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A representative soil profile of a non-hydric Leon soil in Florida.
The Leon series consists of very deep, poorly and very poorly drained, moderately rapid to moderately slowly permeable soils on upland flats, depressions, stream terraces and tidal areas. They formed in sandy marine sediments of the Eastern Gulf Coast Flatwoods (MLRA 152A), the Atlantic Coast Flatwoods (MLRA 153A) and to a lesser extent in the Southern Coastal Plain (MLRA 133A) and the North-Central Florida Ridge (MLRA 138). Slopes range from 0 to 5 percent.
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Sandy, siliceous, thermic Aeric Alaquods
The Bh horizon is within 30 inches of the soil surface. Reaction ranges from extremely acid to slightly acid throughout. In tidal areas, the soil reaction ranges from very strongly acid to moderately alkaline throughout.
USE AND VEGETATION: Most areas of Leon soils are used for forestry, rangeland and pasture. Areas with adequate water control are used for cropland and vegetables. The natural vegetation consists of longleaf pine, slash pine, water oak, myrtle, with a thick undergrowth of sawpalmetto, running oak, fetterbush and other lyionia, inkberry (gallberry), wax myrtle, goldenrod, ligustrina, dog fennel, chalky bluestem, lowbush blueberry, creeping bluestem and pineland threeawn (wiregrass). In depressions, the vegetation is dominated by brackenfern, smooth sumac and swamp cyrilla are common. Vegetation in the tidal marshes includes bushy seaoxeye, marshhay cordgrass, seashore saltgrass, batis, and smooth cordgrass.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: The Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain from Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia and Maryland. The series is of large extent.
The water table is at depths of 6 to 18 inches for 1 to 4 months during most years. In low flats or sloughs it is at a depth of 0 to 6 for periods of more than 3 weeks during most years. It is between depths of 18 and 36 inches for 2 to 10 months during most years. It is below 60 inches during the dry periods of most years. Depressional areas are covered with standing water for periods of 6 months or more in most years.
For a detailed description, visit:
soilseries.sc.egov.usda.gov/OSD_Docs/L/LEON.html
For acreage and geographic distribution, visit:
A representative soil profile and landscape of the Newbiggin 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 dominantly brownish or reddish subsoils and no prominent mottling or greyish colours (gleying) above 40 cm depth. They are developed mainly on permeable materials. Most are in agricultural use. They are non-alluvial, with non-calcareous loamy or clayey subsoils without significant clay enrichment. They formed in reddish medium loamy drift with siliceous stones.
They are classified as Eutric Chromic Cambisols by the WRB soil classification system. (www.fao.org/3/i3794en/I3794en.pdf)
For more information about this soil, visit:
A representative soil profile of the Ardmoelode series in an area of unimproved grassland from Ireland. These soils formed in fine loamy drift with siliceous stones.
For detailed information about this soil, visit;
gis.teagasc.ie/soils/rep_profile_sheet.php?series_code=09...
For information about the soil series of Ireland, visit;
gis.teagasc.ie/soils/soilguide.php
In the Irish soil classification system these soils are Humic-stagnic Brown Podzolics (soils affected by Fe/Al chemistry increase). These soils have humose topsoil and 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...
An individual organic body generally is about 1 to 3 cm in size but could be smaller than 1 cm.
These soils have 2 percent or more organic bodies of muck or a mucky modified mineral texture starting at a depth ≤15 cm (6 inches) from the soil surface.
User Notes: Organic bodies typically occur at the tips of fine roots. In order to meet the Organic Bodies indicator, the organic carbon content in organic bodies must meet the requirements of muck or mucky modified textures. The size of the organic body is not specifically defined, but the bodies are commonly 1 to 3 cm (0.5 to 1 inch) in diameter (figs. 11 and 12). Many organic bodies do not have the required content of organic carbon and as a result do not meet this indicator. For example, organic bodies of mucky peat (hemic material) and/or peat (fibric material) do not meet the requirements of this indicator, nor does material consisting of partially decomposed root tissue. The Organic Bodies indicator includes the indicator previously named “accretions” (Florida Soil Survey Staff, 1992).
Field Indicators of Hydric Soils in the United States; A Guide for Identifying and Delineating Hydric Soils, Version 9.0, 2024.
Soil scientists describing soil... staying low out of the wind.
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 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 representative soil profile of a Calcareous loamy earth (Stirlings to Ravensthorpe). These soils are calcareous grey or red brown loams grading to calcareous clay. (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-calcareous-loamy-earth-...
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:
A representative soil profile of Great Bend silt loam. This soil is dark to a depth of about 30 centimeters; calcium carbonate is below this depth. (Soil Survey of Spink County, South Dakota; by James B. Millar, Natural Resources Conservation Service)
The Great Bend series consists of very deep, well drained soils formed in glaciolacustrine sediments on lake plains. Permeability is moderate in the solum and moderate to slow in the underlying material. Slopes range from 0 to 15 percent. Mean annual precipitation is about 19 inches, and mean annual air temperature is about 43 degrees F.
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-silty, mixed, superactive, frigid Calcic Hapludolls
Thickness of the mollic epipedon ranges from 7 to 16 inches and extends into the Bw horizon in most pedons. Depth to carbonate ranges from 10 to 32 inches thick. The particle size control section contains a uniform fine sand distribution and less than 15 percent fine sand or coarser.
USE AND VEGETATION: Most areas cropped to corn, small grains, and alfalfa. Small areas are in native range of blue grama, big bluestem, green needlegrass, western wheatgrass, sideoats grama, needleandthread, little bluestem, porcupinegrass, bearded wheatgrass, sedges, and forbs.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Northeastern South Dakota and southeastern North Dakota. The series is of moderate extent.
For additional information about the survey area, visit:
www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_MANUSCRIPTS/south_dakota/S...
For a detailed soil description, visit:
soilseries.sc.egov.usda.gov/OSD_Docs/G/GREAT_BEND.html
For acreage and geographic distribution, visit:
A representative soil profile and landscape of the Park Gate 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 seasonally waterlogged soils affected by a shallow fluctuating groundwater-table. They are developed mainly within or over permeable material and have prominently mottled or greyish coloured horizons within 40 cm depth Most occupy low-lying or depressional sites.
They have a distinct loamy topsoil and a clay-enriched subsoil. They formed in silty stoneless drift.
They are classified as Siltic Luvic Gleysols by the WRB soil classification system. (www.fao.org/3/i3794en/I3794en.pdf)
For more information about this soil, visit:
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●Water soluability—100%
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●Potassium (K2O dry basis)—10.0%
●pH—8.0—10.0
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Profile of Zanesville silt loam in an area of Apalona-Zanesville silt loams, 2 to 6 percent slopes. This soil has a darker surface layer overlying a brown argillic horizon over a fragipan starting at a depth of about 80 centimeters. (Soil Survey of Harrison County, Indiana by Steven W. Neyhouse, Sr., Byron G. Nagel, Gary R. Struben, and Steven Blanford, Natural Resources Conservation Service)
Landscape: upland
Landform: hillslope, interfluve, ridge and saddle
MLRA(s): 113, 114A, 115A, 120A, 120B, 120C, 124, and 126
Geomorphic component: hills
Hillslope Profile Position: summit, shoulders and backslopes
Parent Material: loess over residuum derived from sandstone, siltstone, and shale
Slope: 0 to 30 percent
Elevation: 110 to 415 meters (360 to 1360 feet)
Frost-free period: 147 to 214 days
Mean Annual Air Temperature: 11.5 to 14.9 degrees C. (52.7 to 58.9 degrees F)
Mean Annual Precipitation: 98.4 to 136.1 centimeters (38.7 to 53.6 inches)
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-silty, mixed, active, mesic Oxyaquic Fragiudalfs
Depth to the top of the Argillic: ranges from 7 to 28 centimeters (3 to 11 inches)
Depth to the top of the Fragipan: ranges from 60 to 99 centimeters (24 to 39 inches) except where eroded
Solum Thickness: ranges from 50 to 177 centimeters (20 to 70 inches).
