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Taxonomy of Soils and Landscapes

The Canadian System of Soil Classification, 3rd edition

Table of Contents

3rd edition, 1998
2nd edition, 1987
1st edition, 1978

Chapter 1 Introduction

History of Soil Classification in Canada
- The early years, 1914-1940
- From 1940 to 1996
Rationale of Soil Taxonomy in Canada
Summary

Chapter 2 Soil, Pedon, Control Section, and Soil Horizons

Soil and Nonsoil
Pedon, the Basic Unit of Soil
Control Section
- Mineral soils
- Organic soils
Soil Horizons and Other Layers

Chapter 3 Outline of the System and a Key to the Classification of a Pedon.

Outline of the System
Classifying a Pedon
Key to Soil Orders
Key to Soil Great Groups
Key to Soil Subgroups

Chapter 4 Brunisolic Order

Distinguishing Brunisolic Soils from Soils of Other Orders
Melanic Brunisol
Eutric Brunisol
Sombric Brunisol
Dystric Brunisol

Chapter 5 Chernozemic Order

Distinguishing Chernozemic Soils from Soils of Other Orders
Brown Chernozem
Dark Brown Chernozem
Black Chernozem
Dark Gray Chernozem

Chapter 6 Cryosolic Order

Turbic Cryosol
Static Cryosol
Organic Cryosol

Chapter 7 Gleysolic Order

Distinguishing Gleysolic Soils from Soils of Other Orders
Luvic Gleysol
Humic Gleysol
Gleysol

Chapter 8 Luvisolic Order

Distinguishing Luvisolic Soils from Soils of Other Orders
Gray Brown Luvisol
Gray Luvisol

Chapter 9 Organic Order

Distinguishing Organic Soils from Soils of Other Orders
Fibrisol
Mesisol
Humisol
Folisol

Chapter 10 Podzolic Order

Distinguishing Podzolic Soils from Soils of Other Orders
Humic Podzol
Ferro-Humic Podzol
Humo-Ferric Podzol

Chapter 11 Regosolic Order

Distinguishing Regosolic Soils from Soils of Other Orders
Regosol
Humic Regosol

Chapter 12 Solonetzic Order

Distinguishing Solonetzic Soils from Soils of Other Orders
Solonetz
Solodized Solonetz
Solod
Vertic Solonetz

Chapter 13 Vertisolic Order

Distinguishing Vertisolic Soils from Soils of Other Orders
Vertisol
Humic Vertisol

Chapter 14 Soil Family and Series

Family Criteria and Guidelines for Mineral Soils
Family Criteria and Guidelines for Organic Soils
Nomenclature for Soil Families
Soil Series

Chapter 15 Soil Phase

Slope
Water Erosion
Wind Erosion
Soil Deposition
Stoniness
Rock Outcrop
Folic
Peaty
Cryic
Cryoturbated
Other Differentiae

Chapter 16 Correlation of Canadian Soil Taxonomy with Other Systems

Chapter 17 Terminology for Describing Soils

Example of a Pedon Description

Chapter 18 Landform Classification

History
Scope
Objectives
Genetic Materials
Material Modifiers
Surface Expression
Slope
Modifying Processes
Qualifying Descriptors
Mapping Conventions

