turkey, Portugal, Italy and the Camargue region of France). Some populations are short distance migrants, and sightings north of the breeding range are relatively frequent; however, given the species' popularity in captivity, whether or not these are truly wild individuals is a matter of some debate.
Al Wathba Wetland Reserve is a well-watched lake 30 km southeast of the city of Abu Dhabi. It is a nature reserve behind fences. It was formerly called Al Ghar Lake. The reserve is currently accessible twice a week and the visiting birder can use a telescope from outside the fence. The Al Wathba Wetland Reserve hosts over 200 migratory birds, 11 mammals, 10 reptiles and over 35 plant species.
A Typic Haplosalid, aquic from the interior of the UAE.
Although the dominant soil in the UAE are Aridisols, they commonly have a seasonal water table at depths within the soil profile, especially within deplation plains or as you move toward the coast.
Deflation plains originate through the erosive force of wind that removes loose terrain. The process is facilitated by an arid climate and a lack of vegetative cover, and may be aided further in some instances by intermittent fluvial erosion and animal occupation (ungulates) which can help loosen sediment and reduce its grain diameter. They are common throughout arid regions in Australia, Africa, and North America.
This pedon has a water table at a depth of 100 to 200 cm and is identified as a "phase" in classification. In the UAE soil classification system, phases of soil taxa have been developed for those mineral soils that have soil properties or characteristics that occur at a deeper depth than currently identified for an established taxonomic subgroup or soil properties that effect interpretations not currently recognized at the subgroup level. The phases which have been identified in the UAE include: anhydritic, aquic, calcic, gypsic, lithic, petrocalcic, petrogypsic, salic, salidic, shelly, and sodic.
Typic Haplosalids are the Haplosalids that do not have a calcic, gypsic, or petrogypsic horizon or a duripan with an upper boundary within 100 cm of the soil surface. Before 1994, these soils were identified as Torriorthents if a salic horizon was the only diagnostic horizon. In the United States, these soils occur in California.
Haplosalids are the Salids that have a high concentration of salts but do not have the saturation that is associated with the Aquisalids. Haplosalids may be saturated for shorter periods than Aquisalids, may have had a water table associated with a past climate, or a water table that occurs below 100 cm. In the Four Corners area of the United States, salic horizons have formed without the influence of a water table in saline parent materials.
Salids are most common in depressions (playas) in the deserts or in closed basins in the wetter areas bordering the deserts. In North Africa and in the Near East, such depressions are referred to as Sabkhas or Chotts, depending on the presence or absence of surface water for prolonged periods. Under the arid environment and hot temperatures, accumulation of salts commonly occurs when there is a supply of salts and a net upward movement of water in the soils. In some areas a salic horizon has formed in salty parent materials without the presence of ground water.
The most common form of salt is sodium chloride (halite), but sulfates (thenardite, mirabilite, and hexahydrite) and other salts may also occur. The concept of Salids is one of accumulation of an excessive amount of salts that are more soluble than gypsum. This is implicit in the definition, which requires a minimum absolute EC of 30 dS/m in 1:1 extract (about 2 percent salt) and a product of EC and thickness of at least 900. As a rule, Salids are unsuitable for agricultural use, unless the salts are leached out. Leaching the salts is an expensive undertaking, particularly if there is no natural outlet for the drainage water. Two great groups are recognized—Aquisalids, which are saturated with water for 1 month or more during the year, and Haplosalids, which are drier.
For more information about describing soils, visit:
www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/nrcs142p2_052523...
For additional information about soil classification using Soil Taxonomy, visit:
sites.google.com/site/dinpuithai/Home
For more information about soil classification using the UAE Keys to Soil Taxonomy, visit:
agrifs.ir/sites/default/files/United%20Arab%20Emirates%20...
A representative soil profile of Sorter very fine sandy loam in an area of Sorter-Dallardsville complex, 0 to 1 percent. (Soil Survey of Tyler County, Texas; by Levi Steptoe, Jr., Natural Resources Conservation Services).
The Sorter series consists of very deep, poorly drained soils. These nearly level to very gently sloping soils formed in loamy fluviomarine deposits of the Lissie Formation of early to mid-Pleistocene age. Slope ranges from 0 to 1 percent. Mean annual temperature is about 19.5 degrees C (67 degrees F), and mean annual precipitation is about 1295 mm (51 in).
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Coarse-loamy, siliceous, superactive, thermic Natric Vermaqualfs
Soil Moisture: An aquic soil moisture regime.
Mean annual soil temperature: 20.6 to 21.7 degrees C (69 to 71 degrees F)
Crayfish krotovinas range from 50 to 70 percent in the upper 100 centimeters.
Particle-size control section (weighted average)
Clay content: 4 to 12 percent
CEC/clay ratio: 0.65 to 1.0
Exchangeable Sodium Percentage: 7 to 15 in the particle-size control section and 1 to 15 throughout.
USE AND VEGETATION: Most areas are in forest. Some areas have been cleared for pasture. Native vegetation includes lobolly and shortleaf pine and water oak, willow oak, red oak, and sweetgum. Understory includes blackgum, post oak, yaupon, persimmon, wax myrtle, American elm, and American beautyberry.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Southeastern Texas and southwestern Louisiana; LRR T; The Western Gulf Coast Flatwoods (MLRA 152B); series of large extent.
For additional information about the survey area, visit:
www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_MANUSCRIPTS/texas/TX457/0/...
For a detailed soil description, visit:
soilseries.sc.egov.usda.gov/OSD_Docs/S/SORTER.html
For acreage and geographic distribution, visit:
The Hajar Mountains are not part of the Norther Emirates soil survey area--but they have had an important influence on the soil patterns of the alluvial plains. The mountains reach more than 1,000 m in elevation and are composed of a variety of rock types. They are deeply incised by a number of major wadis, and this incision has provided a large volume of alluvial sediments that extend as alluvial plains on both sides of the mountains.
(Classification by UAE Keys to Soil Taxonomy)
Gypsic Haplosalids, aquic are the Haplosalids that have a gypsic horizon that has its upper boundary within 100 cm of the soil surface and are saturated with water in one or more layers for 1 month or more in normal years at a depth of more than 100–200 cm from the soil surface.
Haplosalids are the arid soils that have a high concentration of salts but do not have the saturation that is associated with the wetter Aquisalids. Haplosalids may be saturated for shorter periods than Aquisalids or may have had a water table associated with a past climate.
Salids are most common in depressions (playas) in the deserts or in closed basins in the wetter areas bordering the deserts. In North Africa and in the Near East, such depressions are referred to as Sabkhas depending on the presence or absence of surface water for prolonged periods. Under the arid environment and hot temperatures, accumulation of salts commonly occurs when there is a supply of salts and a net upward movement of water in the soils. In some areas a salic horizon has formed in salty parent materials without the presence of ground water. The most common form of salt is sodium chloride (halite), but sulfates (thenardite, mirabilite, and hexahydrite) and other salts may also occur.
Salids are Aridisols that are unsuitable for agricultural use, unless the salts are leached out. Leaching the salts is an expensive undertaking, particularly if there is no natural outlet for the drainage water.
Aridisols, as their name implies, are soils in which water is not available to mesophytic plants for long periods. During most of the time when the soils are warm enough for plants to grow, soil water is held at potentials less than the permanent wilting point or has a content of soluble salts great enough to limit the growth of plants other than halophytes, or both. The concept of Aridisols is based on limited soil moisture available for the growth of most plants. In areas bordering deserts, the absolute precipitation may be sufficient for the growth of some plants. Because of runoff or a very low storage capacity of the soils, or both, however, the actual soil moisture regime is aridic.
(L) A Salidic Torripsamment from the interior of the UAE.
