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Soil Classication FAO Classicationa/ Major soil groupings 1 Fluvisols Characteristics Young soils in uvial deposits (ood plains) undeveloped proles Soils inuenced by high water table (hydromorphic soils), not on ood plains. US Soil Taxonomy and Classic soil groups Entisols: Fluvents Alluvial soils Entisols: Aquents; Inceptisols: Aquepts Mollisols: Aquolls; Meadow soils Pergelic Cryaquepts, Tundra gleysols Soils without horizon development on clayey or loamy sediments, not on ood plains Weakly developed shallow soils on bedrock or rocky debris (include former Rankers, Rendzinas, Lithosols and stony Regosols). Shallow soils, < 10 cm, without horizon, on bedrock Shallow AC soils with umbric A horizon on rocks free or poor in carbonate Shallow AC soils with mollic A horizon on rocks rich in carbonates. Sandy soils except on ood plains, with weakly developed prole. Ochric A horizon (poor in humus) Young, loosely structured dark humus-rich soils on volcanic ash Dark clay soils rich in smectite with pronounced swelling and shrinking (gilgai, cracking, self-mulching effect). Entisols: Orthents

Soils

Gleysols

Gelic Regosols

Leptosolsb/

Entisols: Lithic subgroups; Rendolls

Lithosolsc/ Rankersc/

Entisols: Orthents Inceptisols: Lithic Haplumbrepts Mollisols; Rendolls

Rendzinasc/

Arenosols

Entisols: Psamments, Psammaquents; Red and yellow sands. Andisols; Black volcanic soils, Humic allophane soils Vertisols, Tirs, Black cotton soils, Cracking clay soils, Grumusols

Andosols

Vertisols

Soil units and soil zones

Soil Classication (continued) FAO Classicationa/ Major soil groupings 3 Cambisols Characteristics Soils with loamy subsoil and in situ oxidation of iron. Brown color. Weathered cambic B horizon US Soil Taxonomy and Classic soil groups Inceptisols: Ochrepts, Umbrepts; Brown earths.

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Calcaric Chromic Dystric Eutric 4 Calcisolsb/ Weakly developed soils with ochric A horizon, usually in dry areas with secondary calcerous enrichment (secondary calcium) Weakly developed soils with ochric A horizon, usually in dry areas with secondary gypsum enrichment B horizon with clay enrichment and high degree of natrium (sodium) saturation (natric B) Soils with high content of soluble salts Humus poor soils with ochric A horizon in semi-desert Soils extremely poor in humus with ochric A horizon in deserts Steppe soils with chestnut colored humus rich mull A horizon on calcareous or gypsum containing subsoil Steppe soils with thick dark mull A horizon above calcareous subsoil, intensive bioturbation

Brown earths Rhodic Xerochrepts Dystrochrepts, Acid brown forest soils Eutrochrepts, Orthic brown forest soils Aridisols: Calciorthids; Calcareous soils, Calcic and petrocalic subgroups of desert soils Aridisols: Gypsiorthids; Soils with gypsum

Gypsisolsb/

Solonetz

Aridisols: Natrargids; Natric Alkali soils, Sodic soils

Solonchaks Xerosolsd/ Yermosolsd/

Aridisols: Salorthids; Saline soils Aridisols, Semi-desert soils, Burozems Aridisols, Desert soils.

Kastanozems

Mollisols: Ustolls and Aridic Borolls; Chestnut soils in the dry steppe, Brown and dark soils Mollisols: Borolls; Black earths of temperate steppes, Black soils

Chernozems

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Soils

Soil Classication (continued) FAO Classicationa/ Major soil groupings 5 Haplic Luvic Phaeozems Degraded steppe soils; dark humus rich mull A horizon above decalcied subsoil Grey soils with mull A horizon and bleached aggregate surfaces in clay enriched B horizon (argic B horizon) Leached soils with high CEC (> 24 cmol(+)kg1 clay) and base saturation > 50 % (formerly Orthic) Poorly drained soils with wet bleached E horizon and largely impermeable subsoil marbled with iron ecks Leached soils with bleached E horizon tonguing deep into the illuvial B horizon Leached albic E horizon and black or rust brown spodic B horizon with accumulation of humin material, Al and Fe Leached soils with low CEC (< 24 cmol(+)kg1 clay) and high base saturation > 50 %. CEC distinguishes them from Luvisols, the base saturation from Acrisols Strongly weathered, acid, kaolin soils with argic B horizon, low CEC (< 24 cmol(+)kg1 clay), base saturation < 50 % Characteristics US Soil Taxonomy and Classic soil groups Haploborolls, Typic Chernozems Agriborolls, Podzolized Chernozems

