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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 Cleveland series consists of shallow, somewhat excessively drained, moderately rapidly permeable soils affected by soil creep. They formed in residuum weathered from felsic or mafic igneous and high-grade metamorphic rocks such as granite, hornblende gneiss, granodiorite, biotite gneiss, and high-grade metagraywacke.
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy, mixed, active, mesic Lithic Dystrudepts
Solum thickness and depth to lithic contact range from 10 to 20 inches. Content of rock fragments ranges from 0 to 45 percent by volume throughout. The soil is extremely acid to moderately acid throughout the profile. Content of flakes of mica is few or common throughout.
USE AND VEGETATION: Common trees are chestnut oak, scarlet oak, hickory, eastern white pine, Virginia pine, and pitch pine. The understory includes rhododendron and mountain laurel.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Southern Blue Ridge (MLRA 130B) of South Carolina and North Carolina, and possibly Maryland and Virginia. The series is moderately extensive.
The 12/97 revision places this soil in the loamy, mixed, active, mesic Lithic Dystrochrepts family per 7th Edition of Keys to Soil Taxonomy (1996). CEC activity class placement was based on information provided from sampled pedons of soils forming in similar materials (Ashe, Edneyville, Chestnut). The 2/99 revision updates classification to 8th Edition of Keys to Soil Taxonomy.
"Our goal is to educate the residents of Ohio County about current conservation issues & address them."
In 1940, the Kentucky General Assembly passed enabling legislation, KRS Chapter 292, which allowed local farmers to petition and establish Conservation Districts. In 1941, the first Kentucky Conservation District was organized in South Logan County. North Logan soon followed, making Logan county the only Kentucky county with two Conservation Districts.
The remaining 119 Conservation Districts were formed on a county line basis, giving the state a total of 121 Conservation Districts. Henderson County was the final district to be organized. Thus, in 1954 Conservation Districts completely covered the state.
The purpose of a Conservation District is to conserve and develop all renewable natural resources within the district. In so doing, the district in authorized to undertake, sponsor, or participate in projects, activities and programs which promote the conservation, development, maintenance, management and wise use of the land, water, trees and other related, natural resources of the district.
Kentucky's Kentucky Soil and Water Conservation Districts (KY-SWCD) are a subdivision of state government and have been organized for the special purpose to assist landowners and land users.
Soil and Water Conservation Offices are government agencies that provide information on conservation and management for soil, water, and related natural resources. Their mission is to protect and improve soil and water resources as well as conserve land, water, forests, and wildlife. In addition, Soil and Water Conservation District Associations and the Soil and Water Conservation Society (SWCS) provide conservation support on the local level.
Each county in Kentucky is represented by a local conservation district, consisting of elected supervisors. These conservation districts assist the landowners in each county with creating and implementing practices to protect the soil and water quality. The conservation districts help conserve Kentucky's resources by helping local people match their needs with technical and financial resources.
For more information about the soil survey, visit;
archive.org/details/usda-soil-survey-of-ohio-county-kentu...
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.
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:
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...
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.
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:
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: A representative soil profile of the Mimosa soil series. (Soil Survey of Macon County. Tennessee, by Charlie McCowan, Natural Resources Conservation Service)
Landscape: Mimosa soils are on gently sloping to steep uplands extending from the edge of the Highland Rim down into the outer Central Basin, and on outlying knobs and hills within the inner Central Basin.
The Mimosa series consists of deep, well drained, slowly permeable soils that formed in clayey residuum from phosphatic limestone. These soils are on gently sloping to steep uplands with medium to rapid runoff. Near the type location, average annual precipitation is 49 inches and average annual air temperature is 60 degrees F. Slopes range from 2 to 45 percent.
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine, mixed, semiactive, thermic Typic Hapludalfs
Solum thickness and depth to rock ranges from 40 to 60 inches. Rock fragments range from 0 to 25 percent in the surface layer and 5 percent or less below. The fragments are mostly chert and most areas have less than 15 percent in the surface layer. The soil is medium acid to very strongly acid except the layer just above bedrock is medium acid to mildly alkaline. Phosphorous content of each horizon is medium to high.