(R) When excavating soil, slope stability is important for many uses. USDA-NRCS identifies slope instability as "cut banks cave" or "unstable excavation walls". The soil scientist was to trying to excavate a soil pit for soil sampling in this Torripsamment, but no matter how he tried, the soil kept caving in on him.
Salidic Torripsamments are the Torripsamments that have an ECe of more than 8 to less than 30 dS m −1 in a layer 10 cm or more thick, within 100 cm of the soil surface (UAE Keys to Soil Taxonomy). The "salidic" subgroup in Torripsamment is not currently recognized in Soil Taxonomy.
Torripsamments are the cool to hot Psamments of arid climates. They have an aridic (or torric) moisture regime and a temperature regime warmer than cryic. Many of these soils are on stable surfaces, some are on dunes, some are stabilized, and some are moving. Torripsamments consist of quartz, mixed sands, volcanic glass, or even gypsum and may have any color. Generally, they are neutral or calcareous and are nearly level to steep. The vegetation consists mostly of xerophytic shrubs, grasses, and forbs.
Many of these soils support more vegetation than other soils with an aridic moisture regime, presumably because they lose less water as runoff. Some of the soils on dunes support a few ephemeral plants or have a partial cover of xerophytic and ephemeral plants. The shifting dunes may be devoid of plants in normal years. Most of the deposits are of late-Pleistocene or younger age. These soils are used mainly for grazing. They are extensive in the Western United States.
Psamments are the sandy Entisols. They are sandy in all layers within the particle-size control section. Some formed in poorly graded (well sorted) sands on shifting or stabilized sand dunes, in cover sands, or in sandy parent materials that were sorted in an earlier geologic cycle. Some formed in sands that were sorted by water and are on outwash plains, lake plains, natural levees, or beaches. A few Psamments formed in material weathered from sandstone or granitic bedrock. Psamments occur under any climate, but they cannot have permafrost within 100 cm of the soil surface. They can have any vegetation and are on surfaces of virtually any age from recent historic to Pliocene or older. The Psamments on old stable surfaces commonly consist of quartz sand. Ground water typically is deeper than 50 cm and commonly is much deeper.
Psamments have a relatively low water-holding capacity. Those that are bare and become dry are subject to soil blowing and drifting and cannot easily support wheeled vehicles. Because very gravelly sands do not have the two qualities just described, they are excluded from Psamments and are grouped with Orthents. Thus, not all Entisols that have a sandy texture are Psamments.
For more information about describing soils, visit:
www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/nrcs142p2_052523...
For additional information about soil classification using Soil Taxonomy, visit:
sites.google.com/site/dinpuithai/Home
For more information about soil classification using the UAE Keys to Soil Taxonomy, visit:
agrifs.ir/sites/default/files/United%20Arab%20Emirates%20...
Strong, fine and medium granular soil peds (L)
Soil Peds are aggregates of soil particles formed as a result of pedogenic processes; this natural organization of particles forms discrete units separated by pores or voids. The term is generally used for macroscopic (visible; i.e. greater than 1 mm in size) structural units when observing soils in the field. Soil peds should be described when the soil is dry or slightly moist, as they can be difficult to distinguish when wet.
In granular structure, the structural units are approximately spherical or polyhedral and are bounded by curved or very irregular faces that are not casts of adjoining peds. Granular structure is common in the surface soils of rich grasslands and highly amended garden soils with high organic matter content. Soil mineral particles are both separated and bridged by organic matter breakdown products, and soil biota exudates, making the soil easy to work. Cultivation, earthworms, frost action and rodents mix the soil and decreases the size of the peds. This structure allows for good porosity and easy movement of air and water. This combination of ease in tillage, good moisture and air handling capabilities, and good structure for planting and germination, are definitive of the phrase good tilth.
There are five major classes of macrostructure seen in soils: platy, prismatic, columnar, granular, and blocky. There are also structureless conditions. Some soils have simple structure, each unit being an entity without component smaller units. Others have compound structure, in which large units are composed of smaller units separated by persistent planes of weakness.
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:
The Arabian camel (Camelus dromedarius), is a large, even-toed ungulate with one hump on its back. The dromedary is the smallest of the three species of camel; adult males stand 1.8–2 m (5.9–6.6 ft) at the shoulder, while females are 1.7–1.9 m (5.6–6.2 ft) tall. Males typically weigh between 400 and 600 kg (880 and 1,320 lb), and females weigh between 300 and 540 kg (660 and 1,190 lb). The species' distinctive features include its long, curved neck, narrow chest, a single hump (compared with two on the Bactrian camel and wild Bactrian camel), and long hairs on the throat, shoulders and hump. The coat is generally a shade of brown. The hump, 20 cm (7.9 in) tall or more, is made of fat bound together by fibrous tissue.
Dromedaries are mainly active during daylight hours. They form herds of about 20 individuals, which are led by a dominant male. This camel feeds on foliage and desert vegetation; several adaptations, such as the ability to tolerate losing more than 30% of its total water content, allow it to thrive in its desert habitat. Mating occurs annually and peaks in the rainy season; females bear a single calf after a gestation of 15 months.
The dromedary has not occurred naturally in the wild for nearly 2,000 years. It was probably first domesticated in Somalia or the Arabian Peninsula about 4,000 years ago. In the wild, the dromedary inhabited arid regions, including the Sahara Desert. The domesticated dromedary is generally found in the semi-arid to arid regions of the Old World, mainly in Africa, and a significant feral population occurs in Australia. Products of the dromedary, including its meat and milk, support several north Arabian tribes; it is also commonly used for riding and as a beast of burden.
The Rub' al Khali is the largest contiguous sand desert in the world, encompassing most of the southern third of the Arabian Peninsula. The desert covers some 650,000 square kilometres including parts of Saudi Arabia, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. It is part of the larger Arabian Desert. One very large pile of sand!!!
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Soil profile: A representative soil profile of the Carnasaw series. (Soil Survey of Pike County, Arkansas; by Jeffrey W. Olson, Natural Resources Conservation Service)
Landscape: An area of Littlefir-Carnasaw complex, 1 to 8 percent slopes. This map unit is well suited to pasture and hayland. Carnasaw soils are on nearly level to very steep sideslopes of the Ouachita Mountains and the Arkansas Valley and Ridges. Slopes are 1 to 60 percent. These soils formed in residuum weathered from shale of Pennsylvanian age.
The Carnasaw series consists of deep to bedrock, well drained, slowly permeable upland soils.
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine, mixed, semiactive, thermic Typic Hapludults
Solum thickness and depth to shale bedrock ranges from 40 to 60 inches.
USE AND VEGETATION: Used mainly as woodland. Some less sloping areas are used for cropland or tame pasture. Native forest vegetation is blackjack oak, loblolly pine, post oak, red oak, white oak, hickory, and shortleaf pine.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Ouachita Mountains and the Arkansas Valley and Ridges (MLRA 118) (MLRA 119) of Arkansas and Oklahoma. The series is of moderate extent. Carnasaw soils formerly were included in the Enders series.
For additional information about the survey area, visit:
www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_MANUSCRIPTS/arkansas/pikeA...
For a detailed soil description, visit:
soilseries.sc.egov.usda.gov/OSD_Docs/C/CARNASAW.html
For acreage and geographic distribution, visit:
A Salidic Haplogypsid from the interior of the UAE.
Salidic Haplogypsids are the Haplogypsids that have an ECe of more than 8 to less than 30 dS m −1 in a layer 10 cm or more thick, within 100 cm of the soil surface (UAE Keys to Soil Taxonomy). The "salidic" subgroup in Haplogypsids is not currently recognized in Soil Taxonomy.
