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SoilSurveyManualChapterThree
ExaminationandDescriptionofSoils
Adescriptionofthesoilsisessentialinanysoilsurvey.Thischapterprovidesstandardsandguidelinesfordescribing
mostsoilpropertiesandfordescribingthenecessaryrelatedfacts.Forsomesoils,standardtermsarenotadequate
andmustbesupplementedbyanarrative.Thelengthoftimethatcracksremainopen,thepatternsofsoil
temperatureandmoisture,andthevariationsinsize,shape,andhardnessofclodsinthesurfacelayermustbe
observedovertimeandsummarized.

Thischapterdoesnotincludeadiscussionofeverypossiblesoilproperty.Forsomesoils,otherpropertiesneedtobe
described.Goodjudgmentwilldecidewhatpropertiesmeritattentionindetailforanygivenpedon(samplingunit).
Observationsmustnotbelimitedbypreconceivedideasaboutwhatisimportant.

Althoughtheformatofthedescriptionandtheorderinwhichindividualpropertiesaredescribedarelessimportant
thanthecontentofthedescription,astandardformathasdistinctadvantages.Thereadercanfindinformation
morerapidly,andthewriterislesslikelytoomitimportantfeatures.Furthermore,astandardformatmakesiteasier
tocodedataforautomaticprocessing.Ifformsareused,theymustincludespaceforallpossibleinformation.
Formatsforrecordingandretrievinginformationaboutpedonswillbediscussedinmoredetailinchapter5.

Eachinvestigationoftheinternalpropertiesofasoilismadeonasoilbodyofsomedimensions.Thebodymaybe
largerthanapedonorrepresentaportionofapedon.Duringfieldoperations,manysoilsareinvestigatedby
examiningthesoilmaterialremovedbyasamplingtubeoranauger.Forrapidinvestigationsofthinsoils,asmallpit
canbedugandasectionofsoilremovedwithaspade.Allofthesearesamplesofpedons.Knowledgeoftheinternal
propertiesofasoilisderivedmainlyfromstudiesofsuchsamples.Theycanbestudiedmorerapidlythanentire
pedonsconsequently,amuchlargernumbercanbestudiedinmanymoreplaces.Formanysoils,theinformation
obtainedfromsuchasmallsampledescribesthepedonfromwhichitistakenwithfewomissions.Forothersoils,
however,importantpropertiesofapedonarenotobservableinthesmallersample,anddetailedstudiesofentire
pedonsmaybeneeded.Completestudyofanentirepedonrequirestheexposureofaverticalsectionandthe
removalofhorizontalsectionslayerbylayer.Horizonsarestudiedinbothhorizontalandverticaldimensions.

SomeGeneralTermsUsedinDescribingSoils
Severalofthegeneraltermsforinternalelementsofthesoilaredescribedhereothermorespecifictermsare
describedordefinedinthefollowingsections.

Asoilprofileisexposedbyaverticalcutthroughthesoil.Itiscommonlyconceivedasaplaneatrightanglestothe
surface.Inpractice,adescriptionofasoilprofileincludessoilpropertiesthatcanbedeterminedonlybyinspecting
volumesofsoil.Adescriptionofapedoniscommonlybasedonexaminationofaprofile,andthepropertiesofthe
pedonareprojectedfromthepropertiesoftheprofile.Thewidthofaprofilerangesfromafewdecimeterstoseveral
metersormore.Itshouldbesufficienttoincludethelargeststructuralunits.

Asoilhorizonisalayer,approximatelyparalleltothesurfaceofthesoil,distinguishablefromadjacentlayersbya
distinctivesetofpropertiesproducedbythesoilformingprocesses.Thetermlayer,ratherthanhorizon,isusedifall
ofthepropertiesarebelievedtobeinheritedfromtheparentmaterialornojudgmentismadeastowhetherthe
layerisgenetic.

Thesolum(plural,sola)ofasoilconsistsofasetofhorizonsthatarerelatedthroughthesamecycleofpedogenic
processes.Intermsofsoilhorizonsdescribedinthischapter,asolumconsistsofA,E,andBhorizonsandtheir
transitionalhorizonsandsomeOhorizons.Includedarehorizonswithanaccumulationofcarbonatesormoresoluble
saltsiftheyareeitherwithin,orcontiguous,toothergenetichorizonsandarejudgedtobeatleastpartlyproduced
inthesameperiodofsoilformation.Thesolumofasoilpresentlyatthesurface,forexample,includesallhorizons
nowforming.Itincludesabisequum(tobediscussed).Itdoesnotincludeaburiedsoiloralayerunlessithas
acquiredsomeofitspropertiesbycurrentlyactivesoilformingprocesses.Thesolumofasoilisnotnecessarily
confinedtothezoneofmajorbiologicalactivity.Itsgenetichorizonsmaybeexpressedfaintlytoprominently.A
solumdoesnothaveamaximumoraminimumthickness.

Solumandsoilsarenotsynonymous.Somesoilsincludelayersthatarenotaffectedbysoilformation.Theselayers
arenotpartofthesolum.Thenumberofgenetichorizonsrangesfromonetomany.AnAhorizonthatis10cm
thickoverlyingbedrockisbyitselfthesolum.Asoilthatconsistsonlyofrecentlydepositedalluviumorrecently
exposedsoftsedimentdoesnothaveasolum.1

Intermsofsoilhorizonsdescribedinthischapter,asolumconsistsofA,E,andBhorizonsandtheirtransitional
horizonsandsomeOhorizons.Includedarehorizonswithanaccumulationofcarbonatesormoresolublesaltsif
theyareeitherwithin,orcontiguous,toothergenetichorizonsandarejudgedtobeatleastpartlyproducedinthe
sameperiodofsoilformation.

Thelowerlimit,inageneralsense,inmanysoilsshouldberelatedtothedepthofrootingtobeexpectedfor
perennialplantsassumingthatwaterstateandchemistryarenotlimiting.Insomesoilsthelowerlimitofthesolum
canbesetonlyarbitrarilyandneedstobedefinedinrelationtotheparticularsoil.Forexample,horizonsof
carbonateaccumulationareeasilyvisualizedaspartofthesoluminmanysoilsinaridandsemiaridenvironments.To

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conceiveofhardenedcarbonateaccumulationsextendingfor5metersormorebelowtheBhorizonaspartofthe
solumismoredifficult.Gleyedsoilmaterialbeginsinsomesoilsafewcentimetersbelowthesurfaceandcontinues
practicallyunchangedtoadepthofmanymeters.GleyingimmediatelybelowtheAhorizonislikelytoberelatedto
theprocessesofsoilformationinthemodernsoil.Atgreatdepth,gleyingislikelytoberelictorrelatedtoprocesses
thataremoregeologicalthanpedological.Muchthesamekindofproblemexistsinsomedeeplyweatheredsoilsin
whichthedeepestmaterialpenetratedbyrootsisverysimilartotheweatheredmaterialatmuchgreaterdepth.

Forsomesoils,diggingdeepenoughtorevealalloftherelationshipsbetweensoilsandplantsisnotpractical.Roots
ofplants,forexample,mayderivemuchoftheirmoisturefromfracturedbedrockclosetothesurface.Descriptions
shouldindicatethenatureofthesoilrockcontactandasmuchascanbedeterminedabouttheupperpartofthe
underlyingrock.

Asequum(plural,sequa)isaBhorizontogetherwithanyoverlyingeluvialhorizons.Asinglesequumisconsidered
tobetheproductofaspecificcombinationofsoilformingprocesses.

Mostsoilshaveasinglesequum,butsomehavetwoormore.ASpodosol,forexample,canformintheupperpartof
anAlfisol,producinganeluviatedzoneandaspodichorizonunderlainbyanothereluviatedzoneoverlyinganargillic
horizon.Suchasoilhastwosequa.Soilsinwhichtwosequahaveformed,oneabovetheotherinthesamedeposit,
aresaidtobebisequal.

Iftwosequaformedindifferentdepositsatdifferenttimes,thesoilisnotbisequal.Forexample,asoilhavinganA
EBhorizonsequencemayforminmaterialthatwasdepositedoveranothersoilthatalreadyhadanAEBhorizon
sequence.EachsetofAEBhorizonsisasequumbutthecombinationisnotabisequum.Thelowersetisaburied
soil.Ifthehorizonsoftheuppersequumextendintotheunderlyingsequum,theaffectedlayerisconsideredpartof
theuppersequum.Forexample,theAhorizonofthelowersoilmayretainsomeofitsoriginalcharacteristicsand
alsohavesomecharacteristicsoftheoverlyingsoil.Here,too,thesoilsarenotconsideredbisequaltheupperpartof
thelowersoilistheparentmaterialofthelowerpartofthecurrentlyformingsoil.Inmanysoilsthedistinction
cannotbemadewithcertainty.Nevertheless,thedistinctionisusefulwhenitcanbemade.WheresomeoftheC
materialoftheuppersequumremains,thedistinctionisclear.

StudyingPedons
Pedonsrepresentativeofanextensivemappableareaaregenerallymoreusefulthanpedonsthatrepresentthe
borderofanareaorasmallinclusion.

Forasoildescriptiontobeofgreatestvalue,thepartofthelandscapethatthepedonrepresentsandthevegetation
shouldbedescribed.Thisisreferredtoasthesetting.Thelevelofdetailwilldependontheobjectives.Acomplete
settingdescriptionshouldincludeinformationabouttheencompassingpolypedonand,possibly,thepolypedons
conterminouswiththeencompassingpolypedon(SoilSurveyStaff,1975).Furthermore,thesettingmayinclude
informationabouttheportionofthepolypedonthatdiffersfromthecentralconceptofthepolypedon.

Thedescriptionofabodyofsoilinthefield,whetheranentirepedonorasamplewithinit,shouldrecordthekinds
oflayers,theirdepthandthickness,andthepropertiesofeachlayer.Generally,externalfeaturesareobserved
throughouttheextentofthepolypedoninternalfeaturesareobservedfromthestudyofapedonorthatpartofa
pedonthatisjudgedtoberepresentativeofthepolypedon(seeappendix).

Apedonfordetailedstudyofasoilistentativelyselectedandthenexaminedpreliminarilytoverifythatitrepresents
thedesiredsegmentofitsrange.

Apitexposingaverticalfaceapproximately1meteracrosstoanappropriatedepthissatisfactoryformostsoils.2

Afterthesidesofthepitarecleanedofallloosematerialdisturbedbydigging,theexposedverticalfacesare
examined,usuallystartingatthetopandworkingdownward,toidentifysignificantchangesinproperties.
Boundariesbetweenlayersaremarkedonthefaceofthepit,andthelayersareidentifiedanddescribed.

Photographsshouldbetaken(ch.5)afterthelayershavebeenidentifiedbutbeforetheverticalsectionisdisturbed
inthedescriptionwritingprocess.Apointcountforestimationofthevolumeofstonesorotherfeaturesalsoisdone
beforethelayersaredisturbed.

Ahorizontalviewofeachlayerisuseful.Thisexposesstructuralunitsthatotherwisemaynotbeobservable.Patterns
ofcolorwithinstructuralunits,variationsofparticlesizefromtheoutsidetotheinsideofstructuralunits,andthe
patterninwhichrootspenetratestructuralunitsareoftenseenmoreclearlyinahorizontalsection.

Excavationsassociatedwithroads,railways,gravelpits,andothersoildisturbancesprovideeasyaccessforstudying
soilsoldexposures,however,mustbeusedcautiously.Thesoilsdryoutorfreezeandthawfromboththesurface
andthesides.Frequently,thesoilstructureinsuchexcavationsismorepronouncedthanistypicalsaltsmay
accumulateneartheedgesofexposuresorberemovedbyseepageandotherchangesmayhavetakenplace.

DepthtoandThicknessofHorizonsandLayers

Depthismeasuredfromthesoilsurface.Thesoilsurfaceisthetopofthemineralsoilor,forsoilswithan0horizon,
thesoilsurfaceisthetopofthepartofthe0horizonthatisatleastslightlydecomposed.Freshleaforneedlefall
thathasnotundergoneobservabledecompositionisexcludedfromsoilandmaybedescribedseparately.Thetopof
anysurfacehorizonidentifiedasanOhorizon,whetherOi,Oe,orOa,isconsideredthesoilsurface.

Forsoilswithacoverof80percentormorerockfragmentsonthesurface,thedepthismeasuredfromthesurface
oftherockfragments.

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Thedepthtoahorizonorlayerboundarycommonlydifferswithinshortdistances,evenwithinapedon.Thepartof
thepedonthatistypicalormostcommonisdescribed.Inthesoildescription,thehorizonorlayerdesignationis
listedandisfollowedbythevaluesthatrepresentthedepthsfromthesoilsurfacetotheupperandlower
boundaries,inthatorder.Thedepthtothelowerboundaryofahorizonorlayeristhedepthtotheupperboundary
ofthehorizonorlayerbeneathit.Thevariationinthedepthsoftheboundariesisrecordedinthedescriptionofthe
horizonorlayer.Thedepthlimitsofthedeepesthorizonorlayerdescribedincludeonlythatpartactuallyseen.

Insomesoilsthevariationsindepthstoboundariesaresocomplexthatusualtermsfordescriptionoftopographyof
theboundaryareinadequate.Thesevariationsaredescribedseparately.Forexample,depthtothelowerboundary
ismainly30to40cm,buttonguesextendtodepthsof60to80cm.Thelowerboundaryofhorizonorlayerand
theupperboundaryofthehorizonorlayerbelowshareacommonirregularity.

Thethicknessofeachhorizonorlayeristheverticaldistancebetweentheupperandlowerboundaries.Thickness
mayvarywithinapedon,andthisvariationshouldbeshowninthedescription.Arangeinthicknessmaybegiven.
Itcannotbecalculatedfromtherangeofupperandlowerboundariesbutrathermustbeevaluatedacrossthe
exposureatdifferentlateralpoints.Thelocationofupperandlowerboundariesarecommonlyindifferentplaces.
Theupperboundaryofahorizon,forexample,mayrangeindepthfrom25to45cmandthelowerboundaryfrom
50to75cm.Takingtheextremesofthesetworanges,awrongconclusioncouldbethatthehorizonrangesin
thicknessfromaslittleas5cmtoasmuchas50cm.

LandSurfaceConfiguration

Landsurfaceconfigurationconsideredhereisgeometricalandincludessoilslopeandlandsurfaceshape.Landform
fromamorphogeneticaspectisnotconsidered.Itmaybeapplicabletoapedonortoalargerarea.

Landsurfaceconfigurationandreliefarequitedifferentasusedhere,althoughthemeaningsmaybesimilarinother
contexts.Relief,inthiscontext,referstotheelevationordifferencesinelevationabovemeansealevel,considered
collectively,ofalandsurfaceonabroadscale.Elevationcanbedeterminedfromtopographicmapsorbyusinga
calibratedaltimeter.

SoilSlope

Slopehasascaleconnotation.Itreferstothegroundsurfaceconfigurationforscalesthatexceedabout10meters
andrangeupwardtothelandscapeasawhole.Slopehasgradient,complexity,length,andaspect.Thescaleof
referencecommonlyexceedsthatofthepedonandshouldbeindicated.Thescalemayembraceamapunit
delineation,componentofit,oranarbitraryarea.

Slopegradientistheinclinationofthesurfaceofthesoilfromthehorizontal.Itisgenerallymeasuredwithahand
level.Thedifferenceinelevationbetweentwopointsisexpressedasapercentageofthedistancebetweenthose
points.Ifthedifferenceinelevationis1meteroverahorizontaldistanceof100meters,slopegradientis1percent.
Aslopeof45isaslopeof100percent,becausethedifferenceinelevationbetweentwopoints100metersapart
horizontallyis100metersona45slope.

Overlandflowgradientistheslopeofthesoilsurfaceinthedirectionofflowofsurfacewaterifitwerepresent.The
followingexamplesshowequivalencesbetweenpercentagegradientanddegreeofslopeangle:

Percentage Angle Angle Percentage

0 000 0 0

5 252 2 3.5

10 543 4 7.0

15 832 6 10.5

20 1119 8 14.0

25 1402 10 17.6

30 1642 12 21.2

35 1917 15 26.8

40 2148 20 36.4

50 2634 25 46.6

60 3058 30 57.7

70 3459 35 70.0

80 3839 40 83.9

90 4159 45 100.0

100 4500 50 119.2

SlopeComplexityreferstosurfaceformonthescaleofamappingunitdelineation.Inmanyplacesinternalsoil
propertiesaremorecloselyrelatedtotheslopecomplexitythantothegradient.Slopecomplexityhasanimportant
influenceontheamountandrateofrunoffandonsedimentationassociatedwithrunoff.

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Aguidetoterminologyforvariousslopeclassesdefinedintermsofgradientandcomplexityisgivenintable31.
Thetermsareusedindiscussingsoilslope,andtheycanalsobeusedinnamingslopephases,asdiscussedinthe
nextchapter.

Table31.Definitionsofslopeclasses

Slopegradientlimits
Classes
ComplexSlopes
SimpleSlopes
LowerPercent UpperPercent

Nearlylevel Nearlylevel 0 3

Gentlysloping Undulating 1 8

Stronglysloping Rolling 4 16

Moderatelysteep Hilly 10 30

Steep Steep 20 60

Verysteep Verysteep >45

Termsareprovidedforbothsimpleandforcomplexslopesinsomeclasses.Complexslopesaregroupsofslopesthat
havedefinitebreaksinseveraldifferentdirectionsandinmostcasesmarkedlydifferentslopegradientswithinthe
areasdelineated.

Significanceofslopegradientistiedtoothersoilpropertiesandtothepurposesofsoilsurveys.Conventionsare,
therefore,providedintable31toadjusttheslopelimitsofthevariousclasses.Gentlyslopingorundulatingsoils,
forexample,canbedefinedtorangeasbroadlyas1to8percentorasnarrowlyas3to5percent.Classesmay
exceedthebroadestrangeindicatedintable31byapercentagepointortwowheretherangeisnarrowandbyas
muchas5percentormorewheretherangeisbroad.

Ifthedetailofmappingrequiresslopeclassesthataremoredetailedthanthoseintable31,someoftheclasses
canbedividedasfollows:

Nearlylevel: Level,Nearlylevel

Gentlysloping: Verygentlysloping,Gentlysloping

Stronglysloping: Sloping,Stronglysloping,Moderatelysloping

Undulating: Gentlyundulating,Undulating

Rolling: Rolling,Stronglyrolling

Inahighlydetailedsurvey,forexample,slopeclassesof0to1percentand1to3percentwouldbenamedlevel
andnearlylevel.

Slopelengthhasconsiderablecontroloverrunoffandpotentialacceleratedwatererosion.Termssuchaslongor
shortcanbeusedtodescribeslopelengthsthataretypicalofcertainkindsofsoils.Thesetermsareusually
relativewithinaphysiographicregion.Alongslopeinoneplacemightbeshortinanother.Ifsuchtermsare
used,theyaredefinedlocally.Forobservationsataparticularpoint,itmaybeusefultorecordthelengthofthe
slopethatcontributeswatertothepointinadditiontothetotallengthoftheslope.Theformeriscalledpointrunoff
slopelength.Thesedimenttransportslopelengthisthedistancefromtheexpectedorobservedinitiationupslopeof
runofftothehighestlocalelevationwheredepositionofsedimentwouldbeexpectedtooccur.Thisdistanceneed
notbethesameasthepointrunoffslopelength.

Slopeaspectisthedirectiontowardwhichthesurfaceofthesoilfaces.Thedirectionisexpressedasanangle
between0degreeand360degrees(measuredclockwisefromtruenorth)orasacompasspointsuchaseastor
northnorthwest.Slopeaspectmayaffectsoiltemperature,evapotranspiration,andwindsreceived.

LandSurfaceShape

Landsurfaceshapehastwocomponents(fig.31).Onecomponentisinadirectionroughlyparalleltothecontours
ofthelandform(orthecontourlinesonamap)asseenfromdirectlyoverhead.Theothercomponentofshapeisa
directionperpendiculartothecontoursthatis,theshapeoftheslopeasseenfromtheside.Theshapeparallelto
thecontoursislesscommonlyconsistentforasoilthanistheshapeperpendiculartothecontours.

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Theshapeparalleltothe
contours(acrossthe
slope)canbedescribed
bytheshapeofthe
contours.Theshapeis
linearifcontoursare
substantiallyastraight
line,asonthesideofa
lateralmoraine.An
alluvialfanhasaconvex
contour,asdoesaspur
oftheuplandprojecting
intoavalley.Acoveonahillsideoracirqueinglaciatedlandscapeshasconcavecontours.Infigure31,thetwo
upperblockshaveconcavecontoursandthetwolowerblockshaveconvexcontours.Wherethecontourisconvex,
runoffwatertendstospreadlaterallyasitmovesdowntheslope.Wherethecontourisconcave,runoffwatertends
tobeconcentratedtowardthemiddleofthelandform.

Theshapeofthesurfaceatrightanglestothecontours(upanddowntheslope)mayalsobedescribedaslinear,
convex,orconcave.Shapeinthisdirectionisusuallyidentifiedsimplyasslopeshapeincontrasttoslopecontourin
theotherdimension.Thesurfaceofalinearslopeissubstantiallyastraightlinewhenseeninprofileatrightangles
tothecontours.Thegradientneitherincreasesnordecreasessignificantlywithdistance.Anexampleisthedipslope
ofacuesta.Onaconcaveslope(fig.31),gradientdecreasesdowntheslopeasonfootslopes.Runoffwatertends
todecelerateasitmovesdowntheslope,andifitisloadedwithsediment,thewatertendstodepositthesediment
onthelowerpartsoftheslope.Thesoilonthelowerpartoftheslopealsotendstodisposeofwaterlessrapidlythan
thesoilaboveit.Onaconvexslope(fig.31),suchastheshoulderoraridge,gradientincreasesdowntheslope
andrunofftendstoaccelerateasitflowsdowntheslope.Soilonthelowerpartoftheslopetendstodisposeof
waterbyrunoffmorerapidlythanthesoilaboveit.Thesoilonthelowerpartofaconvexslopeissubjecttogreater
erosionthanthatonthehigherpart.

Theconfigurationofthesurfaceofasoilmaybedescribedintermsofboththeshapeofthecontourandtheshape
oftheslope.Forexample,asurfacecanbedescribedashavingaconvexcontourandaconvexslope(analluvial
fan)oralinearcontourandconcaveslope(thebaseofamoraine).

Descriptionofanarealshapefromtheshapeoftwointersectinglinesatrightanglesisapplicabletoallscalesand
doesnotrequireacontourmap.Thelinescommonlywouldbeparalleltoandatrightanglestothecontour.Four
lineshapesareillustratedinfigure32:linear,hyperbolicconcave(decliningslopegradientalongtheline),concave,
andconvex.Convexsitemaybeusefullyseparatedintoapical(summit)andnonapical(shoulder)positions.

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Microrelief
refersto
differencesin
groundsurface
height,measuredoverdistancesofmeters.Naturallyformedfeaturescontrastwiththosethataretillage
determined.Inareasofsimilarrelief,thesurfacemaybenearlyuniform,oritmaybeinterruptedbymounds,
swales,orpits.Examplesincludethemicroreliefcreatedwhentreesareblownover,referredtoascradleknoll
microrelief.Thisconsistsoftheknollleftbytheearththatclungtotherootsofthetreewhenitwasuprootedand
thedepressionfromwhichitcame.Coppicedunesformwherewindblownsoilmaterialaccumulatesaroundwidely
spacedplantsinaridregions.Gilgaiproducedbyexpansionandcontractionofsoilsisaformofmicrorelief(fig.33).
Mimamoundsandbiscuitscablandareotherexamplesofmicrorelief,althoughindividualmoundsmaycover100
squaremetersormore.Descriptionsshouldindicatewhethermoundsordepressionsareclosed,formanetwork,or
areinalinearpattern.Ifmoundsrestonasmoothsurface,theirsizeandspacingshouldbedescribed.Ataspecific
sitewithinanareahavingmicrorelief,itisimportanttonotewhetheradescribedpedonisatahighpoint,ona
slope,inadepression,oratsomecombinationoftheseplaces.Internalsoilpropertiesinmoundsmaybedifferent
fromthepropertiesindepressions.

Roughnessreferstoagroundsurfaceconfigurationwitharepeatdistancebetweenprominencesoflessthan50cm
andforareaslessthanabout10macross.Thisscaleappliestomosttillageoperationsandaffectsaspectsofland
surfacewaterflowsuchasdetention,infiltration,runoff,anderosion.Roughness,asusedhere,pertainstothe
groundsurfaceandincludesrockfragmentsonthesurface.Itdoesnotincludevegetation.Ifvegetationisincluded,
thefactshouldbeindicated.Roughnessalongaline,referredtoasonedimensionalroughness,canbemeasured
moreeasilythancanroughnessforanarea.Areameasurements,however,permittheseparationofrandomand
tillagedeterminedroughness.Theorientationtowhichtheobservationofonedimensionalroughnesspertainsmust
bespecifiedrelativetothedirectionofsurfacerunofforofairmovement.Positionwithinthetillagedetermined
relief,ifpresent,shouldbeindicatedforonedimensionalroughness.Anexampleofsuchapositionwouldbethe
nontrafficinterrowinatilledfield.Thestandarddeviationofthegroundsurfaceheightistheprimarydescriptor.
Thereareanumberofapproachestothemeasurementofroughness,andthosewhoareinagronomicdisciplines

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shouldbeconsulted.Themeasurementsdependonthevariationinheightfromaleveledreference.Photographs
maybeusedtoillustratetheclassesplacementinclassesmaybemadedirectlyfromthephotographs.

Vegetation

Correlationsbetweenvegetationandsoilsaremadeforthreemainpurposes:(1)understandingsoilgenesis,(2)
recognizingsoilboundaries,and(3)makingpredictionsfromsoilmapsaboutthekindandamountofvegetation
produced.

Theprincipalkindsofplantspresentarelistedinorderoftheirabundance.Inannualcropland,theplantorplants
thathavebeengrownshouldberecorded,includingsignificantweeds.Inforestedareas,separatetreatmentis
oftennecessaryforforesttrees,understoryofsmalltreesandshrubs,andthegroundcover.Manysoilsinrange
haveanoverstoryofshrubsorlowtrees.Thesearelistedseparatelyfromthegrasses,forbs,andotherground
cover.Anideaofthedensityofstandorplantcover,suchasaveragecanopycoveroftreesorshrubs,shouldbe
given.Therangeinsizeofdominantspeciesoftreescanbegivenasdiameterbreastheight,ifdesired.Estimated
percentageofthegroundcoveredbygrassesandforbsshouldbeincluded.

Commonnamesoftheplantsmaybeused,ifsuchnamesareclearandspecific.Inareaswheretheplantsare
importantfortheuseandinterpretationofthesoilmap,thesoilsurveyrecordshouldincludebothcommonand
scientificnamesofplants.

Ifpossible,thekindsandamountsofplantsinthepotentialnaturalvegetationonasoilshouldbeestimated.This
vegetationiscloselyrelatedtothesoilanditsgenesis.Generally,acloserelationshipexistsbetweennative
vegetationandkindsofsoil,yetthereareimportantexceptions.Observationsofthegrowthofnativevegetation
andcultivatedcropsaidinrecognizingsoilboundariesandprovidedirectinformationaboutthebehaviorofspecific
plantsondifferentkindsofsoil.Withinfieldsofasinglecrop,differencesofvigor,stand,orcolorofthecroporof
weedscommonlymarksoildifferencesandarevaluablecluestothelocationofsoilboundaries.

Bystudyingmanysitesofthesamekindofsoilunderdifferentlandusehistory,thepotentialplantcommunityand
principlesofplantsuccessionforthatkindofsoilcanbeascertained,particularlyifrangeandforestryspecialists
provideassistance.Farmerslearnwhichcropsdowellandwhichdopoorlyondifferentkindsofsoilandadjusttheir
croppingpatternsaccordingly.Ifthedifferencesarelargeasbetweencropfailureandreasonableperformancethe
nearabsenceofagivencroponaspecifickindofsoilquestionsthesuitabilityofthatkindofsoilforthecrop.Ifthe
differencesaresmall,manynonsoilfactorscandeterminethefarmerschoiceoffieldsforagivencrop.Yield
informationforcultivatedcrops,range,andtreesshouldbeassociatedwithpedondescriptionsinsofaraspossible.

GroundSurfaceCover

Thegroundsurfaceofmostsoilsiscoveredtosomeextentatleastpartoftheyearbyvegetation.Furthermore,in
manysoilsrockfragmentsformpartofthemineralmaterialatthesoilsurface.Together,thevegetalmaterialthatis
notpartofthesurfacehorizonandtherockfragmentsformthegroundsurfacecover.Theproportionofcover,
togetherwithitscharacteristics,isveryimportantindeterminingthermalpropertiesandresistancetoerosion.

Atoneextreme,estimationofcovercanbemadevisuallywithoutquantitativemeasurement.Attheotherextreme,
transecttechniquescanbeusedtomakearathercompletemodalanalysesofthegroundsurface.Moreeffortis
justifiedongroundsurfacedocumentationifitisrelativelypermanent.Inmanyinstances,acombinationofrapid
visualestimatesandtransecttechniquesisappropriate.

Thegroundsurfacemaybedividedintofineearthandmaterialotherthanfineearth.Thelatterconsistsofrock
fragmentsandbothaliveanddeadvegetation.Vegetationisseparatedintocanopyandnoncanopy.Acanopy
componenthasarelativelylargecrosssectionalareacapableofinterceptingrainfallcomparedtotheareanear
enoughtothegroundsurfacetoaffectoverlandwaterflow.Inpractice,theseparationofcanopyfromnoncanopy
shouldbecoordinatedwiththeprotocolsforcomputationofsusceptibilitytoerosion.Noncanopymaterialis
commonlyreferredtoasmulch.Itincludesrockfragmentsandvegetation.

Thefirststepinevaluationistodecideuponthegroundsurfacecovercomponents.Thenumberisusuallyoneto
three.Acommonthreecomponentlandsurfaceconsistsoftrees,bushes,andareasbetweenthetwo.Theareal
proportionofeachcomponentmustbeestablished.Thismaybedonebytransect.Ifacanopycomponentis
present,theareawithinthedriplineasapercentofthegroundsurfaceisdetermined.Foreachcanopycomponent,
theeffectivenessmustbeestablished.Effectivenessisthepercentofverticalraindropsthatwouldbeintercepted.
Usuallythecanopyeffectivenessisestimatedvisually,butasphericaldensitometermaybeused.Inadditiontothe
canopyeffectiveness,themulch(rockfragmentsplusvegetation)mustbeestablishedforeachcomponent.

Transecttechniquesmaybeemployedtodeterminethemulchpercentage.Themulchcanbesubdividedintorock
fragmentsandvegetation.Fromthearealproportionsofthecomponentsandtheirrespectivecanopyefficiencies
andmulchpercentages,thesoillossratiomaybecomputedforthewholelandsurface(Wischmeier,1978).In
additiontotheobservationsforthecomputationofthesoillossratio,informationmaybeobtainedaboutthe
percentofkindsofplants,sizeofrockfragments,amountofgreenleafarea,andaspectsofcoloroftheimmediate
surfacethatwouldaffectabsorptionofradiantenergyinanarea.

ParentMaterial

Parentmaterialreferstounconsolidatedorganicandmineralmaterialsinwhichsoilsform.Theparentmaterialofa
genetichorizoncannotbeobservedinitsoriginalstateitmustbeinferredfromthepropertiesthatthehorizonhas
inheritedandfromotherevidence.Insomesoils,theparentmaterialhaschangedlittle,andwhatitwaslikecanbe
deducedwithconfidence.Inothers,suchassomeveryoldsoilsofthetropics,thespecifickindofparentmaterialor
itsmodeororiginisspeculative.

Muchofthemineralmatterinwhichsoilsformisderivedinonewayoranotherfromhardrocks.Glaciersmaygrind
therockintofragmentsandearthymaterialanddepositthemixtureofparticlesasglacialtill.Ontheotherhand,

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rockmaybeweatheredwithgreatchemicalandphysicalchangesbutnotmovedfromitsplaceoforiginthis
alteredmaterialiscalledresiduumfromrock.

Insomecases,littleisgainedfromattemptingtodifferentiatebetweengeologicweatheringandsoilformation
becausebothareweatheringprocesses.Itmaybepossibletoinferthatamaterialwasweatheredbeforesoil
formation.Theweatheringprocesscausessomeprocessconstituentstobelost,sometobetransformed,andothers
tobeconcentrated.

Parentmaterialmaynotnecessarilyberesiduumfromthebedrockthatisdirectlybelow,andthematerialthat
developedintoamodernsoilmaybeunrelatedtotheunderlyingbedrock.Movementofsoilmaterialdownslopeis
animportantprocessandcanbeappreciableevenongentleslopes,especiallyonveryoldlandscapes.Also,locally
associatedsoilsmayforminsedimentaryrocklayersthataredifferent.

Seldomistherecertaintythatahighlyweatheredmaterialweatheredinplace.Thetermresiduumisusedwhen
thepropertiesofthesoilindicatethatithasbeenderivedfromrocklikethatwhichunderliesitandwhenevidenceis
lackingthatithasbeenmodifiedbymovement.Arockfragmentdistributionthatdecreasesinamountwithdepth,
especiallyoversaprolite,indicatesthatsoilmaterialprobablyhasbeentransporteddownslope.Stonelines,especially
ifthestoneshaveadifferentlithologythantheunderlyingbedrock,provideevidencethatthesoildidnotform
entirelyinresiduum.Insomesoils,transportedmaterialoverliesresiduumandilluvialorganicmatterandclayare
superimposedacrossthediscontinuitybetweenthecontrastingmaterials.Acertaindegreeoflandscapestabilityis
inferredforresidualsoils.Alesserdegreeisinferredforsoilsthatdevelopedintransportedmaterial.

