12 Orders of Soil Taxonomy

Mapping Our World of Soils

What is Soil Taxonomy?
In order to map soils, they must be classified! There are several soil classification systems around the world. In the United States, the USDA-NRCS Soil Taxonomy system is used. It is hierarchical and follows a dichotomous key, so that
any given soil can only be classified into one group.

12 ORDERS 12 DOMINANT SOIL ORDERS

70 SUBORDERS
330 GREAT GROUPS
1500+ SUBGROUPS
7000+ FAMILY
16800+ SERIES
The soil taxonomy is composed of six levels and is designed to classify any soil
in the world.
• The highest level is soil orders (similar to kingdoms in the Linnaeus
system of classifying organisms).
• Each order is based on one important diagnostic feature with the key
feature based on its significant effect on the land use or management
of all soils in that order.
• The orders also represent different weathering intensities or degrees of
soil formation.
• At the lowest level are the series (species level in the Linnaeus
system).
• A soil series is the same as the common name of the soil, much in the
way that the white oak is the common name for Quercus alba L.

• A soil series is defined based on a range of properties and is named for

the location near where it was first identified.
dichotomous key- A key used to classify an item in which each stage presents
two options, with a direction to another stage in the key, until
the lowest level is reached.

Soil Mapping and Surveys Why are Soils different?

While classifying and describing a soil gives us much information, soils exist in a three-dimensional landscape, Soils differ from one part of the world to another, even from one part of a backyard to another. They differ
so soils surveys were designed to convey this spatial information. The heart of a soil survey is the soil map because of where and how they formed. Five major factors interact to create different types of soils:
showing, by county, the spatial distribution and variability of soils on the landscape.
Climate – temperature and moisture influence the speed of chemical and biological reactions, which help
How are soils mapped? control how fast rocks weather and dead organisms decompose. Soils develop faster in warm,
moist climates and slowest in cold or arid ones.
Soil scientists prepare the maps in the field using pits, core samples,
or trenches to examine the soils. They outline the extent of different Organisms – Plants, roots, animals, and bacteria – these and other organisms speed up the weathering of
soils using aerial photography base maps that help identify landscape large particles into smaller ones, the accumulation of organic matter in the soil, and formation of
positions, landforms and vegetation patterns that are directly related to soil structure.
soil types.
Relief (landscape) – The shape of the land and the direction it faces make a difference in how much sunlight
Soil mapping is a detailed descriptive process that begins with an the soils get and how much water it retains. Deeper soils form at the bottom of a hill
understanding of the soil-landscape relations, field investigation, and because gravity and water move soil particles down the slope.
cartography.
Parent Material – Every soil “inherits” traits from the parent material from which it formed. For example, soils
that form from limestone are rich in calcium and soils that form from materials at the bottom
Surveys of lakes are high in clay.
Soil surveys help us understand how soils differ and how they behave under various land management
systems. The key soil properties determine the suitability of a soil for use in recreation, crop production, range
Time – All of the above factors work together over time. Older soils differ from younger soils because they
have had longer to develop. The longer it ages, the more different it looks from its parent material.
and wildlife, forestry, and engineering projects, and the best conservation management practices for water and
Because soil is dynamic, its components – minerals, water, air, organic matter, and organisms –
wind erosion control.
constantly change.
Soil surveys are inventories of the soil resources in a geographic area and include:
The five major factors are ClORPT for short, and the greater the difference in ClORPT, the more pronounced
• morphologic descriptions of a soil profile the difference in soil and classification will be.
(including soil color, patterns, horizons, depth,
structure, redox features, roots, pores, etc.)
• physical properties (% of sand, silt, and clay;
moist consistence, bulk density, porosity, etc.)
• chemical properties (pH, lime content, organic
carbon levels, cation exchange capacity,
salinity, etc)
• site characteristics (landform, parent
material, water table depth, percent slope, Climate Organisms Relief Parental material Time
GPS location, vegetation, etc)
• soil classification (soil taxonomy, land
capability classification, engineering uses)
http://websoilsurvey.nrcs.usda.gov/app/HomePage.htm What’s Your State Soil?
• predictive interpretations for land use (crops,
range, waste disposal, roads, buildings, Find your State Soil at the USDA website: http://soils.usda.gov/gallery/state_soils/
wildlife habitat, lawns, etc)
You may be familiar with your state bird, flower or tree. These are animals and plants that are common or par-
ticularly important to a state. And since all animals and plants depend on soil, every state has an “Official State
Soil” as well. State soils are soils with a special historical or agricultural significance for the state. Some are
Why Collect Data and Create Maps and Surveys? also named because of their extent or special location in the state.

Collecting data on soils and developing maps is only the first step in relating soils to landscapes and land use.
Once the data are collected, interpretation begins. The data can be used for many things – from determining
how much fertilizer is needed to grow a given crop to determining soil and site suitability for a shopping mall.
Four common interpretations are: Learn More At:
• Land Capability Classes – soil is categorized according to its suitability for agricultural uses. www.soils4teachers.org | www.soils4students.org | www.soils.org
• Hydric Soils – identifying hydric soils is useful for preserving wetlands under the Clean Water Act.
• Prime Farmland – Interpreting soil data to identify prime farmland is of major importance because
we depend on it for most of our food and fiber needs. As such, this identification is used to create an
inventory of these lands – both for use and for protection from other uses.
• Ecological Site Assessments – the soil and natural vegetation it supports are grouped into
communities for use in decisions about wildlife and range management.

Poster produced by the Soil Science Society of America

S il
5585 Guilford Road, Madison, WI 53711-5801 | www.soils.org

Science Photos: Soil Profiles, USDA-NRCS. Know Soil, Know Life, Soil! Get the Inside Scoop, Soil Science Society of
Society of America
America. A special thank you to the USDA-NRCS for providing the 12 Orders of Soil Taxonomy images and the 12
Dominant Soil Orders Map.