Haplogypsids are the Gypsids that have a gypsic horizon within 100 cm of the soil surface and no petrogypsic, natric, argillic, or calcic horizon that has an upper boundary within 100 cm of the soil surface. Some Haplogypsids have a cambic horizon overlying the gypsic horizon. These soils are commonly very pale in color. They are not extensive in the United States. The largest concentrations in the United States are in New Mexico and Texas. The soils are more common in other parts of the world.
The gypsic horizon is a horizon in which gypsum has accumulated or been transformed to a significant extent (secondary gypsum (CaSO 4) has accumulated through more than 150 mm of soil, so that this horizon contains at least 5% more gypsum than the underlying horizon). It typically occurs as a subsurface horizon, but it may occur at the surface in some soils.
Gypsids are the Aridisols that have a gypsic or petrogypsic horizon within 100 cm of the soil surface. Accumulation of gypsum takes place initially as crystal aggregates in the voids of the soils. These aggregates grow by accretion, displacing the enclosing soil material. When the gypsic horizon occurs as a cemented impermeable layer, it is recognized as the petrogypsic horizon. Each of these forms of gypsum accumulation implies processes in the soils, and each presents a constraint to soil use. One of the largest constraints is dissolution of the gypsum, which plays havoc with structures, roads, and irrigation delivery systems. The presence of one or more of these horizons, with or without other diagnostic horizons, defines the great groups of the Gypsids. Gypsids occur in Iraq, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Somalia, West Asia, and some of the most arid areas of the western part of the United States. Gypsids are on many segments of the landscape. Some of them have calcic or related horizons that overlie the gypsic horizon.
For more information about describing soils, visit:
www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/nrcs142p2_052523...
For additional information about soil classification using Soil Taxonomy, visit:
sites.google.com/site/dinpuithai/Home
For more information about soil classification using the UAE Keys to Soil Taxonomy, visit:
agrifs.ir/sites/default/files/United%20Arab%20Emirates%20...
A soil profile of a Hapludoll from the steppes of Ukraine. It has a very thick, very dark brown to black mollic epipedon about 120 cm thick. The right side of the profile has been smoothed. (Soil Survey Staff. 2015. Illustrated guide to Soil Taxonomy. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service, National Soil Survey Center, Lincoln, Nebraska)
Hapludolls generally have a cambic (minimal soil development) subsoil horizon below a mollic epipedon, but some only have a mollic epipedon and no other diagnostic horizons. There may be a zone of calcium carbonate accumulation below the cambic horizon. Hapludolls formed mostly in Holocene or late-Pleistocene deposits or on surfaces of that age. Slopes generally are gentle, and most of the soils are cultivated. Hapludolls are extensive in Iowa, Minnesota, and adjacent States.
For additional information about soil classification, visit:
www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detail/soils/survey/cla...
Soil profile: Typical profile of Clementsville silt loam in an area of Clementsville-Ard complex, 4 to 12 percent slopes. (Soil Survey of Teton Area, Idaho and Wyoming; by Carla B. Rebernak, Natural Resources Conservation Service)
Landscape: Harvested grainfield in an area of Clementsville-Ard complex, 4 to 12 percent slopes. Clementsville and similar soils make up about 70 percent and Ard and similar soils make up about 20 percent of this map unit. Clementsville soils are on mountain slopes and have slopes of 4 to 12 percent.
The Clementsville series consists of moderately deep, well drained soils that formed in residuum weatherd from rhyolite a with loess influence. The mean annual precipitation is about 530 mm and the mean annual air temperature is about 3.3 degrees C.
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy-skeletal, mixed, superactive Calcic Pachic Haplocryolls
USE AND VEGETATION:
Major uses: Most areas are cultivated. Wheat, oats, and barley are the major crops.
Dominant native vegetation: mountain big sagebrush, tapertip hawksbeard, slender wheatgrass, Idaho fescue, and bluebunch wheatgrass
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT:
Distribution: Southeastern Idaho and Western Wyoming, MLRA 13
Extent: the series is not extensive
For additional information about Idaho soils, please visit:
storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/97d01af9d4554b9097cb0a477e04...
For additional information about the survey area, visit:
www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_MANUSCRIPTS/wyoming/TetonI...
For a detailed description, visit:
soilseries.sc.egov.usda.gov/OSD_Docs/C/CLEMENTSVILLE.html
For acreage and geographic distribution, visit:
Organic soils comprise about 2% of the Earth's ice-free land surface. This includes 0.8% organic soils with permafrost. Organic soils can form in virtually any climate, even in arid areas, as long as water is available. They are most prevalent in the cool, humid boreal forest areas of northern Asia, Europe, and North America. Every province of Canada and almost every state in the USA has organic soil. More than 95% of the total peat reserves of the world are located in the temperate zone of the northern hemisphere. In these areas precipitation usually exceeds evapotranspiration and summers are relatively cool. At lower latitudes organic soils occur locally on humid coastal plains, for example, South-East Asia, Indonesia, and east North America.
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...
Vermont State Soil
Soil profile: The Tunbridge series consists of loamy, well-drained soils that formed in Wisconsin-age glacial till. These soils are 20 to 40 inches deep over schist, gneiss, phyllite, or granite bedrock. (Soil Survey of Bennington County, Vermont; by Carl Britt, Roderick Douglas and Thomas Villars, Natural Resources Conservation Service)
Landscape: Tunbridge soils occur extensively in mountainous areas of Vermont, in all but one county. They are used mainly for woodland. White ash, American beech, white birch, yellow birch, hemlock, white pine, red spruce, red maple, and sugar maple are typical species. Sugar maple is especially important; Vermont produces the largest amount of maple syrup in the U.S. Some areas have been cleared and are used for hay and pasture. Recreational uses are common on these soils. They include trails for hiking, mountain biking, snowmobiling, and skiing.
The Tunbridge series became the third official State soil in the US in March 1985. The series was named after the town of Tunbridge, Orange County, Vermont.
For additional information about the survey area, visit:
www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_MANUSCRIPTS/vermont/VT003/...
For a detailed soil description, visit:
soilseries.sc.egov.usda.gov/OSD_Docs/T/TUNBRIDGE.html
For acreage and geographic distribution, visit:
A Lithic Petrogypsid from the interior of the UAE.
Lithic Petrogypsids have lithic contact within 50 cm of the soil surface (UAE Keys to Soil Taxonomy). The "lithic" subgroup in Petroogypsids is not currently recognized in Soil Taxonomy.
Petrogypsids are the Gypsids that have a petrogypsic or petrocalcic horizon that has its upper boundary within 100 cm of the soil surface. These soils occur in very arid areas of the world where the parent material is high in content of gypsum. When the petrogypsic horizon is close to the surface, crusting forms pseudohexagonal patterns on the soil surface. Petrogypsids occupy old surfaces. In Syria and Iraq, they are on the highest terraces along the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. These soils are not extensive in the United States but are extensive in other countries.
Gypsids are the Aridisols that have a gypsic or petrogypsic horizon within 100 cm of the soil surface. Accumulation of gypsum takes place initially as crystal aggregates in the voids of the soils. These aggregates grow by accretion, displacing the enclosing soil material. When the gypsic horizon occurs as a cemented impermeable layer, it is recognized as the petrogypsic horizon. Each of these forms of gypsum accumulation implies processes in the soils, and each presents a constraint to soil use. One of the largest constraints is dissolution of the gypsum, which plays havoc with structures, roads, and irrigation delivery systems. The presence of one or more of these horizons, with or without other diagnostic horizons, defines the great groups of the Gypsids. Gypsids occur in Iraq, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Somalia, West Asia, and some of the most arid areas of the western part of the United States. Gypsids are on many segments of the landscape. Some of them have calcic or related horizons that overlie the gypsic horizon.