Bothconsolidatedandunconsolidatedmaterialbeneaththesolumthatinfluencethegenesisandbehaviorofthesoil
aredescribedinstandardterms.Besidestheobservationsthemselves,thescientistrecordshisjudgmentaboutthe
originoftheparentmaterialfromwhichthesolumdeveloped.Theobservationsmustbeseparatedclearlyfrom
inferences.

Thelithologiccomposition,structureandconsistenceofthematerialdirectlybeneaththesolumareimportant.
Evidenceofstratificationofthematerialtexturaldifferences,stonelines,andthelikeneedtobenoted.
Commonly,theupperlayersofoutwashdepositssettledoutofmoreslowlymovingwaterandarefinerintexture
thanthelowerlayers.Windblownmaterialandvolcanicasharelaiddownatdifferentratesinblanketsofvarying
thickness.Examplesofsuchcomplicationsarenearlyendless.

Wherealluvium,loess,orasharerapidlydepositedonoldsoils,buriedsoilsmaybewellpreserved.Elsewherethe
accumulationissoslowthatthesolumthickensonlygradually.Insuchplaces,thematerialbeneaththesolumwas
oncenearthesurfacebutmaynowbeburiedbelowthezoneofactivechange.

Wherehardrocksorotherstronglycontrastingmaterialslienearenoughtothesurfacetoaffectthebehaviorofthe
soil,theirdepthsneedtobemeasuredaccurately.Thedepthofsoiloversuchnonconformingmaterialsisan
importantcriterionfordistinguishingdifferentkindsofsoil.

Geologicalmaterialsneedtobedefinedinaccordancewiththeacceptedstandardsandnomenclatureofgeology.
Theaccepted,authoritativenamesofthegeologicalformationsarerecordedinsoildescriptionswherethesecanbe
identifiedwithreasonableaccuracy.Assoilresearchprogresses,anincreasingnumberofcorrelationsarebeing
foundbetweenparticulargeologicalformationsandthemineralandnutrientcontentofparentmaterialsandsoils.
Forexample,certainterracematerialsanddepositsofvolcanicashthataredifferentinageorsource,butotherwise
indistinguishable,varywidelyinthecontentofcobalt.Widevariationsinthephosphoruscontentoftwootherwise
similarsoilsmayreflectdifferencesinthephosphoruscontentoftwosimilarlimestonesthatcanbedistinguishedin
thefieldonlybyspecificfossils.

Igneousrocksformedbythesolidificationofmoltenmaterialsthatoriginatedwithintheearth.Examplesofigneous
rocksthatweathertoimportantsoilmaterialaregranite,syenite,basalt,andesite,diabase,andrhyolite.

Sedimentaryrocksformedfromsedimentslaiddowninpreviousgeologicalages.Theprincipalbroadgroupsof
sedimentaryrocksarelimestone,sandstone,shale,andconglomerate.Therearemanyvarietiesofthesebroad
classesofsedimentaryrocksforexample,chalkandmarlaresoftvarietiesoflimestone.Manytypesare
intermediatebetweenthebroadgroups,suchascalcareoussandstoneandarenaceouslimestone.Alsoincludedare
depositsofdiatomaceousearth,whichformed,fromthesiliceousremainsofprimitiveplantscalleddiatoms.

Metamorphicrocksresultedfromprofoundalterationofigneousandsedimentaryrocksbyheatandpressure.
Generalclassesofmetamorphicrocksimportantasparentmaterialaregneiss,schist,slate,marble,quartzite,and
phyllite.

Theprincipalbroadsubdivisionsofparentmaterialarediscussedinthefollowingparagraphs.

MaterialProducedbyWeatheringofRockinPlace

Thenatureoftheoriginalrockaffectsthekindsofmaterialproducedbyweathering.Therockmayhaveundergone
variouschanges,includingchangesinvolumeandlossofmineralsplagioclasefeldsparandotherminerals.Rock
maylosemineralmaterialwithoutanychangeinvolumeorintheoriginalrockstructure,andsaproliteisformed.
Essentially,saproliteisaparentmaterial.Thepointwhererockweatheringendsandsoilformationbeginsisnot
alwaysclear.Theprocessesmaybeconsecutiveandevenoverlapping.Quitedifferentsoilsmayformfromsimilaror
evenidenticalrocksunderdifferentweatheringconditions.Texture,color,consistence,andothercharacteristicsof
thematerialshouldbeincludedinthedescriptionofsoils,aswellasimportantfeaturessuchasquartzdikes.Useful
informationaboutthemineralogicalcomposition,consistence,andstructureoftheparentrockitselfshouldbe
addedtohelpinunderstandingthechangesfromparentrocktoweatheredmaterial.

TransportedMaterial

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Themostextensivegroupofparentmaterialsisthegroupthathasbeenmovedfromtheplaceoforiginand
depositedelsewhere.Theprincipalgroupsoftransportedmaterialsareusuallynamedaccordingtothemainagent
responsiblefortheirtransportanddeposition.Inmostplaces,sufficientevidenceisavailabletomakeaclear
determinationelsewhere,thepreciseoriginisuncertain.

Insoilmorphologyandclassification,itisexceedinglyimportantthatthecharacteristicsofthematerialitselfbe
observedanddescribed.Itisnotenoughsimplytoidentifytheparentmaterial.Anydoubtofthecorrectnessofthe
identificationshouldbementioned.Forexample,itisoftenimpossibletobesurewhethercertainsiltydepositsare
alluvium,loess,orresiduum.Certainmudflowsareindistinguishablefromglacialtill.Somesandyglacialtillisnearly
identicaltosandyoutwash.Fortunately,hardtomakedistinctionsarenotalwaysofsignificanceforsoilbehavior
predictions.

Materialmovedanddepositedbywater

Alluvium.Alluviumconsistsofsedimentdepositedbyrunningwater.Itmayoccuronterraceswellabovepresent
streamsorinthenormallyfloodedbottomlandofexistingstreams.Remnantsofveryoldstreamterracesmaybe
foundindissectedcountryfarfromanypresentstream.Alongmanyoldestablishedstreamslieawholeseriesof
alluvialdepositsinterracesyoungdepositsintheimmediatefloodplain,upstepbysteptotheveryolddeposits
onthehighestterraces.Insomeplacesrecentalluviumcoversolderterraces.

Lacustrinedeposits.Thesedepositsconsistofmaterialthathassettledoutofbodiesofstillwater.Depositslaid
downinfreshwaterlakesassociateddirectlywithglaciersarecommonlyincludedasareotherlakedeposits,
includingsomeofPleistoceneagethatarenotassociatedwiththecontinentalglaciers.Somelakebasinsinthe
WesternUnitedStatesarecommonlycalledplayasthesoilsinthesebasinsmaybemoreorlesssalty,dependingon
climateanddrainage.

Marinesediments.Thesesedimentssettledoutoftheseaandcommonlywerereworkedbycurrentsandtides.
Latertheywereexposedeithernaturallyorfollowingtheconstructionofdikesanddrainagecanals.Theyvarywidely
incomposition.Someresemblelacustrinedeposits.

Beachdeposits.Beachdepositsmarkthepresentorformershorelinesoftheseaorlakes.Thesedepositsarelow
ridgesofsortedmaterialandarecommonlysandy,gravelly,cobbly,orstony.Depositsonthebeachesofformer
glaciallakesareusuallyincludedwithglacialdrift.

Materialmovedanddepositedbywind

Windblownmaterialcanbedividedintogroupsbasedonparticlesizeoronorigin.Volcanicashandcindersare
examplesofmaterialsclassedbybothparticlesizeandorigin.Otherwindblownmaterialthatismainlysiltyiscalled
loess,andthatwhichisprimarilysandiscalledeoliansand.Eoliansandiscommonlybutnotalwaysindunes.Nearly
alltexturesintermediatebetweensiltyloessandsandydunematerialcanbefound.

Volcanicash,pumice,andcindersaresometimesregardedasunconsolidatedigneousrock,buttheyhavebeen
movedfromtheirplaceoforigin.Mosthavebeenreworkedbywindand,inplaces,bywater.Ashisvolcanicejecta
smallerthan2mm.Ashsmallerthan0.05mmmaybecalledfineash.Pumiceandcindersarevolcanicejecta2
mmorlarger.

Loessdepositstypicallyareverysiltybutmaycontainsignificantamountsofclayandveryfinesand.Mostloess
depositsarepalebrowntobrown,althoughgrayandredcolorsarecommon.Thethickdepositsaregenerally
massiveandhavesomegrossverticalcracking.Thewallsofroadcutsinthickloessstandnearlyverticalforyears.
Othersiltydepositsthatformedinotherwayshavesomeorallofthesecharacteristics.Somewindblownsilthas
beenleachedandstronglyweatheredsothatitisacidandrichinclay.Ontheotherhand,someyoungdepositsof
windblownmaterial(loess)aremainlysiltandveryfinesandandarelowinclay.

Sanddunes,particularlyinwarm,humidregions,characteristicallyconsistoffineormediumsandthatishighin
quartzandlowinclayformingmaterials.Sanddunesmaycontainlargeamountsofcalciumcarbonateorgypsum,
especiallyindesertsandsemideserts.

Duringperiodsofdroughtandindeserts,localwindmovementsmaymixandpileupsoilmaterialofdifferent
texturesorevenmaterialthatisveryrichinclay.Pilesofsuchmaterialhavebeencalledsoildunesorclaydunes.
Ratherthanidentifylocalaccumulationsofmixedmaterialmovedbythewindasloessordunes,however,itis
bettertorefertothemaswinddepositedmaterial.

Alsoimportantbutnotgenerallyrecognizedasadistinctivedepositisdust,whichiscarriedforlongdistancesand
depositedinsmallincrementsonalargepartoftheworld.Dustcancircletheearthintheupperatmosphere.Dust
particlesaremostlyclayandveryfinesiltandmaybedepositeddryorbeinprecipitation.Theaccumulateddeposits
arelargeinsomeplaces.Animmenseamountofdusthasbeendistributedwidelythroughouttheages.Themost
likelysourcesatpresentarethedrierregionsoftheworld.Largeamountsofdustmayhavebeendistributed
worldwideduringandimmediatelyfollowingtheglacialperiods.

Dustisanimportantfactoraffectingsoilsinsomeplaces.Itistheapparentsourceoftheunexpectedfertilityof
someold,highlyleachedsoilsinthepathofwindthatblowsfromextensivedesertssomehundredsofkilometers
distant.Itexplainsunexpectedmicronutrientdistributioninsomeplaces.Besidesdust,fixednitrogen,sulfur,
calcium,magnesium,sodium,potassium,andotherelementsfromtheatmospherearedepositedonthesoilin
varyingamountsinsolutioninprecipitation.

Materialmovedanddepositedbyglacialprocesses

Severaltermsareusedformaterialthathasbeenmovedanddepositedbyglacialprocesses.Glacialdriftconsistsof
allofthematerialpickedup,mixed,disintegrated,transported,anddepositedbyglacialiceorbywaterfrom
meltingglaciers.Inmanyplacesglacialdriftiscoveredbyamantleofloess.Deepmantlesofloessareusuallyeasily

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recognized,butverythinmantlesmaybesoalteredbysoilbuildingforcesthattheycanscarcelybedifferentiated
fromtheunderlyingmodifieddrift.

Glacialtill.Thisisthatpartoftheglacialdriftdepositeddirectlybytheicewithlittleornotransportationbywater.
Itisgenerallyanunstratified,heterogeneousmixtureofclay,silt,sand,gravel,andsometimesboulders.Someof
themixturesettledoutastheicemeltedwithverylittlewashingbywater,andsomewasoverriddenbytheglacier
andiscompactedandunsorted.Tillmaybefoundingroundmoraines,terminalmoraines,medialmoraines,and
lateralmoraines.Inmanyplacesitisimportanttodifferentiatebetweenthetillsoftheseveralglaciations.
Commonly,thetillsunderlieoneanotherandmaybeseparatedbyotherdepositsorold,weatheredsurfaces.Many
depositsofglacialtillwerelatererodedbythewaveactioninglaciallakes.Theupperpartofsuchwavecuttillmay
haveahighpercentageofrockfragments.

Glacialtillrangeswidelyintexture,chemicalcomposition,andthedegreeofweatheringthatfolloweditsdeposition.
Muchtilliscalcareous,butanimportantpartisnoncalcareousbecausenocarbonaterockscontributedtothe
materialorbecausesubsequentleachingandchemicalweatheringhaveremovedthecarbonates.

Glaciofluvialdeposits.Thesedepositsarematerialproducedbyglaciersandcarried,sorted,anddepositedby
waterthatoriginatedmainlyfrommeltingglacialice.Glacialoutwashisabroadtermformaterialsweptout,sorted,
anddepositedbeyondtheglacialicefrontbystreamsofmeltwater.Commonly,thisoutwashisintheformofplains,
valleytrains,ordeltasinoldglaciallakes.Thevalleytrainsofoutwashmayextendfarbeyondthefarthestadvance
oftheice.Nearmoraines,poorlysortedglaciofluvialmaterialmayformkames,eskers,andcrevassefills.

Glacialbeachdeposits.Theseconsistofrockfragmentsandsand.Theymarkthebeachlinesofformerglacial
lakes.Dependingonthecharacteroftheoriginaldrift,beachdepositsmaybesandy,gravelly,cobbly,orstony.

Glaciolacustrinedeposits.Thesedepositsarederivedfromglaciersbutwerereworkedandlaiddowninglacial
lakes.Theyrangefromfineclaytosand.Manyofthemarestratifiedorvarved.Avarveconsistsofthedepositionfor
acalendaryear.Thefinerportionreflectsslowerdepositionduringthecoldseasonandthecoarserportion
depositionduringthewarmerseasonwhenrunoffisgreater.

Goodexamplesofalloftheglacialmaterialsandformsdescribedintheprecedingparagraphscanbefound.In
manyplaces,however,itisnoteasytodistinguishdefinitelyamongthekindsofdriftonthebasisofmodeoforigin
andlandform.Forexample,pittedoutwashplainscanscarcelybedistinguishedfromsandytillinterminalmoraines.
Distinguishingbetweenwavecuttillandlacustrinematerialisoftendifficult.Thenamesthemselvesconnoteonlya
littleabouttheactualcharacteristicsoftheparentmaterial.

Materialmovedanddepositedbygravity

Colluviumispoorlysorteddebristhathasaccumulatedatthebaseofslopes,indepressions,oralongsmallstreams
throughgravity,soilcreep,andlocalwash.Itconsistslargelyofmaterialthathasrolled,slidorfallendowntheslope
undertheinfluenceofgravity.Accumulationsofrockfragmentsarecalledtalus.Therockfragmentsincolluviumare
usuallyangular,incontrasttotherounded,waterworncobblesandstonesinalluviumandglacialoutwash.

OrganicMaterial

Organicmaterialaccumulatesinwetplaceswhereitisdepositedmorerapidlythanitdecomposes.Thesedeposits
arecalledpeat.Thispeatinturnmaybecomeparentmaterialforsoils.Theprincipalgeneralkindsofpeat,
accordingtooriginare:

Sedimentarypeat.theremainsmostlyoffloatingaquaticplants,suchasalgae,andtheremainsand
fecalmaterialofaquaticanimals,includingcoprogenousearth.

Mosspeat.theremainsofmosses,includingSphagnum.

Herbaceouspeat.theremainsofsedges,reeds,cattails,andotherherbaceousplants.

Woodypeat.theremainsoftrees,shrubs,andotherwoodyplants.

Manydepositsoforganicmaterialaremixturesofpeat.Someorganicsoilsformedinalternatinglayersofdifferent
kindsofpeat.Inplacespeatismixedwithdepositsofmineralalluviumand/orvolcanicash.Someorganicsoils
containlayersthatarelargelyorentirelymineralmaterial.

Indescribingorganicsoils,thematerialiscalledpeat(fibric)ifvirtuallyalloftheorganicremainsaresufficiently
freshandintacttopermitidentificationofplantforms.Itiscalledmuck(sapric)ifvirtuallyallofthematerialhas
undergonesufficientdecompositiontolimitrecognitionoftheplantparts.Itiscalledmuckypeat(hemic)ifa
significantpartofthematerialcanberecognizedandasignificantpartcannot.

Descriptionsoforganicmaterialshouldincludetheoriginandthebotanicalcompositionofthematerialtotheextent
thatthesecanbereasonablyinferred.

ContrastingMaterials

Changeswithdepththatarenotprimarilyrelatedtopedogenesisbutrathertogeologicalprocessesarecontrasting
soilmaterialsiftheyaresufficienttoaffectuseandmanagement.Thetermdiscontinuityisappliedtocertainkinds
ofcontrastingsoilmaterials.

Unconsolidatedcontrastingsoilmaterialmaydifferinporesizedistribution,particlesizedistribution,mineralogy,
bulkdensity,orotherproperties.Someofthedifferencesmaynotbereadilyobservableinthefield.Somedeposits

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areclearlystratified,suchassomelakesedimentsandglacialoutwash,andthediscontinuitiesmaybesharply
defined.

Contrastingmaterialscanbeconfusedwiththeeffectsofsoilformation.Siltcontentmaydecreaseregularlywith
depthinsoilspresumedtohaveformedinglacialtill.Thehighersiltcontentintheupperpartofthesesoilscanbe
explainedbyfactorsotherthansoilformation.Insomeofthesesoils,smallamountsofeolianmaterialmayhave
beendepositedonthesurfaceoverthecenturiesandmixedbyinsectsandrodentswiththeunderlyingglacialtill.
Inothers,thesiltdistributionreflectswatersorting.

Inferencesaboutcontrastingpropertiesinheritedfromdifferinglayersofgeologicmaterialmaybenotedwhenthe
soilisdescribed.Generally,eachidentifiablelayerthatdiffersclearlyinpropertiesfromadjacentlayersisrecognized
asasubhorizon.Whetheritisrecognizedasadiscontinuityornotdependsonthedegreeofcontrastwithoverlying
andunderlyinglayersandthethickness.Formanysoilsthepropertiesinheritedfromevensharplycontrastinglayers
arenotconsistentfromplacetoplaceandaredescribedingeneralterms.TheClayerofasoilinstratifiedlake
sediments,forexample,mightbedescribedasfollows:consistsoflayersofsiltandclay,1to20cmthickthe
aggregatethicknessoflayersofsiltandthatofthelayersofclayareinaratioofabout4to1materialisabout80
percentsilt.

Erosion
Erosionisthedetachmentandmovementofsoilmaterial.Theprocessmaybenaturaloracceleratedbyhuman
activity.Dependingonthelocallandscapeandweatherconditions,erosionmaybeverysloworveryrapid.

Naturalerosionhassculpturedlandformsontheuplandsandbuiltlandformsonthelowlands.Itsrateand
distributionintimecontrolstheageoflandsurfacesandmanyoftheinternalpropertiesofsoilsonthesurfaces.The
formationofChannelScablandsinthestateofWashingtonisanexampleofextremelyrapidnatural,orgeologic,
erosion.Thebroad,nearlylevelinterstreamdividesontheCoastalPlainoftheSoutheasternUnitedStatesare
examplesofareaswithveryslowornonaturalerosion.

Landscapesandtheirsoilsareevaluatedfromtheperspectiveoftheirnaturalerosionalhistory.Buriedsoils,stone
lines,depositsofwindblownmaterial,andotherevidencethatmaterialhasbeenmovedandredepositedishelpful
inunderstandingnaturalerosionhistory.Thickweatheredzonesthatdevelopedunderearlierclimaticconditions
mayhavebeenexposedtobecomethematerialinwhichnewsoilsformed.Inlandscapesofthemostrecently
glaciatedareas,theconsequencesofnaturalerosion,orlackofit,arelessobviousthanwherethesurfaceandthe
landscapeareofanearlyPleistoceneorevenTertiaryage.Evenonthelandscapesofmostrecentglaciation,
however,postglacialnaturalerosionmayhaveredistributedsoilmaterialsonthelocallandscape.Naturalerosionis
animportantprocessthataffectssoilformationand,likemaninducederosion,mayremoveallorpartofsoils
formedinthenaturallandscape.

Acceleratederosionislargelytheconsequenceofhumanactivity.Theprimarycausesaretillage,grazing,and
cuttingoftimber.

Therateoferosioncanbeincreasedbyactivitiesotherthanthoseofhumans.Firethatdestroysvegetationand
triggerserosionhasthesameeffect.Thespectacularepisodesoferosion,suchasthesoilblowingontheGreatPlains
oftheCentralUnitedStatesinthe1930s,havenotallbeenduetohumanhabitation.Frequentduststormswere
recordedontheGreatPlainsbeforetheregionbecameagrainproducingarea.Naturalerosionisnoteasily
distinguishedfromacceleratederosiononeverysoil.Adistinctioncanbemadebystudyingandunderstanding
thesequenceofsedimentsandsurfacesonthelocallandscape,aswellasbystudyingsoilproperties.

LandslipErosion

Landsliperosionreferstothemassmovementofsoil.Slidesandflowsaretwokindsoflandsliperosion.Intheslide
process,sheartakesplacealongoneoralimitednumberofsurfaces.Slidemovementmaybecategorizedasslightly
orhighlydeformed,dependingontheextentofrearrangementfromtheoriginalorganization.Inflowmovement
thesoilmassactsasaviscousfluid.Failureisnotrestrictedtoasurfaceorasmallsetofsurfaces.Classesoflandslip
erosionarenotprovided.Locationofthemassmovementrelevanttolandscapefeaturesgenerallyandthesizeof
themassmovementintermsofareaparalleltothelandsurfaceandthedepthmaybeindicated.Informationabout
thetimesincethemassmovementtookplacemaybeveryuseful.

WaterErosion

Watererosionresultsfromtheremovalofsoilmaterialbyflowingwater.Apartoftheprocessisthedetachmentof
soilmaterialbytheimpactofraindrops.Thesoilmaterialissuspendedinrunoffwaterandcarriedaway.Fourkinds
ofacceleratedwatererosionarecommonlyrecognized:sheet,rill,gully,andtunnel(piping).

Sheeterosionisthemoreorlessuniformremovalofsoilfromanareawithoutthedevelopmentof
conspicuouswaterchannels.Thechannelsaretinyortortuous,exceedinglynumerous,andunstable
theyenlargeandstraightenasthevolumeofrunoffincreases.Sheeterosionislessapparent,
particularlyinitsearlystages,thanothertypesoferosion.Itcanbeseriousonsoilsthathaveaslope
gradientofonly1or2percenthowever,itisgenerallymoreseriousasslopegradientincreases.

Rillerosionistheremovalofsoilthroughthecuttingofmanysmall,butconspicuous,channelswhere
runoffconcentrates.Rillerosionisintermediatebetweensheetandgullyerosion.Thechannelsare
shallowenoughthattheyareeasilyobliteratedbytillagethus,afteranerodedfieldhasbeen
cultivated,determiningwhetherthesoillossesresultedfromsheetorrillerosionisgenerally
impossible.

Gullyerosionistheconsequenceofwaterthatcutsdownintothesoilalongthelineofflow.Gulliesform
inexposednaturaldrainageways,inplowfurrows,inanimaltrails,invehicleruts,betweenrowsof
cropplants,andbelowbrokenmanmadeterraces.Incontrasttorills,theycannotbeobliteratedby
ordinarytillage.Deepgulliescannotbecrossedwithcommontypesoffarmequipment.

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Gulliesandgullypatternsvarywidely.Vshapedgulliesforminmaterialthatisequallyorincreasinglyresistantto
erosionwithdepth(fig.34).Ushapedgulliesforminmaterialthatisequallyordecreasinglyresistanttoerosion
withdepth(fig.35).Asthesubstratumiswashedaway,theoverlyingmateriallosesitssupportandfallsintothe
gullytobewashedaway.MostUshapedgulliesbecomemodifiedtowardaVshapeoncethechannelstabilizesand
thebanksstarttospallandslump.

Themaximumdepthtowhichgulliesarecutisgovernedbyresistantlayersinthesoil,bybedrock,orbythelocal
baselevel.Manygulliesdevelopheadwardthatis,theyextenduptheslopeasthegullydeepensinthelowerpart.

Tunnelerosionmayoccurinsoilswithsubsurfacehorizonsorlayersthataremoresubjectto
entrainmentinmovingfreewaterthanisthesurfacehorizonorlayer.Thefreewaterentersthesoil
throughpondedinfiltrationintosurfaceconnectedmacropores.Desiccationcracksandrodentburrows
areexamplesofmacroporesthatmayinitiatetheprocess.Thesoilmaterialentrainedinthemoving
watermovesdownwardwithinthesoilandmaymoveoutofthesoilcompletelyifthereisanoutlet.
Theresultistheformationoftunnels(alsoreferredtoaspipes)whichenlargeandcoalesce.The
portionofthetunnelneartheinletmayenlargedisproportionatelytoformafunnelshapedfeature
oftenreferredtoasajug.Hence,thetermpipingandjugging.Thephenomenonisfavoredby
thepresenceofappreciableexchangeablesodium.

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Depositionofsedimentcarriedbywaterislikelyanywherethatthevelocityofrunningwaterisreducedatthe
mouthofgullies,atthebaseofslopes,alongstreambanks,onalluvialplains,inreservoirs,andatthemouthof
streams.Rapidlymovingwater,whenslowed,dropsstones,thencobbles,pebbles,sand,andfinallysiltandclay.
Sedimenttransportslopelengthhasbeendefinedasthedistancefromthehighestpointontheslopewhererunoff
maystarttowherethesedimentintherunoffwouldbedeposited.

WindErosion3

WindErosioninregionsoflowrainfall,canbewidespread,especiallyduringperiodsofdrought.Unlikewatererosion,
winderosionisgenerallynotrelatedtoslopegradient.Thehazardofwinderosionisincreasedbyremovingor
reducingthevegetation.

Whenwindsarestrong,coarserparticlesarerolledorsweptalongonornearthesoilsurface,kickingfinerparticles
intotheair.Theparticlesaredepositedinplacesshelteredfromthewind.Whenwinderosionissevere,thesand
particlesmaydriftbackandforthlocallywithchangesinwinddirectionwhilethesiltandclayarecarriedaway.Small
areasfromwhichthesurfacelayerhasblownawaymaybeassociatedwithareasofdepositioninsuchanintricate
patternthatthetwocannotbeidentifiedseparatelyonsoilmaps.

EstimatingtheDegreeofErosion

Thedegreetowhichacceleratederosionhasmodifiedthesoilmaybeestimatedduringsoilexaminations.The
conditionsoferodedsoilarebasedonacomparisonofthesuitabilityforuseandthemanagementneedsofthe
erodedsoilwiththoseoftheunerodedsoil.Theerodedsoilisidentifiedandclassifiedonthebasisoftheproperties
ofthesoilthatremains.Anestimateofthesoillostisdescribed.Erodedsoilsaredefinedsothattheboundarieson
thesoilmapsseparatesoilareasofunlikeusesuitabilitiesandunlikemanagementneeds.

Thedepthtoareferencehorizonorsoilcharacteristicofthesoilunderausethathasminimizedacceleratederosion
arecomparedtothesamepropertiesunderusesthathavefavoredacceleratederosion.Forexample,asoilthat
supportsnativegrassorlargetreeswithnoevidenceofcultivationwouldbethebasisforcomparisonofthesameor
similarsoilthathasbeenclearedandcultivatedforarelativelylongtime.Thedepthtoreferencelayersismeasured
fromthetopofthemineralsoilbecauseorganichorizonsatthesurfaceofmineralsoilsaredestroyedbycultivation.

Thedepthstoareferencelayermustbeinterpretedintermsofrecentsoiluseorhistory.Cultivationmaycause
differencesinthicknessoflayers.Theupperpartsofmanyforestedsoilshaverootsthatmakeupasmuchasone
halfofthesoilvolume.Whentheserootsdecay,thesoilsettles.Rockfragmentremovalcanalsolowerthesurface.
Thethicknessofsurficialzonesthathavebeenbulkedbytillageshouldbeadjusteddownwardtowhattheywould
beifwaterhadcompactedthem.

Thethicknessofaplowedlayerofaspecificsoilcannotbeusedasastandardforeitherlossesoradditionsof
materialbecause,asasoilerodes,theplowcutsprogressivelydeeper.Norcanthethicknessoftheuncultivatedand
unerodedAhorizonbeusedasastandardforallcultivatedsoil,unlesstheAhorizonismuchthickerthantheplow
layer.IfthehorizonimmediatelybelowtheplowedlayerofanunerodedsoilisdistinctlyhigherinclaythantheA
horizon,theplowlayerbecomesprogressivelymoreclayeyundercontinuedcultivationaserosionprogressesthe
textureoftheplowlayermaythenbeacriterionoferosion.

Comparisonsmustbemadeoncomparableslopes.Neartheupperlimitoftherangeofslopegradientforasoil,
horizonsmaynormallybethinnerthannearthelowerlimitoftherangeforthesamesoil.

Roadsides,cemeteries,fencerows,andsimilaruncultivatedareasthatareasmallpartofthelandscapeasawhole
oraresubjecttounusualculturalhistoriesmustbeusedcautiouslyforsettingstandards,becausethereference
standardsforsurfacelayerthicknessaregenerallysettoohigh.Innaturallytreelessareasorinareasclearedof
trees,dustmaycollectinfencerows,alongroadsides,andinothersmalluncultivatedareasthatarecoveredwith
grassorotherstabilizingplants.Thedustthusaccumulatedmaycausethesurfacehorizontobecomeseveral
centimetersthickerinashorttime.

Forsoilshavingclearlydefinedhorizons,differencesduetoerosioncanbeaccuratelydeterminedbycomparisonof
theundisturbedoruncultivatednormswithinthelimitationsdiscussed.GuidesforsoilshavingathinAhorizonand
littleornootherhorizonaremoredifficulttoestablish.Afterthethinsurfacelayerisgoneorhasbeenmixedwith
underlyingmaterial,fewcluesremainforestimatingthedegreeoferosion.Thephysicalconditionsofthematerialin
theplowedlayer,theappearanceandamountofrockfragmentsonthesurface,thenumberandshapeofgullies,
andsimilarevidencearereliedon.Formanysoilshavingalmostnohorizonexpression,attemptingtoestimatethe
degreeoferosionserveslittleusefulpurpose.

ClassesofAcceleratedErosion

Theclassesofacceleratederosionthatfollowapplytobothwaterandwinderosion.Theyarenotapplicableto
landsliportunnelerosion.Theclassespertaintotheproportionofupperhorizonsthathavebeenremoved.These
horizonsmayrangewidelyinthicknesstherefore,theabsoluteamountoferosionisnotspecified.

Class1.Thisclassconsistsofsoilsthathavelostsome,butontheaveragelessthan25percent,ofthe
originalAand/orEhorizonsoroftheuppermost20cmiftheoriginalAand/orEhorizonswereless
than20cmthick.Throughoutmostofthearea,thethicknessofthesurfacelayeriswithinthenormal
rangeofvariabilityoftheunerodedsoil.Scatteredsmallareasamountingtolessthan20percentofthe
areamaybemodifiedappreciably.

Evidenceforclass1erosionincludes(1)afewrills,(2)anaccumulationofsedimentatthebaseof
slopesorindepressions,(3)scatteredsmallareaswheretheplowlayercontainsmaterialfrombelow,
and(4)evidenceoftheformationofwidelyspaced,deeprillsorshallowgullieswithoutconsistently
measurablereductioninthicknessorotherchangeinpropertiesbetweentherillsorgullies.Figure36
isanexampleofclass1erosion.

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Class2.Thisclassconsistsofsoilsthathavelost,ontheaverage,25to75percentoftheoriginalA
and/orEhorizonsoroftheuppermost20cmiftheoriginalAand/orEhorizonswerelessthan20cm
thick.Throughoutmostcultivatedareasofclass2erosion,thesurfacelayerconsistsofamixtureofthe
originalAand/orEhorizonsandmaterialfrombelow.Someareasmayhaveintricatepatterns,ranging
fromunerodedsmallareastoseverelyerodedsmallareas.WheretheoriginalAand/orEhorizonswere
verythick,littleornomixingofunderlyingmaterialmayhavetakenplace.Figure37isanexampleof
class2erosion.

Class3.Thisclassconsistsofsoilsthathavelost,ontheaverage,75percentormoreoftheoriginalA
and/orEhorizonsoroftheuppermost20cmiftheoriginalAand/orEhorizonswerelessthan20cm
thick.Inmostareasofclass3erosion,materialbelowtheoriginalAand/orEhorizonsisexposedatthe
surfaceincultivatedareastheplowlayerconsistsentirelyorlargelyofthismaterial.Evenwherethe
originalAand/orEhorizonswereverythick,atleastsomemixingwithunderlyingmaterialgenerally
tookplace.Figure38isanexampleofclass3erosion.

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Class4.
This
class
consists
ofsoils
that
havelost
allofthe
original
Aand/or
Ehorizonsortheuppermost20cmiftheoriginalAand/orEhorizonswerelessthan20cmthick.In
addition,Class4includessomeorallofthedeeperhorizonsthroughoutmostofthearea.Theoriginal
soilcanbeidentifiedonlyinsmallareas.Someareasmaybesmooth,butmosthaveanintricate
patternofgullies.Figure39isanexampleofclass4erosion.

SoilWater
Thissectiondiscussesthewaterregimeschemesforthedescriptionofthestateofthesoilwaterataparticular
timeandforthechangeinsoilwaterstateovertime.Soilwaterstateisevaluatedfromwatersuction,quantityof
water,whetherthesoilwaterisliquidorfrozen,andtheoccurrenceoffreewaterwithinthesoilandontheland
surface.Complexityanddetailofwaterregimestatementsmayrangewidely.