Depth to bedrock: ranges from 100 to 203 centimeters (40 to 80 inches).
Depth Class: Deep and Very Deep
Reaction Class: moderately to very strongly acid, except where limed.
USE AND VEGETATION:
Major Uses: row crop, pasture and woodland
Dominant Vegetation:
Where cultivated-- Corn, soybeans, wheat, tobacco.
Where wooded-- white oak, black oak, post oak, shagbark hickory, sugar maple, tulip poplar, dogwood, and sassafras.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT:
Distribution: Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio
Extent: Extent is large.
For additional information about the survey area, visit:
www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_MANUSCRIPTS/indiana/IN061/...
For a detailed soil description, visit:
soilseries.sc.egov.usda.gov/OSD_Docs/Z/ZANESVILLE.html
For acreage and geographic distribution, visit:
Like skin covers and protects our human body, so does soil cover and protect the earth's surface. Without vibrant and healthy soil, plants and animals cannot flourish. Therefore, it is vital that we have a deep understanding of soil so we may conserve and protect this very valuable natural resource. The Soils Atlas of the Abu Dhabi Emirate provides a new and unique perspective of the recently published Soil Survey. The Atlas is designed to be used by students, naturalists, or anyone interested in a better understanding of the natural world we live in. The soils atlas provides an overview of the process of making and using soil surveys through a series of soil map sheets and thematic maps for both the Extensive and Intensive Soil Survey. These materials will assist the reader to deepen their knowledge about soil as a natural, evolving feature of the earth's surface and its critical role in sustaining life.
A hydric soil is a soil that formed under conditions of saturation, flooding or ponding long enough during the growing season to develop anaerobic conditions in the upper part.
Hydric soil indicators are formed predominantly by the accumulation or loss of iron, manganese, sulfur, or carbon compounds under saturated and anaerobic conditions.
In an anaerobic environment, soil microbes reduce iron from the ferric (Fe3+) to the ferrous (Fe2+) form and manganese from the manganic (Mn4+) to the manganous (Mn2+) form. Of the two, evidence of iron reduction is more commonly observed in soils characteristic bluish gray or greenish gray colors known as gley colors with value of 4 or more. Ferric iron is insoluble, but ferrous iron enters the soil solution, where it may be moved or translocated to other areas of the soil. Areas that have lost iron typically develop characteristic gray or reddish gray colors and are known as redox depletions. If a soil reverts to an aerobic state, iron that is in solution will oxidize and become concentrated in patches as soft masses and along root channels or other pores. These areas of oxidized iron are called redox concentrations.
Since water movement in these saturated or inundated soils can be multidirectional, redox depletions and concentrations can occur anywhere in the soil and have irregular shapes and sizes. Soils that are saturated and contain ferrous iron at the time of sampling may change color upon exposure to the air, as ferrous iron is rapidly converted to ferric iron in the presence of oxygen. Such soils are said to have a reduced matrix (Vepraskas, 1994).
Redox concentrations, depletions, and reduced matrixes are collectively referred to as redoximorphic features. While indicators related to iron or manganese depletions and/or concentrations are most common in hydric soils, they cannot form in soils with parent materials that are low in Fe or Mn content. Soils that formed in such materials may have low-chroma colors that are not related to saturation and reduction. Such soils may have hydric soil morphological features that formed through accumulation of organic matter.
FIELD INDICATORS OF HYDRIC SOILS
For more information about Hydric Soils and their Field Indicators, visit Field Indicators of Hydric Soils in the U.S.
The Dothan series consists of very deep, well drained soils that formed in thick beds of unconsolidated, medium to fine-textured marine sediments. Dothan soils are on interfluves. Slopes range from 0 to 15 percent.
Left: An horizonated and scaled Dothan pedon from Lee County, SC
Center: Typical landscape of Dothan soil from the Soil Survey of Lee County, South Carolina.
Right: Closeup of a plinthic horizon from the Dothan soil.
For additional information about Plinthic and non-plinthic Upper Coastal Plain soils, visit Polygenesis and Cementation Pathways...
For more information about describing, sampling, classifying, and/or mapping soils, please refer to the following references: "Field Book for Describing and Sampling Soils", "Keys to Soil Taxonomy", and the "Soil Survey Manual".
A hydric soil is defined by federal law to mean "soil that, in its undrained condition, is saturated, flooded, or ponded long enough during a growing season to develop an anerobic condition that supports the growth and regeneration of hydrophytic vegetation". This term is part of the legal definition of a wetland included in the United States Food Security Act of 1985 (P.L. 99-198).
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 representative soil profile of Typic Argixerolls. (Soil Survey of Pinnacles National Monument, California; by Ken Oster, Natural Resources Conservation Service)
Argixerolls are the Xerolls that have a relatively thin argillic horizon or one in which the percentage of clay decreases rapidly with increasing depth. Generally, the mollic epipedon is very dark brown and the argillic horizon is dark brown. Argixerolls formed mostly in mid-Pleistocene or earlier deposits or on surfaces of Tertiary age. Slopes range from nearly level to very steep. The natural vegetation is mostly grasses and shrubs, but some of the soils support coniferous forest vegetation with a grass and shrub understory and some have an open forest or savanna.
For additional information about the survey area, visit:
www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_MANUSCRIPTS/california/CA7...
For additional information about soil classification, visit:
www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/main/soils/survey/class...
For background information about this soil, visit.
www.blogs.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detail/nj/soils/?...
The Paulins Kill series consists of very deep, well drained soils formed in Wisconsinan glaciofluvial deposits. They are nearly level to very steep soils on outwash deltas and valley trains associated with extinct proglacial lake basins. Slope ranges from 0 to 60 percent. The mean annual temperature is about 9 degrees C, and the mean annual precipitation is about 1205 mm.
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Sandy-skeletal, mixed, mesic Typic Humudepts
Thickness of the solum ranges from 33 to 75 cm. Depth to bedrock is greater than 160 cm. Rock fragments include stones, cobbles, and gravel, and range from 2 to 40 percent by volume in the A horizon, 15 to 65 percent in the B horizon, 40 to 80 percent in the BC horizon, and 5 to 85 percent in the individual 2C horizons. Soil reaction ranges from very strongly acid to moderately acid in the solum and from very strongly acid to slightly acid in the substratum. Reaction increases to slightly alkaline below 2 meters in some pedons.