For more information about soil classification in the UAE, visit:
vdocument.in/united-arab-emirates-keys-to-soil-taxonomy.h...
A shallow Typic Petrogypsid from the interior of the UAE.
These shallow mineral soils that are less than 50 cm deep (from the soil surface) to a root-limiting layer (petrogypsic or petrocalcic horizon, or a paralithic contact) excluding soils that are in a Lithic subgroup.
Petrogypsids are the Gypsids that have a petrogypsic horizon that has its upper boundary within 100 cm of the soil surface. These soils occur in very arid areas of the world where the parent material is high in content of gypsum. When the petrogypsic horizon is close to the surface, crusting forms pseudohexagonal patterns on the soil surface. Petrogypsids occupy old surfaces. In Syria and Iraq, they are on the highest terraces along the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. These soils are not extensive in the United States but are extensive in other countries.
The petrogypsic horizon is a horizon in which visible secondary gypsum has accumulated or has been transformed. The horizon is cemented (i.e., extremely weakly cemented through indurated cementation classes), and the cementation is both laterally continuous and root limiting, even when the soil is moist. The horizon typically occurs as a subsurface horizon, but it may occur at the surface in some soils (foreground).
Gypsids are the Aridisols that have a gypsic or petrogypsic horizon within 100 cm of the soil surface. Accumulation of gypsum takes place initially as crystal aggregates in the voids of the soils. These aggregates grow by accretion, displacing the enclosing soil material. When the gypsic horizon occurs as a cemented impermeable layer, it is recognized as the petrogypsic horizon. Each of these forms of gypsum accumulation implies processes in the soils, and each presents a constraint to soil use. One of the largest constraints is dissolution of the gypsum, which plays havoc with structures, roads, and irrigation delivery systems. The presence of one or more of these horizons, with or without other diagnostic horizons, defines the great groups of the Gypsids. Gypsids occur in Iraq, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Somalia, West Asia, and some of the most arid areas of the western part of the United States. Gypsids are on many segments of the landscape. Some of them have calcic or related horizons that overlie the gypsic horizon.
For more information about describing soils, visit:
www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/nrcs142p2_052523...
For additional information about soil classification using Soil Taxonomy, visit:
sites.google.com/site/dinpuithai/Home
For more information about soil classification using the UAE Keys to Soil Taxonomy, visit:
agrifs.ir/sites/default/files/United%20Arab%20Emirates%20...
The Cerrado was thought challenging for agriculture until researchers at Brazil’s agricultural and livestock research agency, Embrapa, discovered that it could be made fit for industrial crops by appropriate additions of phosphorus and lime. In the late 1990s, between 14 million and 16 million tons of lime were being poured on Brazilian fields each year. The quantity rose to 25 million tons in 2003 and 2004, equalling around five tons of lime per hectare. This manipulation of the soil allowed for industrial agriculture to grow exponentially in the area. Researchers also developed tropical varieties of soybeans, until then a temperate crop, and currently, Brazil is the world's main soyabeans exporter due to the boom in animal feed production caused by the global rise in meat demand. Today the Cerrado region provides more than 70% of the beef cattle production in the country, being also a major production center of grains, mainly soya, beans, maize and rice. Large extensions of the Cerrado are also used for the production of cellulose pulp for the paper industry, with the cultivation of several species of Eucalyptus and Pinus, but as a secondary activity. Coffee produced in the Cerrado is now a major export.
Soils of the cerrado are in the order of Oxisols. 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/
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Most of the UAE's cultivated land is taken up by date palms, which in the early 1990s numbered about 4 million. They are cultivated in the arc of small oases that constitute the Al Liwa Oasis. Both federal and emirate governments provide incentives to farmers. For example, the government offers a 50 percent subsidy on fertilizers, seeds, and pesticides. It also provides loans for machinery and technical assistance. The emirates have forty-one agricultural extension units as well as several experimental farms and agricultural research stations. The number of farmers rose from about 4,000 in the early 1970s to 18,265 in 1988.
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Soil profile: A typical profile of a San Juan sandy loam. San Juan series consists of very deep, somewhat excessively drained soils formed in eolian sands over glacial outwash.
Landscape: Typical area of San Juan sandy loam, 2 to 8 percent slopes, in nonforested foreground, in the southern part of San Juan Island. (Soil Survey of San Juan County, Washington; by By Michael Regan, Natural Resources Conservation Service)
San Juan soils are on dunes, hillslopes, and glacial outwash plains with slopes of 0 to 60 percent. Average annual precipitation is about 20 inches and average annual air temperature is about 50 degrees F.
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Sandy, isotic, mesic Pachic Ultic Haploxerolls
Average annual soil temperature - 50 to 54 degrees F.
Soil moisture control section - dry 75 to 90 days following summer solstice
Mollic epipedon thickness - 20 to 32 inches
Base saturation by ammonium acetate - greater than 50 percent within the epipedon
Base saturation by sum of cations - less than 75 percent from 10 to 30 inches
Volcanic glass - less than 5 percent throughout
Particle size control section:
Clay Content - 0 to 12 percent
Rock fragments - 0 to 35 percent in the A2 and A3 horizons, 15 to 60 percent in the Bw horizon, and 35 to 85 percent in the C horizons with a weighted average between 15 and 35 percent
USE AND VEGETATION: Mainly used for wildlife habitat, pasture, and hay. Potential natural vegetation may include an overstory of scattered Oregon white oak and Douglas-fir but is primarily prairie vegetation including Roemers fescue, western brackenfern, baldhip rose, common snowberry, and trailing blackberry.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Northwest Washington; MLRA 2, Northern part. Series is of small extent.
For additional information about the survey area, visit:
www.flickr.com/photos/jakelley/50990402197/in/dateposted-...
For a detailed soil description, visit:
soilseries.sc.egov.usda.gov/OSD_Docs/S/SAN_JUAN.html
For acreage and geographic distribution, visit:
Soil profile: A representative soil profile of the Alumrock series.
Landscape: An area of Alumrock soils in the Guadalupe Oak Grove Park in south San Jose near Guadalupe Creek. North slopes have oaks and annual grasses, and south slopes have fewer oaks. Slopes are moderately steep with rock outcrops in some areas. (Supplement to the Soil Survey of Santa Clara Area, California, Western Part; by William Reed, and Christopher “Kit” Paris, Natural Resources Conservation Service)
The Alumrock series consists of moderately deep, well drained soils that formed in residuum from sandstone. Alumrock soils are on hills. Slopes range from 9 to 50 percent. The mean annual precipitation is about 20 inches, and the mean annual temperature is about 60 degrees F.
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, mixed, superactive, thermic Pachic Argixerolls
Note: The soil had been moistened to a depth of 40cm at the time the photo was taken. The natural dark colored mollic epipedon, when moist, extended to a depth of 66cm.
Depth to slightly weathered sandstone is 50 to 100 cm. The mean annual soil temperature is 60 to 62 degrees F. The particle size control section averages 18 to 24 percent clay, and 1 to 35 percent rock fragments, mostly gravel. The soil is not calcareous. Organic matter ranges from 1 to 3 percent to a depth of 25 cm. Rock fragments on the surface range from 0 to 10 percent gravel.
