Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
Table 4.7 Contd...
Rustic
/peculiar Spodic
Salic
/with CDH
Sapric
/non-fibrous
horizon
Silandic
/type of Andosol
Siltic
/rich in silt
Skeletic
/40% or more
coarse fragments
Sodic
/>15% Na on
Solodic
/prismatic or
Sombric
/with CDH
exchange complex
columnar but low Na
Spodic
/with CDH
Spolic
/with industrial waste
Stagnic
/surface
reduction
Subaquatic
/under water
Sulphati
c/rich in sulphates
Takyric
/with CDH
Technic
/rich in man-made
Tephric
/with tephra
Terric
/with CDH
materials
Thaptandic
/buried Andic
Thionic
/with sulphates or
Thixotropic
/liquefies
horizons
sulphides
under pressure
Tidalic
/linked to tides
Toxic
/with toxic ions
Transportic
/moved
by man
Turbic
/cryoturbated
Umbric
/with CDH
Urbic
/with refuse
Vermic
/with animal
Vertic
/with CDH
Vetic
/acid, low CEC
burrows
of clay
Vitric
/with glass
Voronic
/with CDH
Xanthic
/with yellow
Ferralic horizon
Yermic
/with CDH, desert
pavement
* CEC: Cation exchange capacity, cmol p(+) kg
-1
** CDH: corresponding diagnostic horizon
4.2.2 Examples of Use
Cambic Leptosol
: the soil is a shallow, still immature soil (Leptosol:
Table 4.6) but is already drawn into the Cambisols because it exhibits a
(B) of weathering (Cambic: Table 4.3).
Fluvisol Hypersiltic
: the soil is an alluvial soil (Fluvisol) and very silty
(Siltic: Table 4.7).
Vertic Kastanozem
: soil of continental climate, more or less rich
in organic matter, exhibiting at depth accumulations of carbonate or
sulphate of calcium (Kastanozem) with vertic properties (shiny faces).
4.2.3 Drawbacks and Advantages
The 2006 version of the system does not avoid inflation of the number of
obscure terms. Is it useful to coin words to say that the bulk density is
low (
laxic
), that the soil is found on cultivated terraces (
escalic
) or that it is
covered with bird droppings (
ornithic
)? Also seen is the accumulation of
terms indicating that debris is found there:
garbic
(organic wastes),
spolic
