soil types :D

idk why I'm making this, there is no relevance to my actual classes/clubs in soil

gelisols

contain permafrost

Histosols

mainly composed of organic matter in upper region, bogs, swamps, etc

alfisols

similar location and characteristic to ultisols, but less weathered and acidic

andisols

formed from volcanic materials, very rare, extremely fertile, holds rainfall and nutrients very well

aridisols

found in dry areas, lack weathering, contain salt or carbonates

entisols

little to no soil development

inceptisols

moderate soil development and lack significant clay, wide range of characteristics

mollisols

prarie/grassland soil, dark surface horizon, highly fertile and rich in bases

oxisols

tropical and subtropical regions, dominated by iron oxides, quartz and clay weathered minerals, low fertility

spodosols

organic matter and aluminum, acidic organic matter interacts with rainfall dissolving metals, taiga

ultisols

formed in humid areas, very weathered, low fertility, relatively acidic and some clay

vertisols

clay rich soil that sinks and swells exponentially due to water, can form large cracks when dry, highly fertile but water may pool

sand

largest particle size

silt

size between sand and clay

loam

roughly equal proportions of sand, silt and clay

porosity

ability to hold a fluid

clay

smallest particle size

gelisol

histosols

spodosols

andisols

alfiisols

aridisols

vertisols

ultisols

oxisols

entisols

inceptisols

mollisols

solum

A + B horizons, affected by soil formation

loess

Wind-deposited silt that forms fertile soils

fragipans

Soil layers with dense, brittle texture that restrict root growth and water movement

Alluvium — Material deposited by a stream in relatively

recent time.

Beach deposit — Material (usually sandy) deposited by wave

action on the beach of a lake or a former lake.

Bedrock — Solid rock at the surface of the earth or underlain

by soil or other unconsolidated deposit. In Indiana,

bedrock includes sedimentary rocks, such as sandstone,

siltstone, shale, and limestone.

Colluvium — Loose, heterogeneous material transported

by unconcentrated surface runoff or slow continuous

downslope creep, collecting at the base of a slope; similar

to hillslope sediments, but usually used in steeply sloping

landscapes such as bedrock hills.

Coprogenous earth — Material that was deposited in a

lake and contains many fecal pellets, is dark in color, has

gel

like consistence when moist, and, when dried, shrinks greatly, becomes very hard, and does not re

Depression fill — A thin deposit in depressions derived by erosion processes from upslope.

Diatomaceous earth — Material deposited in a lake that

contains many diatom shells, which are high in silica.

Drift — Any rock material transported by a glacier and

deposited by ice or by melt water; A collective term for till

and outwash. Specify if the material is till or outwash if

possible.

Eolian sand — Sand transported and deposited by the wind,

mainly medium and fine sand.

Hillslope sediment — A thin deposit on lower slope positions

derived by erosion processes from upslope; similar to

colluvium, but usually in thinner deposits; in Indiana, it

often occurs in gently sloping landscapes, such as till plain

depressions.

Lacustrine deposit — Inorganic material, mainly silt and clay,

deposited in a lake or other body of still water by nonbiological processes.

Limnic material — Organic and inorganic material that was

deposited in a lake by algae, diatoms, or other organisms.

Limnic materials include coprogenous earth, marl, and

diatomaceous earth.

Loess — Mainly silt

size material transported and deposited by

the wind.

Marl — Material deposited in a lake that is light in color and

contains much CaCO3, largely fragments of shells.

Organic deposit — An accumulation of partially decayed

plant material. Usually it occurs as thick deposits in former

lakes or as thin surface layers, overlying mineral soil

material, under forest. Organic deposits are subdivided

according to their degree of decomposition — fibric

material (peat) is slightly decomposed, hemic material

(mucky peat) is moderately decomposed, and sapric

material (muck) is highly decomposed.

Outwash — Stratified coarse

textured material washed out

from a glacier by meltwater streams and deposited in

front of the margin of an active glacier Particle size is

mainly sand and gravel.

Residuum — (saprolite) Unconsolidated weathered or

partly weathered mineral material that accumulates by

disintegration of bedrock essentially in place.