USE AND VEGETATION: This soil is used for recreation and urban uses. Vegetation is oaks and annual grasses in recreation areas and urban areas have lawn grasses and ornamental plants.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: The soils are inextensive and are mapped in Santa Clara County Major Land Resource Area: 15 -- Central California Coast Range
For a detailed soil description, visit:
soilseries.sc.egov.usda.gov/OSD_Docs/A/ALUMROCK.html
For acreage and geographic distribution, visit:
The Arabian camel (Camelus dromedarius), is a large, even-toed ungulate with one hump on its back. The dromedary is the smallest of the three species of camel; adult males stand 1.8–2 m (5.9–6.6 ft) at the shoulder, while females are 1.7–1.9 m (5.6–6.2 ft) tall. Males typically weigh between 400 and 600 kg (880 and 1,320 lb), and females weigh between 300 and 540 kg (660 and 1,190 lb). The species' distinctive features include its long, curved neck, narrow chest, a single hump (compared with two on the Bactrian camel and wild Bactrian camel), and long hairs on the throat, shoulders and hump. The coat is generally a shade of brown. The hump, 20 cm (7.9 in) tall or more, is made of fat bound together by fibrous tissue.
Dromedaries are mainly active during daylight hours. They form herds of about 20 individuals, which are led by a dominant male. This camel feeds on foliage and desert vegetation; several adaptations, such as the ability to tolerate losing more than 30% of its total water content, allow it to thrive in its desert habitat. Mating occurs annually and peaks in the rainy season; females bear a single calf after a gestation of 15 months.
The dromedary has not occurred naturally in the wild for nearly 2,000 years. It was probably first domesticated in Somalia or the Arabian Peninsula about 4,000 years ago. In the wild, the dromedary inhabited arid regions, including the Sahara Desert. The domesticated dromedary is generally found in the semi-arid to arid regions of the Old World, mainly in Africa, and a significant feral population occurs in Australia. Products of the dromedary, including its meat and milk, support several north Arabian tribes; it is also commonly used for riding and as a beast of burden.
The Rub' al Khali is the largest contiguous sand desert in the world, encompassing most of the southern third of the Arabian Peninsula. The desert covers some 650,000 square kilometres including parts of Saudi Arabia, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. It is part of the larger Arabian Desert. One very large pile of sand!!!
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Photo courtesy of EAD-Environment Agency - Abu Dhabi. www.ead.gov.ae/
Shabbir Shahid has more than 32 years of experience as a soil scientist in Pakistan, the UK, Kuwait, and the UAE. He served as lead soil taxonomist, technical coordinator, and quality assurance expert. He is a prolific author with over 150 scientific papers published in peer-reviewed journals and books and was a pioneer in soil survey on the Arabian Peninsula.
Chris Grose (Mapping Crew Leader) for Abu Dhabi Soil Survey. Chris is a soil scientist with over 30 years’ experience in soil mapping and land evaluation much of it in Tasmania. Originally from the UK, Chris arrived in Australia after spending several years investigating soils in Papua New Guinea. He has also worked in Kuwait, Israel, the Philippines and in the United Arab Emirates.
A soil profile is a vertical cross-section of the soil, made of layers running parallel to the surface. These layers are known as soil horizons. Soil scientists, who are also called pedologists, observe and describe soil profiles and soil horizons to classify and interpret the soil for various uses. Soil horizons differ in a number of easily seen soil properties such as color, texture, structure, and thickness.
For more information about describing soils, visit:
www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/nrcs142p2_052523...
For more information about soil classification using the UAE Keys to Soil Taxonomy, visit:
agrifs.ir/sites/default/files/United%20Arab%20Emirates%20...
Soilscapes is a simplified version of the 1:250,000 scale Digital National Soil Map for England and Wales, and has been tailored to provide extensive, understandable and useful interpreted soil data for the non-soil specialist. Soilscapes defines 27 soil map units, each fully described with a range of valuable attributes. The aim of this reclassification and simplification is to provide applicable, understandable and therefore, useful, soil information. (Courtesy of Cranfield University 2021. The Soils Guide. Available: www.landis.org.uk. Cranfield University, UK.)
Soil profile: The Belmore series consists of very deep, well drained soils formed in loamy and gravelly outwash and are underlain by gravelly, sandy, and loamy outwash deposits. (Delaware County, Indiana; by Gary R. Struben, Natural Resources Conservation Service)
Landscape: No-till soybeans in an area of Belmore silt loam, 0 to 1 percent slopes, and Belmore silt loam, 1 to 5 percent slopes, eroded. Belmore soils are on terraces, outwash plains, and glacial drainage channels. Slope ranges from 0 to 50 percent.
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, mixed, active, mesic Typic Hapludalfs
Depth to the base of the argillic horizon: 56 to 140 cm (22 to 55 inches) and commonly is the same as depth to carbonates
Special features: tongues of the B horizon in some pedons extend into the underlying outwash material to depths greater than 140 cm (55 inches)
Rock fragments: typically glacial pebbles of mixed lithology
USE AND VEGETATION: Most areas of Belmore soils are cultivated. Corn, soybeans, wheat, oats, and hay are principal crops. Some areas are used for fruit, early truck crops, and sugar beets.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Northwestern and west-central Ohio and northern Indiana; mainly in MLRAs 99 and 111B, and of lesser extent in 111A and 111E. The type location is in MLRA 111B. The series is of moderate extent.
For additional information about the survey area, visit:
www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_MANUSCRIPTS/indiana/IN035/...
For a detailed soil description, visit:
soilseries.sc.egov.usda.gov/OSD_Docs/B/BELMORE.html
For acreage and geographic distribution, visit:
A representative soil profile of the Ditton series in England. (Cranfield University 2022. The Soils Guide. Available: www.landis.org.uk. Cranfield University, UK.)
These soils are loamy or clayey with an ordinary clay-enriched subsoil. They have dominantly brownish or reddish subsoils and no prominent mottling or greyish colours (gleying) above 40 cm depth. Most are in agricultural use.
For more information on the World Reference Base soil classification system, visit:
www.fao.org/3/i3794en/I3794en.pdf
For more information about this soil, visit:
Soil profile: A representative soil profile of a Mollisol 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 side-slopes in Brazil.
Mollisols are a soil order in USDA soil taxonomy. Mollisols form in semi-arid to semi-humid areas, typically under a grassland cover. They are most commonly found in the mid-latitudes, namely in North America, mostly east of the Rocky Mountains, in South America in Argentina (Pampas) and Brazil, and in Asia in Mongolia and the Russian Steppes. Their parent material is typically base-rich and calcareous and include limestone, loess, or wind-blown sand. The main processes that lead to the formation of grassland Mollisols are melanisation, decomposition, humification and pedoturbation.
Mollisols have deep, high organic matter, nutrient-enriched surface soil (A horizon), typically more than 25 cm thick. This fertile surface horizon, known as a mollic epipedon, is the defining diagnostic feature of Mollisols. Mollic epipedons result from the long-term addition of organic materials derived from plant roots, and typically have soft, granular soil structure.
Mollisol (Chernossolos) and landscape BRAZIL--In the Brazil soil classification system, Chernossolos are soils with high clay activity that are very dark, well structured, rich in organic matter, high content of exchangeable cations. They are commonly not deep (<100cm) and are mostly found in the south and east parts of Brazil.
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...
Coarse subangular blocky soil ped.
Blocky structure. In this type of soil structure, the structural units are blocklike or polyhedral. They are bounded by flat or slightly rounded surfaces that are casts of the faces of surrounding peds. Typically, blocky structural units are nearly equidimensional but may grade to prisms or plates. The structure is described as angular blocky if the faces intersect at relatively sharp angles; as subangular blocky if the faces are a mixture of rounded and plane faces and the corners are mostly rounded. Blocky structures are common in subsoil but also occur in surface soils that have a high clay content. The strongest blocky structure is formed as a result of swelling and shrinking of the clay minerals which produce cracks. Sometimes the surface of dried-up sloughs and ponds shows characteristic cracking and peeling due to clays.