USE AND VEGETATION: Most areas have been cleared and are used to grow hay, corn, small grains, vegetable crops and deciduous fruit, or are idle. Other areas are intensively managed for wildlife habitat. Woodlots contain sugar maple, white ash, pin oak, hickory, ironwood, and in the coolest areas, American beech.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Glaciofluvial landforms in northwestern New Jersey; MLRAs 140 and 144A. These soils are moderately extensive with about 72,000 acres of the series mapped. The Paulins Kill series replaces a taxadjunct to the Hoosic series in Sussex and Warren Counties in New Jersey.
For a detailed soil description, visit:
soilseries.sc.egov.usda.gov/OSD_Docs/P/PAULINS_KILL.html
For acreage and geographic distribution, visit:
A representative soil profile of the Opolis soil series. (Soil Survey of Jasper County, Missouri; by Alan C. Peer, Natural Resources Conservation Service)
The Opolis series consists of very deep, moderately well drained soils that formed in a thin mantle of silty loess over residuum on plains in the Cherokee Prairies (MLRA 112). Slope ranges from 0 to 3 percent. Mean annual temperature is 57 degrees F and mean annual precipitation is 40 inches.
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine, mixed, active, thermic Albaquic Hapludalfs
Soil moisture: The soil moisture control section is udic
Depth to abrupt textural change: 12 to 20 inches
Depth to argillic horizon: 12 to 20 inches
Depth to redox concentrations: 9 to 27 inches
Depth to redox depletions: 13 to 80 inches
Depth to episaturation: 13 to 24 inches in February
Particle-size control section (weighted average):
Clay content: 35 to 60 percent
Sand content: 3 to 20 percent
USE AND VEGETATION: Most areas are in cropland. A few areas are in native hayland or pasture. Principal crops are wheat, corn, milo, and soybeans. Native vegetation is prairie grasses, mainly big and little bluestem.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Southwest Missouri and possibly Southeast Kansas and Northeast Oklahoma. The soils are of minor extent.
For additional information about the survey area, visit:
www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_MANUSCRIPTS/missouri/MO097...
For a detailed soil description, visit:
soilseries.sc.egov.usda.gov/OSD_Docs/O/OPOLIS.html
For acreage and geographic distribution, visit:
This photo accompanies Figure 9.—Indicators A2, Histic Epipedon and A3, Black Histic. [Field Indicators of Hydric Soils in the United States].
Typical landscape of the Mosquito soil series (foreground). The Mosquito series (Ruptic Histoturbel) consists of very poorly drained, very shallow to moderately deep soils over permafrost. They formed in silty alluvium or organic matter over alluvium in regions of groundwater discharge on alluvial plains in broad valleys and flats. Slope ranges from 0 to 3 percent. Mean annual precipitation is 9 to 14 inches, approximately one third of which falls as snow.
Groundwater discharge neutralizes organic acids in the organic horizon, and results in a higher pH of these horizons than in most other Ruptic Histoturbels in this region. Because permafrost is relatively impermeable, groundwater must be discharged through associated unfrozen soils.
Mosquito soils are used for wildlife habitat and watershed protection. Soil drainage is not improved sufficiently by clearing to allow agricultural use. The soils support forest of tamarack and black spruce, with shrub birch and cottonsedge in the understory.
These soil are of moderate extent in the Interior Alaska Lowlands.
A representative soil profile of the Hochstetter series from New Zealand. (Photo provided by NZ Soils.co.nz and Waikato Regional Council.) For more information about New Zealand soils, visit;
Hochstetter soils from 0 - 15 cm; Dark red brown slightly gravelly fine sandy loam, fine polyhedral structure. In the New Zealand Soil Classification system these soils are Acidic-mafic Allophanic Brown Soils. For more information about the New Zealand Soil Classification system, visit;
soils.landcareresearch.co.nz/describing-soils/nzsc/
In U.S. Soil Taxonomy, these soils are Typic Dystrudepts. Dystrudepts are the acid Udepts of humid and perhumid regions. They developed mostly in late-Pleistocene or Holocene deposits. Some developed on older, steeply sloping surfaces. The parent materials generally are acid, moderately or weakly consolidated sedimentary or metamorphic rocks or acid sediments. A few of the soils formed in saprolite derived from igneous rocks. The vegetation was mostly deciduous trees. Most of the Dystrudepts that formed in alluvium are now cultivated, and many of the other Dystrudepts are used as pasture. The normal horizon sequence in Dystrudepts is an ochric epipedon over a cambic horizon. Some of the steeper Dystrudepts have a shallow densic, lithic, or paralithic contact. Dystrudepts are extensive in the United States. They are mostly in the Eastern and Southern States.
Udepts are mainly the more or less freely drained Inceptisols that have a udic or perudic moisture regime. They formed on nearly level to steep surfaces, mostly of late-Pleistocene or Holocene age. Some of the soils, in areas where the soil moisture regime is perudic, formed in older deposits. Most of the soils had or now have a forest vegetation, but some support shrubs or grasses. A few formed from Mollisols by truncation of the mollic epipedon, mostly under cultivation. Most of the soils have an ochric or umbric epipedon and a cambic horizon. Some also have a sulfuric horizon, a fragipan, or a duripan. The Udepts in the United States are most extensive in the Appalachian Mountains, on the Allegheny Plateau, and on the west coast.
For additional information about U.S. Soil Taxonomy, visit:
www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detail/soils/survey/cla...
The Greenville consists of very deep, well drained, moderately permeable soils on uplands. They formed in clayey marine sediments of the Coastal Plain. Slopes are dominantly less than 8 percent but range up to 18 percent. Near the type location, the average annual air temperature is about 65 degrees F. and the average annual precipitation is about 59 inches.
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine, kaolinitic, thermic Rhodic Kandiudults
Solum thickness exceeds 60 inches. Reaction ranges from very strongly acid to moderately acid throughout except for surface layers that have been limed. Few quartz pebbles are in some pedons. Content of ferro-manganese masses and concretions ranges from none to common throughout.
USE AND VEGETATION: Most areas are cleared and are used for the production of cotton, corn, small grain, soybeans, truck crops, orchards, and pasture. Wooded areas are in pine, oak, and hickory.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Coastal Plain of Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina. This soil is extensive.
For a detailed description, visit:
soilseries.sc.egov.usda.gov/OSD_Docs/G/GREENVILLE.html
For acreage and geographic distribution, visit:
Fig. 5.33 Salidic Torripsamments (AD246) UAE
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.
Torripsamments are the Psamments that have an aridic (or torric) moisture regime. They are the cool to hot Psamments of arid climates.
Psamments are the Entisols that have less than 35 percent (by volume) rock fragments and a texture of loamy fine sand or coarser in all layers (sandy loam lamellae are permitted) within the particle-size control section.
Many of these soils are on stable surfaces, some are on dunes, some are stabilized, and some are moving. These soils 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. 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.
For more information about soil classification using the UAE Keys to Soil Taxonomy, visit:
agrifs.ir/sites/default/files/United%20Arab%20Emirates%20...
The Tonka series consists of very deep, poorly drained, slowly permeable soils that formed in local alluvium over till or glaciolacustrine deposits. These soils are in closed basins and depressions on till and glacial lake plains and have slopes of 0 to 1 percent. Mean annual air temperature is 42 degrees F, and mean annual precipitation is 20 inches.
