Classifications: International WRB and U.S. Soil Taxonomy - Major Soil Groups of the World - page 132

Table 4.10 Contd...
Argillic

arg(i) (L. argilla = white clay), clayey, thick, signs of

illuviation except in the special case of swelling

soils (= argic of the WRB)

Calcic calc(i) (L . calcis = lime), illuvial, enriched in secondary

carbonates (please note: in French, 'calcique'

means which has lost its calcium carbonate but

still contains calcium!)

Cambic camb (L. cambiare = to exchange), weathered, rock

structure partially destroyed, sometimes

decarbonated

Duripan dur (L . duras = hard), cemented by silica

Fragipan frag(i) (L. fragilis = fragile), silty, prismatic structure,

hard and massive but still easy to crush, no

roots

Glossic gloss (Gr. glossa = tongue) degradation of argillic,

kandic or natric horizons by tongues

Gypsic gyps Contains 5% or more of non-indurated gypsum

Illuvial, CEC < 16 cmol (+) kg -1 clay, presence

Kandic kandi

of coatings not obligatory

Natric natr (L. natrium = sodium), argillic with prismatic

structure linked to saline conditions (SAR > 13)

Ortstein ------ Spodic material (Table 4.11), cemented, 2.5 cm

or less thick

Oxic ------ Loamy sand, poor in weatherable minerals, CEC

< 16 cmol (+) kg -1 clay, rich in iron and/or

aluminium

Petrocalcic ------ Illuvial, cemented by additions of CaCO 3

Petrogypsic ------ Illuvial, cemented by additions of CaSO 4

Placic plac Illuvial, from 0.1 to 2.5 cm, cemented by iron

or manganese and organic matter

Salic sal Accumulation of salts more soluble than gypsum,

high electrical conductivity

Sombric sombr (F. sombre = dark), illuvial, rich in OM, not

spodic or saline, typical of intertropical

mountains

Spodic ------ Illuvial, rich in spodic material (defined

in Table 4.11)

In column 2 of the above table, a term such as 'arg(i)' means that it may be found as
'arg' or 'argi' in the words defining the taxa in the system.