Figures

Figure 1. Pedon of Orthic Turbic Cryosol in area of nonsorted circles
Figure 2. Pedon of Gleyed Vertic Black Chernozem with tonguing Ah horizon
Figure 3. Pedon of Orthic Humo-Ferric Podzols tropic phase, in hummocky terrain due to blowdown of trees
Figure 4. Orthic Melanic Brunisol, Ontario (jpg Format, 97 KB)
Figure 5. Eluviated Eutric Brunisol, British Columbia (jpg Format, 83 KB)
Figure 6. Eluviated Dystric Brunisol, Saskatchewan (jpg Format, 75 KB)
Figure 7. Orthic Brown Chernozem, Alberta (jpg Format, 87 KB)
Figure 8. Orthic Black Chernozem, Alberta (jpg Format, 76 KB)
Figure 9. Orthic Eutric Turbic Cryosol, Northwest Territories (jpg Format, 89 KB)
Figure 10. Brunisolic Dystric Static Cryosol, Northwest Territories (jpg Format, 71 KB)
Figure 11. Glacic Organic Cryosol, Northwest Territories (jpg Format, 78 KB)
Figure 12. Orthic Humic Gleysol, Ontario (jpg Format, 113 KB)
Figure 13. Rego Gleysol, peaty phase, Ontario (jpg Format, 73 KB)
Figure 14. Fera Gleysol, Ontario (jpg Format, 74 KB)
Figure 15. Orthic Gray Brown Luvisol, Ontario (jpg Format, 109 KB)
Figure 16. Orthic Gray Luvisol, Alberta (jpg Format, 99 KB)
Figure 17. Mesic Fibrisol, Alberta (jpg Format, 76 KB)
Figure 18. Humic Mesisol, British Columbia (jpg Format, 79 KB)
Figure 19. Orthic Humic Podzol, Newfoundland (jpg Format, 66 KB)
Figure 20. Orthic Ferro-Humic Podzol, Quebec (jpg Format, 76 KB)
Figure 21. Orthic Humo-Ferric Podzol, Nova Scotia (jpg Format, 70 KB)
Figure 22. Orthic Regosol, Northwest Territories (jpg Format, 81 KB)
Figure 23. Cumulic Regosol, Northwest Territories (jpg Format, 96 KB)
Figure 24. Brown Solodized Solonetz, Saskatchewan (jpg Format, 84 KB)
Figure 25. Brown Solod, Saskatchewan (jpg Format, 107 KB)
Figure 26. Orthic Humic Vertisol, Manitoba (jpg Format, 104 KB)
Figure 27. Orthic Vertisol, Saskatchewan (jpg Format, 127 KB)
Figure 28. Diagrammatic horizon pattern of some subgroups of the Brunisolic order
Figure 29. Diagrammatic horizon pattern of some subgroups of the Chernozemic order
Figure 30. Diagrammatic horizon pattern of some subgroups of the Cryosolic order
Figure 31. Schematic representation of horizon pattern in some Turbic subgroups of the Cryosolic order
Figure 32. Diagrammatic horizon pattern of some subgroups of the Gleysolic order
Figure 33. Diagrammatic horizon pattern of some subgroups of the Luvisolic order
Figure 34. Diagrammatic representation of depth relationships in the control section used to classify Fibrisol, Mesisol, and Humisol great groups
Figure 35. Diagrammatic horizon pattern of some subgroups of the Fibrisol, Mesisol, and Humisol great groups
Figure 36. Diagrammatic horizon pattern of some subgroups of the Folisol great group
Figure 37. Diagrammatic horizon pattern of some subgroups of the Podzolic order
Figure 38. Diagrammatic horizon pattern of some subgroups of The Regosolic order
Figure 39. Diagrammatic horizon pattern of some subgroups of the Solonetzic order
Figure 40. Diagrammatic horizon pattern of some subgroups of the Vertisolic order
Figure 41. Family particle-size classes triangle and soil texture classes triangle
Figure 42. Soil texture classes triangle
Figure 43. Types, kinds, and classes of soil structure
Figure 44. Colluvial material (jpg Format, 107 KB)
Figure 45. Eolian material (jpg Format, 85 KB)
Figure 46. Fluvial material (jpg Format, 104 KB)
Figure 47. Lacustrine material (jpg Format, 86 KB)
Figure 48. Thin marine sands over marine clays in the background have been deranged by progressive rotational flow slides in the foreground (jpg Format, 95 KB)
Figure 49. Morainal material (jpg Format, 84 KB)
Figure 50. Colluvial apron at the base of Nahanni Butte, N.W.T. (jpg Format, 85 KB)
Figure 51. Hummocky eolian material, active and stabilized sand dunes in Prince Edward Island (jpg Format, 88 KB)
Figure 52. Fluvial fan in the foreground, Carcajou Lake, N.W.T. (jpg Format, 88 KB)
Figure 53. Fluvial apron in the midground, Carcajou Canyon, N.W.T. (jpg Format, 82 KB)
Figure 54. Ridged and hummocky glaciofluvial material, Kamloops, B.C. (jpg Format, 83 KB)
Figure 55. Undulating glaciofluvial material, eastern New Brunswick (jpg Format, 91 KB)
Figure 56. Morainal blanket over undulating bedrock, eastern Quebec (jpg Format, 68 KB)
Figure 57. Hummocky and ridged morainal material in the midground and background, Kamloops, B.C. (jpg Format, 83 KB)
Figure 58. Ridged morainal material. The lines of trees mark the swales between parallel ridges, southern Ontario (jpg Format, 89 KB)
Figure 59. Rolling morainal material, southeastern Alberta (jpg Format, 78 KB)
Figure 60. Undulating morainal material, southern Sask. (jpg Format, 79 KB)
Figure 61. Morainal veneer over rolling bedrock, Vancouver Island, B.C. (jpg Format, 91 KB)
Figure 62. Hummocky glaciolacustrine material, Biggar, Sask. (jpg Format, 74 KB)
Figure 63. Level lacustrine material, southwestern Ontario (jpg Format, 82 KB)
Figure 64. A lacustrine terrace dissected by streams between a river and hills, Kamloops, B.C. (jpg Format, 90 KB)
Figure 65. Undulating marine landform marks the remnants of ancient clay flow slides, Pontiac County, Que. (jpg Format, 85 KB)
Figure 66. Thin marine veneer over level bedrock, Grande-Anse, N.B. (jpg Format, 101 KB)
Figure 67. Marine veneer and blanket over hummocky bedrock, Montmagny, Que. (jpg Format, 74 KB)
Figure 68. The domed bog in the midground has mainly sphagnum vegetation, Sibbeston Lake, N.W.T. (jpg Format, 81 KB)
Figure 69. Plateaus in this bog are marked by the light brown vegetation with sparse tree cover. The flat, reddish brown areas are sedge-covered fens, Norman Wells, N.W.T. (jpg Format, 97 KB)
Figure 70. The horizontal fen in the foreground is dominated by sedge vegetation, Manitoba (jpg Format, 76 KB)
Figure 71. The ribbed fen has sedge vegetation broken by low ridges where spruce trees grow, Fort Simpson, N.W.T. (jpg Format, 88 KB)
Figure 72. On-site landform symbols

Tables

Table 1. Strongly contrasting particle sizes
Table 2. Key to mineralogy classes
Table 3. Soil temperature classes
Table 4. Soil moisture subclasses
Table 5. Moisture subclasses as applied to Organic soils
Table 6. Correlation of horizon definitions and designations
Table 7. Correlation of United States and FAO diagnostic horizons with nearest Canadian equivalents
Table 8. Taxonomic correlation at the Canadian order and great group levels
Table 9. Terminology for various shapes and sizes of coarse fragments
Table 10. Types and classes of soil structure

Source: The Canadian System of Soil Classification, 3rd edition

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Date modified:: 2015-06-25

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