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A taxonomy is an arrangement in a systematic manner; the USDA soil taxonomy has six levels of classification. They are, from most general to specific: order, suborder, great group, subgroup, family and series. Soil properties that can be measured quantitatively are used in this classification system – they include: depth, moisture ...
The USCS has three major classification groups: (1) coarse-grained soils (e.g. sands and gravels); (2) fine-grained soils (e.g. silts and clays); and (3) highly organic soils (referred to as "peat"). The USCS further subdivides the three major soil classes for clarification. It distinguishes sands from gravels by grain size, classifying some as ...
Depending on the context, a soil series may be defined as either a taxonomic unit or a mapping unit. [8] A taxonomic unit is a category belonging to a specific level of a classification system. It is a conceptual entity that describes the "central nucleus" [9] or essential characteristics of a class. On the other hand, a mapping unit delineates ...
The Unified Soil Classification System (USCS) is a soil classification system used in engineering and geology to describe the texture and grain size of a soil. The classification system can be applied to most unconsolidated materials, and is represented by a two-letter symbol. Each letter is described below (with the exception of Pt):
In the United States, over 19,000 soil series have been identified. [1] The percentages of land area (in the US and associated territories, etc.) occupied by soils of the twelve orders have been estimated [1] as: Alfisols and Inceptisols occur widely in the US, but the circumstances of their occurrence would be difficult to characterize briefly.
A soil type is a taxonomic unit in soil science. All soils that share a certain set of well-defined properties form a distinctive soil type. [1] Soil type is a technical term of soil classification, the science that deals with the systematic categorization of soils. Every soil of the world belongs to a certain soil type.
Contrary to that, the USDA soil taxonomy is strongly hierarchical and has six levels. The classification in WRB is based mainly on soil morphology (field and laboratory data) as an expression of pedogenesis. Another difference with USDA soil taxonomy is that soil climate is regarded only as a soil-forming factor and not as a soil characteristic.
Field equipment for soil description. Soil morphology is the branch of soil science dedicated to the technical description of soil, [1] particularly physical properties including texture, color, structure, and consistence. Morphological evaluations of soil are typically performed in the field on a soil profile containing multiple horizons.