InundationClasses

Freewatermayoccurabovethesoil.Inundationistheconditionthatthesoilareaiscoveredbyliquidfreewater.
Floodingistemporaryinundationbyflowingwater.Ifthewaterisstanding,asinacloseddepression,theterm
pondingisused.

InternalClasses

Definitions.Table32containswaterstateclassesforthedescriptionofindividuallayersorhorizons.Onlymatrix
suctionisconsideredindefinitionoftheclasses4.Osmoticpotentialisnotconsidered.Forwatercontentsofmedium
andfinetexturedsoilmaterialsatsuctionslessthanabout200kPa,thereferencelaboratorywaterretentionisfor
thenaturalsoilfabric.Classlimitsareexpressedbothintermsofsuctionandwatercontent.Inordertomakefield
andfieldofficeevaluationmorepracticable,watercontentpertainstogravimetricquantitiesandnottovolumetric.
Theclassesareapplicabletoorganicaswellastomineralsoilmaterial.Thefrozenconditionisindicatedseparately

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bythesymbolf.Thesymbolindicatesthepresenceoficesomeofthewatermaynotbefrozen.Ifthesoilis
frozen,thewatercontentorsuctionpertainstowhatitwouldbeifnotfrozen.

Table32.Waterstateclasses

Class Criteriaa

Dry(D) >1500kPasuction

VeryDry(DV) <(0.35x1500kParetention)

ModeratelyDry(DM) 0.35to0.8x1500kParetention

SlightlyDry(DS) 0.8to1.0x1500kParetention

Moist(M) <1500kPato>1or1/2kPa b

SlightlyMoist(MS) 1500kPasuctiontoMWR c

ModeratelyMoist(MM) MWRtoUWR c

VeryMoist(MV) UWRto1or1/2kPa bsuction

Wet <1kPaor<1/2kPa b

Nonsatiated(WN) Nofreewater

Satiated(WA) Freewaterpresent

a.Criteriausebothsuctionandgravimetricwatercontentsasdefinedbysuction.
b.1/2kPaonlyifcoarsesoilmaterial(seetext).
c.UWRistheabbreviationforupperwaterretention,whichisthelaboratorywaterretentionat5kPaforcoarsesoil
materialand10kPaforother(seetext).MWRisthemidpointwaterretention.Itishalfwaybetweentheupperwater
retentionandtheretentionat1500kPa.

Threeclassesandeightsubclassesaredefined.Classesandsubclassesmaybecombinedasdesired.Symbolsfor
thecombinationscurrentlydefinedareintable32.Specificitydesiredandcharacteristicsofthewaterdesorption
curvewoulddeterminewhetherclassesorsubclasseswouldbeused.Coarsesoilmaterialhaslittlewaterbelowthe
1500kParetention,andsosubdivisionsofdrygenerallywouldbelessuseful.

Dryisseparatedfrommoistat1500kPasuction.Wetisseparatedfrommoistattheconditionwherewaterfilmsare
readilyapparent.Thewatersuctionatthemoistwetboundaryisassumedtobeabout1/2kPaforcoarsesoil
materialsand1kPaforothermaterials.Theformaldefinitionofcoarsesoilmaterialisgivenlater.

Threesubclassesofdryaredefinedverydry,moderatelydry,andslightlydry.Verydrycannotbereadily
distinguishedfromairdryinthefield.Thewatercontentextendsfromovendryto0.35timesthewaterretentionat
1500kPa.Theupperlimitisroughly150percentoftheairdrywatercontent.Thelimitbetweenmoderatelydry
andslightlydryisawatercontent0.8timestheretentionat1500kPa.

Themoistclassissubdividedintoslightlymoist,moderatelymoist,andverymoist.Dependingonthekindofsoil
material,laboratoryretentionat5or10kPasuction(method4B,SoilSurveyLaboratoryStaff,1992)determines
theupperwaterretention.Asuctionof5kPaisemployedforcoarsesoilmaterial.Otherwise,10kPaisused.

Tobeconsideredcoarse,thesoilmaterialthatisstronglyinfluencedbyvolcanicejectamustbe
nonmedialandweaklyornonvesicular.Ifnotstronglyinfluencedbyvolcanicejecta,itmustmeetthe
sandyorsandyskeletalfamilyparticlesizecriteriaandalsobecoarserthanloamyfinesand,have<2
percentorganiccarbon,andhave<5percentwaterat1500kPasuction.Furthermore,thecomputed
totalporosityofthe<2mmfabricmustexceed35percent.5

Verymoisthasanupperlimitatthemoistwetboundaryandalowerlimitattheupperwaterretention.Relatedly,
moderatelymoisthasanupperlimitattheupperwaterretentionandalowerlimitatthemidpointingravimetric
watercontentbetweenretentionat1500kPaandtheupperwaterretention.Thislowerlimitisreferredtoasthe
midpointwaterretention.Slightlymoist,inturn,extendsfromthemidpointwaterretentiontothe1500kPa
retention.

Thewetclasshasnonsatiatedandsatiatedsubclassesdistinguishedonthebasisofabsenceorpresenceoffree
water.MillerandBresler(1977)definedsatiationastheconditionfromthefirstappearanceoffreewaterthrough
saturation.Thenonsatiatedwetstatemaybeapplicableatzerosuctiontohorizonswithloworverylowsaturated
hydraulicconductivity.Thesehorizonsmaynotexhibitfreewater.Horizonsmayhavepartsthataresatiatedwetand
otherparts,becauseoflowmatrixsaturatedhydraulicconductivityandtheabsenceofconductingmacroscopic
pores,thatarenonsatiatedwet.Freewaterdevelopspositivepressurewithdepthbelowthetopofawetsatiated
zone.

Aclassforsaturation(thatis,zeroairfilledporosity)isnotprovidedbecausethetermsuggeststhatallofthepore
spaceisfilledwithwater.Thisconditionusuallycannotbeevaluatedinthefield.Further,ifsaturationisusedforthe
conceptofsatiation,thenatermisnotavailabletodescribeknownsaturation.Thereisanimplicationofsaturationif
thesoilmaterialissatiatedwetandcoarsetexturedorotherwisehaspropertiesindicativeofhighorveryhigh
saturatedhydraulicconductivitythroughoutthemass.Asatiatedconditiondoesnotnecessarilyindicatereducing
conditions.Airmaybepresentinthewaterand/orthemicrobiologicalactivitymaybelow.Thepresenceofreducing

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conditionsmaybeinferredfromsoilcolorinsomeinstancesandatestmaybeperformedforferrousironinsolution.
Theresultsofthetestforferrousironshouldbereportedseparatelyfromthewaterstatedescription.

Evaluation.Wetisindicatedbytheoccurrenceofprominentwaterfilmsonsurfacesofsandgrainsandstructural
unitsthatcausethesoilmaterialtoglisten.Iffreewaterisabsent,thetermnonsatiatedwetisused.Iffreewateris
present,thetermsatiatedwetisused.Thepositionoftheupperfieldboundaryofthesatiatedwetclass,inaformal
sense,isthetopofthewaterinanunlinedboreholeafterequilibriumhasbeenreached.Determinationofthe
thicknessofaperchedzoneoffreewaterrequirestheinstallationoflinedboreholesorpiezometerstoseveral
depthsacrossthezoneoffreewateroccurrence.Piezometersaretubesplacedtothedesignateddepththatare
openatbothends,mayhaveaperforatedzoneatthebottom,butdonotpermitwaterentryalongmostoftheir
length.Inthecontexthere,informationaboutthedepthoffreewaterandlocationandthicknessofthefreewater
zonewouldbeobtainedinthecourseofsoilexaminationforarangeofpurposesanddoesnotnecessarilyrequire
installationofboreholes.

Ideally,evaluationwithinthemoistanddryclassesshouldbebasedonfieldinstrumentation.Usually,such
instrumentationisnotavailableandapproximationsmustbemade.Gravimetricwatercontentmeasurementsmay
beused.Tomaketheconversionfrommeasuredwatercontenttosuctionitisnecessarytohaveinformationonthe
gravimetricwaterretentionatdifferentsuctions.Thewaterretentionat1500kPamaybeestimatedfromthefield
claypercentageevaluationifdispersionofclayisrelativelycompleteforthesoilsofconcern.Commonly,the1500
kParetentionisroughly0.4timestheclaypercentage.Thisrelationshipcanberefinedconsiderablyasthesoil
materialcompositionandorganizationisincreasinglyspecified.Anotherruleofthumbisthatthewatercontentat
airdrynessisabout10percentoftheclaypercentage,assumingcompletedispersion.Modelbasedcurvesthat
relategravimetricwatercontentandsuctionareavailableformanysoils(Baumer,1986).Thesecurvesmaybeused
todetermineupperwaterretentionandthemidpointwaterretention,andtoplacethesoilmaterialinawaterstate
classbasedongravimetricwatercontents.Furthersuchcurveswouldbethebasisinmanyinstancesforestimation
ofthewaterretentionat10kPafrommeasurementsat33kPa.Figure310showsamodelbasedcurvefora
mediumtexturedhorizonandtherelationshipofwaterstateclasslimitstowatercontentsdeterminedfromthe
desorptioncurve.Thefigureincludestheresultsofasetoftestsdesignedtoprovidelocalcriteriaforfieldandfield
officeevaluationofwaterstate.Thesewillbediscussedsubsequently.

Commonly,gravimetricwatercontentinformationisnotavailable.Visualandtactileobservationsmustsufficeforthe
placement.Separationbetweenmoistandwetandthedistinctionbetweenthetwosubclassesofwetmaybemade
visually,basedonwaterfilmexpressionandpresenceoffreewater.Similarly,theseparationbetweenverydryand
moderatelydrycanbemadebyvisualortactilecomparisonofthesoilmaterialatthefieldwatercontentandafter
airdrying.Thechangeonairdryingshouldbequitesmall,ifthesoilmaterialinitiallyisintheverydryclass.

Criteriaaremoredifficulttoformulateforsoilmaterialthatisbetweenthemoist/wetandthemoderatelydry/very
dryseparations.Fourtestsfollowthatmaybeusefulformineralsoils.Thethreeteststhatinvolvetactile
examinationareperformedonsoilmaterialthathasbeenmanipulatedandmixed.Thismanipulationandmixing
maychangethetactilequalitiesfromthatofweaklyalteredsoilmaterial.Thechangemaybeparticularlylargefor
densesoil.Inthefield,thislimitationshouldbekeptinmind.

Colorvaluetest.Thecrushedcolorvalueofthesoilforanunspecifiedwaterstateiscomparedtothecolorvalueat
airdrynessandwhilemoderatelymoistorverymoist.Thistestprobablyhasusefulnessonlyifthefullrangeofcolor
valuefromairdrytomoderatelymoistexceedsoneunitofcolorvalue.Thechangeincolorvalueandits
interpretationdependsonthewaterdesorptioncharacteristicsofthesoilmaterial.Forexample,asthewater
retentionat1500kPaincreases,thedifferencebetweentheminimumcolorvalueinthedrystateandthevery
moistcolorvaluetendstodecrease.

Balltest.Aquantityofsoilissqueezedfirmlyinthepalmofthehandtoformaballabout3to4cmindiameter.
Thisisdoneinaboutfivesqueezes.Thesphereshouldbenearthemaximumdensitythatcanbeobtainedby
squeezing.Preparationoftheballwilldifferamongpeople.Theimportantpointisthattheprocedureisconsistent
foranindividual.

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Inoneapproach,theballisdroppedfromprogressivelyincreasingheightsontoanonresilientsurface.Theheightin
centimetersatwhichruptureoccursisrecorded.Usuallyheightsabove100cmarenotmeasured.Additionally,the
mannerofruptureisrecorded.Iftheballflattensanddoesnotrupture,thetermdeformsisused.Iftheball
breaksintoaboutfiveorlessunits,thetermpiecesisused.Finally,ifthenumberofunitsexceedsaboutfive,the
termcrumblesisused.

Alternatively,penetrationresistancemaybeused.Thepenetrometerisinsertedintheballinthesamefashionas
wouldbedoneforsoilinplace.Thisalternativeisonlyapplicableformediumandfinetexturedsoilmaterialsat
higherwatercontentsbecausethesesoilmaterialsarerelativelyplasticandnotsubjecttocracking.

Rodtest.Thesoilmaterialisrolledbetweenthumbandfirstfingeroronasurfacetoformarod3mmindiameter
orless.Thisrodmustremainintactwhilebeingheldverticallyfromanendforrecognitionasarod.Minimumlength
requiredis2cm.Ifthemaximumlengththatcanbeformedis2to5cm,therodisweak.Ifthemaximumlength
equalsorexceeds5cm,therodisstrong.

Therodtesthasclosesimilaritiestotheplasticlimittest(ASTM,1984).Plasticlimitvaluesexceedthe1500kPa
retentionatmoderateclaycontentsandapproachbutarenotcommonlylowerthanthe1500kParetentionathigh
claycontents.Ifastrongrodcanbeformed,thewatercontentusuallyexceedsthe1500kParetention.Thesameis
probablytrueforaweakrod.Anadjustmentisnecessaryifmaterialof2to0.5mmispresentbecausetheplastic
limitismeasuredonmaterialthatpassesanumber40sieve(0.43mmindiameter).

Ribbontest.Thesoilmaterialissmearedoutbetweenthumbandfirstfingertoformaflattenedbodyabout2mm
ofthickness.Theminimumlengthofacoherentunitrequiredforrecognitionofaribbonis2cm.Ifthemaximum
lengthis2to4cm,theribbonisweak.Ifthemaximumlengthequalsorexceeds4cm,theribbonisstrong.

Toestablishcriteriabasedontheforegoingtestsitishighlydesirabletoapplythetestsfirsttosoilmaterialsthatare
knowntobeatwaterstateclasslimits.Theapproachwouldparallelthatusedtomaintainqualitycontroloffield
textureevaluation.Thefirststeptoobtainsuchsamplesistoestablishgravimetricwatercontentsfortheclasslimits
(table32).Soilmaterialispreparedatthesewatercontents.Aknownweightofsoilmaterialatameasured,initially
higher,watercontentthanthedesiredfinalcontentisplacedinacommercial,nylonovencookingbag.Thesebags
passfrom1to10gramsperhourofwateratroomtemperature,dependingonthesize,theairtemperature,
humidity,andmovement.Waterlossfromthebagiscontinueduntilthepredeterminedweight(hence,desired
watercontent)isreached.Iflongtermstorageisdesired,thesoilisnexttransferredtoglasscanningjars.Thesoil
materialeithermaybedriedfromaninitiallyhigherfieldwatercontentafterpassingthroughanumber4sieve(4.8
mm)ormaybeairdried,ground,wettedtoabovethedesiredfinalwatercontent,andthendried.Itispreferable
topassthesoilthroughanumber4sieve(4.8mm)ratherthananumber10(2mm).Thenaturalorganizationis
retainedtoagreaterextent.Asaresult,thecalibrationsamplefeelsmorelikeitwouldunderfieldconditions.For
thehighersuctions,considerationshouldbegiventostorageofthesoilmaterialforadayortwoafterthewater
contentreductiontoimproveequilibration.

Generalrelationshipsoftheteststowaterstate,withtheexceptionoftherelationshipoftherodtestto1500kPa
retention,havenotbeenformulatedandareprobablynotfeasible.Thetestsmaybeappliedtogroupingsofsoils
basedoncomposition,andthenlocallyapplicablefieldcriteriacanbeformulated.Table33illustratesmuchofthe
rangeintestresultsthatmaybeexpectedwithinasoilsurveyincentralNebraska.

Table33.Waterstatecalibrationtestsonthreesoilmaterialsdifferingintexturefromcentral
Nebraska.

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NaturalDrainageClasses

Naturaldrainageclassreferstothe
frequencyanddurationofwet
periodsunderconditionssimilarto
thoseunderwhichthesoil
developed.Alterationofthewater
regimebyman,eitherthrough
drainageorirrigation,isnota
considerationunlessthe
alterationshavesignificantly
changedthemorphologyofthe
soil.Theclassesfollow:

Excessivelydrained.
Waterisremovedvery
rapidly.Theoccurrenceof
internalfreewater
commonlyisveryrareor
verydeep.Thesoilsare
commonlycoarsetextured
andhaveveryhigh
hydraulicconductivityorare
veryshallow.

Somewhatexcessively
drained.Waterisremoved
fromthesoilrapidly.
Internalfreewater
occurrencecommonlyisveryrareorverydeep.Thesoilsarecommonlycoarsetexturedandhavehigh
saturatedhydraulicconductivityorareveryshallow.

Welldrained.Waterisremovedfromthesoilreadilybutnotrapidly.Internalfreewateroccurrence
commonlyisdeeporverydeepannualdurationisnotspecified.Waterisavailabletoplants
throughoutmostofthegrowingseasoninhumidregions.Wetnessdoesnotinhibitgrowthofrootsfor
significantperiodsduringmostgrowingseasons.Thesoilsaremainlyfreeofthedeeptoredoximorphic
featuresthatarerelatedtowetness.

Moderatelywelldrained.Waterisremovedfromthesoilsomewhatslowlyduringsomeperiodsof
theyear.Internalfreewateroccurrencecommonlyismoderatelydeepandtransitorythrough
permanent.Thesoilsarewetforonlyashorttimewithintherootingdepthduringthegrowingseason,
butlongenoughthatmostmesophyticcropsareaffected.Theycommonlyhaveamoderatelylowor
lowersaturatedhydraulicconductivityinalayerwithintheupper1m,periodicallyreceivehighrainfall,
orboth.

Somewhatpoorlydrained.Waterisremovedslowlysothatthesoiliswetatashallowdepthfor
significantperiodsduringthegrowingseason.Theoccurrenceofinternalfreewatercommonlyis
shallowtomoderatelydeepandtransitorytopermanent.Wetnessmarkedlyrestrictsthegrowthof
mesophyticcrops,unlessartificialdrainageisprovided.Thesoilscommonlyhaveoneormoreofthe
followingcharacteristics:loworverylowsaturatedhydraulicconductivity,ahighwatertable,additional
waterfromseepage,ornearlycontinuousrainfall.

Poorlydrained.Waterisremovedsoslowlythatthesoiliswetatshallowdepthsperiodicallyduring
thegrowingseasonorremainswetforlongperiods.Theoccurrenceofinternalfreewaterisshallowor
veryshallowandcommonorpersistent.Freewateriscommonlyatornearthesurfacelongenough
duringthegrowingseasonsothatmostmesophyticcropscannotbegrown,unlessthesoilisartificially
drained.Thesoil,however,isnotcontinuouslywetdirectlybelowplowdepth.Freewateratshallow
depthisusuallypresent.Thiswatertableiscommonlytheresultofloworverylowsaturatedhydraulic
conductivityofnearlycontinuousrainfall,orofacombinationofthese.

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Verypoorlydrained.Waterisremovedfromthesoilsoslowlythatfreewaterremainsatorverynear
thegroundsurfaceduringmuchofthegrowingseason.Theoccurrenceofinternalfreewaterisvery
shallowandpersistentorpermanent.Unlessthesoilisartificiallydrained,mostmesophyticcrops
cannotbegrown.Thesoilsarecommonlylevelordepressedandfrequentlyponded.Ifrainfallishigh
ornearlycontinuous,slopegradientsmaybegreater.

InundationOccurrence

Table34containsclassesforfrequencyandfordurationofinundation.Arecordofthemonth(s)duringwhichthe
inundationoccursmaybeuseful.Maximumdepthoftheinundation,aswellastheflowvelocity,maybehelpful.

Table34.Frequencyanddurationofinundationclasses

Class Criteria

Frequency

None(N) Noreasonablepossibility

Rare(R) 1to5timesin100years

Occasional(O) 5to50timesin100years

Frequent(F) >50timesin100years

Common(C) Occasionalandfrequentcanbegroupedforcertainpurposesandcalledcommon

Duration

ExtremelyBrief(BE) <4hours(floodingonly)

VeryBrief(BV) 448hours

Brief(B) 27days

Long(L) 7daysto1month

VeryLong(LV) >1month

InternalFreeWaterOccurrence

Table35containsclassesforthedescriptionoffreewaterregimeinsoils.Thetermfreewateroccurrenceisused
insteadofsatiatedwetinordertofacilitatediscussionofinterpretations.Classesareprovidedforinternalfreewater
occurrencethatdescribethicknessifperched,depthtotheupperboundary,andtheaggregatetimepresentinthe
calendaryear.Thefreewaterneedbepresentonlyinsomepartsofthehorizonorlayertoberecognized.Ifnot
designatedasperched,itisassumedthatthezoneoffreewateroccursinallhorizonsorlayersfromitsupper
boundarytobelow2metersortothedepthofobservation.Furthermore,artesianeffectsmaybenoted.

Table35.Internalfreewateroccurrenceclasses

Classes Criteria

Thicknessifperched

ExtremelyThin(TE) <10cm

VeryThin(TE) 10to30cm

Thin(T) 30cmto1m

Thick(TK) >1m

Depth

VeryShallow(SV) <25cm

Shallow(S) 25to50cm

ModeratelyDeep(DM) 50cmto1m

Deep(D) 1.0to1.5m

VeryDeep(DV) >1.5m

CumulativeAnnualPattern

Absent(A) Notobserved

VeryTransitory(TV) Present<1month

Transitory(T) Present1to3months

Common(C) Present3to6months

Persistent(PS) Present6to12months

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Permanent(PM) PresentContinuously

WaterStateAnnualPattern

Thewaterstateannualpatternisadescriptionoffieldsoilwaterovertheyearasappliedtohorizons,layers,orto
standarddepthzones.Usingtheclassesofinternalwaterstatesandofinundation,table36containsexamples.
Usuallytheuseofthesoilisindicatedandthetimeintervalisatleastmonthly.Moregeneralrecordsmaybe
constructedbasedonlessspecificsoilusesandonsoilconceptsatahighercategoricallevel.Recordsmaybe
constructedforclassesofrelativeprecipitation:wetthewettest2yearsin10drythedriest2yearsin10and
averagetheconditions6yearsin10.Unlessotherwiseindicated,theclassplacementforrelativeprecipitation
wouldbebasedonthemorecriticalpartofthegrowingseasonforthevegetationspecifiedintheuse.The
frequencyanddurationthatthesoilisinundatedeachmonthmaybegiven.

Table36.Illustrativewaterstateannualpattern.(Symbolsaredefinedintable32.)

Average6yearsin10

Depth(cm) :Jan :Feb :Mar :Apr :May :Jun :Jul :Aug :Sep :Oct :Nov :Dec

Fine,montmorillonitic,mesicTypicArgiudolla

025 :MM :MM :MM :MM :MM :MM :MS :DS :DS :MS :MM :MM

:F :F : : : : : : : : : :F

2550 :MM :MM :MM :MM :MM :MM :MM :MS :MS :MS :MS :MM

:F :F :F : : : : : : : : :

50100 :MS :MS :MM :MM :MM :MM :MS :MS :MS :MS :MS :MS

100150 :MM :MM :MM :MM :MM :MM :MM :MM :MM :MM :MM :MM

150200 :MM :MM :MM :MM :MM :MM :MM :MM :MM :MM :MM :MM

Fineloamy,mixed,thermicTypicHaploxeralfb

030 :MM :MS :MS :DS :DS :D1c :D1 :D1 :D1 :D1 :D1 :MS

3070 :MM :MM :MM :MM :MS :DS :D1 :D1 :D1 :DS :MS :MM

70100 :MV :MV :MM :MM :MM :MM :MS :D1 :D1 :D1 :D1 :MS

120170 :MM :MM :MM :MS :MS :MS :MS :D1 :D1 :D1 :DS :MS

Driest2yearsin10

Depth(cm) :Jan :Feb :Mar :Apr :May :Jun :Jul :Aug :Sep :Oct :Nov :Dec

Fine,montmorillonitic,mesicTypicArgiudolla

025 :MM :MM :MM :MM :MM :MS :DS :DS :DS :MS :MS :MM

:F :F : : : : : : : : : :F

2550 :MS :MS :MS :MS :MS :MS :MS :MS :MS :MS :MS :MS

:F :F :F : : : : : : : : :

50100 :MS :MS :MS :MM :MM :MS :MS :MS :MS :MS :MS :MS

100150 :MM :MM :MM :MM :MM :MM :MM :MM :MM :MM :MM :MM

150200 :MM :MM :MM :MM :MM :MM :MM :MM :MM :MM :MM :MM

Fineloamy,mixed,thermicTypicHaploxeralfb

030 :MS :MM :MS :MS :DS :DS :D1 :D1 :D1 :D1 :D1 :DS

3070 :MM :MM :MM :MM :MS :DS :D1 :D1 :D1 :D1 :MS :MS

70100 :MS :MM :MM :MM :MM :MM :MS :D1 :D1 :D1 :D1 :DS

120170 :MS :MM :MS :MS :MS :MS :MS :D1 :D1 :D1 :D1 :D1

Wettest2yearsin10

Depth(cm) :Jan :Feb :Mar :Apr :May :Jun :Jul :Aug :Sep :Oct :Nov :Dec

Fine,montmorillonitic,mesicTypicArgiudolla

025 :MM :MM :MV :MV :MV :MM :MM :MM :MM :MM :MM :MM

:F :F : : : : : : : : : :F

2550 :MM :MM :MV :MV :MM :MM :MM :MM :MM :MM :MM :MM

:F :F :F : : : : : : : : :

50100 :MM :MM :MM :MM :MM :MM :MM :MM :MM :MM :MM :MM

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100150 :MM :MM :MM :MM :MM :MM :MM :MM :MM :MM :MM :MM

150200 :MM :MM :MM :MM :MM :MM :MM :MM :MM :MM :MM :MM

Fineloamy,mixed,thermicTypicHaploxeralfb

030 :MM :MM :MM :MS :DS :DS :D1 :D1 :D1 :DS :MS :MM

3070 :MV :MV :MM :MM :MS :DS :D1 :D1 :D1 :DS :MM

70100 :MV :MV :MM :MM :MM :MM :MS :D1 :D1 :D1 :MS :MM

120170 :MM :MM :MS :MS :MS :MS :MS :D1 :D1 :D1 :DS :MS

a.OtoeCounty,Nebraska(Sautter,1982).Sharpsburgsiltyclayloam,25percentslopes.Corn(Zeamays)following
corn.Assume:contoured,terraced,over20percentresiduecover.DisktwiceinApril.Fieldcultivateonce.PlantMay1
15.Cultivateonceortwice.HarvestNovember115.Cattlegrazeafterharvest.BasedonadiscussionwithH.E.Sautter,
soilscientist(retired),Syracuse,Nebraska.Monthlywaterstatesbasedonlongtermfieldmappingexperienceand
waterbalancecomputations.TheSharpsburgsoilseriespertainstothemapunitillustrativeofaconsociation(appendix).

b.SanDiegoArea,California(Bowman,1973).MeanannualprecipitationatEscondidois344mmandatThornwaite
potentialevaporationis840mm.StudyareainFallbrooksandyloam,5to9percentslopes,eroded.Thestudyareahas
slightlygreaterslopethantheupperlimitofthemapunit.Vegetationisannualrange,faircondition.Generalizations
weremadeoriginallyforthe1983NationalSoilSurveyConferencebasedonfieldmeasurementsin1966byNettletonet
al(1968),asinterpretedbyR.A.Dierking,soilcorrelator,Portland,Oregon.Atthetime,moderatelydryandverydry
werenotdistinguished.

c.D1=DV+DM.

WaterMovement

Watermovementconcernsratesofflowintoandwithinthesoilandtherelatedamountofwaterthatrunsoffand
doesnotenterthesoil.Saturatedhydraulicconductivity,infiltrationrate,andsurfacerunoffarepartofthe
evaluation.

SaturatedHydraulicConductivity

Watermovementinsoiliscontrolledbytwofactors:1)theresistanceofthesoilmatrixtowaterflowand2)the
forcesactingoneachelementorunitofsoilwater.Darcyslaw,thefundamentalequationdescribingwater
movementinsoil,relatestheflowratetothesetwofactors.Mathematically,thegeneralstatementofDarcyslawfor
vertical,saturatedflowis:

Q/At=KsatdH/dz

wheretheflowrateQ/Atiswhatsoilphysicistscallthefluxdensity,i.e.,thequantityofwaterQmovingpastanarea
A,perpendiculartothedirectionofflow,inatimet.TheverticalsaturatedhydraulicconductivityKsatisthe
reciprocal,orinverse,oftheresistanceofthesoilmatrixtowaterflow.ThetermdH/dzisthehydraulicgradient,the
drivingforcecausingwatertomoveinsoil,thenetresultofallforcesactingonthesoilwater.Rateofwater
movementistheproductofthehydraulicconductivityandthehydraulicgradient.

Adistinctionismadebetweensaturatedandunsaturatedhydraulicconductivity.Saturatedflowoccurswhenthesoil
waterpressureispositivethatis,whenthesoilmatricpotentialiszero(satiatedwetcondition).Inmostsoilsthis
situationtakesplacewhenabout95percentofthetotalporespaceisfilledwithwater.Theremaining5percentis
filledwithentrappedair.Ifthesoilremainssaturatedforalongtime(severalmonthsorlonger)thepercentofthe
totalporespacefilledwithwatermayapproach100.Saturatedhydraulicconductivitycannotbeusedtodescribe
watermovementunderunsaturatedconditions.

TheverticalsaturatedhydraulicconductivityKsatisofinteresthereitisthefactorrelatingsoilwaterflowrate(flux
density)tothehydraulicgradientandisameasureoftheeaseofwatermovementinsoil.Ksatisthereciprocalof
theresistanceofsoiltowatermovement.Astheresistanceincreases,thehydraulicconductivitydecreases.
Resistancetowatermovementinsaturatedsoilisprimarilyafunctionofthearrangementandsizedistributionof
pores.Large,continuousporeshavealowerresistancetoflow(andthusahigherconductivity)thansmallor
discontinuouspores.Soilswithhighclaycontentgenerallyhavelowerhydraulicconductivitiesthansandysoils
becausetheporesizedistributioninsandysoilfavorslargeporeseventhoughsandysoilsusuallyhavehigherbulk
densitiesandlowertotalporosities(totalporespace)thanclayeysoils.AsillustratedbyPoiseuilleslaw,the
resistancetoflowinatubevariesasthesquareoftheradius.Thus,asasoilporeorchanneldoublesinsize,its
resistancetoflowisreducedbyafactorof4inotherwordsitshydraulicconductivityincreases4fold.

Hydraulicconductivityisahighlyvariablesoilproperty.Measuredvalueseasilymayvaryby10foldormorefora
particularsoilseries.Valuesmeasuredonsoilsamplestakenwithincentimetersofoneanothermayvaryby10fold
ormore.Inaddition,measuredhydraulicconductivityvaluesforasoilmayvarydramaticallywiththemethodused
formeasurement.Laboratorydeterminedvaluesrarelyagreewithfieldmeasurements,thedifferencesoftenbeing
ontheorderof100foldormore.Fieldmethodsgenerallyaremorereliablethanlaboratorymethods.

Becauseofthehighlyvariablenatureofsoilhydraulicconductivity,asinglemeasuredvalueisanunreliableindicator
ofthehydraulicconductivityofasoil.Anaverageofseveralvalueswillgiveareliableestimatewhichcanbeusedto
placethesoilinaparticularhydraulicconductivityclass.Logaverages(geometricmeans)shouldbeusedrather
thanarithmeticaveragesbecausehydraulicconductivityisalognormallydistributedproperty.Theantilogofthe
averageofthelogarithmsofindividualconductivityvaluesisthelogaverage,orgeometricmean,andshouldbe
usedtoplaceasoilintotheappropriatehydraulicconductivityclass.Logaveragesarelowerthanarithmetic
averages.

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Hydraulicconductivityclassesinthismanualaredefinedintermsofvertical,saturatedhydraulicconductivity.Table
37definesthevertical,saturatedhydraulicconductivityclasses.Thesaturatedhydraulicconductivityclassesinthis
manualhaveawiderrangeofvaluesthantheclassesofeitherthe1951SoilSurveyManualorthe1971
EngineeringGuide.Thedimensionsofhydraulicconductivityvarydependingonwhetherthehydraulicgradientand
fluxdensityhavemass,weight,orvolumebases.Valuescanbeconvertedfromonebasistoanotherwiththe
appropriateconversionfactor.Usually,thehydraulicgradientisgivenonaweightbasisandthefluxdensityona
volumebasisandthedimensionsofKsatarelengthpertime.ThecorrectSIunitsthusaremeterspersecond 6.
MicrometerspersecondarealsoacceptableSIunitsandaremoreconvenient(table37).Table38givestheclass
limitsincommonlyusedunits.

Table37.Saturatedhydraulicconductivityclasses

Class Ksat(?m/s)

VeryHigh ?100

High 10100

ModeratelyHigh 110

ModeratelyLow 0.11

Low 0.010.1

VeryLow <0.01

Hydraulicconductivitydoesnotdescribethecapacityofsoilsintheirnaturalsettingtodisposeofwaterinternally.A
soilplacedinaveryhighclassmaycontainfreewaterbecausetherearerestrictinglayersbelowthesoilorbecause
thesoilisinadepressionwherewaterfromsurroundingareasaccumulatesfasterthanitcanpassthroughthesoil.
ThewatermayactuallymoveveryslowlydespiteahighKsat.

