ALFISOLS
The central concept of Alfisols is that of soils that have an argillic, a kandic, or a natric horizon and a base saturation of 35% or greater. They typically have an ochric epipedon, but may have an umbric epipedon. They may also have a petrocalcic horizon, a fragipan or a duripan.
ANDISOLS
The central concept of Andisols is that of soils dominated by short-range-order minerals. They include weakly weathered soils with much volcanic glass as well as more strongly weathered soils. Hence the content of volcanic glass is one of the characteristics used in defining andic soil properties.Materials with andic soil properties comprise 60 percent or more of the thickness between the mineral soil surface or the top of an organic layer with andic soil properties and a depth of 60 cm or a root limiting layer if shallower.
ARIDISOLS
The central concept of Aridisols is that of soils that are too dry for mesophytic plants to grow. They have either:(1) an aridic moisture regime and an ochric or anthropic epipedon and one or more of the following with an upper boundry within 100 cm of the soil surface: a calcic, cambic, gypsic, natric, petrocalcic petrogypsic, or a salic horizon or a duripan or an argillic horizon, or
(2)A salic horizon and saturation with water within 100 cm of the soil surface for one month or more in normal years.
An aridic moisture regime is one that in normal years has no water available for plants for more than half the cumulative time that the soil temperature at 50 cm below the surface is >5° C. and has no period as long as 90 consecutive days when there is water available for plants while the soil temperature at 50 cm is continuously >8° C.
ENTISOLS
The central concept of Entisols is that of soils that have little or no evidence of development of pedogenic horizons. Many Entisols have an ochric epipedon and a few have an anthropic epipedon. Many are sandy or very shallow.
GELISOLS
The central concept of Gelisols is that of soils that have permafrost within 100 cm of the soil surface and/or have gelic materials within 100 cm of the soil surface and have permafrost within 200 cm.Gelic materials are mineral or organic soil materials
that have evidence of cryoturbation (frost churning) and/or ice segeration
in the active layer (seasonal thaw layer) and/or the upper part of the
permafrost.
HISTOSOLS
The central concept of Histosols is that of soils that are dominantly organic. They are mostly soils that are commonly called bogs, moors, or peats and mucks.A soil is classified as Histosols if it does not have
permafrost and is dominated by organic soil materials.
INCEPTISOLS
The central concept of Inceptisols is that of soils of humid and subhumid regions that have altered horizons that have lost bases or iron and aluminum but retain some weatherable minerals. They do not have an illuvial horizon enriched with either silicate clay or with an amorphous mixture of aluminum and organic carbon.The Inceptisols may have many kinds of diagnostic horizons, but argillic, natric kandic, spodic and oxic horizons are excluded.
MOLLISOLS
The central concept of Mollisols is that of soils that have a dark colored surface horizon and are base rich. Nearly all have a mollic epipedon. Many also have an argillic or natric horizon or a calcic horizon. A few have an albic horizon. Some also have a duripan or a petrocalic horizon.
OXISOLS
The central concept of Oxisols is that of soils of the tropical and subtropical regions. They have gentle slopes on surfaces of great age. They are mixtures of quartz, kaolin, free oxides, and organic matter. For the most part they are nearly featureless soils without clearly marked horizons. Differences in properties with depth are so gradual that horizon boundaries are generally arbitrary.
SPODOSOLS
The central concept of Spodosols is that of soils in which amorphous mixtures of organic matter and aluminum, with or without iron, have accumulated. In undisrurbed soils there is normally an overlying eluvial horizon, generally gray to light gray in color, that has the color of more or less uncoated quartz.Most Spodosols have little silicate clay. The particle-size class is mostly sandy, sandy-skeletal, coarse-loamy, loamy, loamy- skeletal, or coarse-silty.
ULTISOLS
The central concept of Ultisols is that of soils that have a horizon that contains an appreciable amount of translocated silicate clay (an argillic or kandic horizon) and few bases (base saturation less than 35 percent). Base saturation in most Ultisols decreases with depth.
VERTISOLS
The central concept of Vertisols is that of soils that have a high content of expending clay and that have at some time of the year deep wide cracks. They shrink when drying and swell when they become wetter.