Soil Horizon Suffixes Flashcards
Bb
Buried horizon
Bg
Gleyed Horizon
Wet for extended period of time, grey color
Bk or Bkk
Accumulation of pedogenic carbonate, may be part of calcic horizon. Bkk horizons usually almost all white
Bkkm
Accumulation of pedogenic carbonate to the point or induration/extremely cemented
May be parto of Petrocalcic horizon
Bq
Accumulation of pedogenic silica, may qualify as (part of) duric horizon (duripan)
Bt
Accumulation of pedogenic clay (phyllosilicates), may qualify as part of an argillic horizon or kandic horizon
Bw
Initial stage of b horizon development, may qualify as part of cambic horizon
By Or Byy
Accumulation of pedogenic gypsum, may qualify as part of gypsic horizon
Bz
Accumulation of salts more soluble then gypsum
2B
Number before master horizon means a change in parent material
AC
Two mater horizons stuck together indicate evolution in progress. C horizon is turning into and A, more like a than c
Could be a transitional horizon between A and C
E/B
Fragments of one horizon included within the other
Mollic Epipedon
Mineral subsurface horizon. Dark color and high organic matter. Thick (>25cm) and soft
Base saturation >50%. Moist at least three months a year. 5c
Grassland soils
Umbric epipedon
Umbra, shade
Similar to Mollic but lower base saturation. Areas with higher rainfall, parent material with less calcium and magnesium
Ochric Epipedon
Mineral horizon too thin, too light in color, too low in organic matter to he umbric or Mollic. Usually not as deep
Because of low OM, may be hard and massive when dry
Melanic epipedon
Melas, black
Horizon that is vary black in color due to high organic matter cone tent. Soils high in minerals such as allophone, developed from volcanic ash
More that’s 30 cm thick and light and fluffy (low bulk density) for mineral soil
Histic Epipedon
Histos, tissue
20 to 60 cm thick layer of organic soil materials over mineral soil. Formed in wet areas, peat or much with black to dark brown color, very low bulk density
Argillic horizon
Subsurface accumulation of clays that have moved down from upper horizons or formed in place.
Coating on pore walls, surfaces on structural groupings. Clay skins on sand grains
(Bt)
Natric horizon
Silicate clay accumulation, but clays are accompanied by more that 15% exchangeable sodium
Columnar or prismatic
Arid and semi arid
Kandic Horizon
Bt
Iron and aluminum oxides with low activity silicate clays, clay skins need not be evident. Low in activity, low cation holding.
Epipedon above has usually lost most of its clay
Oxic Horizon
Bo
Highly weathered subsurface horizon high in aluminum and iron oxides
<10% weather able minerals in fine fraction
Stable, crumbly, non sticky despite clay content
Humid and tropical regions
Spodic Horizon
(Bh,bs) Illuvial horizon characterized by colloidal organic matter and aluminum oxide. Highly leached forest soils in cold environments. Sandy textured patent material.
Black om bh layer over iron and aluminum rich bs
Albic horizon
E
Light colored illuvial horizon low in clay and oxides of iron oxides. Have been muved downwards
Placic subsurface
Csm
Thin pan cemented with iron or manganese and organic matter
Salic
Bz
Accumulation or salts
Duripan
Bqm
Hard pan, strongly cemented by silica
Fragipan
Bx
Brittle pan, loamy, coarse
Aquic
Smr
Soil saturated with water and without gaseous oxigen for significant periods of time
Gleying and mottling
Udic, perudic
Soil moisture high year round most years to meet plant needs. Humid climatic regions.
Perudic= even more moisture and leaching
Ustic
Soil moisture intermediate between udic and aridic regimes
Dry winters, growing season has plant available moisture between drought
Aridic, torric
Smr
Soil is dry for at least half of growing season.