Table38.Saturatedhydraulicconductivityclasslimitsinequivalentunits

m/s m/s cm/day in/hr cm/hr kgsm 3 m 3 skg3

100 = 104 864. 14.17 36.0 1.02X102 1.02X108

10 = 105 86.4 1.417 3.60 1.02X103 1.02X109

1 = 106 8.64 0.1417 0.360 1.02X104 1.02X1010

0.1 = 107 0.864 0.01417 0.0360 1.02X105 1.02X1011

0.01 = 108 0.0864 0.001417 0.00360 1.02X106 1.02X1012

GuidelinesforK satClassPlacement

MeasuredvaluesofKsatareavailablefromtheliteratureorfromresearchersworkingonthesameorsimilarsoils.If
measuredvaluesareavailable,theirgeometricmeansshouldbeusedforclassplacement.

Saturatedhydraulicconductivityisafairlyeasy,inexpensive,andstraightforwardmeasurement.Ifmeasuredvalues
areunavailable,aprojecttomakemeasurementsshouldbeconsidered.Fieldmethodsarethemostreliable.
StandardmethodsformeasurementofKsataredescribedinAgronomyMonographNo.9(KluteandDirksen,1986,
andAmoozegarandWarrick,1986)andinSSIR38(Boumaetal.,1982).

VariousresearchershaveattemptedtoestimateKsatbasedonvarioussoilproperties.Theseestimationmethods
usuallyuseoneormoreofthefollowingsoilphysicalproperties:surfacearea,texture,structure,bulkdensity,and
micromorphology.Thesuccessoftheindividualmethodsvaries.Oftenamethoddoesfairlywellinalocalizedarea.
Noonemethodworksreallywellforallsoils.Sometimes,measurementofthepredictorvariablesismoredifficult
thanmeasurementofhydraulicconductivity.Generally,adjustmentsmustbemadeforunusualcircumstances
suchashighsodiumconcentrations,certainclaymineralogies,andthepresenceofcoarsefragments,fragipans,and
othermiscellaneousfeatures.

Themethodpresentedhereisverygeneral(RawlsandBrakensiek,1983).Ithasbeendevelopedfromastatistical
analysisofseveralthousandmeasurementsinavarietyofsoils.Becausethemethodisintendedforawide
application,itmustbeusedlocallywithcaution.Theresults,often,mustbeadjustedbasedonexperienceandlocal
conditions.

Figure311consistsofthreetexturaltrianglesthatcanbeusedforKsatclassplacement,basedonsoilbulkdensity
andtexture.Thecentertriangleisforusewithsoilshavingmediumoraveragebulkdensities.Thetrianglesbelow
areforsoilswithhighandlowbulkdensities.

Figure312canbeusedtohelpdeterminewhichtriangleinfigure311touse.Ineachofthetriangles,
interpolationoftheisobulkdensitylinesyieldsabulkdensityvaluefortheparticularsoiltexture.Thetrianglethat

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providesthevalueclosesttothemeasuredorestimatedbulkdensitydeterminesthecorrespondingtrianglein
figure311thatshouldbeused.

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Thehydraulic
conductivityofa
particularsoilhorizonis
estimatedbyfindingthe
triangle(fig.311),
basedontextureand
bulkdensity,towhich
thehorizonbelongs.The
bulkdensityclassto
whichthehorizon
belongsinFig.311
determinesthetriangle
tobeusedinFig.312.
TheKsatclasscanbe
determinedimmediately
fromtheshadingofthe
triangle.Anumerical
valueofKsatcanbe
estimatedby
interpolatingbetween
theisoKsatlines
however,thevalues
shouldbeusedwith
caution.Thevalues
shouldbeusedonlyto
compareclassesofsoils
andnotasanindication
oftheKsatofaparticularsite.Ifsitevaluesareneeded,itisalwaysbesttomakeseveralmeasurementsatthesite.

TheKsatvaluesgivenbytheaboveproceduremayneedtobeadjustedbasedonotherknownsoilproperties.
Currently,thereislittleinformationavailabletoprovideadequateguidelinesforadjustingtheestimatedKsat.The
soilscientistmustusebestjudgementbasedonexperienceandtheobservedbehavioroftheparticularsoil.

Hydraulicconductivitycanbegivenforthesoilasawhole,foraparticularhorizon,orforacombinationofhorizons.
Thehorizonwiththelowestvaluedeterminesthehydraulicconductivityclassificationforthewholesoil.Ifan
appreciablethicknessofsoilaboveorbelowthehorizonwiththelowestvaluehassignificantlyhigherconductivity,
thenestimatesforbothpartsareusuallygiven.

Infiltration

Infiltrationistheprocessofdownwardwaterentryintothesoil.Thevaluesareusuallysensitivetonearsurface
conditionsaswellastotheantecedentwaterstate.Hence,theyaresubjecttosignificantchangewithsoiluseand
managementandtime.

Infiltrationstages.Threestagesofinfiltrationmayberecognizedpreponded,transientponded,andsteady
ponded.Prepondedinfiltrationpertainstodownwardwaterentryintothesoilunderconditionsthatfreewateris
absentonthelandsurface.Therateofwateradditiondeterminestherateofwaterentry.Ifrainfallintensity
increasestwofold,thentheinfiltrationincreasestwofold.Inthisstage,surfaceconnectedmacroporesarerelatively
ineffectiveintransportingwaterdownward.Norunoffoccursduringthisstage.

Aswateradditioncontinues,thepointmaybereachedwherefreewateroccursonthegroundsurface.This
conditioniscalledponding.Theterminthiscontextislessrestrictivethanitsuseininundation.Thefreewatermay
berestrictedtodepressionsandbeabsentfromthemajorityofthegroundsurface.Oncepondinghastakenplace,
thecontrolovertheinfiltrationshiftsfromtherateofwateradditiontocharacteristicsofthesoil.Surfaceconnected
nonmatrixandsubsurfaceinitiatedcracksthenbecomeeffectiveintransportingwaterdownward.

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Infiltrationunderconditionswherefreewaterispresentonthegroundsurfaceisreferredtoaspondedinfiltration.
Intheinitialstagesofpondedinfiltration,therateofwaterentryusuallydecreasesappreciablywithtimebecauseof
thedeeperwettingofthesoil,whichresultsinareducedsuctiongradient,andtheclosingofcracksandother
surfaceconnectedmacropores.Transientpondedinfiltrationisthestageatwhichthepondedinfiltrationdecreases
markedlywithtime.Afterlongcontinuedwettingunderpondedconditions,therateofinfiltrationbecomessteady.
Thisstageisreferredtoassteadypondedinfiltration.Surfaceconnectedcrackswouldbeclosed,ifreversible.The
suctiongradientwouldbesmallandthedrivingforcereducedtonearthatofthegravitationalgradient.Assuming
theabsenceoficeandofzonesoffreewaterwithinmoderatedepthsandthatsurfaceornearsurfacefeatures
(crust,forexample)donotcontrolinfiltration,theminimumsaturatedhydraulicconductivitywithinadepthof1/2
to1metershouldbeausefulpredictorofsteadypondedinfiltrationrate.

MinimumAnnualSteadyPondedInfiltration.Thesteadypondedinfiltrationratewhilethesoilisinthe
wetteststatethatregularlyoccurswhilenotfrozeniscalledtheminimumannualsteadypondedinfiltrationrate.
Thequantityissubjecttoreductionbecauseofthepresenceoffreewateratshallowdepthsifthisisapredictable
featureofthesoil.Allowancefortheeffectoffreewaterdifferentiatesthequantityfromminimumsaturated
hydraulicconductivityfortheuppermeterofthesoil.Theminimumannualsteadypondedinfiltrationratehas
applicationforpredictionofrunoffatthewettesttimesoftheyearwhentherunoffpotentialshouldbethehighest.

Hydrologicsoilgroups.HydrologicsoilgroupsareemployedinthecomputationofrunoffbytheCurveNumber
method.Minimumannualsteadypondedinfiltrationrateforabaregroundsurfacedeterminesthehydrologicsoil
groups.Table39containscriteriaforclassplacement.

Table39.Criteriaforplacementofhydrologicsoilgroups

Hydrologic
Criteriaa
SoilGroup

A Saturatedhydraulicconductivityisveryhighorintheupperhalfofhighandinternalfreewater
occurrenceisverydeep

B Saturatedhydraulicconductivityisinthelowerhalfofhighorintheupperhalfofmoderatelyhighand
freewateroccurrenceisdeeporverydeep.

C Saturatedhydraulicconductivityisinthelowerhalfofmoderatelyhighorintheupperhalfof
moderatelylowandinternalfreewateroccurrenceisdeeperthanshallow.

D Saturatedhydraulicconductivityisbelowtheupperhalfofmoderatelylow,and/orinternalfreewater
occurrenceisshalloworveryshallowandtransitorythroughpermanent.

a.Thecriteriaareguidelinesonly.Theyarebasedontheassumptionthattheminimumsaturatedhydraulicconductivity
occurswithintheuppermost0.5m.Iftheminimumoccursbetween0.5and1m,thensaturatedhydraulicconductivity
forthepurposeofplacementisincreasedoneclass.Iftheminimumoccursbelow1m,thenthevalueforthesoilis
basedonvaluesabove1musingtherulesaspreviouslygiven.

TheGreenAmptmodelisanexampleofamodelusedtocomputeinfiltrationrate.Themodelassumesthat
infiltratingwateruniformlywetstoadepthandstopsabruptlyatafront.Thisfrontmovesdownwardasinfiltration
proceeds.Thesoilabovethewettingfrontisinthesatiatedwetconditionthroughoutthewettedzone.

Theequation(RawlsandBrackensick,1983)todescribeinfiltrationis:

f=Ka[1+(MxS)/F]

Kaisthehydraulicconductivityforsatiated,butnotnecessarilysaturatedconditionsMistheporosityataparticular
waterstatethatisavailabletobefilledwithwaterSistheeffectivesuctionatthewettingfrontandFisthe
cumulativeinfiltration.Thehydraulicconductivityatsatiationissomewhatlowerthanthesaturatedvaluebecauseof
thepresenceofentrappedair.Theavailableporosity,M,changesforsurficialhorizonswiththebulkdensityandfor
allhorizonswiththewaterstate.Itis,therefore,sensitivetosoilusewhichmayaffectbothbulkdensityofsurficial
horizonsandtheantecedentwaterstate.ThevalueofS,theeffectivesuctionheadatthewettingfront,is
determinedlargelybythetextureandisatabulatedquantity.Thecumulativeinfiltration,F,increaseswithtimeas
infiltrationproceeds.Aconsequenceoftheincreaseinthecumulativeinfiltrationisthattheinfiltrationrate,f,
decreaseswithtime.Asthecumulativeinfiltrationbecomeslargeandthedepthofwettingconsiderable,the
infiltrationrateshouldapproachthevalueofthehydraulicconductivityforthesatiatedcondition.

SurfaceRunoff

Surfacerunoffreferstothelossofwaterfromanareabyflowoverthelandsurface.Surfacerunoffdiffersfrom
subsurfacefloworinterflowthatresultswheninfiltratedwaterencountersazonewithlowerperviousnessthanthe
soilabove.Thewateraccumulatesabovethislessperviouszoneandmaymovelaterallyifconditionsarefavorable
fortheoccurrenceoffreewater.

IndexSurfaceRunoffClasses.Historically,asetofrunoffclasseshavebeenemployedasdeterminedbythe
characteristicsofsoilslope,climate,andcover(SoilSurveyStaff,1951).Table310containsasetofclassesthat
parallelthesenseofhowthepreviousrunoffclasseswereappliedbutwithsomechangesinthewrittendefinitions.
Thecurrentconceptisreferredtoasindexsurfacerunoff.Theconceptindicatesrelativerunoffforveryspecific
conditions.Thesoilsurfaceisassumedtobebareandsurfacewaterretentionduetoirregularitiesintheground
surfaceislow.Steadypondedinfiltrationrateistheapplicableinfiltrationstage.Iceisassumedtobeabsentunless
otherwiseindicated.Finally,boththemaximumbulkdensityintheupper25cmandthebulkdensityofthe
uppermostfewcentimetersareassumedwithinthelimitsspecifiedforthemappingconcept.

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Theconceptassumesastandardstormoramountofwateradditionfromsnowmeltof50mmina24hourperiod
withnomorethan25mminanysingle1hourperiod.Additionally,astandardizedantecedentwaterstatecondition
priortothewateradditionisassumed:thesoilisconceivedtobeverymoistorwettothebaseofthesoil,to1/2m,
orthroughthehorizonorlayerwithminimumsaturatedhydraulicconductivitywithin1meter,whicheveristhe
greatestdepth.Iftheminimumsaturatedhydraulicconductivityofthesoiloccursbelow1meter,itisdisregarded
andtheminimumtoandincluding1misemployed.Forsoilswithseasonalshalloworveryshallowfreewater,
verylowsaturatedhydraulicconductivityisassumedintheapplicationoftheguidelinesintable310.

Table310.Indexsurfacerunoffclassesbasedonslopegradientandsaturatedhydraulicconductivity

SlopeGradienttable319

SaturatedHydraulicConductivityClassa,b

Pct. VeryHigh High Mod.High Mod.Low Low VeryLow

Concavec N N N N N N

<1 N N N L M H

1to5 N LV L M H HV

5to10 LV L M H HV HV

10to20 LV L M H HV HV

?20 L M H HV HV HV

a.Abbreviations:NegligibleNVeryLowLVLowLMediumMHighHandVeryHighHV.

b.ConsultTable37fordefinitions.Assumesthatthelowestvalueforthesoiloccursabove1/2m.Ifthelowestvalue
occurs1/2to1m,thenreducerunoffbyoneclass(mediumtoslow,forexample).Ifitoccurs>1m,thenusethe
lowestsaturatedhydraulicconductivity<1m.

c.Areasfromwhichnoorverylittlewaterescapesbyflowoverthegroundsurface.

Classplacement(table310)dependsonlyonslopeandonsaturatedhydraulicconductivity.Table310isbasedon
theminimumsaturatedhydraulicconductivityforthesoilatorabove1/2m.Iftheminimumforthesoiloccurs
between1/2and1m,therunoffshouldbereducedbyoneclass(frommediumtolow,forexample).Ifthelowest
saturatedhydraulicconductivityoccursat1mordeeper,thelowestvalueto1mdepthshouldbeemployedrather
thanthelowestvalueforthesoil.

Hydrologicmodels.Thesetofindexsurfacerunoffclassesarerelativeandnotquantitative.Actualrunoff
estimatesrequirequitedifferentapproaches.Tomakequantitativesurfacerunoffestimatesrequiresapplicationofa
hydrologicmodeltoawatershed.Mosthydrologicmodelsinvolveabalancingbetweenprecipitationandinfiltration
rateswithrunoffbeingthedifferenceafteracorrectionforretentionofwateronthelandsurfaceandonvegetation.
Inthemorerigorousmodels,theinfiltrationispredictedfromsoilphysicalquantitiesandestimatesofinfiltration,
evapotranspiration,anddeeppercolationareusedtopredictcontinuouslythesoilwaterstate.

Anempiricalmodelincurrentuseisbasedonananalysisofalargenumberofrunoffeventsforwatersheds(Soil
ConservationService,1972).Afamilyofcurveswasformulatedfromthesedatatoshowtherelationshipbetween
cumulativedailyrunoffandcumulativedailyrainfall.Eachofthefamilyofcurvesisnumberedhencethename,
CurveNumberModel.Thecurvesthatdescribetherunoffprecipitationrelationshipareaffectedbythesumofthe
removalsfromtherainfallbyinfiltration,byretentiononvegetation,andbystorageindepressionsontheland
surface.Ifnoremovaloftheaddedwaterhasoccurred,thentherelationshipbetweendailyrunoffanddailyrainfall
isastraightlineat45degrees.Astheremovalincreases,thedeparturefroma45degreelineincreases.Thespecific
curvetoemployisdeterminedbyevaluationofthesefactors:theassumedgroundsurfaceconditionsasdetermined
bythevegetationandculturalpractices,thehydrologicsoilgroup(table39),andthewaterstoragecapacity.The
firstfactorisevaluatedfromlanduse,vegetation,andlandtreatmentorfarmingpractices.Thesecondisan
assessmentcommonlymadeforasoilseries.Thethirdfactorisevaluatedfromtherainfallevaporationbalancefor
severaldaysprecedingtheprecipitationevent.

SoilTemperature
Soiltemperatureexertsastronginfluenceonbiologicalactivities.Italsoinfluencestheratesofchemicalandphysical
processeswithinthesoil.Whenthesoilisfrozen,biologicalactivitiesandchemicalprocessesessentiallystop.Physical
processesthatareassociatedwithiceformationareactiveifunfrozenzonesareassociatedwithfreezingzones.
Belowasoiltemperatureofabout5C,growthofrootsofmostplantsisnegligible.Inareaswheresoilshave
permanentlyfrozenlayersnearthesurface,however,evenlargerootsofadaptedplantsarepresentimmediately
abovethefrozenlayerlateinthesummer.Mostplantsgrowbestwithinarestrictedrangeofsoilandair
temperature.Knowledgeofsoilandairtemperatureisessentialinunderstandingsoilplantrelationships.
Temperaturechangeswithtime,asdoesthesoilwaterstate.Itgenerallydiffersfromlayertolayeratanygiven
time.

CharacteristicsofSoilTemperature

Heatisbothabsorbedatandlostfromthesurfaceofthesoil.Temperatureatthesurfacecanchangeindailycycles.
Thesoiltransmitsheatdownwardwhenthetemperaturenearthesurfaceishigherthanthetemperaturebelowand
heatupwardwhenthetemperatureiswarmerwithinthesoilthanatthesurface.Soiltemperaturesatvarious
depthswithinthesoilfollowcycles.Thecyclesdeeperinthesoillagbehindthosenearthesurface.Thedailycycles
decreaseinamplitudeasdepthincreasesandarescarcelymeasurablebelow50cminmostsoils.Seasonalcyclesare
evidenttomuchgreaterdepthsifseasonalairtemperaturedifferencesarepronounced,butthetemperatureata

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depthof10misnearlyconstantinmostsoilsandisaboutthesameasthemeanannualtemperatureofthesoil
above.

Soiltemperaturevariesfromlayertolayeratagivensiteatagiventimeyet,iftheaverageannualtemperaturesat
differentdepthsinthesamepedonarecompared,theyusuallydonotdiffer.Meanannualtemperatureisoneof
severalusefulvaluesthatdescribethetemperatureregimeofasoil.

Theseasonalfluctuationofsoiltemperatureisacharacteristicofasoil.Soiltemperaturefluctuateslittleseasonally
neartheequatoritfluctuateswidelyasseasonschangeinthemiddleandhighlatitudes.Meanseasonal
temperaturescanbeusedtocharacterizesoiltemperature.Seasonaltemperaturedifferencesdecreaseandthe
seasonalcycleslagprogressivelyasdepthincreases.

Forsoilsthatfreezeinwinter,soiltemperatureisinfluencedbythereleaseofheatwhenwaterchangesfromthe
liquidtothesolidform.Thisreleasesabout80caloriespergramofwater.Theheatmustbedissipatedbeforethe
waterinsoilfreezes.Therateofthawoffrozensoilsisslower,becauseheatisrequiredtowarmthesoilinorderto
melttheice.Inareasofheavysnowfall,thesnowprovidesaninsulatingblanketandsoilsdonotfreezeasdeeplyor
maynotfreezeatall.

Manyfactorsinfluencesoiltemperature.Theyincludeamount,intensity,anddistributionofprecipitationdailyand
monthlyfluctuationsinairtemperatureinsolationkinds,amounts,andpersistenceofvegetationdurationof
moisturestatesandsnowcoverkindsoforganicdepositssoilcoloraspectandgradientofslopeelevationand
groundwater.Allofthesefactorsmaybedescribedinasoilsurveyiftheyaresignificant.

EstimatingSoilTemperature

Meanannualsoiltemperatureintemperate,humid,continentalclimatescanbeapproximatedbyadding1Ctothe
meanannualairtemperaturereportedbystandardmeteorologicalstationsatlocationsrepresentativeofthesoilto
becharacterized.Themeanannualsoiltemperatureatagivenplacecanbeestimatedmorereliablybyasingle
readingatadepthof10m.Ifwaterinwellsisatdepthsbetween10and20m,thetemperatureofthewater
usuallygivesacloseestimateofmeanannualsoiltemperature.Meanannualsoiltemperaturecanalsobeestimated
closelyfromtheaverageoffourreadingsatabout50cmorgreaterdepth,equallyspacedthroughouttheyear.

Themeansoiltemperatureforsummercanbeestimatedbyaveragingthreemeasurementstakenataconstant
depthbetween50cmand1monthe15thofeachofthethreemonthsoftheseason.Similarmethodsmaybe
usedtoestimatesoiltemperatureforotherseasons.Thesemethodsgivevaluessubjecttominorvariationcaused
bydifferencesinvegetation(particularlydensityofcanopy),groundwater,snow,aspect,rain,unusualweather
conditions,andotherfactors.Testsfornearlylevel,freelydrainedsoils,bothgrasscoveredandcultivated,produce
comparablevalues.Overtheusualperiodofasoilsurvey,systematicstudiescanbemadetoestablishtemperature
relationshipsinthesurveyarea.

DesignationsforHorizonsandOtherLayers
Soilsvarywidelyinthedegreetowhichhorizonsareexpressed.Relativelyfreshgeologicformations,suchasfresh
alluvium,sanddunes,orblanketsofvolcanicash,mayhavenorecognizablegenetichorizons,althoughtheymay
havedistinctlayersthatreflectdifferentmodesofdeposition.Assoilformationproceeds,horizonsmaybedetected
intheirearlystagesonlybyverycarefulexamination.Asageincreases,horizonsgenerallyaremoreeasilyidentified
inthefield.Onlyoneortwodifferenthorizonsmaybereadilyapparentinsomeveryold,deeplyweatheredsoilsin
tropicalareaswhereannualprecipitationishigh.

Layersofdifferentkindsareidentifiedbysymbols.Designationsareprovidedforlayersthathavebeenchangedby
soilformationandforthosethathavenot.Eachhorizondesignationindicateseitherthattheoriginalmaterialhas
beenchangedincertainwaysorthattherehasbeenlittleornochange.Thedesignationisassignedafter
comparisonoftheobservedpropertiesofthelayerwithpropertiesinferredforthematerialbeforeitwasaffectedby
soilformation.Theprocessesthathavecausedthechangeneednotbeknownpropertiesofsoilsrelativetothoseof
anestimatedparentmaterialarethecriteriaforjudgment.Theparentmaterialinferredforthehorizoninquestion,
notthematerialbelowthesolum,isusedasthebasisofcomparison.Theinferredparentmaterialcommonlyisvery
similarto,orthesameas,thesoilmaterialbelowthesolum.

Designationsshowtheinvestigatorsinterpretationsofgeneticrelationshipsamongthelayerswithinasoil.Layers
neednotbeidentifiedbysymbolsforagooddescriptionyet,theusefulnessofsoildescriptionsisgreatlyenhanced
bytheproperuseofdesignations.

Designationsarenotsubstitutesfordescriptions.Ifbothdesignationsandadequatedescriptionsofasoilare
provided,thereaderhastheinterpretationmadebythepersonwhodescribedthesoilandalsotheevidenceon
whichtheinterpretationwasbased.

GenetichorizonsarenotequivalenttothediagnostichorizonsofSoilTaxonomy.Designationsofgenetichorizons
expressaqualitativejudgmentaboutthekindofchangesthatarebelievedtohavetakenplace.Diagnostichorizons
arequantitativelydefinedfeaturesusedtodifferentiateamongtaxa.Changesimpliedbygenetichorizon
designationsmaynotbelargeenoughtojustifyrecognitionofdiagnosticcriteria.Forexample,adesignationofBt
doesnotalwaysindicateanargillichorizon.Furthermore,thediagnostichorizonsmaynotbecoextensivewith
genetichorizons.

Threekindsofsymbolsareusedinvariouscombinationstodesignatehorizonsandlayers.Thesearecapitalletters,
lowercaseletters,andArabicnumerals.Capitallettersareusedtodesignatethemasterhorizonsandlayerslower
caselettersareusedassuffixestoindicatespecificcharacteristicsofmasterhorizonsandlayersandArabic
numeralsareusedbothassuffixestoindicateverticalsubdivisionswithinahorizonorlayerandasprefixesto
indicatediscontinuities.

MasterHorizonsandLayers

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ThecapitallettersO,A,E,B,C,andRrepresentthemasterhorizonsandlayersofsoils.Thecapitallettersarethe
basesymbolstowhichothercharactersareaddedtocompletethedesignations.Mosthorizonsandlayersaregiven
asinglecapitallettersymbolsomerequiretwo.

Ohorizonsorlayers:Layersdominatedbyorganicmaterial.Somearesaturatedwithwaterforlongperiodsor
wereoncesaturatedbutarenowartificiallydrainedothershaveneverbeensaturated.

SomeOlayersconsistofundecomposedorpartiallydecomposedlitter,suchasleaves,needles,twigs,moss,and
lichens,thathasbeendepositedonthesurfacetheymaybeontopofeithermineralororganicsoils.OtherO
layers,areorganicmaterialsthatweredepositedundersaturatedconditionsandhavedecomposedtovarying
stages(SoilSurveyStaff,1975).Themineralfractionofsuchmaterialisonlyasmallpercentageofthevolumeof
thematerialandgenerallyismuchlessthanhalfoftheweight.Somesoilsconsistentirelyofmaterialdesignatedas
Ohorizonsorlayers.

AnOlayermaybeonthesurfaceofamineralsoiloratanydepthbeneaththesurface,ifitisburied.Ahorizon
formedbyilluviationoforganicmaterialintoamineralsubsoilisnotanOhorizon,althoughsomehorizonsthat
formedinthismannercontainmuchorganicmatter.

Ahorizons:MineralhorizonsthatformedatthesurfaceorbelowanOhorizon,thatexhibitobliterationofallor
muchoftheoriginalrockstructure,andthatshowoneormoreofthefollowing:(1)anaccumulationofhumified
organicmatterintimatelymixedwiththemineralfractionandnotdominatedbypropertiescharacteristicofEorB
horizons(definedbelow)or(2)propertiesresultingfromcultivation,pasturing,orsimilarkindsofdisturbance.

IfasurfacehorizonhaspropertiesofbothAandEhorizonsbutthefeatureemphasizedisanaccumulationof
humifiedorganicmatter,itisdesignatedanAhorizon.Insomeplaces,asinwarmaridclimates,theundisturbed
surfacehorizonislessdarkthantheadjacentunderlyinghorizonandcontainsonlysmallamountsoforganicmatter.
IthasamorphologydistinctfromtheClayer,althoughthemineralfractionisunalteredoronlyslightlyalteredby
weathering.SuchahorizonisdesignatedAbecauseitisatthesurfacehowever,recentalluvialoreoliandeposits
thatretainrockstructure7arenotconsideredtobeanAhorizonunlesscultivated.

Ehorizons:Mineralhorizonsinwhichthemainfeatureislossofsilicateclay,iron,aluminum,orsomecombination
ofthese,leavingaconcentrationofsandandsiltparticles.Thesehorizonsexhibitobliterationofallormuchofthe
originalrockstructure.

AnEhorizonisusually,butnotnecessarily,lighterincolorthananunderlyingBhorizon.Insomesoilsthecoloris
thatofthesandandsiltparticles,butinmanysoilscoatingsofironoxidesorothercompoundsmaskthecolorofthe
primaryparticles.AnEhorizonismostcommonlydifferentiatedfromanoverlyingAhorizonbyitslightercolor.It
generallyhaslessorganicmatterthantheAhorizon.AnEhorizonismostcommonlydifferentiatedfroman
underlyingBhorizoninthesamesequumbycolorofhighervalue,bylowerchromaorboth,bycoarsertexture,or
byacombinationoftheseproperties.AnEhorizoniscommonlynearthesurfacebelowanOorAhorizonandabove
aBhorizon,butthesymbolEcanbeusedforeluvialhorizonswithinorbetweenpartsoftheBhorizonorforthose
thatextendtodepthsgreaterthannormalobservationifthehorizonhasresultedfromsoilgenesis.

Bhorizons:HorizonsthatformedbelowanA,E,,orOhorizonandaredominatedbyobliterationofallormuchof
theoriginalrockstructureandshowoneormoreofthefollowing:

1.illuvialconcentrationofsilicateclay,iron,aluminum,humus,carbonates,gypsum,orsilica,aloneorin
combination
2.evidenceofremovalofcarbonates
3.residualconcentrationofsesquioxides
4.coatingsofsesquioxidesthatmakethehorizonconspicuouslylowerinvalue,higherinchroma,orredderin
huethanoverlyingandunderlyinghorizonswithoutapparentilluviationofiron
5.alterationthatformssilicateclayorliberatesoxidesorbothandthatformsgranular,blocky,orprismatic
structureifvolumechangesaccompanychangesinmoisturecontentor
6.brittleness.

AllkindsofBhorizonsaresubsurfacehorizonsorwereoriginally.IncludedasBhorizonswherecontiguoustoanother
genetichorizonarelayersofilluvialconcentrationofcarbonates,gypsum,orsilicathataretheresultofpedogenic
processes(theselayersmayormaynotbecemented)andbrittlelayersthathaveotherevidenceofalteration,such
asprismaticstructureorilluvialaccumulationofclay.

ExamplesthatarenotBhorizonsarelayersinwhichclayfilmscoatrockfragmentsorareonfinelystratified
unconsolidatedsediments,whetherthefilmswereformedinplaceorbyilluviation,layersintowhichcarbonates
havebeenilluviatedbutarenotcontiguoustoanoverlyinggenetichorizon,andlayerswithgleyingbutnoother
pedogenicchanges.

Chorizonsorlayers:Horizonsorlayers,excludinghardbedrock,thatarelittleaffectedbypedogenicprocesses
andlackpropertiesofO,A,E,orBhorizons.ThematerialofClayersmaybeeitherlikeorunlikethatfromwhichthe
solumpresumablyformed.TheChorizonmayhavebeenmodifiedevenifthereisnoevidenceofpedogenesis.

IncludedasClayersaresediment,saprolite,unconsolidatedbedrock,andothergeologicmaterialsthatcommonly
areuncemented(table314)andexhibitlowormoderateexcavationdifficulty(table321).Somesoilsformin
materialthatisalreadyhighlyweathered.IfsuchmaterialdoesnotmeettherequirementsofA,E,orBhorizons,it
isdesignatedC.Changesnotconsideredpedogenicarethosenotrelatedtooverlyinghorizons.Layersthathave
accumulationsofsilica,carbonates,orgypsumormoresolublesaltsareincludedinChorizons,evenifindurated
(table314).Iftheinduratedlayersareobviouslyaffectedbypedogenicprocesses,theyareaBhorizon.

Rlayers:HardBedrock

Granite,basalt,quartziteandinduratedlimestoneorsandstoneareexamplesofbedrockthataredesignatedR.
Theselayersarecementedandexcavationdifficultyexceedsmoderate.TheRlayerissufficientlycoherentwhen

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moisttomakehanddiggingwithaspadeimpractical,althoughitmaybechippedorscraped.SomeRlayerscanbe
rippedwithheavypowerequipment.Thebedrockmaycontaincracksthatgenerallyaretoofewandtoosmallto
allowrootstopenetrateatintervalsoflessthan10cm.Thecracksmaybecoatedorfilledwithclayorother
material.

TransitionalandCombinationHorizons

Horizonsdominatedbypropertiesofonemasterhorizonbuthavingsubordinatepropertiesofanother.Twocapital
lettersymbolsareused,asAB,EB,BE,orBC.Themasterhorizonsymbolthatisgivenfirstdesignatesthekindof
horizonwhosepropertiesdominatethetransitionalhorizon.AnABhorizon,forexample,hascharacteristicsofboth
anoverlyingAhorizonandanunderlyingBhorizon,butitismoreliketheAthanliketheB.

Insomecases,ahorizoncanbedesignatedastransitionalevenifoneofthemasterhorizonstowhichitis
apparentlytransitionalisnotpresent.ABEhorizonmayberecognizedinatruncatedsoilifitspropertiesaresimilar
tothoseofaBEhorizoninasoilinwhichtheoverlyingEhorizonhasnotbeenremovedbyerosion.ABChorizon
mayberecognizedevenifnounderlyingChorizonispresentitistransitionaltoassumedparentmaterial.

Horizonsinwhichdistinctpartshaverecognizablepropertiesofthetwokindsofmasterhorizonsindicatedbythe
capitalletters.Thetwocapitallettersareseparatedbyavirgule(/),asE/B,B/E,orB/C.Mostoftheindividualparts
ofoneofthecomponentsaresurroundedbytheother.

Thedesignationmaybeusedeventhoughhorizonssimilartooneorbothofthecomponentsarenotpresent,ifthe
separatecomponentscanberecognized.Thefirstsymbolisthatofthehorizonthatmakesupthegreatervolume.

Singlesetsofdesignatorsdonotcoverallsituationstherefore,someimprovisingmaybenecessary.Forexample,
AlficUdipsammentshavelamellaethatareseparatedfromeachotherbyeluviallayers.Becauseitisgenerallynot
practicaltodescribeeachlamellaeandeluviallayerasaseparatehorizon,thehorizonsarecombinedbutthe
componentsaredescribedseparately.Onehorizonwouldthencontainseverallamellaeandeluviallayersandmight
bedesignatedasanEandBthorizon.Thecompletehorizonsequenceforthissoilcouldbe:ApBwEandBt1Eand
Bt2C.rmaterial.

