Appendix A 275

B horizon

is brown-stained and
clayey

(dark) sol brun

podzol acide,
soils
brown
earths

temperate, free drainage, deciduous

humid, 750 rapid runoff with some
1000 mm
conifers
rain-fall per
annum

brown
forest
soils

cool,
temperate,
750 mm
rain-fall per
annum

leaching
retarded by
high calcium
carbonate
content

mixed
deciduous
and
conifers

red and
yellow
podzol
soils

warm
temperate to
tropical,
humid

deeply
weathered
clayey
parental
material

mixed
deciduous
and pine
evergreens

Group

Equivalents Climate

groundwater
podzol soils

cool to
tropical,
humid

0.75m

leaf layers over

humus-rich C layer
with some mineral
matter; A leached
layer is brown or
greyish brown
containing clay; B
layer is stained darker
brown and clayey,
and can be an acidic
hardpan
layering obscured;
organic layer grades
downwards through
lighter layer into
carbonate-rich parent
material

solum
(O,A and
B layers)
about 1 m;
C layer
may be
many tens
of metres
thick

thin dark O layer; A

leached layer is
yellow, grey or
brown; B layer is
dark clayey; grading
down into deeply
weathered; C layers
brightly coloured,
mottled red, yellow,
purple, brown, white
and grey

Weathering Vegetation Thickness Description

strong acidic pine forest
leaching with
organic
material
transferred to
water table

1m

thin O layer;
A leached
layer is light
coloured and
sandy; B darkbrown wet
layer with
organic
material
overlying
water table

Appendix A 276

(c) Grassland soils (mollisols) (transitionalnearly neutral environments)

brunizem
soils

cool to
weak acid
warm
leaching
temperate,
humid,
600750
mm rainfall per
annum

tall grass
(prairie
type)

planosols

cool to
warm
temperate,
humid,
600750
mm rainfall per
annum

acid leaching grass, some

with
forest (flat
development ground)
of gleys

rendzina soils calcareous

(calcimorphic rendolls
soils)

variable

acid leaching grass

slowed by
carbonate in
soil

1m

dark-brown
surface soils
overlying well
oxidised
subsoils;
grades into
lightcoloured
parent
material with
no carbonate
accumulation
leached
surface soils
overlying
clay-bearing
parent
material

variable

very darkcoloured O
layer
overlying soft,
light-coloured
calcareous
material from
parental
material such
as limestone,
marl or chalk

Groups (d) to (i) occur in alkaline environments with alkalis retained

(d) Chernozems
black earths,
mollisols,
chestnutbrown soils

(e) Sierozems

temperate to cool,
sub-humid, 500
600 mm rain-fall
per annum;
chestnutbrown
soils require <500
mm rain-fall per
annum

carbonate
grassland variable thick, friable dark soils
accumulation or
grading downwards into
in lower
cultivated
lighter layer and finally
layers
into layer of calcium
carbonate accumulation

Appendix A 277
desert soils,
red desert
soils

arid, <250 mm
rainfall per annum

sparse
shrubs

<0.5 m red to brown soil with

very thin organic layer;
carbonate layer very
close to surface

(f) Halomorphic soils

solonchak,
saline, white
alkali, sodic
soil,
solonetz,
solods,
soloths,
soloti

arid to semi-arid
restricted with saltbut may occur in poor drainage tolerant
temperate regions
species
with saline ground

Group Equivalents Climate

accumulated salt near

ground surface with
more than 0.2% salts
present; solonetz (black
alkali) with less soluble
saltssodium
carbonate and sulphate;
solonchak (white alkali)
with soluble chloride
salts (a clay-rich B
horizon may be present,
especially in solonetz
types)

Weathering

Vegetation Thickness Description

poor

none

restricted

grassland,
savanna

variable,
often very
thick

occur in soil
catenas with
black iron-rich
soils in
depressions; A
horizon contains
clays that crack
and swell with
shrinkage and
have poor
foundational
properties

aquents,
dependent
restricted
aquepts, some only on
meadow soils groundwater

moisturetolerant
forest,

variable

brown or greybrown top layer

on grey mottled

(g) Immature soils

lithosols,
variable
skeletal soils,
regosols,
entisols

these soils
depend entirely
on parental
material

(h) Black tropical soils

black cotton tropical
soil, vertisols, monsoon or
margalitic
equatorial
soils

(i) Gleys

Appendix A 278

conditions

grassland,
semi-marsh

gley horizon;
parent material
often
impermeable
clay-rich rocks

forest, thorn, very thick

savanna
soils are
very poor

red layers with

high clay
content; matrix
often
aggregated into
concretions
(murram) by
high alumina
and iron content

(j) Laterites
krasnozems, equatorial to
ferralites,
sub-tropical,
ferruginous
high rainfall
soils, latosols,
oxisols,
ultisols

free drainage,
intense
surface
leaching with
permanent
waterlogging
at depth