Moist for less that 90 consecutive days. Typical of arid regions
Torric=same but hot and dry in summer, not hot in winter
Xeric
Smr found in Mediterranean climates
Cool moist winters, dry summers. Long periods of drought in summer (unlike ustic)
Oi
Least decomposed organic matter
Oe
Moderately decomposed organic matter
Oa
Highly decomposed organic matter
Cryic
Very cold, frozen subsurface
Frigid
Above 0c but blow 8c
Still cold but not as cold as cryic
Mesic
Intermediate temp
8-15c
Thermic
15-22c
Ranked categories of soil taxonomy
Order
Suborder
Great group
Subgroup
Family
Series
Phase
Entisols (ent)
Least developed soil order
-any climate (usually dry)
-can be productive for agriculture (floodplains and valleys)
-clay minerals and iron oxides
-least weathered
A
C
Inceptisols (ept)
A
Bw
C
Second least developed
-any climate, desert and extreme cold
-some accumulation of clays and oxides in b layer, not enough for it to be something else
Gelisols (el)
Permafrost, tundra
-O,Bw,Bf
-Vary high organic matter
-Young, little profile development.
-Bad for ag, waterlogged and short vowing season)
Melt as climate change progresses, collapse
Histosols (ist)
Wetland, cold climates
Anerobic enviornment stops decomop
O,Cgb
O layer=peat
Young little profile developed
Wetland agriculture
Mollisols (oll)
Hot summers, cold winters. Middle latitudes
Semi arid,but it varries
Grassland, rich soil from grass roots
Mollic Epipedon
-darker thicker
High organic matter in A,E even b
Base saturation >50%
Argillic, natric, calcic
Medium soil age
Great for farming, good deep soil
Alfisol (alf)
Forrests, savanah
Lighter surface horizons, clay rich b horizon
Clays, silica
Medium old
High base saturation
Farming is good
A
E
Bt
Cr
Spodosols (od)
Cool and humid
Forrest soil leaching
Stronger weathering
Sandy, little silica, aluminum, iron
O, E, Bh, Bs,, C
Clays, irons, aluminum oxides
Older, in Forrest’s, lots of accumulation
Acidic and generally infertile
Under pine!
Andisols (and)
Volcanism, most climits exept arid and super cold
Andic material, volcanic ash, silicate minerals, some oxides
Very young, weakly weathered
Good for agriculture im humid environments
Light fluffy soil,
High water holding
Nutrient availability exept for P
Melanic Epipedon
Aridisols (id)
Second most common
Only enough water for 90 days consecutive plant growth
Accumulation of silica, carbonate, gypsum
Can have silt Rich plater vesicular a horizon
carbonate accumulation
Sometimes argillic b if it’s old
Calcic horizon development idocates age
Ultisols (ult)
-Old soil surface, often red soils
-Moist, warm, tropical climate
-argillic and plinthite (bv) horizons
-Leaching of base cations
-pedogenic minerals, clay and iron
-kandic, fe,ai
-less weathered than oxisols
Oxisols (ox)
Old soils on old land surfaces
Reddish
Fe and Ai oxides
Oxic (Bo) horizon
Highly weathered and leached
If clays are present, they are low activity
Lateritization, leaching by incessant water and deep time, almost all fe and ai abides
Warm old wet well drained
Oldest
Vertisols ert
High in swelling clays, deep cracks in dry soil
Grasslands with alternating wet dry, warm, semi arid
Shallow granular a. Bss Deep clay rich slickenslides a and c
Calcium magnesium rich parent paternal
Young/intermediate
Challenges with farming
Podzolic
International terms for spodic (bs)
Bauxite
An accumulation of several aluminum oxide minerals. Extensive leaching in warm tropical environment (oxisols)
Cambic horizon
Bw
Diagnostic subsurface horizon with incepient soil genesis
Different from a and c only in slight diff in structure color texture
Laterite
Accumulation of several variably hydrated iron oxide minerals formed as result of leaching. Warm tropical climate (oxisols)
Podzolization
Process that spodosols form
V horizon
Desert soil horizon formed at surface by wind blow dust, often under desert pavement and microbial mat
