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The 12 Soil Orders
Entisols (recent) – soils with scant morphological
development
Inceptisols (inception) – soils with minimal development;
features that develop quickly may be seen – organic matter, salts
Vertisols – “self-plowing” soils having
clays (e.g., montmorillonite) that shrink and swell significantly
Aridisols – in arid regions; have calcium carbonate
accumulation and usually well development subsurface horizonation
Mollisols – nutrient rich soils typical of many grasslands;
base saturation high; good A1 horizon; in the temperate regions with moderate
rainfall
Alfisols – moderately leached forest soils; generally
good base saturation; look for B2t horizon; common in NNJ
Ultisols – strongly leached soils such as those in
the more southerly portions of NJ and very common throughout the South; base
saturation moderately low to low; has a B2t horizon or equivalent
Spodosols – forest soils; acid, show a well developed
A2 over a B2ir horizon or the equivalent; low fertility; found in the Pinelands;
also important in the Taiga
Oxisols – extremely weathered soils of the tropics
and subtropics; low fertility; sesquioxides remain in the soils; laterites;
shifting agriculture
Histisols (tissue) – organic soils of bogs and some
other wetlands
Andisols – formed in volcanic ash
Gelisols – soils with permafrost within 2 meters of
the surface; Tundra region and some areas within the Taiga– “self-plowing”
soils having clays (e.g., montmorillonite) that shrink and swell significantly
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