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine, smectitic, frigid Argiaquic Argialbolls
soilseries.sc.egov.usda.gov/OSD_Docs/T/TONKA.html
Prairie potholes are depressional wetlands (primarily freshwater marshes) found most often in the Upper Midwest, especially North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. These potholes are the result of glacier activity in the Wisconsin glaciation, which ended about 10,000 years ago. The decaying ice sheet left behind depressions formed by the uneven deposition of till in ground moraines. These depressions are called potholes, glacial potholes, kettles, or kettle lakes. They fill with water in the spring, creating wetlands, which range in duration from temporary to semi-permanent.
A hydric soil is defined by federal law to mean "soil that, in its undrained condition, is saturated, flooded, or ponded long enough during a growing season to develop an anerobic condition that supports the growth and regeneration of hydrophytic vegetation". This term is part of the legal definition of a wetland included in the United States Food Security Act of 1985 (P.L. 99-198).
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...
Dr Fernando Bertolani sampling soil. 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 soil classification using the WRB system, visit:
www.fao.org/3/i3794en/I3794en.pdf
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:
The STEFF series consists of deep, moderately well drained, moderately permeable soils, formed in mixed acid alluvium. These soils are on flood plains. Slopes range from 0 to 4 percent. The mean annual temperature is about 56 degrees F, and the mean annual precipitation is about 46 inches. (Deanefield, Kentucky area)
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-silty, mixed, active, mesic Fluvaquentic Dystrudepts
Solum thickness ranges from 24 to 50 inches. Thickness of the alluvial deposit ranges from about 60 to 200 inches. Soil reaction is strongly acid or very strongly acid except where limed. The content of sandstone or siltstone pebbles ranges from 0 to about 5 percent to a depth of about 40 inches, and up to 50 percent below 40 inches.
USE AND VEGETATION: Most areas are used for growing corn, soybeans, hay, and pasture. The native vegetation is mixed hardwoods, such as river birch, sycamore, willow, water-tolerant oaks, poplar, shagbark hickory, and red maple; canebrakes in places.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Kentucky, southern Indiana, Tennessee, and possibly Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia. Extent is large.
Visit the published soil survey for more detailed information about the soils of Ohio County, Kentucky.
Steff silt loam, occasionally flooded. This deep, moderately well drained, nearly level soil is on flood plains. Slopes are mostly 0 to 2 percent, but range up to 4 percent. This soil formed in alluvium that washed from adjacent uplands. Most areas of this soil are near the base of hills, in narrow valleys in hilly areas, or in narrow strips near large streams. Individual areas are 200 to 400 feet wide, 500 to 2,000 feet long, and contain about 10 to 30 acres.
Typically, the surface layer is yellowish brown silt loam about 8 inches thick. The subsoil to a depth of 20 inches is brown silt loam that has light gray mottles. To a depth of 50 inches, it is mottled light brownish gray and brown silt loam. The substratum to a depth of 60 inches is mottled light gray and brown silt loam.
This soil has a deep root zone. The available water capacity is high. The organic matter content is low, and natural fertility is medium. This soil is strongly acid or very strongly acid except in areas that have been limed. It has moderate permeability. Runoff is slow. This soil has a seasonal high water table and is subject to occasional flooding.
Included with this soil in mapping are a few areas of Stendal, Clifty, and Cuba soils. Also included are small areas of soils similar to Steff soil; some have more sand throughout the profile, some have more clay in the subsoil, and others have less acid in the subsoil. The included soils make up about 15 to 25 percent of the map unit.
Most of this Steff soil is used for cultivated crops. Important crops are corn and soybeans. Some areas are in hay or pasture, and a few areas are in woodland. A few buildings are constructed on this soil.
This soil is well suited to cultivated crops. The erosion hazard is slight, and this soil can be cultivated in short rotations without loss of soil. This soil is subject to occasional flooding. Generally flooding is in winter or spring when row crops are not growing and is of short duration. Most crops respond to lime and fertilizer. Drainage improves the suitability for some crops. The plow layer is easy to till and can be worked over a wide range of moisture content. Cover crops and return of crop residue increase the content of organic matter and improve the tilth.
This soil is well suited to hay and pasture. It is suited to most grasses and legumes that are grown in the survey area; however, in some years perennials are damaged by winter floods. Management needs include proper seeding mixtures and rates, lime and fertilizer, control of weeds, and control of grazing.
This soil is well suited to woodland, and the potential! productivity is very high. Preferred trees include yellow-poplar, eastern white pine, loblolly pine, sweetgum, and cherrybark oak. There is competition from undesirable trees. Most harvesting is done in summer and fall because the soil is wet in winter.
This soil is poorly suited to many urban uses because of the hazard of flooding and the seasonal high water table. In most years, this soil is flooded in winter and spring. Permanent structures can be protected from floods by dikes and levees, but this is expensive. In some places, the hazard of flooding is slight, and the cost of protection is small. Generally, the lower part of the subsoil is saturated for several weeks in winter.
Surplus water can be removed by ditches and tile drains.
This Steff soil is in capability subclass Ilw and in woodland suitability group 10.
Soil profile: A representative soil profile of a Madison soil. This deep, well drained soil is characterized by a high content of mica, which is a result of weathering from mica gneiss and mica schist. (Soil Survey of Monroe County, Georgia; by Dee C. Pederson and Sherry E. Carlson, Natural Resources Conservation Service)
Landscape: Blueberries in an area of Madison fine sandy loam, 6 to 15 percent slopes, moderately eroded. (Soil Survey of Coosa County, Alabama; by John L. Burns, Natural Resources Conservation Service)
The Madison series consists of well drained, moderately permeable soils that formed in residuum weathered from felsic or intermediate, high-grade metamorphic or igneous rocks high in mica content. They are very deep to bedrock and moderately deep to saprolite. They are on gently sloping to steep uplands in the Piedmont. Slopes are mostly between 4 and 15 percent, but range from 2 to 60 percent. Near the type location, mean annual temperature is 59 degrees F., and mean annual precipitation is 60 inches.
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine, kaolinitic, thermic Typic Kanhapludults
Solum thickness ranges from 20 to 50 inches. Depth to bedrock is more than 6 feet. Content of coarse fragments, mainly gravel, ranges from 0 to 25 percent in the A and E horizons and is 0 to 15 percent in the lower horizons. Content of mica ranges from few to many in the A, E, BE, and BA horizons; common or many in the Bt horizon; and many in the BC and C horizons. The soil is moderately acid to very strongly acid throughout, except where the surface has been limed. Limed soils are moderately acid or slightly acid in the upper part.
USE AND VEGETATION: About half the total acreage is cultivated or used for pasture. Principal crops grown are cotton, corn, wheat, oats, soybeans, peaches, apples, and vegetables. Original forest species include white, black, post, and red oaks; hickories; dogwood, sourwood; maple and elm. Shortleaf and loblolly pine were present in places and are now common, along with Virginia pine, in abandoned fields.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: The Piedmont of Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia. The series is extensive.
For additional information about the survey area, visit:
www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_MANUSCRIPTS/georgia/monroe...
and
www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_MANUSCRIPTS/alabama/AL037/...
