Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
11
CHAPTER
The Brazilian Soil Classification System
Francesco Palmieri, Humberto G. dos Santos, Idar A. Gomes, Jos F. Lumbreras,
and Mario L.D. Aglio
CONTENTS
Abstract ..........................................................................................................................................127
Introduction ....................................................................................................................................128
An Overview of the Current System .............................................................................................129
The Brazilian Soil ClassiÝcation System ......................................................................................129
Attributes of the Order Classes .....................................................................................................134
Approximate Equivalents with Other Systems..............................................................................142
The Rationale of the System .........................................................................................................143
Distribution of Soils in Brazil .......................................................................................................144
Conclusion......................................................................................................................................144
References ......................................................................................................................................145
ABSTRACT
Systematic surveys of Brazilian soils began in the decade of 1950, and since the beginning they
have been inÞuenced by both U.S. system and FAO-UNESCO legend. The main objective was to
make an inventory of Brazilian soils. This was accomplished with the publication of the Brazilian
Soil Map at scale 1:5,000,000 in 1981. During the course of subsequent soil surveys, criteria and
attributes for characterization of soil classes under varied environments were reÝned. This process
also provided the information and data for developing the next version of the Brazilian Soil
ClassiÝcation and the Soil Map of Brazil. Phases of soil classes were also devised to highlight
limitations for land use, constraints for speciÝc uses, and the ecological relationship concerning
potential land use. The current Brazilian system, published in 2000, presents adaptations of criteria
and concepts established in Soil Taxonomy and in the World Reference Base for Soil ClassiÝcation.
However, the structure of the system and the emphasis given to various criteria differ from these
international systems. These differences reÞect the experience of Brazilian soil scientists, speciÝ-
cally in the context of use and management of the soils. It is structured in six categorical levels,
arranged in a hierarchy of increasing information content: Order, Suborder, Great Group, Subgroup,
Family, and Series.