SubordinateDistinctionsWithinMasterHorizonsandLayers

Lowercaselettersareusedassuffixestodesignatespecifickindsofmasterhorizonsandlayers.Theword
accumulationisusedinmanyofthedefinitionsinthesensethatthehorizonmusthavemoreofthematerialin
questionthanispresumedtohavebeenpresentintheparentmaterial.Thesymbolsandtheirmeaningsareas
follows:

aHighlydecomposedorganicmaterial

ThissymbolisusedwithOtoindicatethemosthighlydecomposedoftheorganic
materials.Therubbedfibercontentislessthanabout17percentofthevolume.

bBuriedgenetichorizon

Thissymbolisusedinmineralsoilstoindicateidentifiableburiedhorizonswithmajor
geneticfeaturesthatwereformedbeforeburial.Genetichorizonsmayormaynothave
formedintheoverlyingmaterial,whichmaybeeitherlikeorunliketheassumedparent
materialoftheburiedsoil.Thesymbolisnotusedinorganicsoilsortoseparatean
organiclayerfromaminerallayer.

cConcretionsornodules

Thissymbolisusedtoindicateasignificantaccumulationofconcretionsorofnodules.
Cementationisrequired.Thecementingagentisnotspecifiedexceptitcannotbesilica.
Thissymbolisnotusedifconcretionsornodulesaredolomiteorcalciteormoresoluble
salts,butitisusedifthenodulesorconcretionsareenrichedinmineralsthatcontainiron,
aluminum,manganese,ortitanium.

dPhysicalrootrestriction

Thissymbolisusedtoindicaterootrestrictinglayersinnaturallyoccurringormanmade
unconsolidatedsedimentsormaterialssuchasdensebasaltill,plowpans,andother
mechanicallycompactedzones.

eOrganicmaterialofintermediatedecomposition

ThissymbolisusedwithOtoindicateorganicmaterialsofintermediatedecomposition.
Rubbedfibercontentis17to40percentofthevolume.

fFrozensoil

Thissymbolisusedtoindicatethatthehorizonorlayercontainspermanentice.Symbolis
notusedforseasonallyfrozenlayersorfordrypermafrost(materialthatiscolderthan
OCbutdoesnotcontainice).

gStronggleying

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Thissymbolisusedtoindicateeitherthatironhasbeenreducedandremovedduringsoil
formationorthatsaturationwithstagnantwaterhaspreservedareducedstate.Mostof
theaffectedlayershavechromaof2orlessandmanyhaveredoxconcentrations.Thelow
chromacanbethecolorofreducedironorthecolorofuncoatedsandandsiltparticles
fromwhichironhasbeenremoved.Symbolgisnotusedforsoilmaterialsoflow
chroma,suchassomeshalesorEhorizons,unlesstheyhaveahistoryofwetness.Ifgis
usedwithB,pedogenicchangeinadditiontogleyingisimplied.Ifnootherpedogenic
changeinadditiontogleyinghastakenplace,thehorizonisdesignatedCg.

hIlluvialaccumulationoforganicmatter

ThissymbolusedwithBtoindicatetheaccumulationofilluvial,amorphous,dispersible
organicmattersesquioxidescomplexes.Thesesquioxidecomponentcoatssandandsilt
particles.Insomehorizons,coatingshavecoalesced,filledpores,andcementedthe
horizon.ThesymbolhisalsousedincombinationwithsasBhsiftheamountof
sesquioxidecomponentissignificantbutvalueandchromaofthehorizonare3orless.

iSlightlydecomposedorganicmaterial

ThissymbolisusedwithOtoindicatetheleastdecomposedoftheorganicmaterials.
Rubbedfibercontentismorethanabout40percentofthevolume.

kAccumulationofcarbonates

Thissymbolisusedtoindicatetheaccumulationofalkalineearthcarbonates,commonly
calciumcarbonate.

mCementationorinduration

Thissymbolisusedtoindicatecontinuousornearlycontinuouscementation.Thesymbol
isusedonlyforhorizonsthataremorethan90percentcemented,althoughtheymaybe
fractured.Thelayerisphysicallyrootrestrictive.Thesinglepredominantorcodominant
cementingagentmaybeindicatedbyusingdefinedlettersuffixes,singlyorinpairs.If
thehorizoniscementedbycarbonates,kmisusedbysilica,qmbyiron,smby
gypsum,ymbybothlimeandsilica,kqmbysaltsmoresolublethangypsum,zm.

nAccumulationofsodium

Thissymbolisusedtoindicateanaccumulationofexchangeablesodium.

oResidualaccumulationofsesquioxides

Thissymbolisusedtoindicateresidualaccumulationofsesquioxides.

pTillageorotherdisturbance

Thissymbolisusedtoindicateadisturbanceofthesurfacelayerbymechanicalmeans,
pasturing,orsimilaruses.AdisturbedorganichorizonisdesignatedOp.Adisturbed
mineralhorizonisdesignatedApeventhoughclearlyonceanE,B,orChorizon.

qAccumulationofsilica

Thissymbolisusedtoindicateanaccumulationofsecondarysilica.

rWeatheredorsoftbedrock

ThissymbolisusedwithCtoindicaterootrestrictivelayersofsoftbedrockorsaprolite,
suchasweatheredigneousrockpartlyconsolidatedsoftsandstonesiltstoneandshale.
Excavationdifficultyislowormoderate.

sIlluvialaccumulationofsesquioxidesandorganicmatter

ThissymbolisusedwithBtoindicatetheaccumulationofilluvial,amorphous,
dispersibleorganicmattersesquioxidecomplexesifboththeorganicmatterand
sesquioxidecomponentsaresignificantandthevalueandchromaofthehorizonismore
than3.ThesymbolisalsousedincombinationwithhasBhsifboththeorganic
matterandsesquioxidecomponentsaresignificantandthevalueandchromaare3or
less.

ssPresenceofslickensides

Thissymbolisusedtoindicatethepresenceofslickensides.Slickensidesresultdirectly
fromtheswellingofclaymineralsandshearfailure,commonlyatanglesof20to60
degreesabovehorizontal.Theyareindicatorsthatotherverticcharacteristics,suchas
wedgeshapedpedsandsurfacecracks,maybepresent.

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tAccumulationofsilicateclay

Thissymbolisusedtoindicateanaccumulationofsilicateclaythathasformedand
subsequentlytranslocatedwithinthehorizonorhasbeenmovedintothehorizonby
illuviation,orboth.Atleastsomepartshouldshowevidenceofclayaccumulationinthe
formofcoatingsonsurfacesofpedsorinpores,oraslamellae,orbridgesbetween
mineralgrains.

vPlinthite

Thissymbolisusedtoindicatethepresenceofironrich,humuspoor,reddishmaterial
thatisfirmorveryfirmwhenmoistandthathardensirreversiblywhenexposedtothe
atmosphereandtorepeatedwettinganddrying.

wDevelopmentofcolororstructure

ThissymbolisusedwithBtoindicatethedevelopmentofcolororstructure,orboth,
withlittleornoapparentilluvialaccumulationofmaterial.Itshouldnotbeusedto
indicateatransitionalhorizon.

xFragipancharacter

Thissymbolisusedtoindicategeneticallydevelopedlayersthathaveacombinationof
firmness,brittleness,verycoarseprismswithfewtomanybleachedverticalfaces,and
commonlyhigherbulkdensitythanadjacentlayers.Somepartisphysicallyroot
restrictive.

yAccumulationofgypsum

Thissymbolisusedtoindicatetheaccumulationofgypsum.

zAccumulationofsaltsmoresolublethangypsum

Thissymbolisusedtoindicateanaccumulationofsaltsmoresolublethangypsum.

Conventionsforusinglettersuffixes.Manymasterhorizonsandlayersthataresymbolizedbyasinglecapital
letterwillhaveoneormorelowercaselettersuffixes.Thefollowingrulesapply:

Lettersuffixesshouldimmediatelyfollowthecapitalletter.

Morethanthreesuffixesarerarelyused.

Whenmorethanonesuffixisneeded,thefollowingletters,ifused,arewrittenfirst:a,e,h,i,r,s,t,
andw.ExceptfortheBhsorCrt8horizons,noneoftheselettersareusedincombinationinasingle
horizon.

Ifmorethanonesuffixisneededandthehorizonisnotburied,thesesymbols,ifused,arewrittenlast:
c,d,f,g,m,v,andx.Someexamples:Btg,Bkm,andBsm.

Ifahorizonisburied,thesuffixbiswrittenlast.Suffixbisusedonlyforburiedmineralsoils.

ABhorizonthathassignificantaccumulationofclayandalsoshowsevidenceofdevelopmentofcoloror
structure,orboth,isdesignatedBt(thasprecedenceoverw,s,andh).ABhorizonthatis
gleyedorthathasaccumulationsofcarbonates,sodium,silica,gypsum,saltsmoresolublethan
gypsum,orresidualaccumulationorsesquioxidescarriestheappropriatesymbolg,k,n,q,y,z,oro.
Ifilluvialclayisalsopresent,tprecedestheothersymbol:Btg.

Suffixesh,s,andwarenotnormallyusedwithg,k,n,q,y,z,oro.

Verticalsubdivision.Commonlyahorizonorlayerdesignatedbyasingleletteroracombinationoflettersneeds
tobesubdivided.TheArabicnumeralsusedforthispurposealwaysfollowallletters.WithinaC,forexample,
successivelayerscouldbeC1,C2,C3,andsoonor,ifthelowerpartisgleyedandtheupperpartisnot,the
designationscouldbeC1C2Cg1Cg2orCCg1Cg2R.

Theseconventionsapplywhateverthepurposeofsubdivision.Inmanysoils,horizonsthatwouldbeidentifiedby
oneuniquesetoflettersaresubdividedonthebasisofevidentmorphologicalfeatures,suchasstructure,color,or
texture.Thesedivisionsarenumberedconsecutively.Thenumberingstartswith1atwhateverlevelintheprofile
anyelementofthelettersymbolchanges.ThusBt1Bt2Btk1Btk2isused,notBt1Bt2Btk3Btk4.Thenumbering
ofverticalsubdivisionswithinahorizonisnotinterruptedatadiscontinuity(indicatedbyanumericalprefix)ifthe
samelettercombinationisusedinbothmaterials:Bs1Bs22Bs32Bs4isused,notBs1Bs22Bs12Bs2.

Sometimes,thicklayersaresubdividedduringsamplingforlaboratoryanalyseseventhoughdifferencesin
morphologyarenotevidentinthefield.Theselayersneedtobeidentified.Thisisdonebyfollowingtheconvention
ofusingArabicnumeralstoidentifythesubdivision.TheArabicnumeralswouldfollowtheletterdesignationsandbe
apartofthehorizondesignation.Forexample,fourlayersofaBt2horizonsampledby10cmincrementswouldbe
designatedBt21,Bt22,Bt23,andBt24.TheBt2horizonissubdividedforsamplingpurposesonly.

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Discontinuities.InmineralsoilsArabicnumeralsareusedasprefixestoindicatediscontinuities.Wherever
needed,theyareusedprecedingA,E,B,C,andR.TheseprefixesaredistinctfromArabicnumeralsusedassuffixes
todenoteverticalsubdivisions.

Adiscontinuityisasignificantchangeinparticlesizedistributionormineralogythatindicatesadifferenceinthe
materialfromwhichthehorizonsformedand/orasignificantdifferenceinage,unlessthatdifferenceinageis
indicatedbythesuffixb.Symbolstoidentifydiscontinuitiesareusedonlywhentheywillcontributesubstantially
tothereadersunderstandingofrelationshipsamonghorizons.Stratificationcommontosoilsformedinalluviumis
notdesignatedasdiscontinuity,unlessparticlesizedistributiondiffersmarkedly(stronglycontrastingparticlesize
class,asdefinedbySoilTaxonomy)fromlayertolayereventhoughgenetichorizonshaveformedinthecontrasting
layers.

Whereasoilhasformedentirelyinonekindofmaterial,aprefixisomittedfromthesymbolthewholeprofileis
material1.Similarly,theuppermostmaterialinaprofilehavingtwoormorecontrastingmaterialsisunderstoodto
bematerial1,butthenumberisomitted.Numberingstartswiththesecondlayerofcontrastingmaterial,whichis
designated2.Underlyingcontrastinglayersarenumberedconsecutively.Eventhoughalayerbelowmaterial2is
similartomaterial1,itisdesignated3inthesequence.Thenumbersindicateachangeinthematerial,notthe
typeofmaterial.Wheretwoormoreconsecutivehorizonsformedinonekindofmaterial,thesameprefixnumberis
appliedtoallofthehorizondesignationsinthatmaterial:ApEBt12Bt22Bt32BC.Thenumberofsuffixes
designatingsubdivisionsoftheBthorizoncontinueinconsecutiveorderacrossthediscontinuity.

IfanRlayerisbelowasoilthatformedinresiduumandthematerialoftheRlayerisjudgedtobelikethatfrom
whichthematerialofthesoilweathered,theArabicnumberprefixisnotused.IfitisthoughtthattheRlayerwould
notproducemateriallikethatinthesolum,thenumberprefixisused,asinABtC2RorABt2R.Ifpartofthe
solumformedinresiduum,Risgiventheappropriateprefix:ApBt12Bt22Bt32C12C22R.

Buriedhorizons(designatedb)arespecialproblems.Aburiedhorizonisobviouslynotinthesamedepositas
horizonsintheoverlyingdeposit.Someburiedhorizons,however,formedinmateriallithologicallylikethatofthe
overlyingdeposit.Aprefixisnotusedtodistinguishmaterialofsuchburiedhorizons.Ifthematerialinwhicha
horizonofaburiedsoilformedislithologicallyunlikethatoftheoverlyingmaterial,thediscontinuityisdesignatedby
numberprefixesandthesymbolforaburiedhorizonisusedaswell:ApBt1Bt2BCC2ABb2Btb12Btb22C.

Inorganicsoils,discontinuitiesbetweendifferentkindsoflayersarenotidentified.Inmostcases,thedifferencesare
shownbythelettersuffixdesignationsifthedifferentlayersareorganicorbythemastersymbolifthedifferent
layersaremineral.

Useoftheprime.Identicalletterandnumericaldesignationsmaybeappropriatefortwoormorehorizons
separatedbyatleastonehorizonorlayerofadifferentkindinthesamepedon.ThesequenceAEBtEBtxCisan
example:thesoilhastwoEhorizons.Tomakecommunicationeasier,theprimeisusedwiththemasterhorizon
symboloftheloweroftwohorizonshavingidenticaldesignations:AEBtEBtxC.Theprimeisappliedtothe
capitalletterdesignationandanylowercasesymbolsfollowit:Bt.Theprimeisnotusedunlessalllettersofthe
designationsoftwodifferentlayersareidentical.Rarely,threelayershaveidenticallettersymbolsadoubleprime
canbeused:E.

Thesameprincipleappliesindesignatinglayersoforganicsoils.Theprimeisusedonlytodistinguishtwoormore
horizonsthathaveidenticalsymbols:OiCOiCorOiCOeC.TheprimeisaddedtothelowerClayerto
differentiateitfromtheupper.

SampleHorizonsandSequences

ThefollowingexamplesillustratesomecommonhorizonandlayersequencesofimportantsoilsandtheuseofArabic
numeralstoidentifytheirsubdivisions.Theexampleswereselectedfromsoildescriptionsonfileandmodifiedto
reflectpresentconventions.

Mineralsoils:

TypicHapludoll:A1A2BwBCC
TypicHaploboroll:ApABwBkBky1Bky2C
CumulicHaploboroll:ApABw1Bw2BCAbBwb1Bwb22C
TypicArgialboll:ApAEBt1Bt2BCC
TypicArgiaquoll:AABBABtgBCgCg
EnticHaplorthod:OiOaEBs1Bs2BCC
TypicHaplorthod:ApEBhsBsBCC1C2
TypicFragiudalf:OiAEBEBt1Bt2B/EBtx1Btx2C
TypicHaploxeralf:A1A2A32Bt12Bt22Bt32BC2C
GlossoboricHapludalf:ApEB/EBt1Bt2C
TypicPaleudult:AEBt1Bt2B/EBt1Bt2Bt3
TypicHapludult:0iA1A2BABt1Bt2BCC
ArenicPlinthicPaleudult:ApEBtBtcBtv1Btv2BCC
TypicHaplargid:ABtBk1Bk2C
EnticDurorthid:ABwBqBqm2Ab2Btkb3Byb3Bqmb3Bqkb
TypicDystrochrept:ApBw1Bw2CR
TypicFragiochrept:ApBwEBx1Bx2C
TypicHaplaquept:ApABBg1Bg2BCgCg
TypicUdifluvent:ApCAbC
TypicHaplustert:ApAACC1C2

Organicsoils:

TypicMedisaprist:OpOa1Oa2Oa3C
TypicSphagnofibrist:Oi1Oi2Oi3Oe

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LimnicBorofibrist:OiCOi1Oi2COeC
LithicCryofolist:OiOaR

CyclicandIntermittentHorizonsandLayers

Aprofileofasoilhavingcyclichorizonsexposeslayerswhoseboundariesarenearthesurfaceatonepointand
extenddeepintothesoilatanother.Atoneplacetheaggregatehorizonthicknessmaybeonly50cmtwometers
away,thesamehorizonsmaybemorethan125cmthick.Thecycleisrepeated,commonlywithconsiderable
variationinbothdepthandhorizontalinterval,butstillwithsomedegreeofregularity.Ifthesoilisvisualizedin
threedimensionsinsteadoftwo,somecyclichorizonsextenddownwardininvertedcones.Theconeofthelower
horizonfitsaroundtheconeofthehorizonabove.Othercyclichorizonswouldappearwedgeshaped.

Aprofileofasoilhavinganintermittenthorizonshowsthatthehorizonextendshorizontallyforsomedistance,ends,
andreappearsagainsomedistanceaway.ABhorizoninterruptedatintervalsbyupwardextensionsofbedrockinto
theAhorizonisanexample.Thedistancebetweenplaceswherethehorizonisabsentiscommonlyvariable,yetit
hassomedegreeofregularity.Thedistancesrangefromlessthanonemetertoseveralmeters.

Obviously,asoilprofileatoneplacecouldbeunlikeaprofileonlyafewmetersawayforsoilswithcyclicor
intermittenthorizonsorlayers.Theorderofthevariationsofthesesoilsaregiveninsoildescriptions.

Descriptionsoftheorderofhorizontalvariationwithinapedonincludethekindofvariation,thespacingofcyclesor
interruptions,andtheamplitudeofdepthvariationofcyclichorizons.

NearSurfaceSubzones

Themorphologyoftheuppermostfewcentimetersissubjectinmanysoilstostrongcontrolbyantecedentweather
andbysoiluse.Asoilmaybefreshlytilledtodayandhavealoosesurface.Tomorrowitmayhaveastrongcrust
becauseofaheavyrain.Or,inoneplacesoilmaybehighlycompactedbylivestockandhaveafirmnearsurface
eventhoughovermostofitsextentthesameuppermostfewcentimetersarelittledisturbedandveryfriable.There
isaneedforasetoftermstodescribesubzonesofthenearsurfaceand,inparticular,thenearsurfaceoftilledsoils.
Fivesubzonesofthenearsurfacearerecognized(fig.313).

Themechanicallybulkedsubzonehasundergonethroughmechanicalmanipulationareductioninbulkdensityand
anincreaseindiscretenessofstructuralunits,ifpresent.Usuallythemechanicalmanipulationistheconsequenceof
tillageoperations.Ruptureresistanceofthemassoverall,inclusiveofanumberofstructuralunits,islooseorvery
friableandoccasionallyfriable.Individualstructuralunitsmaybefriableorevenfirm.Mechanicalcontinuityamong
structuralunitsislow.Structuregrade,ifthesoilmaterialexhibitsstructuralunits<20mmacross,ismoderateor
strong.Strainthatresultsfromcontractionondryingofindividualstructuralunitsmaynotextendamongstructural
units.Hence,internallyinitiateddesiccationcracksmaybeweakorabsenteventhoughthesoilmaterialina
consolidatedconditionhasconsiderablepotentialextensibility.Cracksmaybepresent,however,iftheyareinitiated
deeperinthesoil.

Themechanicallycompactedsubzonehasbeensubjecttocompaction,usuallyintillageoperationsbutpossiblyby
animals.Commonly,mechanicalcontinuityofthefabricandbulkdensityareincreased.Ruptureresistancedepends
ontextureanddegreeofcompaction.Generally,friableistheminimumclass.Mechanicalcontinuityofthefabric
permitspropagationofstrainthatresultsondryingonlyoverseveralcentimeters.Internallyinitiatedcracksappear
ifthesoilmaterialhasappreciableextensibilityanddryinghasbeensufficient.Insomesoilsthissubzonerestricts
rootgrowth.Thesuffixdmaybeusedifcompactionresultsinastrongplowpan.

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Thewatercompactedsubzonehasbeencompactedbyrepetitivelargechangesinwaterstatewithoutmechanical
loadexceptfortheweightofthesoil.Repetitiveoccurrenceoffreewaterisparticularlyconducivetocompaction.
Dependingontexture,moistruptureresistancerangesfromveryfriablethroughfirm.Structuralunits,ifpresent,
arelessdiscretethanforthesamesoilmaterialifmechanicallybulked.Structuregenerallywouldbeweakorthe
conditionwouldbemassive.Mechanicalcontinuityofthefabricissufficientthatstrainwhichoriginatesondrying
propagatesappreciabledistances.Asaconsequence,ifextensibilityissufficient,cracksdevelopondrying.Inmany
soils,overtimethewatercompactedsubzonereplacesthemechanicallybulkedsubzone.Thereplacementcanoccur
inasingleyearifthesubzoneissubjecttoperiodicoccurrenceoffreewaterwithinterveningperiodswhenslightly
moistordry.Thepresenceofawatercompactedsubzoneandtheabsenceofthemechanicallybulkedsubzoneis
animportantconsequenceofnotillfarmingsystems.

Thesurficialbulkedsubzoneoccursintheverynearsurface.Continuityofthefabricislow.Cracksarenotinitiated
inthissubzone,althoughtheymaybepresentifinitiatedinunderlyingmorecompactedsoil.Thesubzoneisformed
byvariousprocesses.Frostactionunderconditionswherethesoilisdrierthanwetisamechanism.Wettingand
dryingofsoilmaterialwithhighextensibilityisanotherorigincertainVertisolsareillustrative.

Crustisasurficialsubzone,usuallylessthan50mmthick,thatexhibitsmarkedlymoremechanicalcontinuityofthe
soilfabricthanthezoneimmediatelybeneath.Commonly,theoriginalsoilfabrichasbeenreconstitutedbywater
actionandtheoriginalstructurehasbeenreplacedbyamassivecondition.Whilethematerialiswet,raindrop
impactandfreezethawcyclesaremechanismsleadingtoreconstitution.Crustingrelatedtoraindropimpactand
freezethawarerecognized.

Afluventiczonemaybeformedbylocaltransportanddepositionofsoilmaterialintilledfields.Suchafeaturehas
weakermechanicalcontinuitythanacrust.Theruptureresistanceislower,andthereductionininfiltrationmaybe
lessthanforcrustsofsimilartexture.Araindropimpactcrustmayoccuronafluventiczone.

Crustsandafluventiczonemaybedescribedintermsofthicknessinmillimeters,structureandotheraspectsofthe
fabric,andbyconsistence,includingruptureresistancewhiledryandmicropenetrationresistancewhilewet.
Thicknesspertainstothezonewherereconstitutionofthefabrichasbeenpronounced.Also,thedistancebetween
surfaceinitiatedcracksmaybeausefulobservationforseedlingemergenceconsiderations.Ifthedistanceisshort,
theweightofthecrustslabsislow.

Soilmaterialwithlittleapparentreconstitutioncommonlyadheresbeneaththecrustandisremovedwiththecrust.
Thissoilmaterialthatshowslittleornoreconstitutionisnotpartofthecrustanddoesnotcontributetothe
thickness.

Identificationofsubzonesisnotclearcut.Morphologicalexpressionofbulkingandcompactionmaybequite
differentamongsoilsdependentonparticlesizedistribution,organicmattercontent,claymineralogy,waterregime,
andpossiblyotherfactors.

Thedistinctionbetweenabulkedandcompactedstateforsoilmaterialwithappreciableextensibilityismadeinpart
onthepotentialforthetransmissionofstrainondryingoverdistancesgreaterthanthehorizontaldimensionsofthe
largerstructuralunits.Inabulkedsubzonelittleornostrainispropagatedinacompactedsubzonethestrain
wouldbepropagatedoverdistancesgreaterthanthehorizontaldimensionsofthelargerstructuralunits.Manysoils
havelowextensibilitybecauseoftexture,claymineralogy,orboth.Forthesesoils,theexpressionofcrackscannotbe
usedtodistinguishbetweenabulkedandcompactedstate.

Thedistinctionbetweencompactionandbulkingissubjective.Itisusefultoestablishaconceptofanormaldegree
ofcompactionofthenearsurfacetowhichtheactualdegreeofcompactioniscompared.Theconceptfortilledsoils
shouldbethecompactionofsoilmaterialonlevelorconvexpartsofthetillagedeterminedrelief.Thesoilshould
havebeensubjecttothebulkingactionofconventionaltillagewithoutthesubsequentmechanicalcompaction.The
subzoneinquestionshouldhavebeenbroughttoawetorverymoistwaterstatefromanappreciablydrier
conditionfollowedbydryingtoslightlymoistordrieratleastonce.Itshouldnothavebeensubject,however,toa
largenumberofwettinganddryingcycleswherethemaximumwetnessinvolvesthepresenceoffreewater.Ifthe
soilmaterialhasadegreeofcompactionsimilartowhatwouldbeexpected,thenthetermnormalcompactionis
employed.

BoundariesofHorizonsandLayers

Aboundaryisasurfaceortransitionallayerbetweentwoadjoininghorizonsorlayers.Mostboundariesarezonesof
transitionratherthansharplinesofdivision.Boundariesvaryindistinctnessandintopography.

Distinctness.Distinctnessreferstothethicknessofthezonewithinwhichtheboundarycanbelocated.The
distinctnessofaboundarydependspartlyonthedegreeofcontrastbetweentheadjacentlayersandpartlyonthe
thicknessofthetransitionalzonebetweenthem.Distinctnessisdefinedintermsofthicknessofthetransitional
zone:

Abrupt:Lessthan2cmthick

Clear:2to5cmthick

Gradual:5to15cmthick

Diffuse:Morethan15cmthick

Abruptsoilboundaries,suchasthosebetweentheEandBthorizonsinmanysoils,areeasilydetermined.Some
boundariesarenotreadilyseenbutcanbelocatedbytestingthesoilaboveandbelowtheboundary.Diffuse
boundaries,suchasthoseinmanyoldsoilsintropicalareas,aremostdifficulttolocateandrequiretimeconsuming
comparisonsofsmallspecimensofsoilfromvariouspartsoftheprofileuntilthemidpointofthetransitionalzoneis

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determined.Forsoilsthathavenearlyuniformpropertiesorthatchangeverygraduallyasdepthincreases,horizon
boundariesareimposedmoreorlessarbitrarilywithoutclearevidenceofdifferences.

Topography.Topographyreferstotheirregularitiesofthesurfacethatdividesthehorizons.Eventhoughsoil
layersarecommonlyseeninverticalsection,theyarethreedimensional.Topographyofboundariesisdescribed
withthefollowingterms:

Smooth:Theboundaryisaplanewithfewornoirregularities.

Wavy:Theboundaryhasundulationsinwhichdepressionsarewiderthentheyaredeep.

Irregular:Theboundaryhaspocketsthataredeeperthantheyarewide.

Broken:Oneorbothofthehorizonsorlayersseparatedbytheboundaryarediscontinuousandthe
boundaryisinterrupted.

RootRestrictingDepth
Therootrestrictingdepthiswhererootpenetrationwouldbestronglyinhibitedbecauseofphysical(includingsoil
temperature)and/orchemicalcharacteristics.Restrictionmeanstheincapabilitytosupportmorethanafewfineor
veryfinerootsifdepthfromthesoilsurfaceandwaterstate,otherthantheoccurrenceoffrozenwater,arenot
limiting.Forcottonorsoybeansandpossiblyothercropswithlessabundantrootsthanthegrasses,theveryfew
classisusedinsteadofthefewclass.Therestrictionmaybebelowwhereplantrootsnormallyoccurbecauseof
limitationsinwaterstate,temperatures,ordepthfromthesurface.Theevaluationshouldbeforthespecificplants
thatareimportanttotheuseofthesoil.Theseplantsshouldbeindicated.Therootrestrictiondepthmaydiffer
dependingontheplantconsidered.

Rootdepthobservationspreferablyshouldbeusedtomakethegeneralization.Ifthesearenotavailableandoften
theyarenotbecauserootsdonotextendtothedepthofconcerntheninferencesmaybemadefrommorphology.
Someguidelinesfollowforphysicalrestriction.Chemicalrestrictions,suchashighextractablealuminumand/orlow
extractablecalcium,arenotconsideredhere.Thesearegenerallynotdeterminablebyfieldexaminationalone.

Physicalrootrestrictionisassumedatcontacttorock,whetherhardorsoft.Further,certainpedogenichorizons,
suchasfragipans,inferrootrestriction.Achangeinparticlesizedistributionalone,asforexampleloamysandover
gravel,isnotalwaysabasisforphysicalrootrestriction.

Acommonindicationofphysicalrootrestrictionisacombinationofstructureandconsistencewhichtogether
suggestthattheresistanceofthesoilfabrictorootentryishighandthatverticalcracksandplanesofweaknessfor
rootentryareabsentorwidelyspaced.Rootrestrictionisinferredforacontinuouslycementedzoneofany
thicknessorazone>10cmthickthatwhenverymoistorwetismassive,platy,orhasweakstructureofanytype
foraverticalrepeatdistanceof>10cmandwhileverymoistorwetisveryfirm(firm,ifsandy),extremelyfirm,or
hasalargepenetrationresistance.

Classesofrootrestrictingdepth:

Veryshallow: <25cm

Shallow: 2550cm

Moderatelydeep: 50100cm

Deep: 100150cm

Verydeep: >150cm

ParticleSizeDistribution
Thissectiondiscussesparticledistribution.Thefinersizesarecalledfineearth(smallerthan2mmdiameter)as
distinctfromrockfragments(pebbles,cobbles,stones,andboulders).Particlesizedistributionoffineearthorless
than2mmisdeterminedinthefieldmainlybyfeel.Thecontentofrockfragmentsisdeterminedbyestimatingthe
proportionofthesoilvolumethattheyoccupy.

SoilSeparates

TheUnitedStatesDepartmentofAgricultureusesthefollowingsizeseparatesforthe<2mmmineralmaterial:

Name Size(mm)

Verycoarsesand: 2.01.0mm

Coarsesand: 1.00.5mm

Mediumsand: 0.50.25mm

Finesand: 0.250.10mm

Veryfinesand: 0.100.05mm

Silt: 0.050.002mm

Clay: <0.002mm

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Figure314comparestheUSDAsystemwithothers.

Figure315illustratesclassesofsoilparticleslargerthansilt.

SoilTexture

Soiltexturereferstotheweightproportionoftheseparatesforparticleslessthan2mmasdeterminedfroma
laboratoryparticlesizedistribution.Fieldestimatesshouldbecheckedagainstlaboratorydeterminationsandthe
fieldcriteriashouldbeadjustedasnecessary.Somesoilsarenotdispersedcompletelyinthestandardparticlesize
analysis.Forthese,thefieldtextureisreferredtoasapparentbecauseitisnotanestimateoftheresultsofa
laboratoryoperation.Apparentfieldtextureisatactileevaluationonlywithnoinferenceastolaboratorytestresults.
Fieldcriteriaforestimatingsoiltexturemustbechosentofitthesoilsofthearea.Sandparticlesfeelgrittyandcan
beseenindividuallywiththenakedeye.Siltparticlescannotbeseenindividuallywithoutmagnificationtheyhavea

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smoothfeeltothefingerswhendryorwet.Insomeplaces,claysoilsarestickyinotherstheyarenot.Soils
dominatedbymontmorilloniteclays,forexample,feeldifferentfromsoilsthatcontainsimilaramountsofmicaceous
orkaolinticclay.Evenlocally,therelationshipsthatareusefulforjudgingtextureofonekindofsoilmaynotapplyas
welltoanotherkind.

Thetextureclasses(fig.316)aresand,loamysands,sandyloams,loam,siltloam,silt,sandyclayloam,clayloam,
siltyclayloam,sandyclay,siltyclay,andclay.Subclassesofsandaresubdividedintocoarsesand,sand,finesand,
andveryfinesand.Subclassesofloamysandsandsandyloamsthatarebasedonsandsizearenamedsimilarly.

Definitionsofthesoiltextureclassesfollow:

Sands.Morethan85percentsand,thepercentageofsiltplus1.5timesthepercentageofclayislessthan15.

Coarsesand.Atotalof25percentormoreverycoarseandcoarsesandandlessthan50percentany
othersinglegradeofsand.

Sand.Atotalof25percentormoreverycoarse,coarse,andmediumsand,atotaloflessthan25
percentverycoarseandcoarsesand,andlessthan50percentfinesandandlessthan50percentvery
finesand.

Finesand.50percentormorefinesandoratotaloflessthan25percentverycoarse,coarse,and
mediumsandandlessthan50percentveryfinesand.

Veryfinesand.50percentormoreveryfinesand.

Loamysands.Between70and91percentsandandthepercentageofsiltplus1.5timesthepercentageofclay
is15ormoreandthepercentageofsiltplustwicethepercentageofclayislessthan30.

Loamycoarsesand.Atotalof25percentormoreverycoarseandcoarsesandandlessthan50
percentanyothersinglegradeofsand.

Loamysand.Atotalof25percentormoreverycoarse,coarse,andmediumsandandatotalofless
than25percentverycoarseandcoarsesand,andlessthan50percentfinesandandlessthan50
percentveryfinesand.

Loamyfinesand.50percentormorefinesandorlessthan50percentveryfinesandandatotalof
lessthan25percentverycoarse,coarse,andmediumsand.

Loamyveryfinesand.50percentormoreveryfinesand.

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Sandyloams.7to20percentclay,morethan52percentsand,andthepercentageofsiltplustwicethe
percentageofclayis30ormoreorlessthan7percentclay,lessthan50percentsilt,andmorethan43percent
sand.

Coarsesandyloam.Atotalof25percentormoreverycoarseandcoarsesandandlessthan50
percentanyothersinglegradeofsand.

Sandyloam.Atotalof30percentormoreverycoarse,coarse,andmediumsand,butatotalofless
than25percentverycoarseandcoarsesandandlessthan30percentfinesandandlessthan30
percentveryfinesandoratotalof15percentorlessverycoarse,coarse,andmediumsand,lessthan
30percentfinesandandlessthan30percentveryfinesandwithatotalof40percentorlessfineand
veryfinesand.

Finesandyloam.30percentormorefinesandandlessthan30percentveryfinesandoratotalof
15to30percentverycoarse,coarse,andmediumsandoratotalofmorethan40percentfineand
veryfinesand,onehalformoreofwhichisfinesand,andatotalof15percentorlessverycoarse,
coarse,andmediumsand.

Veryfinesandyloam.30percentormoreveryfinesandandatotaloflessthan15percentvery
coarse,coarse,andmediumsandormorethan40percentfineandveryfinesand,morethanonehalf
ofwhichisveryfinesand,andtotaloflessthan15percentverycoarse,coarse,andmediumsand.

Loam.7to27percentclay,28to50percentsilt,and52percentorlesssand.

Siltloam.50percentormoresiltand12to27percentclay,or50to80percentsiltandlessthan12
percentclay.

Silt.80percentormoresiltandlessthan12percentclay.

Sandyclayloam.20to35percentclay,lessthan28percentsilt,andmorethan45percentsand.

Clayloam.27to40percentclayandmorethan20to46percentsand.

Siltyclayloam.27to40percentclayand20percentorlesssand.

Sandyclay.35percentormoreclayand45percentormoresand.

Siltyclay.40percentormoreclayand40percentormoresilt.

Clay.40percentormoreclay,45percentorlesssand,andlessthan40percentsilt.

Thetexturetriangle(fig.316)isusedtoresolveproblemsrelatedtoworddefinitions,whicharesomewhat
complicated.Theeightdistinctionsinthesandandloamysandgroupsproviderefinementgreaterthancanbe
consistentlydeterminedbyfieldtechniques.Onlythosedistinctionsthataresignificanttouseandmanagementand
thatcanbeconsistentlymadeinthefieldshouldbeapplied.

Groupingsofsoiltextureclasses.Theneedforfinedistinctionsinthetextureofthesoillayersresultsinalarge
numberofclassesofsoiltexture.Oftenitisconvenienttospeakgenerallyofbroadgroupsorclassesoftexture.An
outlineofsoiltexturegroups,inthreeclassesandinfive,follows.Insomeareaswheresoilsarehighinsilt,afourth
generalclass,siltysoils,maybeusedforsiltandsiltloam.

GeneralTerms a TextureClasses

Sandysoilmaterials:

Coarsetextured Sands(coarsesand,sand,finesand,veryfinesand)Loamysands(loamycoarsesand,loamy
sand,loamyfinesand,loamyveryfinesand)

Loamysoilmaterials:

Moderately Coarsesandyloam,sandyloam,finesandyloam
coarsetextured

Mediumtextured Veryfinesandyloam,loam,siltloam,silt

Moderatelyfine Clayloam,sandyclayloam,siltyclayloam
textured

Clayeysoils:

Finetextured Sandyclay,siltyclay,clay

a.Theseareloamy,andclayeytexturegroups,notthesandy,loamy,andclayeyparticlesizeclassesdefinedinSoil
Taxonomy.

OrganicSoils

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Layersthatarenotsaturatedwithwaterformorethanafewdaysatatimeareorganiciftheyhave20percentor
moreorganiccarbon.Layersthataresaturatedforlongerperiods,orweresaturatedbeforebeingdrained,are
organiciftheyhave12percentormoreorganiccarbonandnoclay,18percentormoreorganiccarbonand60
percentormoreclay,oraproportionalamountoforganiccarbon,between12and18percent,iftheclaycontentis
between0and60percent.

Thekindandamountofthemineralfraction,thekindoforganismsfromwhichtheorganicmaterialwasderived,
andthestateofdecompositionaffectthepropertiesofthesoilmaterial.Descriptionsincludethepercentageof
undecomposedfibersandthesolubilityinsodiumpyrophosphateofthehumifiedmaterial.Aspecialeffortismade
toidentifyandestimatethevolumeoccupiedbysphagnumfibers,whichhaveextraordinaryhighwaterretention
characteristics.Whensqueezedfirmlyinthehandtoremoveasmuchwateraspossible,sphagnumfibersarelighter
incolorthanfibersofhypnumandmostothermosses.

Fragmentsofwoodmorethan2cmacrossandsoundecomposedthattheycannotbecrushedbythefingerswhen
moistorwetarecalledwoodfragments.Theyarecomparabletorockfragmentsinmineralsoilsandaredescribed
inacomparablemanner.

Muck(sapric)iswelldecomposed,organicsoilmaterial.Peat(fibric)isrelativelyundecomposed,organicmaterialin
whichtheoriginalfibersconstitutealmostallofthematerial.Muckypeat(hemic)ismaterialintermediatebetween
muckandpeat.

RockFragments

Rockfragmentsareunattachedpiecesofrock2mmindiameterorlargerthatarestronglycementedormore
resistanttorupture.Rockfragmentsincludeallsizesthathavehorizontaldimensionslessthanthesizeofapedon.

Rockfragmentsaredescribedbysize,shape,and,forsome,thekindofrock.Theclassesarepebbles,cobbles,
channers,flagstones,stones,andboulders(table311).Ifasizeorrangeofsizespredominates,theclassis
modified,asforexample:finepebbles,cobbles100to150mmindiameter,channers25to50mminlength.

Gravelisacollectionofpebblesthathavediametersrangingfrom2to75mm.Thetermisappliedtothecollection
ofpebblesinasoillayerwithnoimplicationofgeologicalformalization.Thetermspebbleandcobbleareusually
restrictedtoroundedorsubroundedfragmentshowever,theycanbeusedtodescribeangularfragmentsifthey
arenotflat.Wordslikechert,limestone,andshalerefertoakindofrock,notapieceofrock.Thecompositionofthe
fragmentscanbegiven:chertpebbles,limestonechanners.Theuppersizeofgravelis3inches(75mm).This
coincideswiththeupperlimitusedbymanyengineersforgrainsizedistributioncomputations.The5mmand20
mmdivisionsfortheseparationoffine,medium,andcoarsegravelcoincidewiththesizesofopeningsinthe
number4screen(4.76mm)andthe3/4inchscreen(19.05mm)usedinengineering.

The75mm(3inch)limitseparatesgravelfromcobbles.The250mm(10inch)limitseparatescobblesfrom
stones,andthe600mm(24inch)limitseparatesstonesfromboulders.The150mm(channers)and380mm
(flagstones)limitsforthin,flatfragmentsfollowconventionsusedformanyyearstoprovideclasslimitsforplate
shapedandcrudelysphericalrockfragmentsthathaveaboutthesamesoiluseimplicationsasthe250mmlimitfor
sphericalshapes.

RockFragmentsintheSoil

Historically,thetotalvolumeofrockfragmentsofallsizeshasbeenusedtoformclasses.Theinterpretations
programimposesrequirementsthatcannotbemetbygroupingallsizesofrockfragmentstogether.Furthermore,
theinterpretationsprogramrequiresweightratherthanvolumeestimates.Forinterpretations,theweightpercent
>250,75250,575and25mmarerequiredthefirsttwoareonawholesoilbasis,andthelattertwoareona
<75mmbasis.Forthe>250and75250mm,weighingisgenerallyimpracticable.Volumepercentageestimates
wouldbemadefromarealpercentagemeasurementsbypointcountorlineintersectmethods.Lengthofthe
transectorareaoftheexposureshouldbe50andpreferably100timestheareaordimensionsoftherockfragment
sizethatencompassesabout90percentoftherockfragmentvolume.Forthe<75mmweight,measurementsare
feasiblebutmayrequire5060kgofsampleifappreciablerockfragmentsnear75mmarepresent.Analternativeis
toobtainvolumeestimatesforthe2075mmandweightestimatesforthe<20mm.Thisisfavoredbecauseofthe
difficultyinvisualevaluationofthe2to5mmsizeseparations.Theweightpercentagesof520and25mmmay
beconvertedtovolumeestimatesandplacedona<75mmbasebycomputation.Theadjectivalformofaclass
nameofrockfragments(table311)isusedasamodifierofthetexturalclassname:gravellyloam,stonyloam.

Table311.Termsforrockfragments

Shapeandsize1 Noun Adjective

Spherical,cubelike,orequiaxial:

275mmdiameter Pebbles Gravelly

25mmdiameter Fine Finegravelly

520mmdiameter Medium Mediumgravelly

2075mmdiameter Coarse Coarsegravelly

75250mmdiameter Cobbles Cobbly

250600mmdiameter Stones Stony

>600mmdiameter Boulders Bouldery

Flat:
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2150mmlong Channers Channery

150380mmlong Flagstones Flaggy

380600mmlong Stones Stony

>600mmlong Boulders Bouldery

1.Theroundnessofthefragmentsmaybeindicatedasangular(stronglydevelopedfaceswithsharpedges),irregular
(prominentflatfaceswithincipientroundingorcorners),subrounded(detectableflatfaceswithwellroundedcorners),
androunded(flatfacesabsentornearlyabsentwithallcorners.

Thefollowingclasses,basedonvolumepercentages,areused:

Lessthan15percent:Noadjectivalormodifyingtermsareusedinwritingforcontrastwithsoils
havinglessthan15percentpebbles,cobbles,orflagstones.Theadjectiveslightlymaybeused,
however,torecognizethosesoilsusedforspecialpurposes.

15to35percent:Theadjectivaltermofthedominantkindofrockfragmentisusedasamodifierof
thetexturalterm:gravellyloam,channeryloam,cobblyloam(fig.317).

35to60percent:Theadjectivaltermofthedominantkindofrockfragmentisusedwiththeword
veryasamodifierofthetexturalterm:verygravellyloam,veryflaggyloam(fig.318).

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More
than60
percent:
If
enough
fine
earthis
present
to

determinethetexturalclass(approximately10percentormorebyvolume)theadjectivaltermofthe
dominantkindofrockfragmentisusedwiththewordextremelyasamodifierofthetexturalterm:
extremelygravellyloam,extremelyboulderyloam.Ifthereistoolittlefineearthtodeterminethe
texturalclass(lessthanabout10percentbyvolume)thetermgravel,cobbles,stones,or
bouldersisusedasappropriate.

Theclasslimitsapplytothevolumeofthelayeroccupiedbyallpiecesofrocklargerthan2mm.Thesoilgenerally
containsfragmentssmallerorlargerthanthoseidentifiedintheterm.Forexample,astonyloamusuallycontains
pebbles,butgravellyisnotmentionedinthename.Theuseofatermforlargerpiecesofrock,suchasboulders,
doesnotimplythatthepiecesareentirelywithinagivensoillayer.Asinglebouldermayextendthroughseveral
layers.

Morepreciseestimatesoftheamountsofrockfragmentsthanareprovidedbythedefinedclassesareneededfor
somepurposes.Ifthemorepreciseinformationisneeded,estimatesofpercentagesofeachsizeclassora
combinationofsizeclassesareincludedinthedescription:verycobblyloam30percentcobblesand15percent
gravelorsiltloamabout10percentgravel.Ifloosepiecesofrockaresignificantinuseandmanagementofa
soil,theyarethebasisofphasedistinctionsamongmapunits.Exposedbedrockisnotsoilandisseparately
identifiedinmapping.

Thevolumeoccupiedbyindividualpiecesofrockcanbeseenandtheiraggregatevolumepercentagecanbe
calculated.Forsomepurposes,volumepercentagemustbeconvertedtoweightpercentage.

RockFragmentsattheSurface

Thetreatmentofgravel,cobblesandchanners(2250mm)differsfromthatforstonesandboulders(>250mm)
(Seetable311).Thereasonforthedifferenceisthatanimportantaspectofthedescriptionofthe2250mmis
thearealpercentcoveronthegroundsurfaceaffordedbytherockfragments.Forthe>250mm,thepercentof
coverisnotofitselfasimportantastheinterferencewithmechanicalmanipulationofthesoil.Averysmallareal
percentageoflargerockfragments,insignificantforerosionprotection,mayinterferewithtillage.

Thearealpercentageoverthegroundsurfaceisdeterminedusingpointcountand/orlineintersectprocedures.If
thearealpercentageexceeds80percent,thetopofthesoilisthemeanheightofthetopoftherockfragments.
Thevolumeproportionsof2to5mm,5to75mm,and75to250mmshouldberecorded.Thiscanbedonefrom
arealmeasurements.

Thenumber,size,andspacingofstonesandboulders(>250mm)onthesurfaceofasoil,includingboththosethat
lieonthesurfaceandthosethatarepartlywithinthesoilbutprotrudeaboveground,haveimportanteffectsonsoil
useandmanagement.Theclasslimitsthatfollowaregivenintermsoftheapproximateamountofstonesand
bouldersatthesurface.

Class1.Stonesorboulderscoverabout0.01to0.1percentofthesurface.Stonesofthesmallestsizes
areatleast8mapartbouldersofthesmallestsizesareatleast20mapart(fig.319).

Class2.Stonesorboulderscoverabout0.1to3percentofthesurface.Stonesofthesmallestsizesare
notlessthan1mapartbouldersofthesmallestsizearenolessthan3mapart(Fig.320).

Class3.Stonesorboulderscoverabout3to15percentofthesurface.Stonesofthesmallestsizeare
aslittleas0.5mapartbouldersofthesmallestsizeareaslittleas1mapart(fig.321).

Class4.Stonesorboulderscoverabout15to50percentofthesurface.Stonesofthesmallestsizeare
aslittleas0.3mapartbouldersofthesmallestsizeareaslittleas0.5mapart.Inmostplacesitis
possibletostepfromstonetostoneorjumpfrombouldertoboulderwithouttouchingthesoil(fig.3
22).

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Class5.Stonesorbouldersappeartobenearlycontinuousandcover50to90percentofthesurface.
Stonesofthesmallestsizearelessthan0.03mapartbouldersofthesmallestsizearelessthan0.05
mapart.Classifiablesoilisamongtherockfragments,andplantscangrowifnototherwiselimited(fig.
323).

Theselimitsareintendedonlyasguidestoamountsthatmaymarkcriticallimitationsformajorkinds
oflanduse.Table312isasummaryoftheclasses.

Table312.Classesofsurfacestonesandbouldersintermsofcoverandspacing

Distanceinmetersbetweenstones
Class Percentage Name
0.25m 1 0.6m 1.2m

1 0.010.1 ?8 ?20 ?37 Stonyorbouldery

2 0.13.0 18 320 637 Verystonyorverybouldery

3 3.015 0.51 13 26 Extremelystonyorextremelybouldery

4 1550 0.30.5 0.51 12 Rubbly

5 5090 <0.3 <0.5 <1 Veryrubbly

1.0.38mifflat

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SoilColor
Elementsofsoilcolordescriptionsarethecolorname,theMunsellnotation,thewaterstate,andthephysicalstate:
brown(10YR5/3),dry,crushed,andsmoothed.

Physicalstateisrecordedasbroken,rubbed,crushed,orcrushedandsmoothed.Thetermcrushedusuallyapplies
todrysamplesandrubbedtomoistsamples.Ifunspecified,thesurfaceisbroken.Thecolorofthesoilisrecorded
forasurfacebrokenthroughapedifapedcanbebrokenasaunit.

Thecolorvalueofmostsoilmaterialbecomesloweraftermoistening.Consequently,thewaterstateofasampleis
alwaysgiven.Thewaterstateiseithermoistordry.Thedrystateforcolordeterminationsisairdryandshould
bemadeatthepointwherethecolordoesnotchangewithadditionaldrying.Colorinthemoiststateisdetermined
onmoderatelymoistorverymoistsoilmaterialandshouldbemadeatthepointwherethecolordoesnotchange
withadditionalmoistening.Thesoilshouldnotbemoistenedtotheextentthatglisteningtakesplaceascolor
determinationsofwetsoilmaybeinerrorbecauseofthelightreflectionofwaterfilms.Inahumidregion,themoist
stategenerallyisconsideredstandardinanaridregion,thedrystateisstandard.Indetaileddescriptions,colorsof
bothdryandmoistsoilarerecordediffeasible.Thecolorfortheregionallystandardmoisturestateisusually
describedfirst.Bothmoistanddrycolorsareparticularlyvaluablefortheimmediatesurfaceandtilledhorizonsin
ordertoassessreflectance.

MunsellnotationisobtainedbycomparisonwithaMunsellsystemcolorchart.Themostcommonlyusedchart
includesonlyaboutonefifthoftheentirerangeofhues9.Itconsistsofabout250differentcoloredpapers,orchips,
systematicallyarrangedonhuecardsaccordingtotheirMunsellnotations.Figure324illustratesthearrangements
ofcolorchipsonaMunsellcolorcard.

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TheMunsellcolorsystemusesthreeelementsofcolorhue,value,andchromatomakeupacolornotation.The
notationisrecordedintheform:hue,value/chromaforexample,5Y6/3.

Hueisameasureofthechromaticcompositionoflightthatreachestheeye.TheMunsellsystemisbasedonfive
principalhues:red(R),yellow(Y),green(G),blue(B),andpurple(P).Fiveintermediatehuesrepresenting
midpointsbetweeneachpairofprincipalhuescompletethe10majorhuenamesusedtodescribethenotation.The
intermediatehuesareyellowred(YR),greenyellow(GY),bluegreen(BG),purpleblue(PB),andredpurple(RP).
Therelationshipsamongthe10huesareshowninfigure325.Eachofthe10majorhuesisdividedintofour
segmentsofequalvisualsteps,whicharedesignatedbynumericalvaluesappliedasprefixestothesymbolforthe
huename10.Infigure325,forexample,10Rmarksalimitofredhue.Fourequallyspacedstepsoftheadjacent
yellowred(YR)hueareidentifiedas2.5YR,5YR,7.5YR,and10YRrespectively.Thestandardchartforsoilhas
separatehuecardsfrom10Rthrough5Y.

Valueindicatesthedegreeoflightnessordarknessofacolorinrelationtoaneutralgrayscale.Onaneutralgray
(achromatic)scale,valueextendsfrompureblack(0/)topurewhite(10/).Thevaluenotationisameasureofthe
amountoflightthatreachestheeyeunderstandardlightingconditions.Grayisperceivedasabouthalfway
betweenblackandwhiteandhasavaluenotationof5/.Theactualamountoflightthatreachestheeyeisrelated
logarithmicallytocolorvalue.Lightercolorsareindicatedbynumbersbetween5/and10/darkercolorsare
indicatedbynumbersfrom5/to0/.Thesevaluesmaybedesignatedforeitherachromaticorchromaticconditions.
Thus,acardofthecolorchartforsoilhasaseriesofchipsarrangedverticallytoshowequalstepsfromthelightest
tothedarkestshadesofthathue.Figure324showsthisarrangementverticallyonthecardforthehueof10YR.

Chromaistherelativepurityorstrengthofthespectralcolor.Chromaindicatesthedegreeofsaturationofneutral
graybythespectralcolor.Thescalesofchromaforsoilsextendfrom/0forneutralcolorstoachromaof/8asthe
strongestexpressionofcolorusedforsoils.Figure324illustratesthatcolorchipsarearrangedhorizontallyby
increasingchromafromlefttorightonthecolorcard.

Thecompletecolornotationcanbevisualizedfromfigure324.Palebrown,forexample,isdesignated10YR6/3.
Verydarkbrownisdesignated10YR2/2.Allofthecolorsonthecharthavehueof10YR.Thedarkestshadesofthat
hueareatthebottomofthecardandthelightestshadesareatthetop.Theweakestexpressionofchroma(the
grayestcolor)isattheleftthestrongestexpressionofchromaisattheright.

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Attheextremeleftofthe
cardaresymbolssuchas
N6/.Thesearecolorsof
zerochromawhichare
totallyachromatic
neutralcolor.Theyhave
nohueandnochroma
butrangeinvaluefrom
black(N2/)towhite(N
8/).Anexampleofa
notationforaneutral
(achromatic)colorisN5/
(gray).Thecolor10YR
5/1isalsocalledgray,
forthehueishardly
perceptibleatsuchlow
chroma.

Conditionsformeasuringcolor.Thequalityandintensityofthelightaffecttheamountandqualityofthelight
reflectedfromthesampletotheeye.Themoisturecontentofthesampleandtheroughnessofitssurfaceaffectthe
lightreflected.Thevisualimpressionofcolorfromthestandardcolorchipsisaccurateonlyunderstandard
conditionsoflightintensityandquality.Colordeterminationmaybeinaccurateearlyinthemorningorlateinthe
evening.Whenthesunislowintheskyortheatmosphereissmoky,thelightreachingthesampleandthelight
reflectedisredder.Eventhoughthesamekindoflightreachesthecolorstandardandthesample,thereadingof
samplecoloratthesetimesiscommonlyoneormoreintervalsofhueredderthanatmidday.Colorsalsoappear
differentinthesubduedlightofacloudydaythaninbrightsunlight.Ifartificiallightisused,asforcolor
determinationsinanoffice,thelightsourceusedmustbeasnearthewhitelightofmiddayaspossible.With
practice,compensationcanbemadeforthedifferencesunlessthelightissosubduedthatthedistinctionsbetween
colorchipsarenotapparent.Theintensityofincidentallightisespeciallycriticalwhenmatchingsoiltochipsoflow
chromaandlowvalue.

Roughnessofthereflectingsurfaceaffectstheamountofreflectedlight,especiallyiftheincidentallightfallsatan
acuteangle.Theincidentallightshouldbeasnearlyaspossibleatarightangle.Forcrushedsamples,thesurfaceis
smoothedthestateisrecordedasdry,crushed,andsmoothed.

RecordingGuidelines

Uncertainty.Underfieldconditions,measurementsofcolorarereproduciblebydifferentindividualswithin2.5
unitsofhue(onecard)and1unitofvalueandchroma.Notationsaremadetothenearestwholeunitofvalueand
chroma.

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Before1989,
thecardsfor
huesof2.5YR,
7.5YR,and
2.5Ydidnot
includechips
forcolors
havingchroma
of3.These
colorsare
encountered
frequentlyin
somesoilsand
canbe
estimated
reliablyby
interpolation
between
adjacentchips
ofthesame
hue.Chipsfor
chromasof5
and7arenot
providedon
anyofthe
standardcolor
cards.
Determinations
areusuallynot
preciseenough
tojustify
interpolation
between
chromasof4
and6or6and
8.Colorshould
neverbe
extrapolated
beyondthe
highestchip.It
shouldalsoberoundedtothenearestchip.

Formanypurposes,thedifferencesbetweencolorsofsomeadjacentcolorchipshavelittlesignificance.Forsuch
purposes,colornotationshavebeengrouped,andthegroupshavebeennamed(fig.324).

DominantColor

Thedominantcoloristhecolorthatoccupiesthegreatestvolumeofthelayer.Dominantcolor(orcolors)isalways
givenfirstamongthoseofamulticoloredlayer.Itisjudgedonthebasisofcolorsofabrokensample.Foronlytwo
colors,thedominantcolormakesupmorethan50percentofthevolume.Forthreeormorecolors,thedominant
colormakesupmoreofthevolumeofthelayerthananyothercolor,althoughitmayoccupylessthan50percent.
Theexpressionbrownwithyellowishbrownandgrayishbrownsignifiesthatbrownisthedominantcolor.Itmay
ormaynotmakeupmorethan50percentofthelayer.

Insomelayers,nosinglecolorisdominantandthefirstcolorlistedisnotmoreprevalentthanothers.The
expressionbrownandyellowishbrownwithgrayishbrownindicatesthatbrownandyellowishbrownareabout
equalandarecodominant.Ifthecolorsaredescribedasbrown,yellowishbrown,andgrayishbrown,thethree
colorsmakeupnearlyequalpartsofthelayer.

Mottling

Mottlingreferstorepetitivecolorchangesthatcannotbeassociatedwithcompositionalpropertiesofthesoil.
Redoximorphicfeaturesareatypeofmottlingthatisassociatedwithwetness.Acolorpatternthatcanberelatedto
proximitytoapedsurfaceorotherorganizationalorcompositionalfeatureisnotmottling.Mottledescriptionfollows
thedominantcolor.Mottlesaredescribedbyquantity,size,contrast,color,andotherattributesinthatorder.

Quantityisindicatedbythreearealpercentageclassesoftheobservedsurface:

few:lessthan2percent,

common:2to20percent,and

many:morethan20percent.

Thenotationsmustclearlyindicatetowhichcolorsthetermsforquantityapply.Forexample,commongrayish
brownandyellowishbrownmottlescouldmeanthateachmakesup2to20percentofthehorizon.Byconvention,
theexampleisinterpretedtomeanthatthequantityofthetwocolorstogetherisbetween2and20percent.If
eachcolormakesupbetween2and20percent,thedescriptionshouldreadcommongrayishbrown(10YR5/2)
andcommonyellowishbrown(10YR5/4)mottles.

Sizereferstodimensionsasseenonaplanesurface.Ifthelengthofamottleisnotmorethantwoor
threetimesthewidth,thedimensionrecordedisthegreaterofthetwo.Ifthemottleislongand

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narrow,asabandofcolorattheperipheryofaped,thedimensionrecordedisthesmallerofthetwo
andtheshapeandlocationarealsodescribed.Threesizeclassesareused:

fine:smallerthan5mm,

medium:5to15mm,and

coarse:largerthan155mm.

Contrastreferstothedegreeofvisualdistinctionthatisevidentbetweenassociatedcolors:

Faint:Evidentonlyoncloseexamination.Faintmottlescommonlyhavethesamehueasthecolorto
whichtheyarecomparedanddifferbynomorethan1unitofchromaor2unitsofvalue.Somefaint
mottlesofsimilarbutlowchromaandvaluedifferby2.5units(onecard)ofhue.

Distinct:Readilyseenbutcontrastonlymoderatelywiththecolortowhichtheyarecompared.Distinct
mottlescommonlyhavethesamehueasthecolortowhichtheyarecomparedbutdifferby2to4
unitsofchromaor3to4unitsofvalueordifferfromthecolortowhichtheyarecomparedby2.5
units(onecard)ofhuebutbynomorethan1unitofchromaor2unitsofvalue.

Prominent:Contraststronglywiththecolortowhichtheyarecompared.Prominentmottlesare
commonlythemostobviouscolorfeatureofthesectiondescribed.Prominentmottlesthathave
mediumchromaandvaluecommonlydifferfromthecolortowhichtheyarecomparedbyatleast5
units(twopages)ofhueifchromaandvaluearethesameatleast4unitsofvalueorchromaifthe
hueisthesameoratleast1unitofchromaor2unitsofvalueifhuediffersby2.5units(onecard).

Contrastisoftennotasimplecomparisonofonecolorwithanotherbutisavisualimpressionoftheprominenceof
onecoloragainstabackgroundcommonlyinvolvingseveralcolors.

Shape,location,andcharacterofboundariesofmottlesareindicatedasneeded.Shapeisdescribedbycommon
wordssuchasstreaks,bands,tongues,tubes,andspots.Locationofmottlesasrelatedtostructureofthesoilmay
besignificant.Boundariesmaybedescribedassharp(colorgradationisnotdiscernablewiththenakedeye),clear
(colorgradesoverlessthan2mm),ordiffuse(colorgradesovermorethan2mm).

Moisturestateandphysicalstateofthedominantcolorarepresumedtoapplytothemottlesunlessthedescription
statesotherwise.Anexample,forwhichastandardmoistbrokenstateofthesamplehasbeenspecified,mightread
brown(10YR4/3),brown(10YR5/3)drymanymediumdistinctyellowishbrown(10YR5/6)mottles,brownish
yellow(10YR6/6)dry.Alternatively,thecolorsinthestandardmoisturestatemaybegiventogether,followedby
thecolorsatothermoisturestates.Thecolorofmottlescommonlyisgivenonlyforthestandardstateunlessspecial
significancecanbeattachedtocolorsatanotherstate.

Anearlyequalmixtureoftwocolorsforamoistbrokenstandardstatecanbewrittenintermingledbrown(10YR
4/3)andyellowishbrown(10YR5/6)inamediumdistinctpatternbrown(10YR5/3)andbrownishyellow(10YR
6/6)dry.Ifathirdcolorispresent,commonmediumfaintdarkgrayishbrown(10YR4/2)mottles,grayishbrown
(10YR5/2)drycanbeadded.

Ifthemottlesarefineandfaintsothattheycannotbecomparedeasilywiththecolorstandards,theMunsell
notationshouldbeomitted.Otherabbreviateddescriptionsareusedforspecificcircumstances.

ColorPatterns

Color,includingmottling,maybedescribedseparatelyforanyfeaturethatmaymeritaseparatedescription,suchas
peds,concretions,nodules,cementedbodies,filledanimalburrows,andthelike.Colorpatternsthatexhibitaspatial
relationshiptocompositionchangesortofeaturessuchasnodulesorsurfacesofstructuralunitsmaybeusefulto
recordbecauseoftheinferencesthatmaybedrawnaboutgenesisandsoilbehavior.Colorsmaybegivenfor
extensionsofmaterialfromanothersoillayer.ThefinetubularcolorpatternsthatextendverticallybelowtheA
horizonofsomewetsoils,forexample,weredeterminedbytheenvironmentadjacenttorootsthatonceoccupied
thetubules.Therimofbrightcolorwithinanouterlayeroflightercoloratthesurfaceofsomepedsrelatetowater
movementintoandoutofthepedsandtooxidationreductionrelationships.

Groundsurfacecolor.Thecolorvalueoftheimmediategroundsurfacemaydiffermarkedlyfromthatofthe
surfacehorizon.Forexample,raindropimpactmayhaveremovedclaysizematerialfromthesurfaceofsandandsilt
whichresultsinasurficialmillimeterorsoofincreasedcolorvalue.Insomearidsoils,darkrockfragmentsmayhave
reducedthecolorvalueofthegroundsurfaceappreciablyfromthatofthefineearthofthesurfacehorizonasa
whole.Furthermore,deadvegetationmayhavecolorvaluesthatdifferappreciablyfromthoseforthefineearthof
thesurfacehorizon.Colorinformationis,therefore,desirablefortheactualgroundsurfaceinclusiveofthevegetation
aswellasthesoilmaterial.Surfacecolorinfluencesreflectivityoflight,therefore,thecapacitytoabsorbandrelease
radiantenergy.

Surfacesoilcolorscommonlyrangewidelyatasite,anditmaybenecessarytoarraymentallythecolorvaluesand
theirarealproportionforthegroundsurface,whetherrockfragments,deadvegetation,orfineearth.Thenasingle
colorvalueisselectedforeachimportantgroundsurfacecomponent.Fromthearealproportionofthecomponents,
andtheircolorvalue,aweightedaveragecolorvalueforthegroundsurfacemaybecomputed.Estimationofthe
arealproportionofcomponentsisdiscussedinthesectionongroundcover.

SoilStructure
Soilstructurereferstounitscomposedofprimaryparticles.Thecohesionwithintheseunitsisgreaterthanthe
adhesionamongunits.Asaconsequence,understress,thesoilmasstendstorupturealongpredeterminedplanes

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orzones.Theseplanesorzones,inturn,formtheboundary.Compositionaldifferencesofthefabricmatrixappearto
exertweakornocontroloverwheretheboundingsurfacesoccur.Ifcompositionaldifferencescontrolthebounding
surfacesofthebody,thenthetermconcentrationisemployed.Thetermstructuralunitisusedforany
repetitivesoilbodythatiscommonlyboundedbyplanesorzonesofweaknessthatarenotanapparent
consequenceofcompositionaldifferences.Astructuralunitthatistheconsequenceofsoildevelopmentiscalleda
ped.Thesurfacesofpedspersistthroughcyclesofwettinganddryinginplace.Commonly,thesurfaceoftheped
anditsinteriordifferastocompositionororganization,orboth,becauseofsoildevelopment.Earthyclodsand
fragmentsstandincontrasttopeds,forwhichsoilformingprocessesexertweakornocontrolontheboundaries.
Someclods,adjacenttothesurfaceofthebody,exhibitsomerearrangementofprimaryparticlestoadenser
configurationthroughmechanicalmeans.Thesametermsandcriteriausedtodescribestructuredsoilsshouldbe
usedtodescribetheshape,grade,andsizeofclods.Structureisnotinferredbyusingthetermsinterchangeably.A
sizesufficienttoaffecttilthadverselymustbeconsidered.Thedistinctionbetweenclodsandfragmentsrestsonthe
degreeofconsolidationbymechanicalmeans.Soilfragmentsinclude(1)unitsofundisturbedsoilwithbounding
planesofweaknessthatareformedondryingwithoutapplicationofexternalforceandwhichdonotappeartohave
predeterminedboundingplanes,(2)unitsofsoildisturbedbymechanicalmeansbutwithoutsignificant
rearrangementtoadenserconfiguration,and(3)piecesofsoilboundedbyplanesofweaknesscausedbypressure
exertedduringexaminationwithsizeandshapehighlydependentonthemannerofmanipulation.

Somesoilslackstructureandarereferredtoasstructureless.Instructurelesslayersorhorizons,nounitsare
observableinplaceorafterthesoilhasbeengentlydisturbed,suchasbytappingaspadecontainingasliceofsoil
againstahardsurfaceordroppingalargefragmentontheground.Whenstructurelesssoilsareruptured,soil
fragments,singlegrains,orbothresult.Structurelesssoilmaterialmaybeeithersinglegrainormassive.Soil
materialofsinglegrainslacksstructure.Inaddition,itisloose.Onrupture,morethan50percentofthemass
consistsofdiscretemineralparticles.

