Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
THE OFFICIAL CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM AND DIAGNOSTICS
OF SOILS OF THE SOVIET UNION
The ofÝcial system of soil classiÝcation in the Soviet Union was published in Russian in 1977.
An English translation was also published in 1986. Thus this classiÝcation is well known not only
in Russia, but also abroad. The classiÝcation of 1977 developed the earlier system suggested by
Ivanova and Rozov (1970). The authors considered this classiÝcation as ecologicÐgenetic-based;
it was based on the analysis of the Ñfactors-processes-propertiesÒ triad. It was believed that the
components of this triad are strictly interrelated, i.e., that a particular combination of pedogenetic
agents strictly corresponds to a particular soil proÝle morphology and vice versa. It should be noted
that, while analyzing the agents of soil formation, the authors did not consider them as equally
important. To a certain extent, this was a deviation from DokuchaevÔs principle of the equal
importance of all soil-forming agents. This was a matter of much debate; many foreign pedologists
considered this system of soil classiÝcation too climate oriented. Indeed, the highest taxa (soil types
and subtypes) were differentiated with respect to bioclimatic conditions, or, more precisely, to the
geographic position of soils in the system of bioclimatic zones, subzones, and facies determined
by temperature criteria (inÞuenced by the zonal concept). The degree of soil hydromorphism
(drainage) was also taken into account at these taxonomic levels. This principle was strictly
followed. The inner logic and consistency of this classiÝcation made it very popular in the Soviet
Union. It was efÝciently used in all soil survey works, including the systematic large-scale soil
mapping of agricultural soils performed by regional institutes for land management (Giprozem
)
for more than 20 years. This classiÝcation reveals the
essence of soil formation in different zones,
and allows for forecasting soil development in a changing environment. The inÞuence of this
classiÝcation, its genetic principles, and its adherence to the traditional nomenclature of Russian
soils can be traced in many national classiÝcations throughout the world, in the legend to the
FAO-UNESCO soil map, and in the more recent World Reference Base system.
However, with time and better understanding of soils and their distribution (resulting from the
large number of soil survey and accompanying databases), the ofÝcial system required modiÝcation.
Information and data came not only from Russia but from all over the world. Communication
among international soil scientists encouraged debates on the merits and demerits of different
systems and, as a result, the last 20 years of the 20
century saw a Þurry of activities to enhance
national systems around the world. (This topic is the Ýrst documentation of these efforts). It was
determined that the 1977 Russian system did not satisfy the demands of agriculture, and did not
incorporate the newly accumulated knowledge on the soils of Russia. Another important drawback
of the system of 1977 was that it did not take into account the soils lying outside the zone of active
agriculture; in particular, Siberian soils were not included. Thus soils occupying two-thirds of the
country were not included in the ofÝcial soil classiÝcation! Little attention was paid to anthropo-
genically transformed
th
soils. At the same time, it contained too many virtually similar soil subtypes
distinguished on the basis of exclusively hydrothermic criteria. Being based on the bioclimatic
approach, this classiÝcation could not provide distinct morphological diagnostics of soil types and
subtypes. Finally, this classiÝcation virtually excluded the soils that did not Ýt the criteria of zonal
soil types and subzonal subtypes. Most of the recently described Siberian and northern soils (that
were shown on small-scale soil
maps of the Soviet Union) could not be placed into this classiÝcation
without considerable changes in its principles and structure, including the approaches to soil
diagnostics. The need for a totally new system was evident.
THE MODERN SOIL CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM OF RUSSIA
As mentioned previously, the ofÝcial classiÝcation of soils of the Soviet Union could not satisfy
the growing demands of the applied sciences such as agriculture, forestry, and ecology. A new