Mollisols: Udolls. Dark grey soils. Brunizems. Mollisols: Agriborolls, Aquolls, Grey forest soils

Greyzemse/

Luvisols

Alsols: Udalfs, Boralfs; Grey brown podzolic soils Rhodoxeralfs, Haploxeralfs Podzolized brown forest soils Albaqualfs, Albaquults, Argialbolls

Chromic Haplic Planosols

Podzoluvisolsf/

Alsols: Glossic great groups

Podzols

Spodosols

Lixisolsb/

Alsols: Ustalfs, Xeralfs; Ferruginous soils, Red-yellow podzolic soils

Acrisols

Utisols, Red-yellow podzolic soils, Leached ferralitic soils

Soil units and soil zones

Soil Classication (continued) FAO Classicationa/ Major soil groupings 7 Alisolsb/ Characteristics Similar to Acrisols but with higher CEC ( 24 cmol(+)kg1 clay), high Al saturation and therefore low base saturation Soils with nitic B horizon with low CEC (< 24 cmol(+)kg1 clay), stable polyhedron structure with glossy aggregate surfaces (formerly Nitosols) Deeply weathered ferralitic soils (rich in Al and Fe oxides) with stable structured ferralic B horizon, very low CEC ( 16 cmol(+)kg1 clay), Pseudosand Iron rich soils, usually with rusty ecks which harden when dry out (Laterite) Organic soils with organic horizon at least 40 cm thick Soils altered by man US Soil Taxonomy and Classic soil groups Aquults, Humults, Udults

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Nitisols

Alsols: Udalfs; Ultisols: Udults, Ustults; Krasnozems

Ferralsols

Oxisols, Weathered ferralitic soils, Latosols, Red earths, Lateritic soils

Plinthosolsb/

Oxisols: Plinthaquox; Latosols, Groundwater laterite soils Histosols, Bog soils, Peat soils, Organic hydromorphic soils Anthropogenic soils Agrozems

Histosols

Anthrosolsb/

a/ All 28 major soil groupings of the Revised Legend (Rome 1988) and some of the soil units. Also included are major soil groupings which appear in the FAO-UNESCO soil map but which have since been excluded (Lithosols, Rankers, Rendzinas, Xerosols Yermosols, Greyzems). With the introduction of Cyrosols, Umbrisols and Durisols and the exclusion of Greyzems, the reference soil groups now total 30. 18 are related to the soil genetic and soil ecological similarities. The orders of the US Soil Taxonomy are shown in parenthesis. 1. Young soils, present in all climates (Entisols) 2. Bedrock related soils (Entisols, Vertisols) 3. Weakly developed soils with Bw horizon in all climatic zones (Inceptisols) 4. Soils with salt enrichment, dry climate (Aridisols) 5. Soils with deep mull A horizon; steppes (Mollisols). 6. Soils with clay or humus enrichment in B horizon, medium to high base saturation, outside tropics (Alsols, Spodosols). 7. Deeply weathered soils with clay enrichment in the B horizon, most have low CEC and base saturation; tropics and subropics (Utisols, Alsols) 8. Deeply developed Si poor soils without clay accumulation, rich in sesquioxides, humid tropics (Oxisols). b/ Added since 1988 (Revised Legend 1988). c/ Belong to Leptosols since 1988. Lithosols = Lithic Leptosols; Rankers = Umbric Leptosols; Rendzinas = Rendzic Leptosols. d/ Replaced in 1988 by Calcisols, Gypsisols, Arenosols, Regosols etc. e/ Replaced by Phaeozems in 1998 f/ Renamed Albeluvisols in 1998 Source: FAO-UNESCO (19741981) Soil Map of the World, Vol. IX and 18 maps, 1:5 million, UNESCO, Paris. FAO (1988, 2nd Edition 1990). Revised Legend of the FAO-UNESCO Soil Map of the World. World Soil Resources Rep. 60, Rome, 119pp. FAO (1994): Soil Map of the World revised legend with corrections. ISRIC Technical Paper 20, Wageningen, 140pp. USDA Soil Survey Staff (1999): Keys to soil taxonomy, Pocahontas Press. Blacksburg, VA, 3rd edition, 600pp.