USE AND VEGETATION: Most of the acreage of these soils have been cleared, but some areas reverted back to trees. Most cleared areas are used for growing pasture and hay. Wooded areas are in oak, hickory, black walnut, elm, maple, hackberry, black and honey locust, and redcedar.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: The Central Basin of Tennessee and possibly in northern Alabama. The soil is extensive.
For additional information about the survey area, visit:
www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_MANUSCRIPTS/tennessee/maco...
For a detailed soil description, visit:
soilseries.sc.egov.usda.gov/OSD_Docs/M/MIMOSA.html
For acreage and geographic distribution, visit:
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.
(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...
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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Note the accumulation of iron (red color) and areas of reduction (gray color). 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.
Redox depletions are localized zones of decreased pigmentation due to a loss of iron or manganese, with or without clay loss. The pigment loss produces a color grayer, lighter, or less red than that of the adjacent matrix (fig. 3-27). The pigment loss reveals the underlying mineral color. Redox depletions have a hue that is yellower, greener, or bluer than that of the adjacent matrix and/or a higher value and/or a lower chroma. Redox depletions include, but are not limited to, what were previously called “low chroma mottles” (chroma < 2), which are key indicators of seasonal or periodic soil saturation. Redox depletions occur in the following forms:
Iron depletions.—Localized zones that have lost iron and/or manganese pigment due to oxidation or reduction reactions under anaerobic conditions but that have a clay content similar to that of the adjacent matrix.
Clay depletions.—Localized zones that have lost iron, manganese, and clay. These features are commonly referred to as silt coatings or skeletans. Silt coatings may form by eluvial processes rather than from oxidation and reduction. Soil features of inferred eluvial origin (for example, albic materials, silt coatings, and skeletans) are not considered or described as a redox depletion.
Reduced matrix.—A soil horizon, layer, or zone that is reduced in respect to iron. It has an in situ matrix chroma < 2 and/or a hue of 5GY, 5G, or 5BG that reflects the presence of Fe(II). The color of a soil sample becomes visibly redder or brighter (oxidizes) when exposed to air. The color change typically occurs within 30 minutes. A 0.2% solution of alpha,alpha-dipyridyl dissolved in 1N ammonium acetate (NH4OAc) pH 7 can verify the presence of Fe+2 in the field (Childs, 1981).
www.flickr.com/photos/jakelley/40158035731/in/album-72157...
Although the red redox concentrations have sharp boundaries, they could not be separated as discrete bodies and did not exhibit stronger rupture resistance nor a brittle manner of failure.
For more information about describing and sampling soils, visit:
www.nrcs.usda.gov/resources/guides-and-instructions/field...
or Chapter 3 of the Soil Survey manual:
www.nrcs.usda.gov/sites/default/files/2022-09/The-Soil-Su...
For additional information on "How to Use the Field Book for Describing and Sampling Soils" (video reference), visit:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_hQaXV7MpM
For additional information about soil classification using USDA-NRCS Soil Taxonomy, visit:
www.nrcs.usda.gov/resources/guides-and-instructions/keys-...
or;
www.nrcs.usda.gov/resources/guides-and-instructions/soil-...
For more information about Hydric Soils and their Field Indicators, visit:
www.nrcs.usda.gov/resources/guides-and-instructions/field...
Soil profile: A representative soil profile of the 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...
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.
For more soil related images, visit:
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:
Representative soil profiles from New Zealand. (Photos provided by NZ Soils.co.nz and Waikato Regional Council.) For more information about New Zealand soils, visit;
nzsoils.org.nz/Topic-Regional_Soils/Soil_Resource_Materials/
By examining excavated pits, digging holes, or taking soil cores, soil scientists are able to locate and map areas of land dominated by a particular soil. Mapping of soils is aided by an understanding of soil/landscape relationships - low flat areas may be dominated by gray to white, poorly drained clayey soils, slightly higher ground by well drained yellowish sandy soils.
The areas of land occupied by soils are plotted on a map. After this procedure has been repeated many times and cross-checking and assessments have been undertaken, a complete soil map for an area is built up.