For a detailed soil description, visit:
soilseries.sc.egov.usda.gov/OSD_Docs/M/MADISON.html
For acreage and geographic distribution, visit:
Soil profile: A representative soil profile of the Newport series (Eutric Arenosols) in England. (Cranfield University 2021. The Soils Guide. Available: www.landis.org.uk. Cranfield University, UK.)
Soils classified and described by the World Reference Base for England and Wales:
www.landis.org.uk/services/soilsguide/wrb_list.cfm
The Newport soils consists mainly of well drained medium sandy soils formed in glaciofluvial and river terrace deposits and, in a few places, stoneless, aeolian sand. Although widely distributed in England and Wales the association is rarely extensive but in many wetter districts it provides the only well drained, easily-worked soils suitable for arable use. The principal soil is the Newport series, which belongs to the typical brown sands. Other main soils include the well drained, coarse loamy Wick series (typical brown earths) and the sandy Blackwood series (typical sandy gley soils) which is affected by seasonal groundwater where undrained.
Free drainage and summer droughtiness are the outstanding features of most of this land. Only the wettest areas are free of drought in most summers. Newport soils are well drained (Wetness Class I). Most component soils are very permeable and absorb winter rainwater without run-off and their soil water reserves are small, often less than the crop-adjusted soil moisture deficit, particularly in the drier districts. In north Nottinghamshire in an average year, for example, the Newport seriesis moderately droughty for most arable crops and very droughty under grassland.
The land is easily worked but productivity is limited, except in the wettest districts, by droughtiness. Good yields are possible where irrigation is available and fertilizer applied. Crops include cereals, potatoes and sugar beet, with grass in the traditional livestock areas. Oilseed rape is also grown as a break crop, especially in Nottinghamshire. In most years soils can be cultivated until the end of December in Nottinghamshire but only to the end of November in Cheshire, although there are opportunities for land work on these light sandy soils throughout the winter. Spring working periods are adequate except in Cheshire and Lancashire in wet seasons when the land may be inaccessible until the end of April. The topsoil commonly has a weak structure, and is subject to slaking and wind erosion where continuous arable crops are grown and the soil is low in organic matter). Compaction and subsequent surface wetness result if the ground is worked under unsuitable conditions, although these can readily be corrected by subsoiling. Surface capping can occur after heavy rain, especially if seedbeds are too fine. Grass yields vary widely.
For additional information about the soil association, visit:
www.landis.org.uk/services/soilsguide/mapunit.cfm?mu=55104
For more information on the World Reference Base soil classification system, visit:
The 2014 Crop Production Contest Winners were recognized at the 2015 Kentucky Commodity Conference Awards Banquet on Friday, January 16, 2015 at the University Plaza Holiday Inn in Bowling Green, Kentucky
Soil profile: A representative soil profile of the Grenada series. (Kentucky Soil Atlas; by Anastasios D. Karathanasis, University of Kentucky)
Landscape: The Grenada soils formed in thick beds of silty loess and water reworked loess material more than 48 inches thick. These nearly level to sloping soils are on uplands and stream terraces of low relief. Most of the acreage is used for row crops and pasture.
The Grenada series consists of very deep, moderately well drained soils that formed in thick loess. These soils are shallow or moderately deep to a fragipan that perches water during wet seasons in late winter and early in spring. Permeability is moderate above the fragipan and slow in the fragipan. These nearly level to strongly sloping soils are in the Southern Mississippi Valley Silty Uplands. Slopes range from 0 to 12 percent.
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-silty, mixed, active, thermic Oxyaquic Fraglossudalfs
Note: The Grenada series classification was changed from a Glossic Fragiudalf to an Oxyaquic Fraglossudalf in 2001 because the former classification was removed from taxonomy. The depth to saturated zone that the series has been interpreted with, and the amount of albic intrusions observed in the upper part of the fragipan near the type location support this new classification.
Thickness of the solum is more than 80 inches. Depth to the fragipan generally ranges from 18 to 36 inches, however an eroded phase is recognized that has a fragipan as shallow as 12 inches. Combined thickness of horizons having less than 10 percent sand is more than 48 inches. The A, Bw, E, and upper part of the Btx/E horizons are very strongly acid to moderately acid except for the surface layer in areas that have been limed; the lower part of the Btx/E horizon and the Btx horizon range from strongly acid to neutral.
USE AND VEGETATION: Most of the acreage is used for row crops and pasture. Cotton, corn, and soybeans are principal crops. A small acreage is in mixed hardwoods including oaks, beech, hickory, elm, and tulip poplar. Shortleaf and loblolly pines are in the southern part of the range.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, and Tennessee. This series is of large extent.
For additional information about Kentucky soils, visit:
uknowledge.uky.edu/pss_book/4/
For a detailed soil description, visit:
soilseries.sc.egov.usda.gov/OSD_Docs/G/GRENADA.html
For acreage and geographic distribution, visit:
A representative soil profile of Dev very gravelly loam in an area of Dev-Riverwash complex, 0 to 3 percent slopes, frequently flooded. The parent material for this soil is flood deposition of very gravelly loam and very gravelly sand. This soil profile with finer textures above than below, is indicative of a fining upwards sequence commonly found in alluvial flood plain deposits. (Soil Survey of Edwards and Real Counties, Texas; by Wayne J. Gabriel, Dr. Lynn E. Loomis, and James A. Douglass II Natural Resources Conservation Service)
The Dev series consists of very deep, well drained, moderately rapidly permeable soils that formed in gravelly loamy alluvium derived from limestone. These nearly level to very gently sloping soils occur on flood plains. Slope ranges from 0 to 3 percent. Mean annual precipitation is about 508 mm (20 in) and the mean annual air temperature is about degrees 17.8 C (64 degrees F).
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy-skeletal, carbonatic, thermic Cumulic Haplustolls
Soil moisture: Aridic-ustic moisture regime
Organic matter: an irregular decrease with depth and some pedons have a buried A horizon
Some pedons have layers consisting of nearly all coarse fragments and discontinuous strata of loam or clay loam.
Particle-size control section (weighted average):
Clay content: 8 to 35 percent
Rock fragments: 35 to 90 percent; limestone or chert; gravel, cobbles, and stones
Calcium carbonate: 40 to 80 percent by weight in less than 20 mm fraction
Periodic catastrophic floods deposit most of the coarse fragments which are mainly of limestone, and the smaller floods deposit a large part of the clay and silt size particles.
USE AND VEGETATION: Used for native range. The soil commonly has a moderate cover of red grama, sideoats grama, threeawns, and plains bristlegrass, and a thin to moderate overstory of mesquite, cedar, and catclaw. A few live oak, pecan, and other deciduous trees are adjacent to stream channels.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Western and southwestern Texas, LRR I - Southwest Plateaus and Plains Range and Cotton Region, Edwards Plateau, MLRA 81A and 81B. The series is of moderate extent.
For additional information about the survey area, visit:
www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_MANUSCRIPTS/texas/TX607/0/...
For a detailed soil description, visit:
soilseries.sc.egov.usda.gov/OSD_Docs/D/DEV.html
For acreage and geographic distribution, visit:
In this roadcut (at a depth of about 75 cm to 125cm) was observed a dense root limiting layer. Possible consideration was either a fragipan (fragic soil properties) or densic materials.
Fragipans are noncemented (less than 50% cementation), root limiting pedogenic horizons (Btx).