Peds are aggregates of soil particles formed as a result of pedogenic processes; this natural organization of particles forms discrete units separated by pores or voids. The term is generally used for macroscopic (visible; i.e. greater than 1 mm in size) structural units when observing soils in the field. Soil peds should be described when the soil is dry or slightly moist, as they can be difficult to distinguish when wet.
The "shiny" or "waxy" appearance on the faces of the ped are clay coatings (clay films).
There are five major classes of macrostructure seen in soils: platy, prismatic, columnar, granular, and blocky. There are also structureless conditions. Some soils have simple structure, each unit being an entity without component smaller units. Others have compound structure, in which large units are composed of smaller units separated by persistent planes of weakness.
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:
BUNCOMBE COUNTY is located in the central mountains of western North Carolina about 230 miles west of Raleigh, the State Capital. It consists of 422,284 acres, or approximately 656 square miles, of very steep mountains, rolling intermountain hills, and narrow valleys. Elevation ranges from 1,705 feet above sea level, on the French Broad River at the Madison County line, to 6,410 feet, at Potato Knob on the Buncombe and Yancey County line.
Soil Survey of Buncombe County, NC:
archive.org/details/usda-soil-survey-of-buncombe-county-n...
The county is in the southern Blue Ridge Mountain Physiographic Province (MLRA 130B). It is bordered on the east by McDowell County, on the south by Henderson and Rutherford Counties, on the west by Haywood County, on the north by Madison County, and on the north and east by Yancey County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county had a population of 206,330 in 2000 and will have an estimated population of 235,281 by 2010. In 2000, the county seat of Asheville had a population of 68,889. Populations in the towns of Black Mountain, Woodfin, and Weaverville were 7,511; 3,162; and 2,411, respectively. This soil survey updates the survey of Buncombe County published in July 1954. It provides additional information and has larger maps, which show the soils in greater detail.
A Typic Haplogypsid, salidic from the interior of the UAE.
Typic Haplogypsids are the Haplogypsids that do not have have a gypsic horizon with its upper boundary within 18 cm of the soil surface. These soils do not have a lithic contact within 50 cm of the soil surface. In the United States they occur in Nevada, Arizona, and New Mexico.
In addition, this pedon has an ECe of more than 8 to less than 30 dS m −1 in a layer 10 cm or more thick at a depth of 100 to 200 cm (salidic phase).
Phases of soil taxa have been developed for those mineral soils that have soil properties or characteristics that occur at a deeper depth than currently identified for an established taxonomic subgroup or soil properties that effect interpretations not currently recognized at the subgroup level. The phases which have been identified in the UAE include: anhydritic, aquic, calcic, gypsic, lithic, petrocalcic, petrogypsic, salic, salidic, shelly, and sodic.
The gypsic horizon is a horizon in which gypsum has accumulated or been transformed to a significant extent (secondary gypsum (CaSO4) has accumulated through more than 150 mm of soil, so that this horizon contains at least 5% more gypsum than the underlying horizon). It typically occurs as a subsurface horizon, but it may occur at the surface in some soils.
Haplogypsids are the Gypsids that have no petrogypsic, natric, argillic, or calcic horizon that has an upper boundary within 100 cm of the soil surface. Some Haplogypsids have a cambic horizon overlying the gypsic horizon. These soils are commonly very pale in color. They are not extensive in the United States. The largest concentrations in the United States are in New Mexico and Texas. The soils are more common in other parts of the world.
Gypsids are the Aridisols that have a gypsic or petrogypsic horizon within 100 cm of the soil surface. Accumulation of gypsum takes place initially as crystal aggregates in the voids of the soils. These aggregates grow by accretion, displacing the enclosing soil material. When the gypsic horizon occurs as a cemented impermeable layer, it is recognized as the petrogypsic horizon. Each of these forms of gypsum accumulation implies processes in the soils, and each presents a constraint to soil use. One of the largest constraints is dissolution of the gypsum, which plays havoc with structures, roads, and irrigation delivery systems. The presence of one or more of these horizons, with or without other diagnostic horizons, defines the great groups of the Gypsids. Gypsids occur in Iraq, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Somalia, West Asia, and some of the most arid areas of the western part of the United States. Gypsids are on many segments of the landscape. Some of them have calcic or related horizons that overlie the gypsic horizon.
For more information about describing soils, visit:
www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/nrcs142p2_052523...
For additional information about soil classification using Soil Taxonomy, visit:
sites.google.com/site/dinpuithai/Home
For more information about soil classification using the UAE Keys to Soil Taxonomy, visit:
agrifs.ir/sites/default/files/United%20Arab%20Emirates%20...
A representative soil profile of a Ferric Chromosol in a map unit of Ironstone gravels (Stirlings to Ravensthorpe.) Ironstone gravel soils with predominately sandy or loamy matrix over a less permeable layer which can be either loam, clay or reticulite (mottled sandy loam or clay loam). (Notes and photo provided by Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, Agriculture and Food, Government of Western Australia with revision.)
For more information about these soils, visit;
www.agric.wa.gov.au/mycrop/mysoil-ironstone-gravels-stirl...
For more information about the Australian Soil Classification System, visit;
www.clw.csiro.au/aclep/asc_re_on_line_V2/soilhome.htm
For more information about Soil Taxonomy, visit:
Farmers bring their loose grass to a central location where it is bailed and prepared for shipping and sale. I observed two areas where this occurred. The other was in the Liwa Oasis area.
www.flickr.com/photos/jakelley/22683590537/in/album-72157...
Most of the UAE's cultivated land is taken up by date palms, which in the early 1990s numbered about 4 million.
A representative soil profile of the Labadoo series in an area of unimproved grassland from Ireland. These soils formed in coarse loamy drift with igneous and metamorphic stones.
For detailed information about this soil, visit;
gis.teagasc.ie/soils/rep_profile_sheet.php?series_code=11...
For information about the soil series of Ireland, visit;
gis.teagasc.ie/soils/soilguide.php
In the Irish soil classification system these soils are Stagnic Brown Earths (relatively young soils or soils with little profile development). These soils display stagnic properties as a result of the presence of a slowly permeable sub-surface horizon.
For more information about describing and classifying soils using the Irish Soils Classification System, visit:
gis.teagasc.ie/soils/downloads/SIS_Final_Technical_Report...
The Wehadkee series (a hydric soil) consists of very deep, poorly drained and very poorly drained soils on flood plains along streams that drain from the mountains and piedmont. They are formed in loamy sediments. Slopes range from 0 to 2 percent.
Hydric soils are formed under conditions of saturation, flooding, or ponding long enough during the growing season to develop anaerobic conditions in the upper part (Federal Register, 1994). Most hydric soils exhibit characteristic morphologies that result from repeated periods of saturation or inundation that last more than a few days.
For more information about Hydric Soils and their Field Indicators, visit:
www.nrcs.usda.gov/resources/guides-and-instructions/field...
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, mixed, active, nonacid, thermic Fluvaquentic Endoaquepts
USE AND VEGETATION: Most of the area is in forest; chiefly water tolerant hardwoods such as sweetgum, blackgum, water oak, willow, oak, poplar, hickories, beech, and elm. Drained areas are used for pasture, corn, and hay.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. The soil is of moderate extent.
For a detailed description, visit:
soilseries.sc.egov.usda.gov/OSD_Docs/W/WEHADKEE.html
For acreage and geographic distribution, visit:
Soil profile: A representative soil profile of the Nolin series. (Soil Survey of Adair County, Kentucky; by Harry S. Evans, Natural Resources Conservation Service)
Landscape: An area of Nolin soil in corn along a drainageway In karst topography in southern Christian County, KY. These soils are typically along drainageways, on flood plains, in depressions which receive runoff from surrounding slopes, or on natural levees of major streams and rivers. (Soil Survey of Christian County, Kentucky, by Ronald D. Froedge, Natural Resources Conservation Service)
Nolin soils are very deep and well drained, They formed in alluvium derived from limestones, sandstones, siltstones, shales, and loess.
