Keys to Soil Taxonomy

Keys to Soil Taxonomy Twelfth Edition 2014
By Soil Survey Staff (USDA)


Keys to Soil Taxonomy, Twelfth Edition, 2014, coincides with the 20th World Congress of Soil Science, to be held on Jeju Island, Korea in June 2014. The Keys to Soil Taxonomy serves two purposes. It provides the taxonomic keys necessary for the classification of soils in a form that can be used easily in the field. It also acquaints users of soil taxonomy with recent changes in the classification system. The twelfth edition of the Keys to Soil Taxonomy incorporates all changes approved since the publication in 1999 of the second edition of Soil Taxonomy: A Basic System of Soil Classification for Making and Interpreting Soil Surveys. The authors of the Keys to Soil Taxonomy are identified as the "Soil Survey Staff." This term is meant to include all of the soil classifiers in the National Cooperative Soil Survey program and in the international community who have made significant contributions to the improvement of the taxonomic system. The authors plan to continue issuing updated editions of the Keys to Soil Taxonomy as changes warrant new editions. One change in this edition is recognizing the occurrence of anhydrite (CaSO4 ) in soils with the addition of a new diagnostic horizon, a new mineralogy class, and new Anhydritic subgroups for use in soil survey. These are significant improvements to soil taxonomy which resulted from international collaboration with soil scientists of the United Arab Emirates, where the soils with anhydrite were discovered. Pedologists in Argentina have also contributed to this edition with amendments to improve classification of the Mollisols of the Pampean region and to recognize the abrupt textural change in more soils having this important genetic characteristic. This is a re-paperback book version of the "Keys to Soil Taxonomy Twelfth Edition (2014)". Full version, All Chapters included. This publication is available (Electronic version) in the official website of the U. S. Department of Agriculture.

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