Densic materials are also noncemented and root limiting, but are non-pedogenic layers (Cd).
Testing for cementation:
www.flickr.com/photos/jakelley/51834760427/in/album-72157...
What makes this determination difficult is the proximity of the layer to the soil surface and the absence of well-defined soil structure. Similar soils formed in Coastal Plain sediments are extremely deep and have well expressed pedogenic horizons to depths of more than 3 meters. Soil structure was absent (massive) or very coarse to extremely coarse (structure faces > 10cm apart) and poorly expressed.
To be a fragipan the layer must show evidence of pedogenesis within the horizon or, at a minimum, on the faces of structural units; and "either" very coarse prismatic, columnar, or blocky structure of any grade, has weak structure of any size, or is... "massive". Separations between structural units that allow roots to enter have an average spacing of 10 cm or more on the horizontal dimensions.
In addition, a fragipan has, in 60 percent or more of the volume, a firm or firmer rupture-resistance class, a brittle manner of failure at or near field capacity, and virtually no roots. (Typically, the layer/horizon in question is firm or very firm and brittle.)
Fragic soil properties are the essential properties of a fragipan. They have neither the layer thickness nor volume requirements for the fragipan.
Historically, if thought to have fragic soil properties (but lack the degree of expression for a fragipan), the soils were correlated with the Vaucluse soil series. (soilseries.sc.egov.usda.gov/OSD_Docs/V/VAUCLUSE.html)
If thought to have intermediate densic materials and solum extending from 20 to 40 inches, the soils were correlated with the Cowarts soil series. (soilseries.sc.egov.usda.gov/OSD_Docs/C/COWARTS.html)
If thought to have densic materials and solum extending to a depth greater than 40 inches, the soils were correlated with the Barnwell soil series.
soilseries.sc.egov.usda.gov/OSD_Docs/B/BARNWELL.html
For additional information about soil classification using Soil Taxonomy, visit:
www.nrcs.usda.gov/resources/guides-and-instructions/keys-...
A representative soil profile of the Clebit soil series. (Soil Survey of Sevier County, Arkansas; by Alex L. Winfrey, Natural Resources Conservation Service)
The Clebit series consists of shallow, well drained, moderately rapidly permeable soils over hard sandstone that is tilted about 40 degrees from horizontal. These soils formed in material weathered from sandstone of Pennsylvanian age. These very gently sloping to steep soils are on mountain tops and mountain sideslopes of forested uplands of the Ouachita Mountains (MLRA 119) and the Arkansas Valley and Ridges (MLRA 118A and 118B). Slopes are 2 to 60 percent. Mean annual temperature is 63 degrees F., and mean annual precipitation is 48 inches.
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy-skeletal, siliceous, semiactive, thermic Lithic Dystrudepts
Solum thickness and depth to hard sandstone bedrock ranges from 10 to 20 inches and may be extremely variable within short distances.
USE AND VEGETATION: Used mainly as native range for beef cattle. Native vegetation is mainly scrubby hardwoods with an understory of grasses.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Ouachita Mountains and the Arkansas Valley and Ridges of Oklahoma and possibly Arkansas. The series is extensive.
For additional information about the survey area, visit:
www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_MANUSCRIPTS/arkansas/AR133...
For a detailed soil description, visit:
soilseries.sc.egov.usda.gov/OSD_Docs/C/CLEBIT.html
For acreage and geographic distribution, visit:
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.
Soil scientists explore and seek to understand the earth’s land and water resources. Practitioners of soil science identify, interpret, and manage soils for agriculture, forestry, rangeland, ecosystems, urban uses, and mining and reclamation in an environmentally responsible way.
A representative soil profile and landscape of the Turbary Moor 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 more than 40 cm of organic material in the upper 80 cm or with more than 30 cm of organic material over bedrock or very stony rock rubble.
They are normally drained, with a well aerated and structured earthy topsoil or ripened mineral surface layer. They formed in mixed eriophorum and sphagnum peat.
They are classified as Drainic Rheic Sapric Histosols by the WRB soil classification system. (www.fao.org/3/i3794en/I3794en.pdf)
For more information about this soil, visit:
The 2014 Crop Production Contest Winners were recognized at the 2015 Kentucky Commodity Conference Awards Banquet on Friday, January 16, 2015 at the University Plaza Holiday Inn in Bowling Green, Kentucky
Petrogypsic soils have a surface or subsurface soil horizon cemented by gypsum so strongly that dry fragments will not slake in water. The cementation restricts penetration by plant roots. This is a diagnostic horizon and occur in large areas of arid and semiarid regions of the world. The occurrence of gypsum in soils is considered a key feature by most soil classification and mapping systems that have designated specific names for these soils and horizons.
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.
Required Characteristics
A petrogypsic horizon meets all of the following
requirements:
1. Is cemented or indurated by gypsum, with or without other
cementing agents; and
2. Because of lateral continuity, can be penetrated by roots
only along vertical fractures with a horizontal spacing of 10 cm
or more; and
3. Is 5 mm or more thick; and
4. Is 40 percent or more (by weight) gypsum.
For more information about soil classification in the UAE, visit:
vdocument.in/united-arab-emirates-keys-to-soil-taxonomy.h...
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:
A representative soil profile of the Omahu series from New Zealand. (Photo provided by NZ Soils.co.nz and Waikato Regional Council.) For more information about New Zealand soils, visit;
Omahu soils from 0 - 5 cm; Dark brown gravelly sandy loam. In the New Zealand Soil Classification system these soils are Typic Fluvial Recent Soils For more information about the New Zealand Soil Classification system, visit;
soils.landcareresearch.co.nz/describing-soils/nzsc/
In U.S. Soil Taxonomy, these soils are Typic Ustifluvents. These are the Ustifluvents that have good or moderately good drainage and that do not have a fine particle-size class and clay of a swelling type in a major part of the upper 125 cm. These soils occur in relatively high areas on flood plains, and the water table is deeper than 100 cm, except for very brief periods. There are no redox depletions with chroma of 2 or less or aquic conditions within 50 cm of the mineral soil surface and no chroma of 0 or hue bluer than 10Y or aquic conditions within a depth of 100 cm.
There normally is little or no evidence of alteration of the fine stratification in the alluvium. In some Typic Ustifluvents that have a fine-silty or fine particle-size class, however, stratification cannot be easily identified. Typic Ustifluvents are extensive along streams in the subhumid or semiarid parts of the Great Plains in the United States and also are extensive in many other countries. Many of these soils are used as cropland, with or without irrigation. Others are used for summer grazing.
For additional information about U.S. Soil Taxonomy, visit:
www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detail/soils/survey/cla...
A representative soil profile and landscape of the Pomona soil series. (Photos courtesy of L. Rex Ellis, Environmental Scientist V, Bureau of Water Resources, Division of Water and Land Resources, St. Johns River Water Management District).
The Pomona series consists of very deep, poorly and very poorly drained soils that formed in sandy and loamy marine sediments. Pomona soils are on flats and flatwoods on marine terraces. Slopes range from 0 to 2 percent. The mean annual temperature is about 23 degrees C (72 degrees F), and the mean annual precipitation is about 1397 millimeters (55 inches).
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Sandy, siliceous, hyperthermic Ultic Alaquods
USE AND VEGETATION:
Under natural conditions Pomona soils are used for water quality and wildlife habitat. Cultivated areas are used for truck crops and tame pasture. Potential native vegetation consists of slash pine, longleaf pine, and south Florida slash pine with an understory of sawpalmetto, waxmyrtle, gallberry, creeping bluestem, chalky bluestem, indiangrass, and pineland threeawn.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT:
Major Land Resource Area (MLRA): Southern Florida Flatwoods (MLRA 155), South Central Florida Ridge (MLRA 154), and Southern Florida Lowlands (MLRA 156B)
Extent: Moderate
For a detailed description, visit:
soilseries.sc.egov.usda.gov/OSD_Docs/P/POMONA.html
For acreage, geographic distribution and pedons sampled, visit:
For more information about describing soils, visit:
soilseries.sc.egov.usda.gov/OSD_Docs/P/POMONA.html
For additional information about soil classification using Soil Taxonomy, visit:
A representative soil profile of the Fforest series (Chromic Eutric Albic Stagnosols) in England. (Cranfield University 2021. The Soils Guide. Available: www.landis.org.uk. Cranfield University, UK.)
Soils classified and described by the World Reference Base for England and Wales:
www.landis.org.uk/services/soilsguide/wrb_list.cfm
Fforet soils are on gentle to moderate slopes, commonly footslopes and valley floors in areas of red sedimentary rocks. Mapped areas consists predominantly of fine silty cambic stagnogley soils in reddish drift. This passes to a dense, strongly mottled horizon with prismatic structures which merges with compact, little altered drift within 1 m depth. Similar fine loamy soils of the Hollacombe seriesoccur in places. On the wettest sites, usually boggy depressions, there are soils with humose or peaty tops over strongly gleyed slowly permeable subsoil and these are catnbic stagnohumic gley soils belonging to Wenallt series. Some well drained fine loamy typical brown earths of the Newbiggin series occur on strong slopes and convexities while stagnogleyic brown earths, Llangendeirne series, with a little gley mottling in their subsoils grade in their drainage characteristics towards the Fforest soils.
Fforest subsoils are slowly permeable and often contain a fragipan which, with the gentle relief, slows water movement so that the soils are waterlogged for much of the year (Wetness Classes IV to V) and excess winter rains run rapidly to the water courses. The subsurface is gleyed, pale grey and iron-depleted.
Most area are under permanent grassland some of which is rush-infested, and undrained soils are very easily poached. Underdrainage using permeable backfill followed by subsoiling or moling every four years facilitates pasture improvement but continued care is needed as there is still some risk of poaching even after drainage. Liver fluke is a hazard to stock on undrained Fforest soils. Arable cultivation is largely restricted to forage crops. Reserves of available water are usually adequate to ensure that Fforest soils are non-droughty in most years, although crops may be checked by drought where topsoils have become compacted and rooting is restricted. Small areas of the association are used for forestry, Sitka spruce being the preferred species. The sites are drained with open ditches and ploughed deeply to encourage root penetration and so reduce the risk of early windthrow.
For additional information about the soil association, visit:
www.landis.org.uk/services/soilsguide/mapunit.cfm?mu=71303
For more information on the World Reference Base soil classification system, visit:
Left: A soil profile of the Wedowee soil series (2 photo tapes--one in centimeters and one in inches).
Center: Typical North Carolina landscape of Wedowee soil.
Right: Closeup of clay coating in saprolite (clay film?) in the BC horizon.
The "Wedowee" series consists of very deep, well drained, moderately permeable soils that formed in residuum weathered from felsic igneous and metamorphic rocks of the Piedmont uplands. These soils are on narrow ridges and on side slopes of uplands. Slope is dominantly between 6 and 25 percent but ranges from 0 to 60 percent. Near the type location, the average annual temperature is about 63 degrees F. and average annual precipitation is about 53 inches.
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine, kaolinitic, thermic Typic Kanhapludults
Most areas are wooded and common trees include loblolly pine, Virginia pine, red oak, white oak, post oak, hickory, blackgum, maple, and dogwood. Many areas are cleared and used for cotton, corn, tobacco, small grain, hay, and pasture. Some areas are used for residual development.
For more information about describing, sampling, classifying, and/or mapping soils, please refer to the following references: "Field Book for Describing and Sampling Soils", "Keys to Soil Taxonomy", and the "Soil Survey Manual".
A representative soil profile of the Owyhee series.
The Owyhee series consists of very deep, well drained soils that formed in lacustrine material or old alluvium on level to sloping terraces. The permeability is slow or moderately slow. Slopes are 0 to 30 percent. The average annual precipitation is about 230 millimeters, and the average annual air temperature is about 11 degrees C.
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Coarse-silty, mixed, superactive, mesic Xeric Haplocalcids
Average annual soil temperature -- 10.5 to 12 degrees C.
Average summer soil temperature - 20.5 to 22 degrees C.
Depth to Laminae - 50 to 89 centimeters
Depth to carbonates - 30 to 61 centimeters
USE AND VEGETATION: Mostly irrigated cropland. The principal crops are corn, small grains, sugar beets, potatoes, hops, alfalfa, pasture grasses, and onions. The vegetation on uncultivated areas is big sagebrush, Sandberg bluegrass, bluebunch wheatgrass, cheatgrass, basin wildrye, and annual weeds and grasses.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Valleys in southwestern Idaho and eastern Oregon. The series is of moderate extent
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/O/OWYHEE.html
For acreage and geographic distribution, visit:
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.
These color separations are used by soil scientists to document the presence of an active water table, both epi- and endo- saturation. However, these changes in color may be an indication of a much older environment in which the features formed, not current saturation and reduction processes.
One technique that helps determine if the feature is contemporary is the sharpness of the feature boundary. A color transition that is gradual or diffuse is associated with contemporary aquic conditions. Transitions that are clear or sharp and more distinct are commonly associated with relic or ancient soil environments. In addition, if the concentrations are relic they tend to exhibit brittleness, although plinthite is commonly brittle even when present in a contemporary aquic regime.
Color separations observed in the soil on the left (L) were thought to be relic and not due to active oxidation and reduction processes, whereas the color separations observed in the soil on the right (R) were thought to be contemporary and the result of active oxidation and reduction processes with a seasonal water table.
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-...
Photo courtesy of EAD-Environment Agency - Abu Dhabi. www.ead.gov.ae/
The salic horizon is a soil horizon, usually below the surface, which contains not less than 2 per cent salt and with a figure of 60 or more for the value calculated as the thickness of the horizon in centimetres multiplied by the percentage of salt. It is a diagnostic horizon.
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 the Ballyduff series in an area of improved grassland from Ireland. These soils formed in fine loamy material over shale bedrock.
For detailed information about this soil, visit;
gis.teagasc.ie/soils/rep_profile_sheet.php?series_code=10...
For information about the soil series of Ireland, visit;
gis.teagasc.ie/soils/soilguide.php
In the Irish soil classification system these soils are Humic-stagnic Luvisols. These soils have humose topsoil and 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...
Glauconitic soils typically have gleyed, green, or black matrices and can have mottles of weathered sulfides that can be mistaken for redox concentrations. If the weathered sulfides in this glauconitic soil were mistaken for redox concentrations, this nonhydric soil would appear to meet the requirements of indicator F6 (Redox Dark Surface).
Glauconitic. Refers to a mineral aggregate that contains a micaceous mineral resulting in a characteristic green color, e.g., glauconitic shale or clay.
Field Indicators of Hydric Soils in the United States; A Guide for Identifying and Delineating Hydric Soils, Version 9.0, 2024.
Soil profile: A representative soil profile of the Kenn soil series. (Soil Survey of Sevier County, Arkansas; by Alex L. Winfrey, Natural Resources Conservation Service)
Landscape: These level to gently sloping soils are on flood plains of the Ouachita Mountains and the Arkansas Valley and Ridges.
The Kenn series consists of very deep, well drained, moderately permeable soils that formed in loamy alluvium. Slopes are 0 to 4 percent. Mean annual temperature is 63 degrees F., and mean annual precipitation is 1168 cm (46 in).
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, siliceous, active, thermic Ultic Hapludalfs
Solum thickness is 102 to 152 cm (40 to 60 in). Depth to the gravelly 2BC ranges from 51 to 102 cm (20 to 40 in). Depth to bedrock is greater than 152 cm (60 in).
USE AND VEGETATION: Used mainly for tame pasture and woodland. The vegetation is primarily post oak, southern red oak, sweetgum, and shortleaf pine.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Flood plains of the Ouachita Mountains and the Arkansas Valley and Ridges of Arkansas and Oklahoma. The series is of minor extent.
For additional information about the survey area, visit:
www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_MANUSCRIPTS/arkansas/AR133...
For a detailed soil description, visit:
soilseries.sc.egov.usda.gov/OSD_Docs/K/KENN.html
For acreage and geographic distribution, visit:
The Jory soil series was first established in 1970 in Benton County and is named after Jory Hill in neighboring Marion County. Jory soil is identified in nine western Oregon counties on about 300,000 acres. The soil can be recognized by its red color and can be observed on the foothills on the east and west sides of the Willamette Valley when traveling on Interstate 5 highway. The Jory soil series is a benchmark soil.
The native vegetation of Jory soils consists of a coniferous forest with an overstory dominated by Douglas fir (Oregon state tree). The overstory also has minor amounts of Oregon white oak and big leaf maple trees and the understory is composed of numerous shrubs, forbs, and grasses. In its native state, Jory is a very productive forest soil and is used for timber production. Also, it is used for wildlife habitat, especially in its native state. Many areas have been cleared of the native vegetation and are used for agriculture. Important crops include many varieties of grass seed, Christmas trees, pasture, wheat, numerous fruit berries, hazelnuts (filberts), and wine grapes. With the growth of the wine industry in Oregon, vineyards are being established on many hundreds of acres of Jory soil each year.
For more information about this and other State Soils, visit the Soil Science Society of America "Around the World-State Soils" website.
Soil profile: An illustrated soil profile of the HOSMER series in Kentucky. Hosmer soils have a perched, seasonal water table at a depth of 46 to 76 centimeters (1.5 to 2.5 feet) from December through April in most years. The saturation helps form Fe-Mg concretions in he zone above the seasonal saturation. These concretions are evident at the lower part of the Ap horizon.
NOTE: SoilWeb applications provide access to USDA-NCSS detailed soil survey maps and data (SSURGO) for most of the United States. Developed by the University of California, these apps include SoilWeb, SoilWeb Earth, and SEE (Soil Series Extent Explorer). The SoilWeb app is available for free download on both Android and iOS platforms.
Landscape: The Hosmer series (foreground) consists of very deep, moderately well drained soils formed in loess on hills and are very productive with good natural fertility. Slopes are commonly 2 to 12 percent, but range from 0 to 30 percent. (Whitesville, Kentucky area)
They are moderately deep to a fragipan. Slopes are commonly 2 to 12 percent, but range from 0 to 30 percent. Mean annual precipitation is about 1068 mm (42 inches) and mean annual temperature is about 14 degrees C (57 degrees F).
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-silty, mixed, active, mesic Oxyaquic Fragiudalfs
Depth to the base of the argillic horizon: 127 to more than 203 cm (50 to more than 80 inches)
Depth to the fragipan: 51 to 91 cm (20 to 36 inches)
The particle-size control section averages: 22 to 30 percent clay and 2 to 10 percent sand
USE AND VEGETATION: Most areas are used for growing corn, soybeans, tobacco, winter wheat, or used for hay. Some areas are used for pasture and woodland. Native vegetation is mixed, deciduous hardwood forest.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Southern Indiana, southern Illinois and western Kentucky. The acreage is of large extent and is in MLRAs 113, 114B, 115A, 120A and 120B. The type location is in MLRA 115A.
Visit the published soil survey for more detailed information about the soils of Ohio County, Kentucky.
HoB2—Hosmer silt loam, 2 to 6 percent slopes, eroded. This deep, gently sloping, moderately well drained soil is mostly on hilltops in the northwestern part of the county. Most mapped areas are narrow and winding. They range from about 200 to 500 feet wide and contain from 5 to 25 acres. Slopes are mostly convex and 100 to 300 feet long.
Typically, the surface layer is brown silt loam about 8 inches thick. The subsoil, to a depth of 30 inches, is brown or strong brown silty clay loam or silt loam. To a depth of 70 inches, it is a strong brown or brown silt loam fragipan that has mottles in shades of gray and brown.
This soil has moderate permeability above the fragipan and slow permeability in the fragipan. Runoff is medium. This soil has a moderately deep root zone to the fragipan. The available water capacity is moderate. This soil is low in content of organic matter and medium in natural fertility. It is medium acid to very strongly acid except in areas that have been limed.
Included with this soil in mapping are small areas of Alford and Zanesville soils. Also included are Hosmer soils that are severely eroded, have a silty clay loam surface layer, and have a fragipan at a depth of about 20 inches. Soils that have 6 to 10 percent slopes are included in some areas. The included soils make up about 15 to 25 percent of the map unit.
This Hosmer soil is used for corn, tobacco, soybeans, hay, and pasture. Many farm buildings have been constructed in areas of this soil. Small areas are in woodland.
This soil is well suited to cultivated crops; however, erosion is a moderate hazard. This soil is suited to most of the cultivated crops that are grown in the survey area. Crops respond to lime and fertilizer. The plow layer is easy to till and can be worked over a wide range of moisture content. Conservation tillage, contour cultivation, stripcropping, cover crops, addition of organic matter, grassed waterways, and grasses and legumes in the rotation system reduce runoff and help to control erosion.
This soil is well suited to hay and pasture. It is suited to most of the grasses and legumes that are grown in the survey area; however, some deep-rooted crops are short-lived. The main management needs are proper seeding rates and mixtures, lime and fertilizer, control of weeds, and control of grazing.
This soil is well suited to trees, and the potential productivity is high. Most trees that grow on uplands in the area grow well on this soil. A few small areas remain in native hardwoods. Preferred trees include eastern white pine, shortleaf pine, yellow-poplar, and white ash.
This soii is well suited to most urban uses. Because this soil is on uplands, it is desirable as sites for buildings. This soil has a severe limitation for sanitary facilities because of the slow permeability of the fragipan, but this limitation can be overcome by enlarging the absorption area or modifying the filter field.
This Hosmer soil is in capability subclass Ile and in woodland suitability group 20.