A soil scientist is a person who is qualified to evaluate and interpret soils and soil-related data for the purpose of understanding soil resources as they contribute to not only agricultural production, but as they affect environmental quality and as they are managed for protection of human health and the environment. The university degree should be in Soil Science, or closely related field (i.e., natural resources, environmental science, earth science, etc.) and include sufficient soils-related course work so the Soil Scientist has a measurable level of understanding of the soil environment, including soil morphology and soil forming factors, soil chemistry, soil physics, and soil biology, and the dynamic interaction of these areas.
For more information about the New Zealand Soil Classification system, visit;
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...
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...
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:
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: 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...
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:
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...
Figure 3-28. A field test on a soil with a moderately fluid manner of failure class. (Soil Survey Manual, USDA Handbook No. 18; issued March 2017).
Soil Consistence is the degree and kind of cohesion and adhesion that soil exhibits, and/or the resistance of soil to deformation or rupture under an applied stress.
The manner in which specimens of soil fail under increasing force ranges widely and usually is highly dependent on water state. To test for fluidity, a handful of soil material is squeezed in the hand.
For moderately fluid materials after exerting full pressure, most flows through the fingers; a small residue remains in the palm of the hand.
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-...
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...
Soil profile: A representative profile of Potomac soil, the dominant soil on first-bottom flood plains in the Bluestone National Scenic River area. Potomac soils are characterized by a high content of cobbles and gravel throughout and commonly have layers deposited from a series of flood events.
Landscape: Islands in the Bluestone River, as seen from the mouth of the Little Bluestone River, are mapped as Potomac-Nelse complex, 0 to 5 percent slopes, extremely stony, frequently flooded. (Soil Survey of Bluestone National Scenic River, West Virginia; by Eileen Klein, Natural Resources Conservation Service)
Potomac-Nelse complex, 0 to 5 percent slopes, extremely stony, frequently flooded
Map Unit Setting
Landscape: Mountains
Major land resource area: 127—Eastern Allegheny Plateau and Mountains
Elevation: 435 to 478 meters
Mean annual precipitation: 865 to 1,044 millimeters
Mean annual air temperature: 6 to 18 degrees C
Frost-free period: 147 to 205 days
Map Unit Composition
Potomac and similar soils: 60 percent
Nelse and similar soils: 20 percent
Dissimilar minor components: 20 percent
Description of Potomac Soil
Taxonomic Classification: Sandy-skeletal, mixed, mesic Typic Udifluvents
Setting
Landform: High-energy flood plains in river valleys
Landform position (two-dimensional): Toeslope
Landform position (three-dimensional): Tread
Down-slope shape: Linear
Across-slope shape: Linear
Aspect (representative): Southwest
Aspect range: All aspects
Slope range: 0 to 5 percent
Parent material: Skeletal, nonacid sandy alluvium derived from interbedded
sedimentary rock
Properties and Qualities
Depth to restrictive feature: None within a depth of 150 centimeters
Shrink-swell potential: Low (about 1.5 LEP)
Salinity maximum based on representative value: Nonsaline
Sodicity maximum: Not sodic
Calcium carbonate equivalent percent: No carbonates
Hydrologic Properties
Slowest capacity to transmit water (Ksat): Moderately high
Natural drainage class: Somewhat excessively drained
Flooding frequency: Frequent
Ponding frequency: None
Depth to seasonal water table: None within a depth of 160 centimeters
Available water capacity (entire profile): High (about 10.8 centimeters)
Interpretive Groups
Land capability subclass (nonirrigated): 5w
West Virginia grassland suitability group (WVGSG): Sands (SA3)
Dominant vegetation map class(es):
Floodplain Forest and Woodland
Modified Successional Floodplain Forest and Woodland
Oak - Hickory - Sugar Maple Forest
Hydric soil status: No
Hydrologic soil group: A
For additional information about the survey area, visit:
www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_MANUSCRIPTS/west_virginia/...
For a detailed soil description, visit:
soilseries.sc.egov.usda.gov/OSD_Docs/P/POTOMAC.html
For acreage and geographic distribution, 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.
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:
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.
