Dear all,
I have collected soil samples up to a depth of 50m from surface during drilling. I need to interpret alternate cycles of dry and wet climate on the basis of soil types. What are the criteria to classify soils into Entisol, Vertisol, Alfisol, Oxisol etc. ? I would like to know the parameters like texture, color, amount of organic matter, presence of particular minerals, cation exchange capacity, and pH values to characterise the soil types. It would be really helpful if you kindly provide me the list or document where the parameters range are given to classify the soils.
Thanks & regards,
Ashok
Referring to any text book or research paper may not help you much. It will be very tiresome for you as you are not a trained pedologist I suppose.I would rather suggest you to catch hold of a trained pedologist at the NBSS&LUP. Regional centre ,Salt Lake , Kolkata,who can in real term help in soil classification according to US Soil Taxonomy. However, you can take help of any pedologist of the country who are engaged in classifying soils.
In addition to the above I may suggest you to have contact with the sedimentary geologists who are engaged in finding paleosols in sedimentary deposits. A pdf is attached where you can find some ways to do your research.
I send you greetings The depth mentioned (50) m can not be considered subject to the classification of soils, which deals with the surface layer exclusively. Paleosol can be studied through variations of soil texture,the prevailing horizons ,organic carbon and others.
Dear Ashok Shaw,
Hope success for your work. You have an important column (50 m depth) to interpret paleoenvironmental reconstruction, however, surface soil classification according to US Soil Taxonomy applies up to 2 m depth. Besides that, to proceed with soil classification, first you need soil profiles described in the field and then the physicochemical characterization of every horizon of the soil sequence. Apparently, you solely have soils and sedimentary samples from drilling collected at fixed depths.
Moreover, Soil Taxonomy 1975 version has been replaced by the 12th edition (2014) in where those soils posing paleocharacteristics, developed in a climate different than present, may satisfy recquirements of Pale great groups (texture, color, iron oxides content, organic carbon, CaCO3....) belonging to different orders or those of thapto special subgroups. I advice to contact a pedologist trained in soil classification in your country to both recognize and classify present soils and different buried soils included in the pedosedimentary column.
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