Slope ranges from 0 to 25 percent, but is dominantly 0 to 3 percent. Mean annual temperature is 56 degrees F. and the mean annual precipitation is 43 inches.
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-silty, mixed, active, mesic Dystric Fluventic Eutrudepts
Solum thickness is 40 or more inches. Thickness of alluvial deposits ranges from 60 inches to many feet. Coarse fragments, mostly rounded pebbles, ranges from none to about 5 percent in the A and Bw horizon and from 0 to 35 percent in the C horizon. Redoximorphic features, if present, are below 72 inches. Reaction is moderately acid to moderately alkaline, but some pedons are strongly acid in the lower part of the Bw and C horizon. Some pedons have buried A or B horizons below a depth of 20 inches.
USE AND VEGETATION: Most areas are used for growing corn, tobacco, soybeans, and hay. Forested areas are bottomland hardwoods, such as river birch, yellow-poplar, sycamore, elm, willow, boxelder, oak, hickory, and red maple. Many stream banks and narrow flood plains consist of native canebrakes.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: In areas of mixed limestones and siltstones, sandstones, shales, and loess in Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, West Virginia and Virginia. The series is of large extent. Soils in the Nolin series were formerly included with the Huntington series. Huntington soils have a thicker, dark colored surface layer.
For additional information about the survey area, visit:
www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_MANUSCRIPTS/kentucky/KY001...
For a detailed soil description, visit:
soilseries.sc.egov.usda.gov/OSD_Docs/N/NOLIN.html
For acreage and geographic distribution, visit:
Soil profile: A representative soil profile of the Tifton series; the State Soil of Georgia. (Soil Survey of Decatur County, Georgia; by Scott Moore, Natural Resources Conservation Service)
Landscape: Peanuts in an area of Tifton loamy sand, 0 to 2 percent slopes. Most areas of Tifton soils are under cultivation with cotton, corn, peanuts, vegetable crops, and small grains.
The Tifton series consists of very deep, well drained soils that formed in loamy marine sediments. Tifton soils are on interfluves. Slopes range from 0 to 8 percent. Mean annual temperature is about 18 degrees C (64 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 with 5 percent or more plinthite is dominantly 76 to 127 centimeters (30 to 50 inches), but in some pedons it is 63 centimeters (25 inches).
Silt content is less than 20 percent.
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 Tifton soils are under cultivation with cotton, corn, peanuts, vegetable crops, and small grains. Some areas are in pasture and forestland. The forested areas consist largely of longleaf pine, loblolly pine, slash pine with some scattered hardwoods on cutover areas.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT:
Major Land Resource Area (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:
archive.org/details/decaturGA2007
For a detailed soil description, visit:
soilseries.sc.egov.usda.gov/OSD_Docs/T/TIFTON.html
For acreage and geographic distribution, visit:
A Typic Torripsamment from the interior of the UAE.
Torripsamments are the cool to hot Psamments of arid climates. They have an aridic (or torric) moisture regime and a temperature regime warmer than cryic. Many of these soils are on stable surfaces, some are on dunes, some are stabilized, and some are moving. Torripsamments consist of quartz, mixed sands, volcanic glass, or even gypsum and may have any color. Generally, they are neutral or calcareous and are nearly level to steep. The vegetation consists mostly of xerophytic shrubs, grasses, and forbs.
Many of these soils support more vegetation than other soils with an aridic moisture regime, presumably because they lose less water as runoff. Some of the soils on dunes support a few ephemeral plants or have a partial cover of xerophytic and ephemeral plants. The shifting dunes may be devoid of plants in normal years. Most of the deposits are of late-Pleistocene or younger age. These soils are used mainly for grazing. They are extensive in the Western United States.
Psamments are the sandy Entisols. They are sandy in all layers within the particle-size control section. Some formed in poorly graded (well sorted) sands on shifting or stabilized sand dunes, in cover sands, or in sandy parent materials that were sorted in an earlier geologic cycle. Some formed in sands that were sorted by water and are on outwash plains, lake plains, natural levees, or beaches. A few Psamments formed in material weathered from sandstone or granitic bedrock. Psamments occur under any climate, but they cannot have permafrost within 100 cm of the soil surface. They can have any vegetation and are on surfaces of virtually any age from recent historic to Pliocene or older. The Psamments on old stable surfaces commonly consist of quartz sand. Ground water typically is deeper than 50 cm and commonly is much deeper.
Psamments have a relatively low water-holding capacity. Those that are bare and become dry are subject to soil blowing and drifting and cannot easily support wheeled vehicles. Because very gravelly sands do not have the two qualities just described, they are excluded from Psamments and are grouped with Orthents. Thus, not all Entisols that have a sandy texture are Psamments.
For more information about describing soils, visit:
www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/nrcs142p2_052523...
For additional information about soil classification using Soil Taxonomy, visit:
sites.google.com/site/dinpuithai/Home
For more information about soil classification using the UAE Keys to Soil Taxonomy, visit:
agrifs.ir/sites/default/files/United%20Arab%20Emirates%20...
Redoximorphic features (RMFs) consist of color patterns in a soil that are caused by loss (depletion) or gain (concentration) of pigment compared to the matrix color, formed by oxidation/reduction of iron and/or manganese coupled with their removal, translocation, or accrual; or a soil matrix color controlled by the presence of iron. The composition and responsible formation processes for a soil color or color pattern must be known or inferred before it can be described as an RMF. Typically the zones with red color are areas of iron accumulation whereas the gray zones are areas where iron has been reduced or removed.
Iron that has been chemically reduced can be identified with the use of alpha,alpha-dipyridyl in neutral, 1-normal ammonium-acetate solution. A positive reaction to the alpha,alpha-dipyridyl yields the appearance of a strong red color on the freshly broken surface.
Refer to:
www.flickr.com/photos/jakelley/40158035731/in/dateposted-...
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...
A soil profile and landscape of the Boulder Lake soil series in Idaho. The Boulder Lake series consists of very deep, somewhat poorly drained soils that formed in lacustrine deposits and alluvium derived mainly from volcanic rocks.
Landscape: Boulder Lake soils are on depressions on plateaus and on lake plains. Slopes are 0 to 2 percent. The mean annual precipitation is about 360 mm and the mean annual temperature is about 6 degrees C.
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine, smectitic, frigid Xeric Epiaquerts
Soil moisture: Usually ponded for less than 45 consecutive days in most years, mainly in the spring; brief ponding occurs after intensive rainfall. Saturated to a depth of 76 to 150 cm in late winter and spring; Seasonal periods of aquic moisture regime when the soil moisture control section is saturated and reduced.
Mean annual soil temperature: 6 to 8 degrees C.
Mean summer soil temperature: 17 to 18 degrees C.
Effervescence: Noneffervescent or slightly effervescent but ranges to strongly effervescent in some pedons where few to common, very fine to medium filaments or masses of carbonate occur below depths of 50 cm.
Other features: Reversible trans-horizon cracks are normally open to the soil surface during summer and early fall, are up to 8 cm wide, and are 8 to 15 cm apart. They decrease in width with increasing depth. Cracks remain open for fewer than 180 consecutive days.
Particle-size control section - Clay content: Averages 40 to 60 percent.
