USDA soil taxonomy

USDA soil taxonomy (ST) developed by United States Department of Agriculture and the National Cooperative Soil Survey provides an elaborate classification of soil types according to several parameters (most commonly their properties) and in several levels: Order, Suborder, Great Group, Subgroup, Family, and Series. The classification was originally developed by Guy Donald Smith, former director of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's soil survey investigations.AlfisolAndisolAridisolEntisolGelisolHistisolInceptisolMollisolOxisolSpodosolUtisolVertisol USDA soil taxonomy (ST) developed by United States Department of Agriculture and the National Cooperative Soil Survey provides an elaborate classification of soil types according to several parameters (most commonly their properties) and in several levels: Order, Suborder, Great Group, Subgroup, Family, and Series. The classification was originally developed by Guy Donald Smith, former director of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's soil survey investigations. A taxonomy is an arrangement in a systematic manner; the USDA soil taxonomy has six levels of classification. They are, from most general to specific: order, suborder, great group, subgroup, family and series. Soil properties that can be measured quantitatively are used in this classification system – they include: depth, moisture, temperature, texture, structure, cation exchange capacity, base saturation, clay mineralogy, organic matter content and salt content. There are 12 soil orders (the top hierarchical level) in soil taxonomy. The names of the orders end with the suffix -sol. The criteria for the different soil orders include properties that reflect major differences in the genesis of soils. The orders are: The percentages listed above are for land area free of ice. 'Soils of Mountains', which constitute the balance (11.6%), have a mixture of those listed above, or are classified as 'Rugged Mountains' which have no soil.