Soil Surveys - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

1 / 14
About This Presentation
Title:

Soil Surveys

Description:

Soil Taxonomy (soil classification) is a method of classifying soils into groups. ... Oxisols - Tropical. Spodosols - Flatwoods. Mollisols - Prairies. Soil Series ... – PowerPoint PPT presentation

Number of Views:256
Avg rating:3.0/5.0
Slides: 15
Provided by: Fores82
Category:
Tags: soil | surveys | tropical

less

Transcript and Presenter's Notes

Title: Soil Surveys


1
Soil Surveys
  • Bryan McElvany
  • Warnell School of Forest Resources
  • Patrick Davies
  • ?

2
Soil Taxonomy
  • Soil Taxonomy (soil classification) is a method
    of classifying soils into groups.
  • This system is a hierarhical method of grouping
    soils by similar characteristics.
  • 12 main groupings of soils into Orders exist.
  • These Orders are broken down into smaller groups
    until a Soil Series is reached.

3
Soil Orders
  • Andisols - Volcanic
  • Aridisols - Desert
  • Gelisols - Frozen
  • Histosols - Organic
  • Vertisols Shrink Swell
  • Inceptisols - Infant
  • Entisols - Resistant
  • Alfisols Moderately Weathered
  • Ultisols Highly Weathered
  • Oxisols - Tropical
  • Spodosols - Flatwoods
  • Mollisols - Prairies

4
Soil Series
  • The lowest category in the soil taxonomy system.
    Over 20,000 soil series have been defined. They
    are generally named after a location near where
    they were first described.
  • Control section the part of the soil on which
    classification is based. The thickness varies
    among different kinds of soil, but mainly is up
    to 80 inches deep.

5
Soil Survey
  • Soil surveys are the primary references available
    to help land managers determine the potentials
    and limitations of the soils.
  • Soil surveys are a compilation of maps and
    interpretive data.
  • Published by the USDA Natural Resources
    Conservation Service (NRCS).
  • Published on a county or county group basis.

6
Soil Mapping
  • Soil mapping is performed by soil scientists on
    the ground.
  • These maps are generally conducted on the soil
    mapping unit level.
  • Soil mapping units are generally soil series or
    soil complexes.
  • Soil complex is a grouping of 2 or more soil
    series that are so interconnected that it is not
    feasible to map them independently.

7
Soil Survey Use
8
Soil Association Map
  • Soil Associations are soils that are similar in
    many characteristics.
  • The first map in the survey is the soil
    association map.
  • Good for getting a good idea of soils on a large
    scale.

9
Detailed Soil Maps
  • Produced on aerial photographs
  • Permanent features are mapped (highways, ponds,
    rivers, etc)
  • Soil mapping units are delineated and labeled
    with a code (numbers or letters)

10
Soil Mapping Precision
  • Soils are delineated with a line on the map.
  • On the ground there is rarely a sharp division
    between soils.
  • The change from one soil to another may be very
    gradual.
  • Soil series descriptions are also for the typical
    example, variations between locations occur as
    well.

11
Soil Series Descriptions
  • General characteristics are described in this
    section. Parameters such as slope, drainage,
    fertility, and landscape position are described.
  • A detailed soil profile description is also
    included in this section.

12
Soil Tables
  • Several tables are included in the soil survey.
    They contain information on the soil in relation
    to several parameters.
  • Engineering properties (buildings, roads, ponds,
    septic systems, landfills, etc.)
  • Woodland usage
  • Wildlife habitat
  • Crop suitability

13
The History of Soil Surveys
  • Soil surveys have been produced since the early
    1900s.
  • Surveys are in various states of becoming
    outdated.
  • NRCS has to balance the effort to map new areas
    with updating previously mapped areas.

14
The Future of Soil Surveys
  • New technology is pushing the soil survey program
    in new directions.
  • Computer copies of surveys are becoming
    available.
  • GPS, GIS systems of mapping will become the
    standard.
  • This leads to improvements on the ability to use
    the surveys on the ground (precision farming etc)
Write a Comment
User Comments (0)
About PowerShow.com