USE AND VEGETATION: Boulder Lake soils are used for livestock grazing and wildlife habitat. The vegetation is mainly silver sagebrush, Nevada bluegrass, mat muhly, poverty weed, and primrose, with some Carex and Rumex species.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Boulder Lake soils are on depressions on plateaus and on lake plains. These soils formed in lacustrine deposits derived mainly from volcanic rocks such as tuff, basalt, and andesite. Gilgai microrelief is evident in most areas. Slopes are 0 to 2 percent. Elevations range from 1,400 to 2,200 meters. The climate is semiarid with cool, moist winters and warm, dry summers. The mean annual precipitation is 230 to 510 mm, the mean annual temperature is 5 to 8 degrees C, and the frost-free period is 50 to 90 days.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Northern Nevada, northeastern California, south-central Oregon, and southwestern Idaho. These soils are moderately extensive. The series concept and main acreage is in MLRA 23, while other acreage occurs in MLRAs 21 and 25.
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/B/BOULDER_LAKE.html
For acreage and geographic distribution, visit:
A Lithic Haplogypsid from the interior of the UAE.
Lithic Haplogypsids are the Haplogypsids that have a lithic contact within 50 cm of the soil surface. These soils can have characteristics that are common in the other subgroups.
Haplogypsids are the Gypsids that have no petrogypsic, natric, argillic, or calcic horizon that has an upper boundary within 100 cm of the soil surface. Some Haplogypsids have a cambic horizon overlying the gypsic horizon. These soils are commonly very pale in color. They are not extensive in the United States. The largest concentrations in the United States are in New Mexico and Texas. The soils are more common in other parts of the world.
Gypsids are the Aridisols that have a gypsic or petrogypsic horizon within 100 cm of the soil surface. Accumulation of gypsum takes place initially as crystal aggregates in the voids of the soils. These aggregates grow by accretion, displacing the enclosing soil material. When the gypsic horizon occurs as a cemented impermeable layer, it is recognized as the petrogypsic horizon. Each of these forms of gypsum accumulation implies processes in the soils, and each presents a constraint to soil use.
One of the largest constraints is dissolution of the gypsum, which plays havoc with structures, roads, and irrigation delivery systems. The presence of one or more of these horizons, with or without other diagnostic horizons, defines the great groups of the Gypsids. Gypsids occur in Iraq, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Somalia, West Asia, and some of the most arid areas of the western part of the United States. Gypsids are on many segments of the landscape. Some of them have calcic or related horizons that overlie the gypsic horizon.
For more information about soil classification in the UAE, visit:
vdocument.in/united-arab-emirates-keys-to-soil-taxonomy.h...
Soil Survey of Sumter County, South Carolina
Major land resource area: Southern Coastal Plain
Landform: Marine terraces
Position on the landform: Summits
Elevation: 157 to 279 feet
Orangeburg and similar soils: Typically 91 percent, ranging from about 87 to 95
percent
Surface layer:
0 to 6 inches—dark brown loamy sand
Subsoil:
6 to 12 inches—red sandy clay loam
12 to 26 inches—red sandy clay loam
26 to 33 inches—red sandy clay loam
33 to 56 inches—red sandy clay loam
56 to 80 inches—red sandy clay loam
Minor Components
Troup and Lucy soils
Soil Properties and Qualities
Available water capacity: Moderate (about 8.1 inches)
Slowest saturated hydraulic conductivity: Moderately high (about 0.57 in/hr)
Drainage class: Well drained
Depth to seasonal water saturation: More than 6 feet
Flooding hazard: None
Ponding hazard: None
Shrink-swell potential: Low
Runoff class: Low
Parent material: Loamy fluviomarine deposits
Use and Management Considerations
Cropland
Suitability: Well suited to cotton lint and peanuts; moderately suited to corn, soybeans, and wheat
• Soil crusting decreases water infiltration and interferes with the emergence of seedlings.
Pasture
• This soil is well suited to pasture.
Woodland
Suitability: Well suited to loblolly pine
• Coarse textured soil layers increase the maintenance of haul roads and log landings.
• Coarse textured layers may slough, thus reducing the efficiency of mechanical planting equipment.
• The coarseness of the soil may reduce the traction of wheeled harvest equipment and log trucks.
Building sites
• This soil is well suited to building sites.
Septic tank absorption fields
• This soil is well suited to septic tank absorption fields.
Local roads and streets
• The low soil strength may cause structural damage to local roads and streets.
Interpretive Groups
Land capability class: 1
Hydric soil: No
Prime farmland: All areas are prime farmland
A Typic Petrogypsid, shallow from the interior of the UAE.
These shallow mineral soils that are less than 50 cm deep (from the soil surface) to a root-limiting layer (petrogypsic or petrocalcic horizon, or a paralithic contact).
Petrogypsids are the Gypsids that have a petrogypsic horizon that has its upper boundary within 100 cm of the soil surface. These soils occur in very arid areas of the world where the parent material is high in content of gypsum. When the petrogypsic horizon is close to the surface, crusting forms pseudohexagonal patterns on the soil surface. Petrogypsids occupy old surfaces. In Syria and Iraq, they are on the highest terraces along the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. These soils are not extensive in the United States but are extensive in other countries.
The petrogypsic horizon is a horizon in which visible secondary gypsum has accumulated or has been transformed. The horizon is cemented (i.e., extremely weakly cemented through indurated cementation classes), and the cementation is both laterally continuous and root limiting, even when the soil is moist. The horizon typically occurs as a subsurface horizon, but it may occur at the surface in some soils (foreground).
Gypsids are the Aridisols that have a gypsic or petrogypsic horizon within 100 cm of the soil surface. Accumulation of gypsum takes place initially as crystal aggregates in the voids of the soils. These aggregates grow by accretion, displacing the enclosing soil material. When the gypsic horizon occurs as a cemented impermeable layer, it is recognized as the petrogypsic horizon. Each of these forms of gypsum accumulation implies processes in the soils, and each presents a constraint to soil use. One of the largest constraints is dissolution of the gypsum, which plays havoc with structures, roads, and irrigation delivery systems. The presence of one or more of these horizons, with or without other diagnostic horizons, defines the great groups of the Gypsids. Gypsids occur in Iraq, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Somalia, West Asia, and some of the most arid areas of the western part of the United States. Gypsids are on many segments of the landscape. Some of them have calcic or related horizons that overlie the gypsic horizon.
For more information about describing soils, visit:
www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/nrcs142p2_052523...
For additional information about soil classification using Soil Taxonomy, visit:
sites.google.com/site/dinpuithai/Home
For more information about soil classification using the UAE Keys to Soil Taxonomy, visit:
agrifs.ir/sites/default/files/United%20Arab%20Emirates%20...
Dothan soils consists of very deep, well drained soils that formed in thick beds of unconsolidated, medium to fine-textured marine sediments that contain significant amounts of plinthite in the subsoil.
Plinthite (Gr. plinthos, brick) is an iron-rich, humus-poor mixture of clay with quartz and other highly weathered minerals. It commonly occurs as reddish redox concentrations in a layer that has a polygonal (irregular), platy (lenticular), or reticulate (blocky) pattern. Plinthite irreversibly hardens upon exposure to repeated wetting and drying, especially if exposed to heat from the sun. Other morphologically similar iron-rich materials that do not progressively harden upon repeated wetting and drying are not considered plinthite. The horizon in which plinthite occurs commonly has 2.5 percent (by mass) or more citrate dithionite extractable iron in the fine-earth fraction and a ratio between acid oxalate extractable Fe and citrate-dithionite extractable Fe of less than 0.10.
For a detailed description of the soil, visit:
soilseries.sc.egov.usda.gov/OSD_Docs/D/DOTHAN.html
For acreage and geographic distribution of the soil series, visit:
casoilresource.lawr.ucdavis.edu/see/#dothan
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: