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Soil profile: A representative soil profile of the Tonka series.
Landscape: Tonka soils are in plane or slightly concave, closed basins and depressions on till and glacial lake plains. Slope ranges from 0 to 1 percent. The soils formed in local alluvium over till or glaciolacustrine deposits.
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
Depth to carbonates commonly is 28 to 40 inches but ranges from 20 to more than 60 inches. The depth to the Bt horizon ranges from 12 to 28 inches. The soil commonly is free of rock fragments, but in some pedons the lower part of the solum and the substratum contain pebbles. Some pedons have surface stones.
USE AND VEGETATION: Used for small grains, hay and pasture. Native vegetation is tall grasses, sedges and rushes.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Widely distributed on the glaciated plains of North Dakota, northeastern South Dakota, and western Minnesota. The series is extensive.
For a detailed soil description, visit:
soilseries.sc.egov.usda.gov/OSD_Docs/T/TONKA.html
For acreage and geographic distribution, visit:
Sugarcane is commonly grown on Oxisols in Brazil. Oxisols are an order in USDA soil taxonomy, best known for their occurrence in tropical rain forest, 15-25 degrees north and south of the Equator. They are classified as ferralsols in the World Reference Base for Soil Resources; some oxisols have been previously classified as laterite soils.The main processes of soil formation of oxisols are weathering, humification and pedoturbation due to animals. These processes produce the characteristic soil profile. They are defined as soils containing at all depths no more than 10 percent weatherable minerals, and low cation exchange capacity. Oxisols are always a red or yellowish color, due to the high concentration of iron(III) and aluminium oxides and hydroxides. In addition they also contain quartz and kaolin, plus small amounts of other clay minerals and organic matter.
For more information on Soil Taxonomy, visit:
www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/main/soils/survey/class/
For more photos related to soils and landscapes visit:
Current faculty, staff and alumni gathered at the Plant and Soil Science Reunion in the Plant Science Plaza during Roundup week.
A representative soil profile and landscape of the Newchurch 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.
These soils have a distinct topsoil, in loamy or clayey recent alluvium more than 30 cm thick. They formed in clayey marine alluvium.
They are classified as Clayic Fluvic Calcaric Gleysols 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 Kilrush series in an area of improved 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=07...
For information about the soil series of Ireland, visit;
gis.teagasc.ie/soils/soilguide.php
In the Irish soil classification system these soils are Typical Surface-water Gleys (soils influenced by water).
For more information about describing and classifying soils using the Irish Soils Classification System, visit:
gis.teagasc.ie/soils/downloads/SIS_Final_Technical_Report...
A representative soil profile of a Kastanozem from Russia. (Photo provided by Yakov Kuzyakov, revised.)
Kastanozems accommodate dry grassland soils, among them the soils of the short-grass steppe belt, south of the Eurasian tall-grass steppe belt with Chernozems. Kastanozems have a similar profile to that of Chernozems but the humus-rich surface horizon is thinner and not as dark as that of the Chernozems, and they show more prominent accumulation of secondary carbonates. The chestnut-brown colour of the surface soil is reflected in the name Kastanozem. Common names for many Kastanozems are (Dark) Chestnut soils (Russia), Kalktschernoseme (Germany), (Dark) Brown soils (Canada), Ustolls and Xerolls (United States of America) and Chernossolos (Brazil).
Haplic (from Greek haplous, simple): having a typical expression of certain features (typical in the sense that there is no further or meaningful characterization) and only used if none of the preceding qualifiers applies. (WRB)
For more information, visit;
wwwuser.gwdg.de/~kuzyakov/soils/WRB-2006_Keys.htm
For more information about Dr. Kuzyakov, visit;
www.uni-goettingen.de/de/212970.html
For more information about soil classification using the WRB system, visit:
Soil profile: Cataska soils are shallow, excessively drained loamy soils with many rock fragments and moderately rapid or rapid permeability.
Landscape: Low-grade metasedimentary rock underlies soils such as Sylco and Cataska soils. This bedrock is unstable when lateral support is removed during construction.
Depth to Bedrock: 25 to 51 cm (10 to 20 inches) to weathered bedrock (paralithic); 51 to 122 cm or more (20 to 48 inches or more) to unweathered bedrock (lithic).
Depth Class: Shallow
Landscape: Low and intermediate mountains and occasionally intermountain hills.
Landform: Mountain slope, hillslopes, and ridges.
Geomorphic Component: Mountain top, mountain flank, and side slope.
Hillslope Profile Position: Summit, shoulder, and backslope.
Parent Material Origin: Low-grade metasedimentary rocks such as tilted siltstone, slate, phyllite, or metasandstone; fragments are channers, flagstones, or stones ranging up to 24 inches across.
Parent Material Kind: Residuum that is affected by soil creep in the upper solum.
Slope: Typically 15 to 70 percent, but range from 5 to 95 percent.
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy-skeletal, mixed, semiactive, mesic, shallow Typic Dystrudepts
USE AND VEGETATION:
Major Uses: Woodland, rarely pasture and hayland
Dominant Vegetation: Where wooded--scarlet oak, chestnut oak, red maple, Virginia and pitch pine. Understory species are dominantly mountain laurel, sourwood, and buffalo nut. Where cleared--used for wildlife plantings.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT:
Distribution: Southern Blue Ridge Mountains (MLRA 130B) of Tennessee, North Carolina, Virginia, and Georgia.
Extent: Large--more than 100,000 acres.
For additional information about the survey area, visit:
www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_MANUSCRIPTS/north_carolina...
For a detailed description, visit:
soilseries.sc.egov.usda.gov/OSD_Docs/C/CATASKA.html
For acreage and geographic distribution, visit:
Sampling for bulk density in the field where soils under three intensities of management were subjected to a summer drought event
A representative soil profile of the Whitwell series. Whitwell soils are moderately well drained. They have gray mottles at a depth of
60 centimeters. They are dominantly gray below a depth of one meter. (Soil Survey of Sequatchie County, Tennessee; by Jerry L. Prater, Natural Resources Conservation Service)
The Whitwell series consists of very deep, moderately well drained soils that formed in loamy alluvium on low stream terraces. Slopes range from 0 to 6 percent.
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, siliceous, semiactive, thermic Aquic Hapludults
Thickness of the solum ranges from 30 to 60 inches and depth to bedrock is greater than 60 inches. Rock fragments range from 0 to 15 percent in each horizon. The fragments are rounded and are mostly less than 3 inches across. The soil is strongly acid or very strongly acid except where the soil has been limed.
USE AND VEGETATION: Nearly all of the soil is cropped to corn, hay, soybeans, small grains, and some cotton and tobacco. Native vegetation was forest of oaks, hickory, beech, maple, elm, and sycamore.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: The Southern Appalachian Ridges and Valleys(MLRA 128) and Highland Rim in Tennessee (MLRA 122), northwestern Georgia, northern Alabama, and possibly Arkansas and Kentucky. The series is of moderate extent.
For additional information about the survey area, visit:
www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_MANUSCRIPTS/tennessee/sequ...
For a detailed soil description, visit:
soilseries.sc.egov.usda.gov/OSD_Docs/W/WHITWELL.html
For acreage and geographic distribution, visit:
The bluish band at a depth of about 20 cm indicates the presence of reduced soil material. The material below 20 cm reflects both the color of the parent material and soil weathering under aerobic conditions.
These soils have a mineral layer with a dominant hue of N, 10Y, 5GY, 10GY, 5G, 10G, 5BG, 10BG, 5B, 10B, or 5PB and with value of 4 or more in more than 50 percent of the matrix. The layer starts at a depth ≤30 cm (12 inches) from the mineral surface and is underlain at a depth ≤1.5 m (60 inches) from the soil surface by soil material with hue of 5Y or redder in the same type of
parent material.
User Notes: This indicator can be used for all mineral soils, not just sandy soils. The indicator has two requirements (fig. 18). First, one or more of the specified gley colors occurs ≤30 cm (12 inches) from the soil surface. These must be the colors on the pages of the Munsell color book (X-Rite, 2009) that show gley colors, not simply gray colors. Second, below these gley colors, the color of similar soil material is 5Y or redder (2.5Y, 10YR, 7.5YR, etc.). The presence of the truly gley colors indicates that the soil has undergone reduction. The requirement for 5Y or redder colors lower in the profile ensures that the gley colors are not simply the basic color of the parent material. Tidal sediments, lacustrine sediments, loess, and some glacial tills have base colors that appear as gley. This indicator proves that the near-surface gley colors are not natural soil material colors and that they are the result of reduced conditions. When comparing the near-surface and underlying colors, make sure that both are the same type of soil material. Many soils in Alaska consist of two or more types of material (e.g., silty loess overlying gravelly glacial till or sand and gravel river deposits).
Field Indicators of Hydric Soils in the United States; A Guide for Identifying and Delineating Hydric Soils, Version 9.0, 2024.
A soil profile of a Epiaquert in the Philippines. This soil is used for rice production. It is seasonally saturated in about the upper 120 cm of the profile. Below this depth the soil has brighter colors and lacks redoximorphic depletions. This indicates that water perches above this depth. The three slightly curved horizontal features at depths of about 80, 100, and 120 cm are large slickensides exposed for the soil description. (Soil Survey Staff. 2015. Illustrated guide to Soil Taxonomy. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service, National Soil Survey Center, Lincoln, Nebraska)
Epiaquerts have one or more soil layers that perch water. These layers are commonly close to the surface. Epiaquerts occur on a variety of landforms, including flood plains, glacial lake plains, and depressions. In the United States, they occur in several western States, on the northern Great Plains, and in the South. They also occur in Puerto Rico.
For additional information about soil classification, visit:
www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detail/soils/survey/cla...
A Typic Dystrudept from south-west Poland--lower Silesia region and the Sudetes Mountains formed in materials weathered from Carboniferous granite. (Photo provided by Cezary Kabala, Institute of Soil Science, University of Environmental and Life Sciences, Wroclaw, Poland.}
These are the acid Inceptisols 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. The native vegetation consists mostly of mixed forest. Most of these soils are used as forest. Many of the less sloping soils have been cleared and are used as cropland or pasture.
These soils are classified as Dystric Chromic Cambisols (Loamic, Ochric) by the World Reference Base (WRB).
For more information about this soil, visit:
karnet.up.wroc.pl/~kabala/Brunatne.html
For more information on the World Reference Base soil classification system, visit:
www.fao.org/3/i3794en/I3794en.pdf
For additional information about the US Soil Taxonomy soil classification system, visit:
www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detail/soils/survey/cla...
A representative soil profile of the Silverdale series from New Zealand. (Photo provided by NZ Soils.co.nz and Waikato Regional Council.) For more information about New Zealand soils, visit;
Silverdale soils from 0 - 20 cm; Very dark greyish brown silt loam (or clay loam), fine polyhedral structure. In the New Zealand Soil Classification system these soils are Mottled Orthic 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 Oxyaquic Kanhapludalfs. These soils are like Typic Kanhapludalfs, but they are saturated with water within 100 cm of the mineral soil surface for 20 or more consecutive days or 30 or more cumulative days in normal years. Oxyaquic Kanhapludalfs are considered intergrades to Aqualfs. They are not known to occur in the United States.
Kanhapludalfs are the Udalfs that have a kandic horizon. Most of these soils have a thermic or warmer soil temperature regime. The natural vegetation on Kanhapludalfs was forest, mostly deciduous, but many of the soils are now cleared and used as cropland.
Udalfs are the more or less freely drained Alfisols that have a udic moisture regime and a frigid, mesic, isomesic, or warmer temperature regime. These soils are principally but not entirely in areas of late-Pleistocene deposits and erosional surfaces of about the same age. Some of the Udalfs that are on the older surfaces are underlain by limestone or other calcareous sediments. Udalfs are very extensive in the United States and in Western Europe. All of them are believed to have supported forest vegetation at some time during development. Normally, the undisturbed soils have a thin A horizon darkened by humus.
For additional information about U.S. Soil Taxonomy, visit:
www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detail/soils/survey/cla...
A Cryi-Ustic Isohumosol and landscape. These soils mainly distribute in the vertical zones in mountain valleys of eastern Qilian Mountain in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, and in the continental cool-temperate monsoon climate zone in the Greater Khingan Mountains, Heilongjiang Province. Parent materials are quite complicated, including slope deposits derived from sandstone, siliceous slate and granite, and also loess, red clay as well as diluvium, and alluvium. The annual precipitation is 350-650 mm. The vegetation is mainly meadow and shrub, and growing Kobrecia humilis, and Poa annua, etc. Those soils in northeast China are mostly cultivated as dry-farmland. A fairly thick humus horizon presents due to the accumulation of large amount of organic matters. Soil development is not affected by underground water. (Photos and notes courtesy of China Soils Museum, Guangdong Institute of World Soil Resources; with revision.)
In Chinese Soil Taxonomy, Isohumosols have deep accumulation of humus under cool temperature. In Soil Taxonomy these soils are Mollisols.
For additional information about this soil and the Soils Museum, visit:
www.giwsr.com/en/article/index/212
For additional information about Soil Taxonomy, visit:
The white petrocalcic horizon below a depth of about 20 cm is very strongly cemented by an accumulation of calcium carbonate. Roots cannot penetrate this layer except in cracks. Scale is in 20-cm increments (left) and feet (right).
Illustrated Guide to Soil Taxonomy (p. 4-143)
The Vallers series consists of very deep, poorly drained soils that formed in calcareous fine-loamy till on till plains, moraines and lake plains. These soils have moderately slow permeability. Slopes range from 0 to 3 percent.
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, mixed, superactive, frigid Typic Calciaquolls
The mollic epipedon ranges from 7 to 25 inches in thickness. In some pedons the lower part of the mollic epipedon qualifies as part of the calcic horizon. The calcic horizon has a calcium carbonate equivalent of about 20 to 35 percent. The 10 to 40 inch particle-size control section typically has between 22 and 32 percent clay but ranges from 18 to 35 percent and 15 to 35 percent sand coarser than very fine sand. It typically contains 2 to 8 percent rock fragments of mixed lithology, but in some pedons the upper part lacks rock fragments. Typically, the soil is calcareous throughout, but a few pedons under native vegetation lack free carbonates in the upper 7 inches of the soil. The soil is typically slightly alkaline or moderately alkaline throughout, but is neutral in the surface layer where it lacks free carbonates. Firm subsoil, saline, stony, and depressional phases are recognized.
USE AND VEGETATION: Most of this soil is cultivated. Corn, soybeans, small grains and legumes are the principal crops. Native vegetation is tall grass prairie.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Western Minnesota, northeastern South Dakota, and eastern North Dakota. The series is of large extent.
Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are: mollic epipedon - the zone from the surface to a depth of 9 inches (Ap horizon); calcic horizon - the zone from 9 to 44 inches (Bkg and Bkyg horizons); aquic moisture regime per 5Y hue, chroma of 2 and redoximorphic concentrations below the mollic epipedon.
For a detailed description, visit:
soilseries.sc.egov.usda.gov/OSD_Docs/V/VALLERS.html
For acreage and geographic distribution, visit:
This region occurs to the south of Ghayathi. It comprises extensive areas of barchanoid dunes occasionally partially overlain by paler carbonatic dunes. Interlayering of pale carbonatic sands with redder, coarser sands is common. Outcrops of miliolite are scattered throughout the region and presumably underlie much of the dune systems.
Clay bridge.—A specific type of ped and void surface feature consisting of an accumulation of illuvial clay in intergrain spaces of the soil matrix that links adjacent sand grains. Clay bridges are one form of evidence of illuvial clay listed in the definition of the argillic horizon. Significant clay bridging within an otherwise sandy soil layer has the effect of partially obstructing pores, thus slowing water movement. In addition, depending on the kind of clay minerals, clay bridges may increase the overall CEC and fertility of the layer. Soil horizons with clay bridges are commonly designated by the suffix “t” (e.g., Bt). See clay film and lamellae.
Figure 24.—Examples of clay bridges.
Left photo: A section of the upper Bt horizon from a Lucknow soil (loamy, kaolinitic, thermic Grossarenic Kandiudults). The sample is a loamy coarse sand with distinct clay bridges. The sand grains are bridged by clay and iron oxides.
Right photo: Close-up of clay bridges. (Scale bar is 2mm).
A representative soil profile of the Borris series in an area of improved grassland from Ireland. These soils formed in coarse loamy drift with igneous and metamorphic stones.
For detailed information about this soil, visit;
gis.teagasc.ie/soils/rep_profile_sheet.php?series_code=11...
For information about the soil series of Ireland, visit;
gis.teagasc.ie/soils/soilguide.php
In the Irish soil classification system these soils are Typical Brown Earths. These soils have distinct topsoil, without any distinguishing features.
For more information about describing and classifying soils using the Irish Soils Classification System, visit:
gis.teagasc.ie/soils/downloads/SIS_Final_Technical_Report...
A representative soil profile of the Borris series in an area of improved grassland from Ireland. These soils formed in coarse loamy drift with igneous and metamorphic stones.
For detailed information about this soil, visit;
gis.teagasc.ie/soils/rep_profile_sheet.php?series_code=11...
For information about the soil series of Ireland, visit;
gis.teagasc.ie/soils/soilguide.php
In the Irish soil classification system these soils are Typical Brown Earths. These soils have distinct topsoil, without any distinguishing features.
For more information about describing and classifying soils using the Irish Soils Classification System, visit:
gis.teagasc.ie/soils/downloads/SIS_Final_Technical_Report...
A representative soil profile of the Clashmore series in an area of improved grassland from Ireland. These soils formed in coarse loamy drift with siliceous stones.
For detailed information about this soil, visit;
gis.teagasc.ie/soils/rep_profile_sheet.php?series_code=11...
For information about the soil series of Ireland, visit;
gis.teagasc.ie/soils/soilguide.php
In the Irish soil classification system these soils are Humic-stagnic Brown Earths. 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...
A Fluvaquentic HaplohemIst from south-west Poland--lower Silesia region and the Sudetes Mountains formed in organic materials. (Photo provided by Cezary Kabala, Institute of Soil Science, University of Environmental and Life Sciences, Wroclaw, Poland.)
Fluvaquentic Haplohemists differ from Typic Haplohemists because they have, within the organic materials, either one mineral layer 5 to 30 cm thick or two or more mineral layers of any thickness in the control section, below the surface tier. These soils are of very small extent in the United States.
Hemists are wet Histosols in which the organic materials are moderately decomposed. The botanic origin of much of the organic material cannot be readily determined. The fiber content of much of the organic material is between one-sixth and two-thirds after rubbing between the thumb and fingers. The bulk density commonly is between 0.1 and 0.2 g/cm3. Ground water is at or very close to the surface of these soils much of the time unless artificial drainage has been provided. The level of ground water may fluctuate but seldom drops much below the bottom of the surface tier. Hemists occur from the Equator to latitudes with a cryic temperature regime. They are in closed depressions and in broad flat areas, such as coastal plains and outwash plains. Most Hemists are under natural vegetation and are used as woodland, rangeland, or wildlife habitat. Some large areas of Hemists are cleared, drained, and used as cropland.
These soils are classified as Dystric Hemic Histosols (Mineralic) by the World Reference Base (WRB).
For more information about this soil, visit:
karnet.up.wroc.pl/~kabala/Organiczne.html
For more information on the World Reference Base soil classification system, visit:
www.fao.org/3/i3794en/I3794en.pdf
For additional information about the US Soil Taxonomy soil classification system, visit:
www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detail/soils/survey/cla...
Photographs are a significant component of soil survey data collection and documentation. They can illustrate important things about an individual soil or a soil catena in soil survey reports, scientific journals, textbooks, and periodicals. They can be included in any electronic presentation of soil survey data to end users. Good photographs provide records and reference sources of basic soil information. Taking photographs needs to be planned early in the soil survey or related project.
Photographs that include a scale are useful in estimating volume, area, or size distribution. The comparison of coarse fragments in a soil against photographs of known quantities of coarse fragments improves the reliability of estimates. Similar photographic standards can be used to estimate volume or size of nodules and concretions, mottles, roots, pores, and rock fragments. In a similar manner, photographic standards can be used in estimating area or the special arrangement of surface features and land use.
For additional information, refer to the Soil Survey Manual, Chapter 7, Soil Survey Data Collection, Management, and Dissemination; pp.409-411. To access the SSM [CLICK HERE]
Photographing Landscapes:
Landscape photographs illustrate important relationships between soils and geomorphology, vegetation, and land use and management. They should be clear and in sharp focus and have good contrast. Photographs representative of the area being mapped are the most useful. The best pictures are made at the time of day and during the time of year when the sun lights the scene from the side. The shadows created by this lighting separate parts of the landscape and give the picture depth.
Photo composition is important. A good photograph typically has only one primary point of interest. Objects that clutter the photograph (e.g., utility poles, poorly maintained roads and fences, signs, and vehicles) detract from the main subject. The point of interest should not be in the center of the photograph. The “rule of thirds” for composition is useful when looking at the scene through the viewfinder. The image area can be visualized as divided into thirds both horizontally and vertically. Sky should make up less than one-third of the image, and the camera should be kept level with the horizon. In addition, landscape photographs should be taken from a variety of angles (e.g., from a kneeling position, on a ladder, on top of a car or low building, etc.).
For additional information and examples [CLICK HERE]
Photographing soil profiles:
Careful planning is essential for obtaining high-quality photographs of soil profiles. A representative site is selected on a vertical cut face or in an area where a pit can be dug large enough for adequate lighting of all horizons. Subtle differences in soil color are often more apparent on cloudy days than in full sun since direct exposure to full sunlight often results in a washed-out image or cross shadows. In full sunlight, uniform lighting can be achieved by using a flash, blocking the sun reaching the profile face with a neutral color tarp, or by covering the entire pit with heavy mil plastic. The plastic cover filters the light (reducing harshness) and helps to achieve uniform light distribution.
The profile needs to be properly prepared to bring out significant contrast in structure and color between the soil horizons. Beginning at the top, fragments of the soil can be broken off with a small knife or trowel to eliminate digging marks and expose the natural soil structure. The trowel is especially helpful if a smoothed appearance is preferred.
Dust and small fragments can be brushed or blown away. Moistening the whole profile or part of it with a hand sprayer helps to obtain uniform moisture content and contrast. If a photo tape is used, it should be clean, and properly oriented (parallel to the sidewall and preferable on the left). The camera should be at a point that is center of the image.
Notes should be made immediately after each photograph is taken to record location and date, complete description of the subject, and other facts that are not evident in the photograph. If possible, individual soil features as well as a landscape photograph should accompany the soil profile photograph.
For additional information and examples, click [CLICK HERE]
Close-up Photography (soil features):
Many soil features, such as peds, pores, roots, rock fragments, krotovinas, redoximorphic features, concretions, and organisms, can be photographed at close range; however, some item should be used as a scale for size comparison. This can be as simple as the feature being hand-held or a knife, coin, or scale bar added to the feature.
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For additional information and examples [CLICK HERE]
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For an overview of "Capturing and Reformatting Published Soil Survey Images" [CLICK HERE]
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A Hapli-Udic Cambosol. These soils mainly distribute in low mountains and hills in warm temperate zone, and vertical zones on middle mountains in north-subtropical zone. Parent materials are weathered materials, mostly residual-slope deposits, originated from sandstone, shale, granite, gneiss and andesite, etc. Native vegetation is deciduous broad leaf forest , or mixed deciduous broad leaf and coniferous forest. However, the present time vegetation is mostly secondary forest and shrubs. In addition, a few dry croplands or deciduous fruit trees are also found. Hapli-Udic Cambosols refer to a group of Udic Cambosols except Boric, Carbonatic, purplic, Alic, Ferric, and Acidic groups. (Photos and notes courtesy of China Soils Museum, Guangdong Institute of World Soil Resources; with revision.)
In Chinese Soil Taxonomy, Cambosols have low-grade soil development with formation of horizon of alteration or weak expression of other diagnostic horizons. In Soil Taxonomy these soils are commonly Inceptisols, Mollisols, or Gelisols.
For additional information about this soil and the Soils Museum, visit:
www.giwsr.com/en/article/index/249
For additional information about Soil Taxonomy, visit:
Soil series.—The lowest level in Soil Taxonomy. All the soils of a series have horizons that are similar in composition, thickness, and arrangement. A soil series is a conceptual class defined to represent natural bodies of soils (polypedons) on the landscape. Soil series are defined by properties within the series control section as defined in Soil Taxonomy
Figure 106a.—Soil series that are also State Soils. A state soil is a soil that has special significance to a particular state. Each state in the United States has selected a state soil, over twenty of which have been legislatively established. (From left to right.):
South Dakota State Soil—The Houdek series consists of very deep, well drained soils formed in glacial till on uplands. Slopes range from 0 to 25 percent. These soils are fine-loamy, mixed, superactive, mesic Typic Argiustolls.
Alabama State Soil—The Bama series consists of very deep, well drained, moderately permeable soils in the Southern Coastal Plain. They formed in thick beds of loamy marine and fluvial sediments on high stream or marine terraces. Slopes range up to 15 percent. These soils are fine-loamy, siliceous, subactive, thermic Typic Paleudults.
Idaho State Soil—The Threebear series consists of moderately deep to a fragipan, moderately well drained soils formed in loess and reworked loess with a thick mantle of volcanic ash. They are mountain slopes, structural benches, and hills on plateaus. Slopes range from 3 to 40 percent. These soils are medial over loamy, amorphic over mixed, superactive, frigid Oxyaquic Udivitrands.
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President: Kenneth Lubich
President Elect: Jim Barnes
Past-president: Kim Goerg
Secretary: Leroy G. Jansky (not pictured)
Treasurer: Donna Ferren Guy
A representative soil profile in a map unit of grey, red, or yellow sands to 30 centimeters (cm) over acidic to neutral sandy clays. These soils are from the Mullewa to Morawa area of Australia. (Base photo provided by Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, Agriculture and Food, Government of Western Australia with revision.)
Topsoil:
Grey, red and yellow/brown moderately acidic sands to 30cm
Surface soils can be hardsetting
Gravel (<20%) can be present usually at the base of the topsoil (sand) layer
Subsoil:
Abrupt boundary change between sand and clay layers at depth <30cm
Clays often sodic, mottled and may appear as polyhedral columns
Clay pH mainly neutral to alkaline but can also be acidic at depth
Subsoils can be saline
For more information about these soils including common management constraints, visit:
www.agric.wa.gov.au/mycrop/mysoil-shallow-sandy-duplexes-...
For more information about the soils of Western Australia, visit;
www.agric.wa.gov.au/climate-land-water/soils
In the Australian soil classification system, the soils in this unit include:
Grey, yellow or brown Sodosols,
Grey, yellow or brown Chromosols,
Red Chromosols, Red Sodosols,
Yellow or Brown Chromosols, or
Yellow or Brown Sodosols.
Chromosols are soils that display a strong texture contrast between surface (A) horizons and subsoil (B) horizons. The upper part of the subsoil ranges from slightly acid to alkaline (pH >5.5) but is not sodic. Using the Australian Soil Classification, Chromosols can be grouped further (in to Suborders) based on the color of the upper 20 cm of the subsoil (i.e. Red, Brown, Yellow, Grey and Black). These can be further differentiated based on subsoil characteristics (in to Great Groups) such as the nutrient level capacities and ratios and the presence of carbonate or lime.
Sodosols have a strong texture contrast between surface (A) horizons and subsoil (B) horizons and the subsoil horizons are sodic. Using the Australian Soil Classification, Sodosols can be grouped further (Suborder) based on the colour of the upper 20 cm of the subsoil i.e. red, brown, yellow, grey and black. These can be further differentiated based on subsoil characteristics (Great Groups) such as the level of sodicity (in the upper B horizon) and the presence of carbonate or lime (Subgroup).
For more information about the Australian Soil Classification System, visit;
www.clw.csiro.au/aclep/asc_re_on_line_V2/soilhome.htm
In Soil Taxonomy, these soils are primarily Alfisols. For more information about Soil Taxonomy, visit:
A representative soil profile of the Kells series in an area of unimproved grassland from Ireland. These soils formed in coarse loamy material over hard shale bedrock.
For detailed information about this soil, visit;
gis.teagasc.ie/soils/rep_profile_sheet.php?series_code=11...
For information about the soil series of Ireland, visit;
gis.teagasc.ie/soils/soilguide.php
In the Irish soil classification system these soils are Typical Brown Earths (relatively young soils or soils with little profile development).
For more information about describing and classifying soils using the Irish Soils Classification System, visit:
gis.teagasc.ie/soils/downloads/SIS_Final_Technical_Report...
A representative soil profile of the Shelocta soil series in Tennessee. (Soil Survey of Scott County Area, Tennessee; by Harry C. Davis and Jennifer R. Yaeger, Natural Resources Conservation Service.
The Shelocta series consists of deep and very deep, well drained, moderately permeable soils formed in mixed colluvium from shale, siltstone, and sandstone or colluvium and residuum. They are on steep concave mountain sides, foot slopes, and benches. Slopes range from 2 to 90 percent. The average annual precipitation is about 48 inches, and the average annual temperature is about 54 degrees F.
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, mixed, active, mesic Typic Hapludults
Solum thickness ranges from 40 to to 60 inches or more. Depth to bedrock is more than 40 inches. Content of rock fragments ranges from 2 to 35 percent in the A horizon, from 5 to 50 percent in the individual B horizons, and from 15 to 70 percent in the 2B or C horizons. Reaction of the unlimed soils is strongly acid to extremely acid. Some pedons have A horizons that are medium acid or slightly acid.
USE AND VEGETATION: About 25 percent of Shelocta soils are cleared and used for general crops and pasture. Wooded areas have mixed hardwoods-- oaks, gum, maple, yellow-poplar, cucumber, and some pine and hemlock.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: The plateau and mountain areas of Kentucky, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. The series is of large extent.
For additional information about the survey area, visit:
www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_MANUSCRIPTS/tennessee/TN60...
For a detailed soil description, visit:
soilseries.sc.egov.usda.gov/OSD_Docs/S/SHELOCTA.html
For acreage and geographic distribution, visit:
An Aqui-Alkalic Halosols and landscape. These soils distribute mainly in the vast chernozem area in Songhuajiang-Nenjiang Plain and Songuajiang-liaohe Plain in northeast China. They are found in low-flatlands and flood lands, and coexist with Para-Alkali–Aqui-Orthic Halosols and Sali-Alkali-Aquic-Cambosols, forming a complex. The depth of groundwater level is usually 2-3 meters below ground surface. In the process of alkalization, alkalic Halosols will form by desalination through soluble salt leaching, or they will form if soil solution is highly alkaline. This will happens in higher positions in a micro-landform unit in soda-salic soil areas. The ground vegetation is spare alkali-resistant plants, such as Suaeda heteroptera, and Rectisetus spp. And somewhere is barren land. There are clear genetic horizons in the profile. (Photos and notes courtesy of China Soils Museum, Guangdong Institute of World Soil Resources; with revision.)
In Chinese Soil Taxonomy, Halosols are soils with accumulation of salts or alkali under influence of ground water or dry environments. In Soil Taxonomy these soils are commonly Aridisols, Alfisols, or Inceptisols.
For additional information about this soil and the Soils Museum, visit:
www.giwsr.com/en/article/index/205
For additional information about Soil Taxonomy, visit:
An Ochri-Aquic Cambosol. These soils are widely distribute in plains, lakeshore lowlands, hilly valleys and plateau plains throughout China. They are found mostly in Yuellow River-Huaihe River-Haihe river Plain, and valley plains at middle and lower streams off Yangtse River, Pearl Reiver and Liaohe River. Affected by monsoon climate, this group of soil is important farmland resources in China. The main natural vegetation is meadow plants. Despite thin humus layer and less organic matter content, most parts of this group of soil were used for farmlands. Parent materials are mainly recent alluvial, diluvial, lacustrine and marine deposits, and partly ancient river alluvium as well. (Photos and notes courtesy of China Soils Museum, Guangdong Institute of World Soil Resources; with revision.)
In Chinese Soil Taxonomy, Cambosols have low-grade soil development with formation of horizon of alteration or weak expression of other diagnostic horizons. In Soil Taxonomy these soils are commonly Inceptisols, Mollisols, or Gelisols.
For additional information about this soil and the Soils Museum, visit:
www.giwsr.com/en/article/index/237
For additional information about Soil Taxonomy, visit:
A Geli-Sandic Primosol and landscape. These soils mainly distribute in high and cold areas in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau with an altitude of over 4,000m and continuous permafrost. The annual average precipitation is 200-400mm, while the annual average temperature is less than 0℃. The zonal vegetation includes alpine meadow and alpine desert grassland. Distributing on mountain-plateaus and high terraces formed after lake retreat, they develop from parent materials are eolian sands sourced from fine particles originated from lake or plateau surface by wind erosion and accumulation. Sand particles account for the absolute majority (over 900g/kg) of their particle composition. (Photos and notes courtesy of China Soils Museum, Guangdong Institute of World Soil Resources; with revision.)
In Chinese Soil Taxonomy, Primosols are recent soils with no diagnostic horizons or only an ochric epipedon. In Soil Taxonomy these soils are mostly Entisols or some Gelisols.
For additional information about this soil and the Soils Museum, visit:
www.giwsr.com/en/article/index/192
For additional information about Soil Taxonomy, visit:
A representative soil profile of the Hopsford series (Eutric Endogleyic Cambisols) 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
Cambisols combine soils with at least an incipient subsurface soil formation. Transformation of parent material is evident from structure formation and mostly brownish discoloration, increasing clay percentage, and/or carbonate removal. Other soil classification systems refer to many Cambisols as Braunerden and Terrae fuscae (Germany), Sols bruns (France), burozems (Russia) and Tenosols (Australia). The name Cambisols was coined for the Soil Map of the World (FAO–UNESCO, 1971–1981) and later adopted by Brazil (Cambissolos). In the United States of America they were formerly called Brown soils/Brown forest soils and are now named Inceptisols.
Soils with at least the beginnings of horizon differentiation in the subsoil, evident from changes in structure, colour, clay content or carbonate content; from Late Latin cambiare, to change. Parent material: Medium and fine textured materials derived from a wide range of rocks. Profile development: Cambisols are characterized by slight or moderate weathering of parent material and by absence of appreciable quantities of illuviated clay, organic matter, Al and/or Fe compounds. Cambisols also encompass soils that fail one or more characteristics diagnostic for other RSGs, including highly weathered ones.
Hopsford soils suffer from seasonal waterlogging (Wetness Class Ill) although drainage can be improved to Wetness Class II and I respectively, particularly in districts where the field capacity period is less than 150 days.
For more information on the World Reference Base soil classification system, visit:
Soil profile: A representative soil profile of the Navilleton soil series. (Soil Survey of Floyd County, Indiana; by Steven W. Neyhouse, Byron G. Nagel, and Dena L. Marshall, Natural Resources Conservation Service)
The Navilleton series consists of very deep, well drained soils that formed in loess and the underlying paleosol in clayey residuum. They are on hills and sinkholes underlain with limestone. Slopes range from 2 to 12 percent. Mean annual precipitation is about 109 cm (43 inches), and mean annual temperature is about 12 degrees C (54 degrees F).
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-silty, mixed, active, mesic Typic Paleudalfs
Thickness of the loess: 51 to 102 cm (20 to 40 inches)
Depth to the base of the argillic horizon and to bedrock (lithic contact): 152 to more than 254 cm (60 to more than 100 inches)
USE AND VEGETATION: These soils are typically used to grow crops. Principal crops are corn, soybeans, winter wheat, and grasses and legumes for hay and pasture. A few areas are in forest. Native vegetation is mixed deciduous hardwood forest.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: South central Indiana. This series is of small extent in MLRA 122.
This soil was included with Crider soils in the 1974 Clark and Floyd Counties, Indiana soil survey, and is identified in the updating of Floyd County. Some data shows the family particle-size class to be contrasting (fine-silty over clayey), but as of 03/2006 this soil is considered dominantly to be in the fine-silty class.
For additional information about the survey area, visit:
www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_MANUSCRIPTS/indiana/IN043/...
For a detailed soil description, visit:
soilseries.sc.egov.usda.gov/OSD_Docs/N/NAVILLETON.html
For acreage and geographic distribution, visit:
Plate 44: Typical soil profile and associated landscape for the Al Hiwah series, saline phase
(soil AD244).
Taxonomic classification: Lithic Torripsamments, mixed, hyperthermic
The Al Hiwah series saline phase is a shallow sandy soil overlying bedrock (typically siltstone or claystone). It is a phase of the Al Hiwah series in that at least one soil horizon presents slightly elevated EC1:1 values suggesting some limited accumulation of secondary salts. The soils are typically well to excessively drained. They occur on gentle slopes within level to gently undulating deflation plains and sand sheets. They are formed from eolian sands that overlie sandstone.
These soils are used for rangeland grazing of camels though vegetation cover is frequently less than 5% and often absent. Vegetation species recorded are Haloxylon salicornicum and Zygophyllum spp.
This soil is found scattered throughout the Ghayathi sub-area. Occasional sites have also been recorded in the Sila and Al Ain sub-areas.
The main feature of this soil are the shallow depth (<50cm) to a lithic contact. The soil material above the hardpan is sandy. The soil has slightly elevated EC1:1 levels in at least one horizon. The shallow depth to the hardpan layer is the main restriction for this soil. The sandy nature of the soil also suggests low nutrient storage and moisture holding capacity. The slightly elevated EC1:1 levels suggest that salinity could become a problem under irrigation. This soil is unsuitable for irrigated agriculture.
A representative soil profile of the Littlefir soil series. (Soil Survey of Sevier County, Arkansas; by Alex L. Winfrey, Natural Resources Conservation Service)
The Littlefir series consists of moderately deep to deep, moderately well drained, slowly permeable soils that formed in residuum from tilted, fractured, and folded shale, or interbedded shale, and sandstone or siltstone dominantly of Ordovician through Mississippian age. These level to steep soils are on hills and ridges within valleys of the Ouachita Mountains; MLRA 119. Slopes range from 0 to 35 percent.
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine, mixed, semiactive, thermic Oxyaquic Hapludults
Solum thickness and depth to shale or interbedded shale and sandstone bedrock ranges from 20 to 50 inches. Due to the irregular boundary between the lower Bt or BC horizon and the underlying tilted bedrock, it is extremely variable within short distances. Reaction ranges from slightly to strongly acid in the A, E, BA or BE horizons and from moderately acid to very strongly acid in the B and BC horizons. Sandstone, novaculite, quartzite or chert fragments less than 3 inches in diameter and shale fragments less than 6 inches in length range from about 5 to 60 percent by volume in the A, E, BA or BE horizons; 0 to 35 percent by volume in upper Bt horizons and 15 percent to 75 percent by volume in the lower Bt and BC horizons. Sandstone, quartzite, and novaculite fragments 3 to 10 inches in diameter range from 0 to 40 percent by volume in the A, E, BA, and BE horizons. Sandstone and novaculite fragments greater than 10 inches in diameter range from 0 to 25 percent in the A horizon. Reaction is moderately acid to very strongly acid throughout.
USE AND VEGETATION: Used mainly for woodland and improved pasture. Native forest vegetation is post oak, blackjack oak, red oak, white oak, hickory, shortleaf pine, and loblolly pine.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Ouachita Mountains of Arkansas and possibly Oklahoma; MLRA 119. 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/L/LITTLEFIR.html
For acreage and geographic distribution, visit:
Large fragments of the subsoil (Btx horizon) from a Fuquay soil that contains plinthite. Plinthite (Gr. plinthos, brick) is an iron-rich, humus-poor mixture of clay with quartz and other highly weathered minerals. It commonly occurs as reddish redox concentrations in a layer that has a polygonal (irregular), platy (lenticular), or reticulate (blocky) pattern and is commonly less than strongly cemented.
Plinthite irreversibly hardens upon exposure to repeated wetting and drying, especially if exposed to heat from the sun. Other morphologically similar iron-rich materials that do not progressively harden upon repeated wetting and drying are not considered plinthite. The horizon in which plinthite occurs commonly has 2.5 percent (by mass) or more citrate dithionite extractable iron in the fine-earth fraction and a ratio between acid oxalate extractable Fe and citrate-dithionite extractable Fe of less than 0.10.
For more information about a plinthic horizon, visit;
www.researchgate.net/publication/242649722_Rationale_for_...
or;
www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S00167061220043...
The Fuquay series consists of very deep, well drained soils that formed in sandy and loamy marine sediments of the upper Coastal Plain. Permeability is moderate in the upper part of the subsoil and slow in the lower part. Slopes range from 0 to 10 percent.
Taxonomic class: Loamy, kaolinitic, thermic Arenic Plinthic Kandiudults
Kandiudults are the Udults that are very deep and have a kandic horizon and a clay distribution in which the percentage of clay does not decrease from its maximum amount by as much as 20 percent within a depth of 150 cm from the mineral soil surface, or the layer in which the clay percentage decreases has at least 5 percent of the volume consisting of skeletans on faces of peds and there is at least a 3 percent (absolute) increase in clay content below this layer. These soils do not have a fragipan or a horizon in which plinthite either forms a continuous phase or constitutes one-half or more of the volume within 150 cm of the mineral soil surface. Kandiudults are of moderate extent in the Southeastern United States.
Arenic Plinthic Kandiudults soils have a layer, starting at the mineral soil surface, that has a sandy or sandy-skeletal particle-size class and is between 50 and 100 cm thick. They also have 5 to 50 percent (by volume) plinthite in one or more horizons within 150 cm of the mineral soil surface. These soils are of small extent in the United States.
USE AND VEGETATION:
Major Uses: Cropland
Dominant Vegetation: Where cultivated--tobacco, cotton, corn, soybeans, and small grains. Where wooded--loblolly pine, longleaf pine, and slash pine, with some hardwoods, understory plants including American holly, flowering dogwood, persimmon, and greenbrier.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT:
Distribution: Upper Coastal Plain of North Carolina, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina
Extent: Large
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Johnston County, North Carolina; 1965. The Fuquay series is a Benchmark soil. A benchmark soil is one of large extent within one or more major land resource areas (MLRAs), one that holds a key position in the soil classification system, one for which there is a large amount of data, one that has special importance to one or more significant land uses, or one that is of significant ecological importance.
For a detailed description, visit:
soilseries.sc.egov.usda.gov/OSD_Docs/F/FUQUAY.html
For acreage and geographic distribution, 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
A representative soil profile of a Vitrandic Dystrudept in Idaho.
Vitrandic Dystrudepts have some andic soil properties in a layer in the upper part that is 18 cm or more thick. Some of the soils contain a significant amount of volcanic ash. Some have an umbric epipedon. Andic and Vitrandic Dystrudepts are moderately extensive in the Northwestern United States.
The native vegetation consists mostly of coniferous forest. Most of these soils support their native vegetation and are used as forest. A few of the less sloping soils have been cleared and are used as cropland or pasture.
For additional information about Idaho soils, please visit:
storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/97d01af9d4554b9097cb0a477e04...
For additional information about soil classification, visit:
www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/main/soils/survey/class...
A representative soil profile of a Luvisol from the Hungarian Soil Classification System (HSCS) by Prof. Blaskó Lajos (2008).
For more information about these soils, visit:
regi.tankonyvtar.hu/hu/tartalom/tamop425/0032_talajtan/ch...
LUVISOLS: Soil with a subsurface horizon of high activity clay accumulation and high base saturation (from the Latin, luere, meaning to wash).Luvisols show marked textural differences within the profile. The surface horizon is depleted in clay while the subsurface ‘argic’ horizon has accumulated clay. A wide range of parent materials and environmental conditions lead to a great diversity of soils in this Reference Soil Group.Other names used for this soil type include Pseudo-podzolic soil (Russia), sols lessivés (France),Parabraunerde (Germany) and Alfisols (Soil Taxonomy). They cover 6 percent of Europe.
The current Hungarian Soil Classification System (HSCS) was developed in the 1960s, based on the genetic principles of Dokuchaev. The central unit is the soil type grouping soils that were believed to have developed under similar soil forming factors and processes. The major soil types are the highest category which groups soils based on climatic, geographical and genetic bases. Subtypes and varieties are distinguished according to the assumed dominance of soil forming processes and observable/measurable morphogenetic properties.
A soil profile of a Fragiudept in New Zealand. This soil has an ochric epipedon about 25 centimeters thick underlain by a brownish yellow cambic horizon that extends to a depth of about 45 centimeters. A firm, dense fragipan is between depths of about 45 and 100 centimeters. It has prismatic structure and gray silt coatings on prism faces. (Soil Survey Staff. 2015. Illustrated guide to Soil Taxonomy. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service, National Soil Survey Center, Lincoln, Nebraska)
Fragiudepts—These soils have a fragipan (firm and brittle but not cemented layer) within a depth of 100 cm. Commonly, they have a brownish cambic (minimal soil development) subsoil horizon that is underlain, at a depth of about 50 cm, by the fragipan. Most Fragiudepts have perched water above the pan at some time of the year, and few roots penetrate the pan. Consequently, plants on these soils tend to have shallow root systems. Many Fragiudepts formed in late-Pleistocene or Holocene deposits on gentle or moderate slopes. Some are strongly sloping.
The parent materials of most Fragiudepts are loamy and either are acid or have only a small amount of free carbonates. A few of the materials are sandy and have an appreciable amount of fine sand and very fine sand. Most of the Fragiudepts in the United States are in the northeastern States and the States bordering the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers. A few are in the northern Lake States, and some are in the humid parts of the northwestern States. Fragiudepts are extensive.
For additional information about soil classification, visit:
www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detail/soils/survey/cla...
Rattan Lal, an eminent IITA alumnus and a University Professor of Soil Science at College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (CFAES), Ohio State University, receives the 2019 Japan Prize on 16 January 2020.
A soil profile of a Xerorthent in an area of Turkey with a Mediterranean climate. This clayey soil exhibits little development other than a darkened ochric epipedon about 8 cm thick and some structure in the subsoil. There is little or no development of color or leaching and redistribution of soil constituents within the profile. (Soil Survey Staff. 2015. Illustrated guide to Soil Taxonomy. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service, National Soil Survey Center, Lincoln, Nebraska)
Xerorthents are the Orthents of Mediterranean-type climates (xeric moisture regime) where they are moist in winter and dry in summer. Temperatures range from cool to hot. The soils are generally neutral to moderately alkaline, but some are acid. Slopes are mostly moderate to steep but are gentle in a few areas. Xerorthents commonly are coarse in texture or occur in areas of very recently exposed regolith (such as loess or till), in areas of weakly cemented rocks (such as shale), or in areas of very thin regolith over hard rocks. The vegetation is commonly trees or shrubs, or the soils are used as pasture
For additional information about soil classification, visit:
www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detail/soils/survey/cla...
A soil profile of Grady clay loam, ponded. Note the redoximorphic features throughout the profile. (Soil Survey of Webster County, Georgia)
The Grady series consists of poorly drained, slowly permeable soils in upland depressions but are also along drains of the Southern Coastal Plain Major Land Resource Area (MLRA 133A). They formed in thick beds of clayey marine sediments. Near the type location the mean annual temperature is about 67 degrees F., and the mean annual precipitation is about 53 inches. Slopes range from 0 to 2 percent.
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine, kaolinitic, thermic Typic Paleaquults
Solum thickness ranges from 60 to more than 80 inches. Reaction ranges from strongly acid to extremely acid throughout.
USE AND VEGETATION: Most areas are in woodland, but a few areas have been cleared, drained, and are used mostly for pasture. Native vegetation includes cypress, blackgum, live oak, and water oak. The undergrowth is water tolerant sedges and grasses.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Georgia, Alabama, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia. The series is of large extent with about 26,000 acres in Miller County, Georgia.
For additional information about the survey area, visit:
www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_MANUSCRIPTS/georgia/webste...
For a detailed soil description, visit:
soilseries.sc.egov.usda.gov/OSD_Docs/G/GRADY.html
For acreage and geographic distribution, visit:
Typic Petrogypsids, loamy, mixed, hyperthermic, shallow (Soil AD120) are shallow, loamy soils with gypsum occurring in the surface. A petrogypsic horizon occurs within the top 50cm. They occur on deflation plains throughout the Emirate. They are moderately well drained to somewhat excessively drained soils and have rapid or moderately rapid permeability.
These soils remain as barren land or sometimes used for low intensity grazing by camel, sheep or goats. They frequently have less than 5% vegetation cover of Cornulaca arabica, Cyperus conglomeratus, Fagonia ovalfolia, Haloxylon salicornicum, Tribulus omanense and Zygophyllum
spp.
Plate 18: Typical soil profile and associated landscape for Typic Petrogypsids, loamy, gypsic, hyperthermic, shallow (Soil AD120).