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:
Gypsiferous soils are soils that contain sufficient quantities of gypsum (calcium sulphate) to interfere with plant growth. Soils with gypsum of pedogenic origin are found in regions with ustic, xeric and aridic moisture regimes. They are well represented in dry areas where sources for the calcium sulphate exist. They do not usually occur under wet climates. In most cases the gypsum is associated with other salts of calcium and salts of sodium and magnesium.
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 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!!!
For more photos related to soils and landscapes visit:
Multi-Purpose Range Complex, also known as Rodriguez Range at Yeongpyeong-ri, north of Pocheon, South Korea. MPRC range supports units of the 2nd Infantry Division for helicopter, Bradley Fighting Vehicle, M1 Abrams tank, artillery, mortor, and close air support training.
www.flickr.com/photos/2cab/15607888485/in/photolist-pK8eP...
www.army.mil/article/130555/Rotational_units_get_first_ta...
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:
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 Lakehurst series. (Soil Survey of Cumberland County, New Jersey; by Lenore Matula Vasilas, Natural Resources Conservation Service)
Depth Class: Very deep
Drainage Class: Moderately well drained
Permeability: Rapid in the subsoil and to slow in the substratum
Surface Runoff: Slow
Parent Material: Sandy coastal plain sediments
Slope: 0 to 5 percent
Mean Annual Air Temperature (type location): 56 degrees F.
Mean Annual Precipitation (type location): 44 inches
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Mesic, coated Aquodic Quartzipsamments
Solum Thickness: 30 to 50 inches
Depth to Bedrock: Greater than 60 inches
Depth to Seasonal High Water Table: 18 to 42 inches, January to April
Depth to the Bh Horizon: 10 to 30 inches
Rock Fragments: 0 to 20 percent, by volume mostly rounded quartzose pebbles. Individual gravelly layers are generally less than 1 foot thick.
Soil Reaction: Extremely acid to strongly acid, throughout the profile, unless limed
USE AND VEGETATION: Mostly woodland. Acres once farmed have now been abandoned. Wooded areas are dominantly pitch pine, shortleaf pine, black, and white oak, with an understory of lowbush blueberries and scrub oak. Where wildfires have been severe, pitch pine and black jack oak are dominant.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: The Coastal Plain of New Jersey and Virginia, Extent: Large
For additional information about the survey area, visit:
www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_MANUSCRIPTS/new_jersey/NJ0...
For a detailed soil description, visit:
soilseries.sc.egov.usda.gov/OSD_Docs/L/LAKEHURST.html
For acreage and geographic distribution, visit:
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...
Taken a few in / cm above the forest floor, not far from the park's Now and Then Falls.
Hanging out with a small community of Canada Mayflowers (Maianthemum canadense).
Despite its common name, this spring-ephemeral species tends to blossom in June this far north, just as it is here. Originally a member of the very large and, as it turns out, polyphyletic Lily Family (Liliaceae), it's now placed in the Asparagaceae—the Asparagus Family.
One of the reasons I like this picture, besides the cheerful white Mayflower blossoms, of course, is that it gives a good sense of the thick mantle of pine needles and dried leaves that make up the type of North Woods O Horizon (uppermost, organic layer of the soil). It's colloquially known as duff. Rain and snowmelt leach out much of the tannin content of this conifer-derived ground cover, and eventually the acidic brew reaches local streams and turns them brown.
Most of the duff on view here seems to be composed of fallen Eastern White Pine (Pinus strobus) foliage.
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:
A representative soil profile and landscape of the Southhampton 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 black, dark brown or ochreous humus and iron-enriched subsoils formed as a result of acid weathering conditions. Under natural or semi-natural vegetation, they have an unincorporated acid organic layer at the surface.
They are well drained, with a bleached subsurface horizon and no thin ironpan. They formed in sandy gravelly very hard siliceous stones.