Somesoilshavesimplestructure,eachunitbeinganentitywithoutcomponentsmallerunits.Othershave
compoundstructure,inwhichlargeunitsarecomposedofsmallerunitsseparatedbypersistentplanesofweakness.

Insoilsthathavestructure,theshape,size,andgrade(distinctness)oftheunitsaredescribed.Fieldterminology
forsoilstructureconsistsofseparatesetsoftermsdesignatingeachofthethreeproperties,whichbycombination
formthenamesforstructure.

Shape.Severalbasicshapesofstructuralunitsarerecognizedinsoils.Supplementalstatementsaboutthe
variationsinshapeofindividualpedsareneededindetaileddescriptionsofsomesoils.Thefollowingtermsdescribe
thebasicshapesandrelatedarrangements:

platy:Theunitsareflatandplatelike.Theyaregenerallyorientedhorizontally.Platystructureis
illustratedinfigure326.Aspecialform,lenticularplatystructure,isrecognizedforplatesthatare
thickestinthemiddleandthintowardtheedges.

prismatic:Theindividualunitsareboundedbyflattoroundedverticalfaces.Unitsaredistinctly
longervertically,andthefacesaretypicallycastsormoldsofadjoiningunits.Verticesareangularor
subroundedthetopsoftheprismsaresomewhatindistinctandnormallyflat.Prismaticstructureis
illustratedinfigure327.

columnar:Theunitsaresimilartoprismsandareboundedbyflatorslightlyroundedverticalfaces.
Thetopsofcolumns,incontrasttothoseofprisms,areverydistinctandnormallyrounded,as
illustratedinfigure328.

blocky:Theunitsareblocklikeorpolyhedral.Theyareboundedbyflatorslightlyroundedsurfaces
thatarecastsofthefacesofsurroundingpeds.Typically,blockystructuralunitsarenearly
equidimensionalbutgradetoprismsandtoplates.Thestructureisdescribedasangularblockyifthe
facesintersectatrelativelysharpanglesassubangularblockyifthefacesareamixtureofrounded
andplanefacesandthecornersaremostlyrounded.Figure329illustratesangularblockyunits.

granular:Theunitsareapproximatelysphericalorpolyhedralandareboundedbycurvedorvery
irregularfacesthatarenotcastsofadjoiningpeds.Granularunitsareillustratedinfigure330.

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Size.Five
classesare
employed:
veryfine,fine,
medium,
coarse,and
verycoarse.
Thesizelimits
oftheclasses
differaccording
totheshapeof
theunits.The
sizelimit
classesare
givenintable
313.Thesize
limitsreferto
thesmallest
dimensionof
plates,prisms,
andcolumns.If
theunitsare
morethan
twicethe
minimumsize
ofvery
coarse,the
actualsizeis
given:prisms
30to40cm
across.

Grade.Grade
describesthe
distinctnessof
units.Criteria
aretheeaseof
separationinto
discreteunits
andthe
proportionof
unitsthathold
togetherwhen
thesoilis
handled.Three
classesare
used:

Weak.Theunitsarebarelyobservableinplace.Whengentlydisturbed,thesoilmaterialpartsintoa
mixtureofwholeandbrokenunitsandmuchmaterialthatexhibitsnoplanesofweakness.Facesthat
indicatepersistencethroughwetdrywetcyclesareevidentifthesoilishandledcarefully.
Distinguishingstructurelessnessfromweakstructureissometimesdifficult.Weaklyexpressed
structuralunitsinvirtuallyallsoilmaterialshavesurfacesthatdifferinsomewayfromtheinteriors.

Moderate.Theunitsarewellformedandevidentinundisturbedsoil.Whendisturbed,thesoil
materialpartsintoamixtureofmostlywholeunits,somebrokenunits,andmaterialthatisnotin
units.Pedspartfromadjoiningpedstorevealnearlyentirefacesthathavepropertiesdistinctfrom
thoseoffracturedsurfaces.

Strong.Theunitsaredistinctinundisturbedsoil.Theyseparatecleanlywhenthesoilisdisturbed.
Whenremoved,thesoilmaterialseparatesmainlyintowholeunits.Pedshavedistinctivesurface
properties.

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Table313.
Sizeclasses
ofsoil
structure

Shapeofstructure

Platy1 PrismaticandColumnar Blocky Granular

SizeClasses
mm mm mm mm

1 <1 <10 <5 <1

2 12 1020 510 12

3 25 2050 1020 25

4 510 50100 2050 510

5 >10 >100 >50 >10

1.Indescribingplates,thinisusedinsteadoffineandthickinsteadofcoarse.

Thedistinctnessofindividualstructuralunitsandtherelationshipofcohesionwithinunitstoadhesionbetweenunits
determinegradeofstructure.Cohesionaloneisnotspecified.Forexample,individualstructuralunitsinasandy
loamAhorizonmayhavestrongstructure,yettheymaybelessdurablethanindividualunitsinasiltyclayloamB
horizonofweakstructure.Thedegreeofdisturbancerequiredtodeterminestructuregradedependslargelyon
moisturecontentandpercentageandkindofclay.Onlyslightdisturbancemaybenecessarytoseparatetheunitsof
amoistsandyloamhavingstronggranularstructure,whileconsiderabledisturbancemayberequiredtoseparate
unitsofamoistclayloamhavingstrongblockystructure.

Thethreetermsforsoilstructurearecombinedintheorder(1)grade,(2)size,(3)shape.Strongfinegranular
structureisusedtodescribeasoilthatseparatesalmostentirelyintodiscreteunitsthatarelooselypacked,roughly
spherical,andmostlybetween1and2mmindiameter.

Thedesignationofstructurebygrade,size,andshapecanbemodifiedwithotherappropriatetermswhen
necessarytodescribeothercharacteristics.Surfacecharacteristicsofunitsaredescribedseparately.Specialstructural
units,suchasthewedgeshapedunitsofVertisols,aredescribedinappropriateterms.

CompoundStructure

Smallerstructuralunitsmaybeheldtogethertoformlargerunits.Grade,size,andshapearegivenforbothandthe
relationshipofonesettotheotherisindicated:strongmediumblockswithinmoderatecoarseprisms,or
moderatecoarseprismaticstructurepartingtostrongmediumblocky.

ExtraStructuralCracks

Cracksaremacroscopicverticalplanarvoidswithawidthmuchsmallerthanlengthanddepth.Acrackrepresents
thereleaseofstrainthatisaconsequenceofdrying.Inmanysoils,cracksboundindividualstructuralunits.These
cracksarerepetitiveandusuallyquitenarrow.Theirpresenceispartoftheconceptofthestructure.Thecracksto
bediscussedaretheresultoflocalizedstressreleasewhichformsplanarvoidsthatarewiderthantherepetitive
planarvoidsbetweenstructuralunitsorwhichoccurinmassiveorweaklystructuredmaterialatrelativelywide
intervals.Thesecracksmaybecoextensivewithcrackspacebetweenstructuralunits.Iftheyarecoextensive,the
widthexceedsthatoftheassociatedstructuralcracks.Thearealpercentageofsuchcracks,eitheronavertical
exposureoronthegroundsurface,maybemeasuredbylineinterceptmethods.Fortaxonomicpurposes,thewidth
anddepthofcrackshasimportance.Fourkindsofextrastructuralcracksmayberecognized:

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Surfaceinitiatedreversiblecracksformasaresultofdryingfromthesurfacedownward.Theyclose
afterrelativelyslightsurficialwettingandhavelittleinfluenceonpondedinfiltrationrates.

Surfaceinitiatedirreversiblecracksformonnearsurfacewaterreductionfromexceptionallyhighwater
contentrelatedtofreezethawactionandotherprocesses.Thecracksdonotclosecompletelywhen
rewetandextendthroughthecrustformedbyfrostaction.Theyacttoincreasepondedinfiltration
rates.

Subsurfaceinitiatedreversiblecracksformasaresultofappreciablereductioninwatercontentfrom
fieldcapacityinhorizonsorlayerswithconsiderableextensibility.Theycloseinamatterofdaysifthe
horizonisbroughttothemoderatelymoistorwetterstate.Theyextendupwardtothesoilsurface
unlessthereisarelativelythickoverlyinghorizonthatisveryweaklycompacted(looseorveryfriable)
anddoesnotpermitthepropagationofcracks(mechanicallybulkedsubzones(fig.313,for
example)).Suchcracksimportantlyinfluencepondedinfiltrationratesandevaporationdirectlyfrom
thesoil.

SubsurfaceinitiatedirreversiblecracksarethepermanentcracksoftheUSDAsoiltaxonomysystem
(seefigure331).Theyhaveasimilarorigintosurfaceinitiatedirreversiblecracks,althoughquite
differentagenciesareinvolved.

Theforegoinggeneticdefinitionofcracksdoesnotdirectlyrelatetopredictionofinfiltration.Forsuchpredictions,
thesurfaceconnectivenessofthecracksandtheirdepthmustbespecified.Surfaceconnectedcracksoccuratthe
groundsurfaceorarecoveredbyupto1015cmofsoilmaterialthatwouldpermittheaccumulationoffreewater
attheplanethatmarksthetopofthecrackunderconditionsthatmayoccurinmostyears.Iftheantecedentwater
stateoftheoverlyingzonewereverymoist,freewaterfrom25mmofrainfallinonehourshouldreachthetopof
thecracks.Usuallythezonewouldhaveveryhighorhighsaturatedhydraulicconductivity.Suchsubzonesmay
exhibitstructureorbesinglegrain.Thestructureunitsrangewidelyinsize.Thecommoncharacteristicisthatthe
consistentunitsofthemassasawholearehighlydiscreteandtheporosityoftheintersticesamongthestructural
unitsishigh.Ifnottoothick,themechanicallybulkedsubzoneoftilledsurfacehorizonswouldbesuchazone.

Acrackdepthindexvaluemaybeobtainedbyinsertionofabluntwire,approximately2mmindiameter11.
Penetrantcracksare15cmormoreindepthasmeasuredbywireinsertion.Cracksthatarebothpenetrantand
surfaceconnectedaredescribedaspenetrantsurfaceconnected.Penetrantsurfaceconnectedcracksacttoincrease
transientpondedinfiltration.Prominenceofthepenetrantsurfaceconnectedcrackswoulddependonthelinear
distanceofsuchcracksperunitareaofgroundsurface.Thelineardistancemaybeallowedtodecreaseascrack
depthsincrease.Noclassesareprovided.

InternalSurfaceFeatures

Surfacefeaturesinclude(1)coatsofavarietyofsubstancesunliketheadjacentsoilmaterialandcoveringpartorall
ofsurfaces,(2)materialconcentratedonsurfacesbytheremovalofothermaterial,and(3)stressformationsin
whichthinlayersatthesurfaceshaveundergonereorientationorpackingbystressorshear.Alldifferfromthe
adjacentmaterialincomposition,orientation,orpacking.

Descriptionsofsurfacefeaturesmayincludekind,location,amount,continuity,distinctness,andthicknessofthe
features.Inaddition,color,texture,andothercharacteristicsthatapplymaybedescribed,especiallyiftheycontrast
withthecharacteristicsoftheadjacentmaterial.

Kinds.Surfacefeaturesaredistinguishedbydifferencesintexture,color,packing,orientationofparticles,or
reactiontovarioustests.Ifafeatureisdistinctlydifferentfromtheadjacentmaterialbutkindcannotbe
determined,itisstilldescribed.

Clayfilms(synonymouswithclayskins)arethinlayersoforiented,translocatedclay.

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Claybridgeslinktogetheradjacentmineralgrains.

Sandorsiltcoatsaresandorsiltgrainsadheringtoasurface.Somesandandsiltcoatsare
concentrationsofthesandandsiltoriginallyinthehorizonfromwhichfinerparticleshavebeen
removed.Somesandandsiltcoatsarematerialthathasbeenmovedfromhorizonsaboveand
depositedonsurfaces.Insomecoatsthegrainsarealmostfreeoffinermaterialinothers,thegrains
themselvesarecoated.Ifknown,thecompositionofthecoatisnoted.

Othercoatsaredescribedbypropertiesthatcanbeobservedinthefield.Thecoatsarecomposed
variouslyofiron,aluminumormanganeseoxides,organicmatter,salts,orcarbonates.Laboratory
analysesmaybeneededforapositiveidentification.

Stresssurfaces(pressurefaces)aresmoothedorsmearedsurfaces.Theyareformedthrough
rearrangementasaresultofshearforces.Theymaypersistthroughsuccessivedryingandwetting
cycles.

Slickensides(fig.332)arestresssurfacesthatarepolishedandstriatedandusuallyhavedimensions
exceeding5cm.Theyareproducedbyrelativelylargevolumesofsoilslidingoveranother.Theyare
commonbelow50cminswellingclayswhicharesubjecttolargechangesinwaterstate.

Location.Thevarioussurfacefeaturesmaybeonsomeorallstructuralunits,channels,pores,primaryparticlesor
grains,soilfragments,rockfragments,nodules,orconcretions.Thekindandorientationofsurfaceonwhichfeatures
areobservedisalwaysgiven.Forexample,ifclayfilmsareonverticalbutnothorizontalfacesofpeds,thisfact
shouldberecorded.

Amount.Thepercentageofthetotalsurfaceareaofthekindofsurfaceconsideredoccupiedbyaparticular
surfacefeatureovertheextentofthehorizonorlayerisdescribed.Amountcanbecharacterizedbythefollowing
classes:

veryfew:Occupies<5percent.

few:Occupies5to25percent.

common:Occupies25to50percent.

many:Occupies>50percent.

Thesameclassesareusedtodescribetheamountofbridgesconnectingparticles.Theamountisjudgedonthe
basisofthepercentageofparticlesofthesizedesignatedthatarejoinedtoadjacentparticlesofsimilarsizeby
bridgesatcontactpoints.

Distinctness.Distinctnessreferstotheeaseanddegreeofcertaintywithwhichasurfacefeaturecanbe
identified.Distinctnessisrelatedtothickness,colorcontrastwiththeadjacentmaterial,andotherproperties.Itis,
however,notitselfameasureofanyoneofthem.Somethickcoats,forexample,arefaintsomethinonesare
prominent.Thedistinctnessofsomesurfacefeatureschangesmarkedlyaswaterstatechanges.Threeclassesare
used.

Faint.Evidentonlyoncloseexaminationwith10Xmagnificationandcannotbeidentifiedpositivelyin
allplaceswithoutgreatermagnification.Thecontrastwiththeadjacentmaterialincolor,texture,and
otherpropertiesissmall.

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Distinct.Canbedetectedwithoutmagnification,althoughmagnificationortestsmaybeneededfor
positiveidentification.Thefeaturecontrastsenoughwiththeadjacentmaterialtomakeadifferencein
color,texture,orotherpropertiesevident.

Prominent.Conspicuouswithoutmagnificationwhencomparedwithasurfacebrokenthroughthe
soil.Color,texture,orsomeotherpropertyorcombinationofpropertiescontrastssharplywith
propertiesoftheadjacentmaterialorthefeatureisthickenoughtobeconspicuous.

Theorderofdescriptionisusuallyamount,distinctness,color,texture,kind,andlocation.Twoexamples:few
distinctgrayishbrown(10YR5/2)clayfilmsonverticalfacesofpedsmanydistinctbrownclaybridgesbetween
mineralgrains.Onlypropertiesarelistedthataddtotheunderstandingofthesoil.Iftextureofthesurfacefeature
isobvious,asinmoststresssurfaces,repeatingtextureaddsnothing.Kindandlocationareessentialifthefeatureis
mentionedatall.Theconventionsdonotcharacterizethevolumeofthesurfacefeatures.Ifvolumeisimportant,itis
estimatedseparately.

Concentrations
Thefeaturesdiscussedhereareidentifiablebodieswithinthesoilthatwereformedbypedogenesis.Someofthese
bodiesarethinandsheetlikesomearenearlyequidimensionalothershaveirregularshapes.Theymaycontrast
sharplywiththesurroundingmaterialinstrength,composition,orinternalorganization.Alternatively,the
differencesfromthesurroundingmaterialmaybeslight.Softrockfragmentswhichhaverockstructurebutare
weaklycementedornoncementedarenotconsideredconcentrations.Theyareexcludedonthebasisofinferenceas
toageologicalasopposedtoapedologicalorigin.

Massesarenoncementedconcentrationsofsubstancesthatcommonlycannotberemovedfromthesoilasadiscrete
unit.Mostaccumulationsconsistofcalciumcarbonate,finecrystalsofgypsumormoresolublesalts,orironand
manganeseoxides.Exceptforveryunusualconditions,masseshaveformedinplace.

Plinthiteconsistsofreddish,ironenrichedbodiesthatarelowinorganicmatterandarecoherentenoughtobe
separatedreadilyfromthesurroundingsoil.Plinthitecommonlyoccurswithinandabovereticulatelymottled
horizons.Plinthitehashigherpenetrationresistancethanadjacentbrownorgraybodiesorthanredbodiesthatdo
notharden.Soillayersthatcontainplinthiterarelybecomedryinthenaturalsetting.Thebodiesarecommonly
about5to20mmacrosstheirsmallestdimension.Plinthitebodiesarefirmorveryfirmwhenmoist,hardorvery
hardwhenairdry,andbecomemoderatelycementedonrepetitivewettinganddrying.Theyoccurasdiscrete
nodulesorplates.Theplatesareorientedhorizontally.Thenodulesoccuraboveandtheplateswithintheupperpart
ofthereticulatelymottledhorizon.Theplatesgenerallyhaveauniformlyreddishcolorandhavesharpboundaries
withthesurroundingbrownorgraymaterial.Thepartoftheironrichbodythatisnotplinthitenormallystainsthe
fingerswhenrubbedwhilewet,buttheplinthitecenterdoesnot.Ithasaharsh,dryfeelwhenrubbed,evenifwet.
Horizonscontainingplinthitearemoredifficulttopenetratewithanaugerthanadjacenthorizonsatthesamewater
stateandclaycontentbutwhichdonotcontainplinthite.Plinthitegenerallybecomeslesscementedafterprolonged
submergenceinwater.Anairdrysamplecanbedispersedbynormalproceduresforparticlesizedistribution.

Nodulesandconcretionsarecementedbodiesthatcanberemovedfromthesoilintact.Compositionrangesfrom
materialdominantlylikethatofthesurroundingsoiltonearlypurechemicalsubstancesentirelydifferentfromthe
surroundingmaterial.Theirformisapparentlynotgovernedbycrystalformsbasedonexaminationata
magnificationof10Xasisthecaseforcrystalsandclustersofcrystals.Itisimpossibletobesureifsomecertain
nodulesandconcretionsformedwheretheyareobservedorweretransported.

Concretionsaredistinguishedfromnodulesonthebasisofinternalorganization.Concretionshavecrudeinternal
symmetryorganizedaroundapoint,aline,oraplane.Noduleslackevident,orderly,internalorganization.Atypical
exampleofaconcretionorganizedaroundapointisillustratedinfigure333.Theinternalstructuretypicallytakes
theformofconcentriclayersthatareclearlyvisibletothenakedeye.Acoatoraverythinouterlayerofan
otherwiseundifferentiatedbodydoesnotindicateaconcretion.

Crystalsareconsideredtohavebeenformedinplace.Theymayoccursinglyorinclusters.Crystalsofgypsum,

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calcite,halite,andotherpurecompoundsarecommoninsomesoils.Thesearedescribedascrystalsorclustersof
crystals,andtheircompositionisgivenifknown.

Ironstoneisaninplaceconcentrationofironoxidesthatisatleastweaklycemented.Ironstonenodulesare
commonlyfoundinlayersaboveplinthite.Theseironstonenodulesareapparentlyplinthitethathascemented
irreversiblyasaresultofrepeatedwettinganddrying.Commonly,thecenterofironrichbodiescementsupon
repeatedwettinganddryingbuttheperipherydoesnot.

DescribingConcentrationsWithintheSoil

Anyofalargenumberofattributesofconcentrationswithinthesoilmaybeimportantthemostcommonare
numberoramount,size,shape,consistence,colorcomposition,kind,andlocation.Notalloftheseattributesare
necessarilydescribed.Theorderaslistedaboveisconvenientfordescribingthem,asforexample:many,fine,
irregular,hard,lightgray,carbonatenodulesdistributeduniformlythroughthehorizon.Theconventionsfor
describingkindhavebeenindicatedinthissection.Descriptionsofconsistenceandcolorarediscussedinotherparts
ofthischapter.

Amountorquantityofconcentrationsreferstotherelativevolumeofahorizonorotherspecifiedunitoccupiedby
thebodies.Theclassesusedforquantityofmottlesarealsousedforthesefeatures.

Sizemaybemeasureddirectlyorgivenbytheclasseslistedbelow.Thedimensiontowhichsizeclasslimitsapply
dependsontheshapeofthebodydescribed.Ifthebodyisnearlyuniform,sizeismeasuredintheshortest
dimension,suchastheeffectivediameterofacylinderorthethicknessofaplate.Forirregularbodies,sizerefersto
thelongestdimensionunlessthatcreatesanerroneousimpressionmeasurementscanbegivenifneeded.

Thefollowingsizeclassesareused:

fine:<2mm
medium:25mm
coarse:520mm
verycoarse:2076mm
extremelycoarse:>76mm

Shapeofconcentrationsisvariablebothamongkindsofconcentrationsandcommonlywithina
concentration.Thefollowingtermsaresuggested:

rounded:Approximatelyequidimensional,afewsharpcorners,andatleastapproximatelyregular.

cylindrical:Atleastcrudelycylindricalortubularonedimensionismuchgreaterthantheothertwo.

platelike:Shapedcrudelylikeaplateonedimensionisverymuchsmallerthantheothertwo.The
termplatelikeisusedtoavoidconfusionwithplatystructure.

irregular:Characterizedbybranching,convoluted,ormycelialform.

Thetermslistedapplytoallconcentrations.Individualcrystalsofaparticularmineralusuallyimpliesashape.

Compositionofbodiesisdescribedifknownandifimportantforunderstandingtheirnatureorthenatureofthesoil
inwhichtheyareobserved.Someofthephysicalattributesoftheinteriorofafeatureareimpliedbythename.
Otherfeatures,suchasenclosedmineralgrains,patternsofvoids,orsimilaritytothesurroundingsoil,maybe
important.

Adistinctionismadebetweenbodiesthatarecomposeddominantlyofasinglesubstanceandthosethatare
composedofearthymaterialimpregnatedbyvarioussubstances.Formanybodies,thechemicalcompositioncannot
bedeterminedwithcertaintyinthefield.Thefollowingsetofterms,however,isusefulfordescribingcomposition.

Ifthesubstancedominatesthebody,thenthebodyisdescribedasasubstancebody.Ifthesubstanceimpregnates
othermaterial,thebodyisdescribedasabodyofsubstanceaccumulation.

Carbonatesandironarecommonsubstancesthatdominateorimpregnatenodularorconcretionarybodies.Discrete
nodulesofclayarefoundinsomesoilsargillaceousimpregnationsarelesscommon.Materialsdominatedby
manganesearerare,butmanganeseisconspicuousinsomenodulesthatarehighinironandmistakenlycalled
manganesenodules.

Consistence
Soilconsistenceinthegeneralsensereferstoattributesofsoilmaterialasexpressedindegreeofcohesionand
adhesionorinresistancetodeformationonrupture.Asemployedhereconsistenceincludes:(1)resistanceofsoil
materialtorupture,(2)resistancetopenetration,(3)plasticity,toughness,andstickinessofpuddledsoilmaterial,
and(4)themannerinwhichthesoilmaterialbehaveswhensubjecttocompression.Althoughseveraltestsare
described,onlythoseshouldbeappliedwhichmaybeuseful.

Awordmaybeinorderaboutthesimilarterm,consistency.Consistencywasusedoriginallyinsoilengineeringfora
setofclassesofresistancetopenetrationbythumborthumbnail(testdesignationD2488,ASTM,1984).Theterm
hasbeengeneralizedtocoveraboutthesameconceptasconsistence.Thesetoftestsspecified,however,is
differentfromthosegivenhere.

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Consistenceishighlydependentonthesoilwaterstateandthedescriptionhaslittlemeaningunlessthewater
stateclassisspecifiedorisimpliedbythetest.Previouslyclasssetsweregivenfordryandmoistconsistenceof
thesoilmaterialasobservedinthefield.Wetconsistencewasevaluatedforpuddledsoilmaterial.Heretheterms
usedformoistconsistencepreviouslyareappliedtothewetstateaswell.Theprevioustermwetconsistenceis
dropped.Stickiness,plasticity,andtoughnessofthepuddledsoilmaterialareindependenttests.

Fordeterminationsonthenaturalfabric,variabilityamongspecimensislikelytobelarge.Multiplemeasurements
maybenecessary.Recordingofmedianvaluesissuggestedinordertoreducetheinfluenceoftheextremes
measured.

RuptureResistanceBlocklikeSpecimens

Table314containstheclassesofresistancetoruptureandthemeansofdeterminationforspecimensthatare
blocklike.Differentclasssetsareprovidedformoderatelydryandverydrysoilmaterial,andforslightlydryand
wettersoilmaterial.Unlessspecifiedotherwise,thesoilwaterstateisassumedtobethatindicatedforthehorizon
orlayerwhendescribed.Cementationisanexception.Totestforcementation,thespecimenisairdriedandthen
submergedinwaterforatleast1hour.Theplacementsdonotpertaintothesoilmaterialatthefieldwaterstate.

Theblocklikespecimenshouldbe2530mmonedge.Directionofstressrelativetotheinplaceaxisofthe
specimenisnotdefinedunlessotherwiseindicated.Thespecimeniscompressedbetweenextendedthumband
forefinger,betweenbothhands,orbetweenthefootandanonresilientflatsurface.Ifthespecimenresistsrupture
bycompression,aweightisdroppedontoitfromincreasinglygreaterheightsuntilrupture.Failureisattheinitial
detectionofdeformationorrupture.Stressappliedinthehandshouldbeovera1secondperiod.Thetactilesense
oftheclasslimitsmaybelearnedbyapplyingforcetotoploadingscalesandsensingthepressurethroughthetips
ofthefingersorthroughtheballofthefoot.Postalscalesmaybeusedfortheresistancerangethatistestablewith
thefingers.Abathroomscalemaybeusedforthehigherruptureresistance.

Specimensofstandardsizeandshapearenotalwaysavailable.Blocksofspecimensthataresmallerthan2530mm
onedgemaybetested.Theforcewithstoodmaybeassumedtodecreaseasthereciprocalofthedimensionalong
whichthestressisapplied.Ifablockspecimenwithalengthof10mmalongthedirectiontheforceisappliedwere
toberuptured,theforceshouldbeonethirdthatforanidenticalspecimen30mmonedge.Ifthespecimenis
smallerthanthestandardsize,theevaluatedruptureresistanceshouldberecordedandthedimensionsofthe
specimenalongtheaxisthestressisappliedshouldbeindicated.

Soilstructurecomplicatestheevaluationofruptureresistance.Ifaspecimenofstandardsizecanbeobtained,
reporttheruptureresistanceofthestandardspecimenandotherindividualconstituentstructuralunitsasdesired.
Usuallytheconstituentstructuralunitsmustexceedabout5mminthedirectionthestressisappliedexpression
mustexceedweakfortheruptureresistancetobeevaluated.

Ifstructuresizeandexpressionaresuchthataspecimenofstandardsizecannotbeobtained,thenthesoilmaterial
overallisloose.Structuralunitresistancetorupturemaybedeterminedifthesizeislargeenough(exceedabout5
mminthedirectionstressisapplied)foratesttobeperformed.

Table314.Ruptureresistanceclassesforblocklikespecimens

Classes314 TestDescription

Moderately Slightly
Airdried, Stress
dryand dryand Operation
submerged Applieda
verydry wetter

Loose Loose Not Specimennotobtainable

applicable

Soft Very Uncemented Failsunderveryslightforceappliedslowlybetweenthumband <8N

friable forefinger

Slightly Friable Extremely Failsunderslightforceappliedslowlybetweenthumband 820N

hard weakly forefinger
cemented

Moderately Firm Veryweakly Failsundermoderateforceappliedslowlybetweenthumband 2040N

hard cemented forefinger

Hard Veryfirm Weakly Failsunderstrongforceappliedslowlybetweenthumband 4080N

cemented forefinger(80Naboutmaximumforcethatcanbeapplied).

Veryhard Extremely Moderately Cannotbefailedbetweenthumbandforefingerbutcanbe 80160N

firm cemented betweenbothhandsorbyplacingonanonresilientsurfaceand
applyinggentleforceunderfoot.

Extremely Slightly Strongly Cannotbefailedinhandsbutcanbeunderfootbyfullbodyweight 160

hard rigid cemented (ca800N)appliedslowly. 800N

Rigid Rigid Very Cannotbefailedunderfootbyfullbodyweightbutcanbeby<3J 800N3J

strongly blow.
cemented

Veryrigid Veryrigid Indurated Cannotbefailedbyblowof<3J. >3J

a.Bothforce(newtonsN)andenergy(joulesJ)areemployed.Thenumberofnewtonsis10timesthekilogramsof
force.Onejouleistheenergydeliveredbydroppinga1kgweight10cm.

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RuptureResistancePlateShapedSpecimens

Testsaredescribedthatareapplicabletoplateshapedspecimenswherethelengthandwidthareseveraltimes
morethanthethickness.Testproceduresweredevelopedforsurfacecrustsbutareapplicabletoplateshaped
bodiesatgreaterdepthinthesoil.Analternativemethodofdirectlymeasuringplateshapedspecimensistobreak
themintoacrudelyblockedform.Ifthedimensionsoftheresultingblockspecimensaresmallerthan2530mmon
edge,itwouldbeassumedthatthemeasuredruptureresistanceislowerby25.

RuptureResistancebyCrushing.Thistestwasdesignedprimarilyforairdrysurfacecrust,butitmaybeused
forothersoilfeatures.Themorphologicaldescriptionofsurfacecrustisdiscussedearlierinthischapter.The
specimenshouldbe10to15mmonedgeand5mmthickorthethicknessofoccurrenceiflessthan5mm.If
surfacecrust,thethicknessisinclusiveofthecrustproperandtheadheringsoilmaterialbeneath.Thespecimens
aresmalltomakethetestapplicabletocrustswithcloselyspacedcracks.Thespecimenisgraspedonedgebetween
extendedthumbandfirstfinger.Forceisappliedalongthelongerofthetwoprincipaldimensions.Table315
containsasetofclasses.Compressiontofailureshouldbeoveraboutonesecond.Ascalemaybeusedtoboth
rupturethespecimensdirectlyanddevelopthefingertactilesense.Forceisappliedwiththefirstfingerthrougha
bar5mmacrossonthescaletocreateasimilarbearingareatothatoftheplatelikespecimen.Thespecimenis
compressedbetweenthumbandfirstfingerwhilesimultaneouslyexertingthesamefeltpressureonthescalewith
thefirstfingeroftheotherhand.Thescaleisreadatthefailureofthespecimen.Forspecimensthatcannotbe
brokenbetweenthumbandforefinger,theresistancetorupturemaybeevaluatedusingasmallpenetrometer.The
specimenisformedwiththetwolargersurfacesparallelandflat.Thespecimenisplacedwithalargerface
downwardonanonresilientsurfaceandforceisappliedthroughthe6mmdiameterpenetrometertipuntilrupture
occurs.

Table315.Ruptureresistanceclassesappliedtocrushingplateshapedspecimens

Classes Force(N)

Fragile <3

Extremelyweak Notremovable

Veryweak Removable<1

Weak 13

Medial 320

Moderate 38

Moderatelystrong 820

Resistive >20

Strong 2040

Verystrong 4080

Extremelystrong >80

Forplateshapedbodiesthataredurableenoughtowithstandhandling,suchasfragmentsoffissilesedimentary
rock,amodulusofruptureestimationisanappropriatetest(Reeve,1965).Inpractice,modulusofrupturetests
commonlywouldbeusedtoacquireatactilesensewhichthenwouldbeuseddirectlyinthefield.Insufficient
experiencehasbeenobtainedtoprovideclasses.

Theteststofollowarehandheldtests.Theconfigurationofthetestsdonotconformrigorouslytotherequirements
formeasurementofmodulusofrupture.Furthermore,theamountofforceappliedmaybeonlyroughly
approximated.Forthesereasons,thetestresultsareonlyacrudemeasureofthemodulusofrupture.

Inonetest,aspecimenisheldincontactwithasmalldiametercylindricalshaft(pencil,nail,andsoon)placednear
thecenterofthespecimen.Stressisappliedbypressinginoppositedirectionswiththetwofirstfingersandthe
thumbsuntilruptureoccurs.TheequationforthemodulusofruptureinMPais:

S=(0.15FL)/(bd 2)

whereFistheforceinnewtons,Listhedistancebetweentheshaftandtheinsideedgeoftheareaoverwhichthe
forceisappliedoneithersideoftheshaftwiththefingers,bisthewidthofthespecimen(incentimeters),anddis
thedepthorthicknessinthedirectionoftheload(incentimeters).Theforceapplicationisbasedonthetactile
senseandhenceisapproximate.

Intheotherapproach,thespecimenisgraspedfirmlyatoneendwithpliersandforceisapplieddownwardatan
establisheddistance(tothenearest1cm)fromtheedgeofthepliers.Theareaoverwhichtheforceisapplied
shouldbesmall.Theflatendrodpenetrometerdescribedinthesectiononmicropenetrationresistanceworkswell.
Achiselpointmaybemountedoverthetip.Modulusofrupture,S,expressedinmegapascals(MPa),iscalculated
by:

S=(0.6FL)/(bd 2)

whereFistheforceinnewtons,Listhedistancebetweentheendofthejawsofthepliersandtheinsideedgeof
theareawheretheforceisapplied,biswidth,anddisthethickness.Thedimensionsareallincentimeters.Length
andwidthareestimatedto1cmandthicknessto1mm.

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Plasticity

Plasticity(table316)isthedegreetowhichpuddledsoilmaterialispermanentlydeformedwithoutrupturingby
forceappliedcontinuouslyinanydirection.Plasticityisdeterminedonmaterialsmallerthan2mm.

Thedeterminationismadeonthoroughlypuddledsoilmaterialatawatercontentwheremaximumplasticityis
expressed.Thiswatercontentisabovetheplasticlimit,butitislessthanthewatercontentatwhichmaximum
stickinessisexpressed.Thewatercontentisadjustedbyaddingwaterorremovingitduringhandmanipulation.
Thecloselyrelatedplasticlimitthatisusedinengineeringclassificationsisthewatercontentfor<0.4mmmaterial
atwhicharollof3mmindiameterwhichhadbeenformedatahigherwatercontentbreaksapart(methodD4318
inASTM,1984).

Table316.Plasticityclasses

Classes Testdescription

Nonplastic Aroll4cmlongand6mmthickthatsupportsitsownweightheldonendcannotbeformed.

Slightly Aroll4cmlongand6mmthickcanbeformedand,ifheldonend,willsupportitsownweight.A
plastic roll4mmthickwillnotsupportitsownweight.

Moderately Aroll4cmlongand4mmthickcanbeformedandwillsupportitsownweight,butaroll2mm
plastic thickwillnotsupportitsownweight.

Veryplastic Aroll4cmlongand2mmthickcanbeformedandwillsupportitsownweight.

Toughness

Toughnessisrelatedtoplasticity.Table317containsasetofclasses.Theclassesarebasedontherelativeforce
necessarytoformwiththefingersaroll3mmindiameterof<2mmsoilmaterialatawatercontentnearthe
plasticlimit(testD2488inASTM,1984).

Table317.Toughnessclasses

Classes Criteria

Low Canreducethespecimendiameteratorneartheplasticlimitto3mmbyexertionof<8N

Medium Requires820Ntoreducethespecimendiameteratorneartheplasticlimitto3mm.

High Requires>20Ntoreducethespecimendiameteratorneartheplasticlimitto3mm.

Stickiness

Stickinessreferstothecapacityofasoiltoadheretootherobjects.Table318containsasetofclasses.The
determinationismadeonpuddled<2mmsoilmaterialatthewatercontentatwhichthematerialismoststicky.
Thesampleiscrushedinthehandwaterisappliedwhilemanipulationiscontinuedbetweenthumbandforefinger
untilmaximumstickinessisreached.

Table318.Stickinessclasses

Classes TestDescription

Nonsticky Afterreleaseofpressure,practicallynosoilmaterialadherestothumborforefinger.

Slightly Afterreleaseofpressure,soilmaterialadheresperceptiblytobothdigits.Asthedigitsareseparated,the
sticky materialtendstocomeoffoneortheotherrathercleanly.Thematerialdoesnotstretchappreciablyon
separationofthedigits.

Moderately Afterreleaseofpressure,soilmaterialadherestobothdigitsandtendstostretchslightlyratherthanpull
sticky completelyfreefromeitherdigit.

Very Afterreleaseofpressure,soilmaterialadheressostronglytobothdigitsthatitstretchesdecidedlywhen
sticky thedigitsareseparated.Soilmaterialremainsonbothdigits.

MannerofFailure

Themannerinwhichspecimensfailunderincreasingforcerangeswidelyandusuallyishighlydependentonwater
state.Toevaluatethemanneroffailure,aroughlycubicalspecimen2530mmonedgeispressedbetween
extendedforefingerandthumband/orahandfulofsoilmaterialissqueezedinthehand.Table319containssets
ofclassesandrelatedoperations.Somesoilmaterialsalthoughwetarebrittlesomemaybecompressedmarkedly
withoutcracksappearingothers,ifwet,behavelikeliquidsandstillotherssmearifstressedundersheartofailure.

Soilintheslightlymoistordrystates,ifcoherent,isnearlyalwaysbrittleandprobablywouldnotexhibit
smearinessconsequently,manneroffailureisprobablyonlyusefulformoderatelymoistorwettersoilmaterial.

Table319.Manneroffailureclasses

Classes Operation TestDescriptionCharacteristics

Brittle Graduallyincreasingcompressivepressureapplied Specimenretainsitssizeandshape(no

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toa2530mmspecimenheldbetweenextended deformation)untilitrupturesabruptlyinto
thumbandforefinger subunitsorfragments.

Semideformable Same Deformationoccurspriortorupture.Cracks

developandspecimenrupturesbefore
compressiontohalfitsoriginalthickness.

Deformable* Same Specimencanbecompressedtohalfitsoriginal

thicknesswithoutrupture.Radialcracksmay
appearandextendinwardlessthanhalfthe
radiusnormalcompression.

Nonfluid Ahandfulofsoilmaterialissqueezedinthehand. Noneflowsthroughthefingersafterexerting

fullcompression.

Slightlyfluid* Same Afterexertingfullcompression,someflows

throughthefingers,butmostremainsinthe
palmofthehand.

Moderately Same Afterexertingfullpressure,mostflowsthrough

fluid* thefingersasmallresidueremainsinthepalm
ofthehand.

Veryfluid* Same Underverygentlepressuremostflowsthrough

thefingerslikeaslightlyviscousfluidvery
littleornoresidueremains.

Nonsmeary Graduallyincreasingpressureappliedtoa2530 Atfailure,thespecimendoesnotchange

mmspecimenheldbetweenextendedthumband suddenlytoafluid,thefingersdonotskid,and
forefingerinsuchamannerthatsomeshearforce nosmearingoccurs.
isexertedonthespecimen.

Weaklysmeary Same Atfailure,thespecimenchangessuddenlyto

fluid,thefingersskid,andthesoilsmears.
Afterward,littleornofreewaterremainsonthe
fingers.

Moderately Same Atfailure,thespecimenchangessuddenlyto

smeary fluid,thefingersskid,andthesoilsmears.
Afterward,somefreewatercanbeseenonthe
fingers.

Strongly Same Atfailure,thespecimensuddenlychangesto

smeary fluid,thefingersskid,andthesoilsmearsand
isveryslippery.Afterward,freewateriseasily
seenonthefingers.

*Theapproximateequivalentnvalues,PonsandZonneveld(1965),areasfollows:
Deformable<0.7nvalue
Slightlyfluid0.71
Moderatelyfluid12
Veryfluid2

PenetrationResistance

Penetrationresistanceisthecapacityofthesoilinitsconfinedstatetoresistpenetrationbyarigidobject.Shape
andsizeofthepenetratingobjectmustbedefined.Penetrationresistancedependsstronglyonthewaterstate,
whichshouldbespecified.

Theclassesintable320pertaintothepressurerequiredtopushtheflatendofacylindricalrodwithadiameterof
6.4mmadistanceof6.4mmintothesoilinabout1second(Bradford,1986).Orientationoftheaxisofinsertion
shouldbespecified.Acorrectionshouldbemadefortheweightofthepenetrometeriftheaxisofinsertionisvertical
andtheresistanceissmall.Ifrockfragmentsarepresent,thelowervaluesmeasuredareprobablymoredescriptive
ofthefineearthfabric.

Table320.Penetrationresistanceclasses

Classes Penetrationresistance(MPa)

Small <0.1

Extremelylow <0.01

Verylow 0.010.1

Intermediate 0.12

Low 0.11

Moderate 12

Large >2

High 24

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Veryhigh 48

Extremelyhigh >8

AstandardinstrumentisthepocketpenetrometershowninBradford(1986).Penetrometerswiththesame6.4
mmdiameterflatendtipandadialreadingdeviceareavailable.Theresistancecanbereadwithlessvariability
usingthedialdevice.Thescaleonthebarrelofthepocketpenetrometersshouldbeconvertedtounitsofforce.The
suppliedscaleonsuchinstrumentscommonlyisbasedonaregressionbetweenpenetrationresistanceand
unconfined,compressivestrengthmeasurementsandhasnoapplicationinthecontexthere.Penetrationresistance
isexpressedinunitsofpressure.ThepreferredunitisthemegapascalthesymbolisMPa.Forthe6.4mmdiameter
tip,themeasuredforceinkilogramsismultipliedby0.31toobtainthepressureinmegapascals.Toextendthe
rangeoftheinstrument,weakerandstrongerspringsmaybesubstituted.Valuesinmegapascalsobtainedwithany
diameterofflatendrodareusedtoenterthesetofclassesintable320.Coneshapedtipsmaybemountedon
thepenetrometerswithflatendsaswellasotherpenetrometers.Two30degreeconepenetrometertipsare
specifiedbytheAmericanSocietyofAgriculturalEngineers(1982).Onehasabaseareaof1.3cm2theother,3.2
cm2.Insertionshouldbetowherethebaseoftheconeisflushwiththesoilsurface.Insertiontimesof2seconds
and4seconds,respectively,shouldbeusedforthesmallerandthelargercones.Arelationshipbetweenthecone
tipsandthespecifiedrodwithaflatendmustbeestablishedbeforetable320canbeusedtoentercone
measurements.

Determinationofpenetrationresistancewhilethesoillayerisatornearitsmaximumwatercontentisauseful
strategyforevaluationofrootlimitations.Therelationshipbetweenpenetrationresistanceandrootgrowthhasbeen
thesubjectofnumerousstudiesBlancharetal.,1978Campbelletal.,1974Tayloretal.,1966andTaylorand
Ratliff,1969.Thesestudiessuggestthefollowinggeneralities,whichmayneedmodificationforparticularplantsand
soils.First,ifthesoilmaterialiswetorverymoistandtherearenocloselyspacedverticalstructuralplanes,thelimit
of2MPa(6.4mmflatendrod)indicatesstrongrootrestrictionforseveralimportantannualcrops.Thisisthebasis
forthepenetrationresistancecriterioninthecriteriaforphysicalrootrestriction.Secondly,between2and1MPa,
rootrestrictionmaybeassumedtodecreaseroughlylinearly.Finally,below1MPa,rootrestrictionmaybeassumed
tobesmall.

ExcavationDifficulty

Excavationofsoilisaverycommonactivity.Table321listsclassesforrecordingthedifficultyofmakingan
excavation.Theclassesmaybeemployedtodescribehorizons,layers,orpedonsonaonetimeobservationorover
time.Inmostinstances,excavationdifficultyisrelatedtoandcontrolledbyawaterstate.

Table321.Excavationdifficultyclasses

Classes Testdescription

Low Canbeexcavatedwithaspadeusingarmappliedpressureonly.Neitherapplicationofimpactenergynor
applicationofpressurewiththefoottoaspadeisnecessary.

Moderate Armappliedpressuretoaspadeisinsufficient.Excavationcanbeaccomplishedquiteeasilybyapplication
ofimpactenergywithaspadeorbyfootpressureonaspade.

High Excavationwithaspadecanbeaccomplished,butwithdifficulty.Excavationiseasilypossiblewithafull
lengthpickusinganovertheheadswing.

Veryhigh Excavationwithafulllengthpickusinganovertheheadswingismoderatelytomarkedlydifficult.
Excavationispossibleinareasonableperiodoftimewithabackhoemountedona40to60kW(5080hp)
tractor.

Extremely Excavationisnearlyimpossiblewithafulllengthpickusinganovertheheadarmswing.Excavationcannot
high beaccomplishedinareasonabletimeperiodwithabackhoemountedona40to60kWtractor(5080hp).

Roots
Quantity,size,andlocationofrootsineachlayerarerecorded.Usingfeaturesoftherootslength,flattening,
nodulation,andlesionstherelationshipstospecialsoilattributesortostructuremayberecordedasnotes.

Quantityofrootsisdescribedintermsofnumbersofeachsizeperunitarea.Theclassplacementforquantityof
rootspertainstoanareainahorizontalplaneunlessotherwisestated.Thisunitareachangeswithrootsizeas
follows:1cm2forveryfineandfine,1dm2formediumandcoarse,and1m2forverycoarse(figs.334and335).
Thequantityclassesare:

Few:<1perunitarea

Veryfew:<0.2perunitarea

Moderatelyfew:0.21perunitarea

Common:15perunitarea

Many:>5perunitarea

Rootsaredescribedintermsofaspecifieddiametersize.Thesizeclassesare:

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Veryfine:<1mm

Fine:12mm

Medium:25mm

Coarse:510mm

Verycoarse:>10mm

Itisdesirabletohaveclassseparationatanabundancelevelwheretherearesufficientrootstoexploitmuchofthe
soilwaterthatispresentinthewithdrawalrangeoftheplantoverthegrowingseason.Adifficultyisthatspecies
differintheefficiencyoftheirroots.Soybeansandcottonareseveralfoldmoreefficientthanthegrasses,andthere
areundoubtedlyotherdifferencesamongspecificgroups.Theabundanceclasseshavebeenformulatedsothatthe

fewcommonseparationisaboutwheretheannualgrasseshaveinsufficientnumbersofrootsforseasonally
completeexploitation.Themoderatelyfewveryfewseparationiswheresoybeansandcottonwouldhaveinsufficient
numbers.

Thelocationofrootswithinalayermaybedescribedinrelationtootherfeaturesofthelayer.Relationshipstolayer
boundaries,animaltraces,pores,andotherfeaturesaredescribedasappropriate.Thedescriptionmayindicate,for
example,whetherrootsareinsidestructuralunitsoronlyfollowpartingplanesbetweenstructuralunits.

Quantity,size,andlocationisaconvenientorder:Manyveryfineandcommonfinerootsimpliesthatrootsare
uniformlydistributed,sincelocationisnotgiven.Thiscontraststoexamplesthatprovidelocationalinformationsuch
ascommonveryfineandcommonfinerootsconcentratedalongverticalfacesofstructuralunitsorcommonvery
finerootsinsidepeds,manymediumrootsbetweenstructuralunits.

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Insomesoils,
thepatternorrootgrowthmaynotcorrespondtosoilhorizonsorlayerstherefore,asummarystatementofroot
developmentbyincrementsof15cmor30cmorsomeotherconvenientthicknessisoftenhelpful.Inothersoils,
rootdistributionmaybesummarizedbygroupinglayers.Forexample,inasoilhavingastronglydevelopedclayey
illuvialhorizonandahorizonsequenceofApAE1E2Bt1Bt2,rootdevelopmentmightbesimilarthroughouttheA
horizon,differentintheEhorizon,andstilldifferentintheBhorizonbutsimilarthroughouttheB.Rootdistribution
intheexamplecanthenbedescribedfortheA,E,andBhorizons,eachhorizontreatedasawhole.

Forannualplants,thetimeoftherootobservationmaybeindicated.Roottraces(channelsleftbyrootsthathave
died)andthedeadrootsthemselvesaresometimescluestosoilpropertiesthatchangewithtime.Therateofroot
decaydependsonthespecies,rootsize,andthesoilmoistureandtemperatureregimes.Localexperiencemust
dictatethetimeaftermaturityorharvestthattherootdistributionisaffectedbydecay.Roottracesindeeplayers
maypersistforyears.Manyofthesetraceshaveorganiccoatingsorlinings.Theymayoccurbelowthenormal
rootingdepthofannualcrops.Thissuggeststhattheywereleftbydeeperrootedplants,perhapsnativeperennials.
Thepresenceofdeadrootsbelowthecurrentdepthofrootingmayindicateachangeinthesoilwaterregime.The
rootsmayhavegrownnormallyforafewyears,thenkilledwhenthesoilsweresaturatedforalongperiod.

Inadditiontorecordingtherootingdepthsatthetimeofobservation,generalizationsabouttherootingdepthmay
beuseful.Thesegeneralizationsshouldemphasizeveryfineandfineroots,ifpresent,becausethesesizesareactive
inabsorptionofwaterandnutrients.Thegeneralizationsmaybeforafewplantsorplantcommunitiesthatareof
particularimportance.Ifannualplantsareinvolved,thegeneralizationshouldbefornearphysiologicalmaturity.

Pores
Porespaceisageneraltermforvoidsinthesoilmaterial.Thetermincludesmatrix,nonmatrix,andinterstructural
porespace.Matrixporesareformedbytheagenciesthatcontrolthepackingoftheprimarysoilparticles.These
poresareusuallysmallerthannonmatrixpores.Additionally,theiraggregatevolumeandsizewouldchange
markedlywithwaterstateforsoilhorizonsorlayerswithhighextensibility.Nonmatrixporesarerelativelylargevoids
thatareexpectedtobepresentwhenthesoilismoderatelymoistorwetter,aswellasunderdrierstates.Thevoids
arenotboundedbytheplanesthatdelimitstructuralunits.Interstructuralpores,inturn,aredelimitedby

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structuralunits.Inferencesastotheinterstructuralporositymaybeobtainedfromthestructuredescription.
Commonly,interstructuralporesareatleastcrudelyplanar.

Nonmatrixporesmaybeformedbyroots,animals,actionofcompressedair,andotheragents.Thesizeofthe
distributionofnonmatrixporesusuallybearsnorelationshiptotheparticlesizedistributionandtherelatedmatrix
poresizedistribution.Forwatermovementatlowsuctionandconditionsofsatiation,thenonmatrixand
interstructuralporosityhaveparticularimportance.

Nonmatrixporesaredescribedbyquantity,size,shape,andverticalcontinuitygenerallyinthatorder.Quantity
classespertaintonumbersperunitarea1cm2forveryfineandfinepores,1dm2formediumandcoarsepores,
and1m2forverycoarse.Thequantityclassesare:

Few:<1perunitarea

Common:15perunitarea

Many:>5perunitarea

Poresaredescribedrelativetoaspecifieddiametersize.Thefivesizeclassesare:

Veryfine:<0.5mm

Fine:12mm

Medium:25mm

Coarse:510mm

Verycoarse:>10mm

Mostnonmatrixporesareeithervesicular(approximatelysphericalorelliptical),ortubular(approximatelycylindrical
andelongated).Someareirregularlyshaped.

Verticalcontinuityinvolvesassessmentoftheaverageverticaldistancethroughwhichtheminimumporediameter
exceeds0.5mmwhenthesoillayerismoderatelymoistorwetter.Threeclassesareused:Lowlessthan1cm
moderate1to10cmandhigh10cmormore.Additionally,thedesignationcontinuousisusedifthenonmatrix
poresextendthroughthethicknessofthehorizonorlayer.Verticalcontinuityhasextremeimportanceinassessing
thecapacityofthesoillayertotransmitfreewatervertically.

Specialaspectsarenoted,suchasorientationinanunusualdirection,concentrationinonepartofalayer,orsuch
specialconditionsastubularporesthatarepluggedwithclayatbothends.Someexamplesofdescriptionsofpores
aremanyfinetubularpores,fewfinetubularporesandmanymediumtubularporeswithmoderatevertical
continuity,manymediumvesicularporesinahorizontalbandabout1cmwideatthebottomofthehorizon.

Animals
Mixing,changing,andmovingofsoilmaterialbyanimalsisamajorfactoraffectingpropertiesofsomesoils.The
featuresleftbytheworkofsomeanimalsreflectmainlymixingortransportofmaterialfromonepartofthesoilto
anotherortothesurface.Theoriginalmaterialmaybesubstantiallymodifiedphysicallyorchemically(fig.336).

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Thefeatures
thatanimals
produceonthe
landsurface
maybe
described.
Termite
mounds,ant
hills,heapsof
excavated
earthbeside
burrows,the
openingsof
burrows,
paths,feeding
grounds,
earthwormor
othercastings,
andother
tracesonthe
surfaceare
easilyobserved
anddescribed.
Simple
measurements
andestimates
suchasthe
numberof
structuresperunitarea,proportionateareaoccupied,volumeofabovegroundstructuresgivequantitativevalues
thatcanbeusedtocalculatetheextentofactivityandeventhenumberoforganisms.

Themarksofanimalsbelowthegroundsurfacearemoredifficulttoobserveandmeasure.Observationsare
confinedmainlytoplaceswherepitsaredug.Thevolumeofsoilgenerallystudiedislimiting.Forthemarksofmany
animals,thenormalpedonforsoilcharacterizationislargeenoughtoprovideavalidestimate.Forsomeanimals,
however,thesizeofthemarksistoolargefortheusualpedon.

Thefeaturesproducedbyanimalsinthesoilaredescribedintermsofamount,location,size,shape,and
arrangement,andalsointermsofthecolor,texture,composition,andotherpropertiesofthecomponentmaterial.
Nospecialconventionsareprovided.Commonwordsshouldbeusedinconjunctionwithappropriatespecialterms
forthesoilpropertiesandmorphologicalfeaturesthataredescribedelsewhereinthismanual.

Krotovinasareirregulartubularstreakswithinonelayerofmaterialtransportedfromanotherlayer.Theyarecaused
bythefillingoftunnelsmadebyburrowinganimalsinonelayerwithmaterialfromoutsidethelayer.Inaprofile,
theyappearasroundedorellipticalvolumesofvarioussizes.Theymayhavealightcolorindarklayersoradark
colorinlightlayers,andtheirotherqualitiesoftextureandstructuremaybeunlikethoseofthesoilaroundthem.

SelectedChemicalProperties
Thissectiondiscussesselectedchemicalpropertiesthatareimportantfordescribingandidentifyingsoils.

Reaction

ThenumericaldesignationofreactionisexpressedaspH.Withthisnotation,pH7isneutral.Valueslowerthan7
indicateacidityvalueshigher,indicatealkalinity.MostsoilsrangeinpHfromslightlylessthan2.0toslightlymore
than11.0,althoughsulfuricacidformsandpHmaydecreasetobelow2.0whensomenaturallywetsoilsthat
containsulfidesaredrained.

ThedescriptivetermstouseforrangesinpHareasfollows:

Term Range

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Ultraacid <3.5

Extremelyacid 3.54.4

Verystronglyacid 4.55.0

Stronglyacid 5.15.5

Moderatelyacid 5.66.0

Slightlyacid 6.16.5

Neutral 6.67.3

Slightlyalkaline 7.47.8

Moderatelyalkaline 7.98.4

Stronglyalkaline 8.59.0

Verystronglyalkaline >9.0

BothcolorimetricandelectrometricmethodsareusedformeasuringpH.Colorimetricmethodsaresimpleand
inexpensive.ReliableportablepHmetersareavailable.

CarbonatesofDivalentCations

Cold2.87N(abouta1:10dilutionofconcentratedHCl)hydrochloricacidisusedtotestforcarbonatesinthefield.
Theamountandexpressionofeffervescenceisaffectedbysizedistributionandmineralogyaswellastheamountof
carbonates.Consequently,effervescencecannotbeusedtoestimatetheamountofcarbonate.Fourclassesof
effervescenceareused:

Veryslightlyeffervescent:fewbubblesseen

Slightlyeffervescent:bubblesreadilyseen

Stronglyeffervescent:bubblesformlowfoam

Violentlyeffervescent:thickfoamformsquickly

Calciumcarbonateeffervesceswhentreatedwithcolddilutehydrochloricacid.Effervescenceisnotalways
observableforsandysoils.Dolomitereactstocolddiluteacidslightlyornotatallandmaybeoverlooked.Dolomite
canbedetectedbyheatingthesample,byusingmoreconcentratedacid,andbygrindingthesample.The
effervescenceofpowdereddolomitewithcolddiluteacidisslowandfrothyandthesamplemustbeallowedtoreact
forafewminutes.

SalinityandSodicity

Accuratedeterminationsofsalinityandsodicityinthefieldrequirespecialequipmentandarenotnecessarilypartof
eachpedoninvestigation.Reasonableestimatesofsalinityandsodicitycanbemadeiffieldcriteriaarecorrelatedto
morepreciselaboratorymeasurement.

Salinity

Theelectricalconductivityofasaturationextractmethodisthestandardmeasureofsalinity.Electricalconductivityis
relatedtotheamountofsaltsmoresolublethangypsuminthesoil,butitmayincludeasmallcontribution(upto2
dS/m)fromdissolvedgypsum.

Thestandardinternationalunitofmeasureisdecisiemenspermeter(dS/m)correctedtoatemperatureof25C.
Millimhospercentimeter(mmhos/cm)meansthesameasdS/mandmaystillbeused.Ifithasbeenmeasured,the
electricalconductivityisreportedinsoildescriptions.Thefollowingclassesofsalinityareusediftheelectrical
conductivityhasnotbeendetermined,butsalinityisinferred:

Electricalconductivity
Class
dS/m(mmhos/cm)

0 Nonsaline 02

1 Veryslightlysaline 24

2 Slightlysaline 48

3 Moderatelysaline 816

4 Stronglysaline >16

Sodicity

Thesodiumadsorptionratio(SAR)isthestandardmeasureofthesodicityofasoil.Thesodiumadsorptionratiois
calculatedfromtheconcentrations(inmilliequivalentsperliter)ofsodium,calcium,andmagnesiuminthe
saturationextract:

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Formerly,theexchangeablesodiumpercentage,whichequalsexchangeablesodium(meq/100gsoil)dividedby
thecationexchangecapacity(meq/100gsoil)times100,wastheprimarymeasureofsodicity.Thetestfor
exchangeablesodiumpercentage,however,hasprovedunreliableinsoilscontainingsolublesodiumsilicateminerals
orlargeamountsofsodiumchloride.

Sodiumistoxictosomecrops,andsodiumaffectsthesoilsphysicalproperties,mainlysaturatedhydraulic
conductivity.Asodicconditionhaslittleeffectonhydraulicconductivityinhighlysalinesoils.Asoilthatisbothsaline
andsodicmay,whenartificiallydrained,drainfreelyatfirst.Aftersomeofthesalthasbeenremoved,however,
furtherleachingofsaltbecomesdifficultorimpossible.Thesodiumadsorptionratio(SAR)usuallydecreasesasasoil
isleached,buttheamountofchangedependsinpartonthecompositionofthewaterusedforleachingand,
therefore,cannotbepredictedwithcertainty.IftheinitialSARisgreaterthan10andtheinitialelectrical
conductivityismorethan20dS/mandinformationisneededastowhetherthesoilwillbesodicfollowingleaching,
theSARisdeterminedonanothersampleafterfirstleachingwiththeintendedirrigationwater.Fortheland
reclamationofsoilswithanelectricalconductivityofmorethan20dS/m,theSARisusedthatisdeterminedafter
leachingwithdistilledwatertoanelectricalconductivityofabout4dS/m.

Sulfates

Gypsum(calciumsulfate)canbeinheritedfromtheparentmaterial,oritcanprecipitatefromsupersaturated
solutionsinthesoilorinthesubstratum.Gypsumcanalleviatetheeffectsofsodium,makingpossibletheuseof
irrigationwaterthathasarelativelyhighamountofsodium.Soilsthatcontainlargeamountsofgypsumcansettle
unevenlyafterirrigationfrequentrelevelingmayberequired.Gypsumissolubleinwater.Theelectricalconductivity
ofadistilledwatersolutionwithgypsumisabout2dS/m.Intheabsenceofothersalts,asalinityhazarddoesnot
existexceptforsuchsensitiveplantsasstrawberriesandsomeornamentals.Gypsumandothersulfatesmaycause
damagetoconcrete.

Muchgypsumistabularorfibrousandtendstoaccumulateasclustersofcrystalsorascoatsonpeds.Someofitis
cemented.Gypsumcanusuallybeidentifiedtentativelybyitsformandlackofeffervescencewithacid.Gypsumin
theparentmaterialmaynotbereadilyidentifiable.Ifdetermined,theamountofgypsumisshowninthe
descriptionotherwise,theamountmaybeestimated.Semiquantitativefieldmethodsfordeterminingamountsof
gypsumareavailable.

Afewsoilscontainlargeamountsofsodiumsulfate,whichlookslikegypsum.Attemperaturesabove32.4Citisin
theformofthenardite(Na2SO4)andatlowertemperaturesintheformofmirabilite(Na2SO410H2O).The
increaseinvolumeanddecreaseinsolubilityasthenarditechangestomirabilitecancausespectacularsaltheaving.
Insodiumaffectedsoils,sodiumsulfateisacommonwatersolublesalt.

Sulfides

Sulfides,mainlyironsulfide,areinsomesoilsoftidalmarshesandinsomesedimentaryrocks.Whenthesematerials
areexposed,aswhenmarshsoilsaredrainedorsulfidebearingrockisexcavated,oxidationcommonlyproduces
sulfuricacid.Sulfuricacidistoxictoplantsandanimalsinthesoilandfishinnearbywaters.Thesolutionsproduced
areextremelyacidandarehighlycorrosivetoexposedmetalandconcrete.Soilsandrocksuspectedofpotential
sulfuracidityaretestedforthepresenceofsulfidesalts.

Afewsoilswithappreciableamountsofsulfidescontainenoughcarbonatestoneutralizeallorpartoftheacidity
whenthesulfidesareoxidized.Insuchsoils,thetotalamountsofbothcalciumcarbonateandsulfidesmustbe
known.

Noreliablefieldmethodsareavailablefordeterminingtheamountofsulfidesinmarshes.Thesulfideodorof
marshesisnotareliableindicatorofthepresenceofoxidizablesulfideshowever,therearesituationsinwhichodor
isareliableestimate.Drainedorexcavatedmarshsoilsthatcontainlargeamountsofsulfidescommonlyhaveyellow
efflorescencesofthemineraljarositeontheexteriorsofclods.

Twofieldtestsarecommonlyusedtodetectexcessoxidizablesulfides(SoilSurveyStaff,1975).Inonetest,pHis
measuredbeforeandafterthesoilisincubatedatfieldcapacity.AlargedropinpH,orapHof3.5orlessafter
drying,indicatesexcessiveamountsofsulfides.Intheothertest,thesampleistreatedwith30to36percent
hydrogenperoxideandheatedtocompleteoxidationanddriveofftheexcessperoxide.Then,pHismeasured.Ifthe
decreaseinpHislarge,sulfidesareprobablypresent.AmeterispreferredformeasuringpHbecauseofthe
possibilityofoxidationofindicatordyes.Specialdyessuitableforthistestareavailable.

Ifthefieldtestsforoxidizablesulfidesarepositive,laboratorydeterminationsofsulfurcontentmayberequiredfor
preciseinterpretations.

Footnotes
1.Asmuchas50cmofrecentlydepositedsedimentisdisregardedinclassifyingtheunderlyingsetofgenetic
horizons(SoilTaxonomy).Thesethindepositsarenotpartofthesolumbatmaybeotherwiseimportant.By
thesameconvention,asoilisnotconsideredtobeburied(SoilTaxonomy)unlessthereisatleast50cmof
overlyingsedimentthathasnogenetichorizonsinthelowerpart.

2.Forsoilshavingcyclichorizonsorlayersrecurringatintervalsbetween2mand7m,apitlargeenoughto
studyatleastonehalfofthecycleisnecessary.

3.WindErosionissometimesusedforthesculptureofrocksbywindblownparticles.Thetermisusedinthis
manual,insoilsciencegenerally,andbymanygeologistsforthedetachment,transportation,anddeposition

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ofsoilparticlesbywind.

4.Theprimaryunitforsuctionisthepascal(symbol,Pa).Thekilopascal(symbolkPa)iscommonlyemployed.A
kilopascalis1000xapascal.Onebaris100kilopascals.

5.Totalporosity=100(100xDb/Dp),whereDbisthebulkdensityofthe<2mmmaterialatornearfield
capacityandDpistheparticledensity.Theparticledensitymaybecomputedfromthefollowing:Dp=
100/[[(1.7xOC)/Dp1]+[(1.6xFe)/Dp2]+[[100[(1/7xOC)+(1.6xFe)]]/Dp3]]whereOCistheorganic
carbonpercentageandFeistheextractableironbymethod6C2(SoilSurveyLaboratoryStaff,1992)oran
equivalentmethod.Theparticledensityoftheorganicmatter(Dp1)isassumedtobe1.4Mg/m3,thatofthe
mineralsfromwhichtheextractableironoriginates(Dp2)tobe4.2Mg/m3,andthematerialexclusiveofthe
organicmatterandthemineralscontributingtotheextractableFe(Dp3)tobe2.65Mg/m3.

6.TheSoilScienceSocietyofAmericaprefersthatallquantitiesbeexpressedonamassbasis.Thisresultsin
Ksatunitsofkgsm3.Otherunitsacceptabletotheirsocietyarem3skg 1,theresultofexpressingall
quantitiesonavolumebasis,andms1,theresultofexpressingthehydraulicgradientonaweightbasisand
fluxdensityonavolumebasis.

7.Rockstructureincludesfinestratificationinunconsolidated,orpseudomorphs,ofweatheredmineralsthat
retaintheirpositionsrelativetoeachotherandtounweatheredmineralsinsaprolitefromconsolidatedrocks.

8.Indicatesweatheredbedrockorsaproliteinwhichclayfilmsarepresent.

9.Theappropriatecolorchips,separateormountedbyhueonspecialcardsforalooseleafnotebook,maybe
obtainedfromtheMunsellCompany.

10.Thenotationforhue,andforvalueandchroma,isdecimalandcouldberefinedtoanydegree.Inpractice,
however,onlythedivisionsonthecolorchartsareused.

11.Crackdepthbywireinsertionmayyieldshallowerdepthsthanismeasuredbypouringloosesandintothe
crackandexcavatingafterwettingandthecrackhasclosed.Thelattermethod,however,isonlysuitablefor
detailedexaminationwhereas,wireinsertionisrelativelyrapidandcanbecompletedinasingleobservation.

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