They are classified as Episkeletic Ruptic Umbric Albic Podzols by the WRB soil classification system. (www.fao.org/3/i3794en/I3794en.pdf)
For more information about this soil, visit:
The Alford soil series consists of very deep, well drained soils formed in loess. These soils are commonly on loess hills. Slopes range from 0 to 60 percent. Most nearly level to sloping areas are used to grow corn, soybeans, wheat, and legume-grass mixtures for hay and pasture. Steeper areas are used for permanent pasture or woodland. Native vegetation is forest. Maple, yellow-poplar, oak, and hickory are the dominant species. They are throughout southwestern and west-central Indiana, southeastern Illinois, northwestern Kentucky and southern Ohio.
The Hosmer soil series consists of very deep, moderately well drained soils formed in loess on hills. They are moderately deep to a fragipan. Slopes are commonly 2 to 12 percent, but range from 0 to 30 percent. A perched, seasonal water table is at a depth of 46 to 76 centimeters (1.5 to 2.5 feet) from December through April in most years. Permeability is moderate (0.6 to 2.0 inches per hour) above the fragipan and slow or very slow in and below the fragipan. The potential for surface water runoff is medium to very high.
Most areas are used for growing corn, soybeans, winter wheat, or used for hay. Some areas are used for pasture and woodland. Native vegetation is mixed, deciduous hardwood forest. They are throughout southern Indiana, southern Illinois and western Kentucky.
For more information about describing and sampling soils, visit:
www.nrcs.usda.gov/resources/guides-and-instructions/field...
For additional information about soil classification using USDA-NRCS Soil Taxonomy, visit:
www.nrcs.usda.gov/resources/guides-and-instructions/keys-...
or;
www.nrcs.usda.gov/resources/guides-and-instructions/soil-...
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:
An area of Dothan loamy sand, 2 to 6 percent slopes. Dothan soils are well suited to locally grown crops such as corn, soybeans, and peanuts. Soil Survey of Halifax County, North Carolina; By Deborah T. Anderson, Natural Resources Conservation Service, and Clare D. Cole, North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources)
This gently sloping, very deep, well drained soil is on upland ridges in the Fall Line region of the upper Coastal Plain. Individual areas are irregular in shape and range from about 15 to 250 acres in size.
Important soil properties—
Permeability: Moderate in the upper part of the subsoil and moderately slow in the lower part
Available water capacity: Moderate
Surface runoff: Medium
Hazard of water erosion: Moderate
High water table: At a depth of 3.0 to 5.0 feet from
January through April
Included with this unit in mapping are a few areas of Nankin and Fuquay soils. Nankin soils have less than 5 percent plinthite, by volume, in the subsoil; have common or many ironstone concretions in and on the surface layer and in the upper part of the subsoil; have a clayey subsoil; and are on the slightly higher knobs. Fuquay soils have a sandy surface layer that is more than 20 inches thick. They are intermingled with the Dothan soil in some areas. Also included are small areas of soils that have major properties, use, and management similar to those of the Dothan soil. These soils have less than 5 percent plinthite, by volume, in the subsoil; have a thinner subsoil; or have few or common ironstone concretions on the surface and in the upper part of the subsoil.
Dissimilar inclusions make up about 15 percent of this map unit. Most of this map unit is used as cropland. The rest is mainly used as woodland or pasture. In cultivated areas of this Dothan soil, the major crops are peanuts, cotton, corn, soybeans, tobacco, and small grain.
The hazard of water erosion, a water table that is perched above the plinthic zone during wet periods, the droughtiness of the thick, sandy surface layer, and a hazard of soil blowing are the main limitations affecting cropland. Cultivation may be delayed during wet periods, and irrigation may be needed during dry periods. Blowing sand may damage young plants. Planting winter cover crops, managing crop residue, conservation tillage, establishing windbreaks, and including close-growing grasses and legumes in the cropping system help to control runoff, water erosion, and soil blowing, maintain tilth, and conserve moisture. Conservation practices, such as no-till planting, stripcropping, crop rotations, contour farming, field borders, grassed waterways, and terraces and diversions, can also help to conserve water and control erosion.
For more information on Soil Taxonomy, visit:
www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/main/soils/survey/class/
For a detailed description of the soil, visit:
soilseries.sc.egov.usda.gov/OSD_Docs/D/DOTHAN.html
For more photos related to soils and landscapes visit: