SOIL SURVEY AND LAND USE PLANNING (SSC 509)

LAND POTENTIAL ASSESSMENT (EVALUATION)

Land evaluation is concerned with the assessment of land performance when

used for specified purposes. It involves the execution and interpretation of
basic surveys of climate, soils, vegetation and other aspects of land in terms of
the requirements of alternative forms of land use. To be of value in planning,
the range of land uses considered has to be limited to those which are relevant
within the physical, economic and social context of the area considered, and
the comparisons must incorporate economic consideration. Land evaluation
may be concerned with present land performance. Frequently however, it
involves change and its effects: with change in the use of land and in some
cases change in the land itself .Evaluation takes into consideration

I. The economics of the proposed enterprises,

II. The social consequences for the people of the area and the country
concerned,
III. The consequences, beneficial or adverse, for the environment.

The purpose of Land Evaluation

The purpose of land evaluation seeks to answer a number of questions that

bothers on how the land is presently managed, and possible improvement to
enhance future productivity as well as economic viability of the land. The
evaluation process does not in itself determine the land use changes that are to
be carried out, but provides data on the basis of which such decisions can be
taken. To be effective in this role, the output from an evaluation normally gives
information on two or more potential forms of use for each area of land,
including the consequences, beneficial and adverse, of each. It seeks answers
to the following questions below;

1. How is the land currently managed, and what will happen if present
practices remain unchanged?
2. What improvements in management practices, within the present use,
are possible?
3. What other uses of land are physically possible and economically and
socially relevant?
4. Which of these uses offer possibilities of sustained production or other
benefits?
5. What adverse effects, physical, economic or social, are associated with
each use?

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 6. What recurrent inputs are necessary to bring about the desired
production and minimize the adverse effects?
7. What are the benefits of each form of use?

The role of Land evaluation in land use planning

Land evaluation is only part of the process of land use planning. Its precise role
varies in different circumstances. In the present context it is sufficient to
represent the land use planning process by the following generalized sequence
of activities and decisions:

i. Recognition of a need for change;

ii. Formulation of proposals, involving alternative forms of land use, and

recognition of their main requirements;

iii. Recognition and delineation of the different types of land present in the
area;

iv. Comparison and evaluation of each type of land for the different uses;

v. Selection of a preferred use for each type of land;

vi. Project design, or other detailed analysis of a selected set of alternatives for
distinct parts of the area; this, in certain cases, may take the form of a
feasibility study.

vii. Decision to implement;

viii. Implementation;

ix. Monitoring of the operation.

Land evaluation plays a major part in stages iii, iv and v of the above sequence,
and contributes information to the subsequent activities. Thus land evaluation
is preceded by the recognition of the need for some change in the use to which
land is put; this may be the development of new productive uses, such as
agricultural development schemes or forestry plantations, or the provision of
services, such as the designation of a national park or recreational area.
Recognition of this need is followed by identification of the aims of the proposed
change and formulation of general and specific proposals. The evaluation
process itself includes description of a range of promising kinds of use, and the
assessment and comparison of these with respect to each type of land
identified in the area. This leads to recommendations involving one or a small

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number of preferred kinds of use. These recommendations can then be used in
making decisions on the preferred kinds of land use for each distinct part of
the area

Soil Survey interpretation

This is the stage where the potentials of the soils in that area is accessed and
their response to management are accessed. The soils can be grouped into:

1. Capability classes (Land capability classification)

2. Land suitability evaluation classes (FAO framework)

3. Irrigation capability classification (US Bureau of land reclamation)

4. Fertility capability classification

Appendix

Various information from which the report has been summarized but which are
too voluminous to be included in the main report are presented here. The data
presented here include data on profile description and analyzed data.

Principles of Land evaluation

Certain principles are fundamental to the approach and methods employed in

land evaluation. These basic principles are as follows:

i. Land suitability. This is assessed and classified with respect to specified

kinds of use This principle embodies recognition of the fact that different kinds
of land use have different requirements. As an example, an alluvial flood plain
with impeded drainage might be highly suitable for rice cultivation but not
suitable for many forms of agriculture or for forestry. The concept of land
suitability is only meaningful in terms of specific kinds of land use, each with
their own requirements, e.g. for soil moisture, rooting depth etc. The qualities
of each type of land, such as moisture availability or liability to flooding, are
compared with the requirements of each use. Thus the land itself and the land
use are equally fundamental to land suitability evaluation.

ii. Evaluation: This requires a comparison of the benefits obtained and the
inputs needed on different types of land. Land in itself, without input, rarely if
ever possesses productive potential; even the collection of wild fruits requires
labour, whilst the use of natural wilderness for nature conservation requires
measures for its protection. Suitability for each use is assessed by comparing

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the required inputs, such as labour, fertilizers or road construction, with the
goods produced or other benefits obtained.

iii. A multidisciplinary approach is required. The evaluation process requires

contributions from the fields of natural science, the technology of land use,
economics and sociology. In particular, suitability evaluation always
incorporates economic considerations to a greater or lesser extent. In
qualitative evaluation, economics may be employed in general terms only,
without calculation of costs and returns. In quantitative evaluation the
comparison of benefits and inputs in economic terms plays a major part in the
determination of suitability. It follows that a team carrying out an evaluation
require a range of specialists. These will usually include natural scientists (e.g.
geomorphologists, soil surveyors, and ecologists), specialists in the technology
of the forms of land use under consideration (e.g. agronomists, foresters,
irrigation engineers, experts in livestock management), economists and
sociologists. There may need to be some combining of these functions for
practical reasons, but the principle of multidisciplinary activity, encompassing
studies of land, land use, social aspects and economics, remains.

iv. Evaluation is made in terms of relevant to the physical economic and social
context of the area concerned. Such factors as the regional climate, levels of
living of the population, availability and cost of labour, need for employment,
the local or export markets, systems of land tenure which are socially and
politically acceptable, and availability of capital, form the context within which
evaluation takes place. It would, for example it will be unrealistic to say that
land was suitable for non-mechanized rice cultivation, requiring large amounts
of low-cost labour, in a country with high labour costs. The assumptions
underlying evaluation will differ from one country to another and, to some
extent, between different areas of the same country. Many of these factors are
often implicitly assumed; to avoid misunderstanding and to assist in
comparisons between different areas, such assumptions should be explicitly
stated.

v. Suitability refers to use on a sustained basis. The aspect of environmental

degradation is taken into account when assessing suitability. There might, for
example, be forms of land use which appeared to be highly profitable in the
short run but were likely to lead to soil erosion, progressive pasture
degradation, or adverse changes in river regimes downstream. Such
consequences would outweigh the short-term profitability and cause the land
to be classed as not suitable for such purposes. This principle by no means
requires that the environment should be preserved in a completely unaltered

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state. Agriculture normally involves clearance of any natural vegetation
present, and normally soil fertility under arable cropping is higher or lower,
depending on management, but rarely at the same level as under the original
vegetation. What is required is that for any proposed form of land use, the
probable consequences for the environment should be assessed as accurately
as possible and such assessments taken into consideration in determining
suitability.

vi. Evaluation involves comparison of more than a single kind of use. This
comparison could be, for example, between agriculture and forestry, between
two or more different farming systems, or between individual crops. Often it
will include comparing the existing uses with possible changes, either to new
kinds of use or modifications to the existing uses. Occasionally a proposed
form of use will be compared with non-use, i.e. leaving the land in its unaltered
state, but the principle of comparison remains. Evaluation is only reliable if
benefits and inputs from any given kind of use can be compared with at least
one, and usually several different, alternatives. If only one use is considered
there is the danger that, whilst the land may indeed be suitable for that use,
some other and more beneficial use may be ignored.

Basic concepts in Land Assessment or Evaluation

Certain concepts and definitions are needed as a basis for the subsequent
discussion. These concern the land itself, kinds of land use, land
characteristics and qualities, and improvements made to land.

Land: Land comprises the physical environment, including climate, relief, soils,
hydrology and vegetation, to the extent that these influence potential for land
use. It includes the results of past and present human activity, e.g.
reclamation from the sea, vegetation clearance, and also adverse results, e.g.
soil salinization. Purely economic and social characteristics, however, are not
included in the concept of land; these form part of the economic and social
context.

A land mapping unit: Is a mapped area of land with specified characteristics.

Land mapping units are defined and mapped by natural resource surveys, e.g.
soil survey, forest inventory. Their degree of homogeneity or of internal
variation varies with the scale and intensity of the study. In some cases a
single land mapping unit may include two or more distinct types of land, with
different suitabilities, e.g. a river flood plain, mapped as a single unit but
known to contain both well-drained alluvial areas and swampy depressions.

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Land is thus a wider concept than soil or terrain. Variation in soils, or soils and
landforms, is often the main cause of differences between land mapping units
within a local area: it is for this reason that soil surveys are sometimes the
main basis for definition of land mapping units. However, the fitness of soils for
land use cannot be assessed in isolation from other aspects of the
environment, and hence it is land which is employed as the basis for suitability
evaluation. Land use Suitability evaluation involves relating land mapping
units to specified types of land use. The types of use considered are limited to
those which appear to be relevant under general physical, economic and social
conditions prevailing in an area. These kinds of land use serve as the subject of
land evaluation. They may consist of major kinds of land use or land utilization
types.

Major Kinds of Land Use and Land Utilization Types

A major kind of land use is a major subdivision of rural land use, such as
rainfed agriculture, irrigated agriculture, grassland, forestry, or recreation.
Major kinds of land use are usually considered in land evaluation studies of a
qualitative or reconnaissance nature. A land utilization type is a kind of land
use described or defined in a degree of detail greater than that of a major kind
of land use. In detailed or quantitative land evaluation studies, the kinds of
land use considered will usually consist of land utilization types. They are
described with as much detail and precision as the purpose requires. Thus
land utilization typos are not a categorical level in a classification of land use,
but refer to any defined use below the level of the major kind of land use.

A land utilization type consists of a set of technical specifications in a given

physical, economic and social setting. This may be the current environment or
a future Betting modified by major land improvement, e.g. an irrigation and
drainage scheme. Attributes of land utilization types include data or
assumptions on:

- Produce, including goods (e.g. crops, livestock timber), cervices (e.g.

recreational facilities) or other benefits (e.g. wildlife conservation)

- Market orientation, including whether towards subsistence or commercial

production

- Capital intensity

- Labour intensity

- Power sources (e.g. man's labour, draught animals machinery using fuels)

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- Technical knowledge and attitudes of land users

- Technology employed (e.g. implements and machinery, fertilizers, livestock

breeds, farm transport, methods of timber felling)

- Infrastructure requirements (e.g. sawmills, tat factories, agricultural advisory

services)

- Size and configuration of land holdings, including whether consolidated or

fragmented.

- Land tenure, the legal or customary manner in which rights to land are held,
by individuals or groups

- Income levels, expressed per capita, per unit of production (e.g. farm) or per
unit area.

Management practices on different areas within one land utilization typo are
not necessarily the same. For example, the land utilization type may consist of
mixed farming, with part of the land under arable use and part allocated to
grazing. Such differences may arise from variation in the land, from the
requirements of the management system, or both.

Some examples of land utilization types are:

i. Rainfed annual cropping based on groundnuts with subsistence maize, by

smallholders with low capital resources, using cattle drawn farm implements,
with high labour intensity, on freehold farms of 5-10 ha.

ii. Farming similar to (i) in respect of production, capital, labour, power and
technology, but farms of 200-500 ha operated on a communal basis.

iii. Commercial wheat production on large freehold farms, with high capital and
low labour intensity, and a high level of mechanization and inputs.

iv. Extensive cattle ranching, with medium levels of capital and labour
intensity, with land held and central services operated by a governmental
agency.

v. Softwood plantations operated by a government Department of Forestry, with

high capital intensity, low labour intensity, and advanced technology.

vi. A national park for recreation and tourism.

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Multiple and Compound Land Use

Two terms, multiple and compound land utilization types, refer to situations in
which more than one kind of land use is practiced within an area.

A multiple land utilization type consists of more than one kind of use
simultaneously undertaken on the same area of land, each use having its own
inputs, requirements and produce. in example is a timber plantation used
simultaneously as a recreational area.

A compound land utilization type consists of more than one kind of use
undertaken on areas of. Land which for purposes of evaluation are treated as a
single unit. The different kinds of use may occur in time sequence (e.g. as in
crop rotation) or simultaneously on different areas of land within the same
organizational unit. Mixed farming involving both arable use and grazing is an
example.

Sometimes an appropriate land utilization type can be found by making several

land mapping units part of the same management unit, e.g. livestock
management which combines grazing on uplands in the rainy season and on
seasonally flooded lowlands in the dry season. Land utilization types are
defined for the purpose of land evaluation. Their description need not comprise
the full range of farm management practices, but only those related to land
management and improvement. At detailed levels of evaluation, closely-defined
land utilization types can be extended into farming systems by adding other
aspects of farm management. Conversely, farming systems that have already
been studied and described can be adopted as the basis for land utilization
types.

Soil Correlation.

A system of classification, whether it be of roads, houses, or natural bodies

such as plants, animals, or soils, is an organization of knowledge so that the
properties of the objects can be better remembered, and their relationships
understood more easily for a specific objective.

Soil correlation is the process whereby each kind of soil is properly recognized,
defined, named, and placed in a system of soil classification. This is a most
important part of a soil survey programme if the units of mapping are to be
consistently identified, delineated, defined, named, and interpreted. This is
essential if the soil survey is to function properly in the transfer of the results
of experience and research gained from the soils of one locality to those of

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another, the making of predictions of what will follow from the use of soils in
different ways, and what will be the long—term effects of such use.

Soil correlation is a multi-step quality assessment process that ensures

accuracy and consistency both within and between soil surveys on both local
and regional bases. It involves classifying soils, naming map units, and
providing accurate interpretations. The purpose of correlation is to provide
consistency in designing and naming map units, provide effective transfer of
information to and between users, and allow flexibility between the standards
used in soil survey and the variability scientists observe and document
geographically. Correlation is a continuous process, from the initial
descriptions at the start of mapping through the final manuscript, tables, map
development, and certification. It is the responsibility of all survey team
members, and the decisions are based primarily on the standards used to
create the survey.

Soil correlation is an integral part of soil survey. It is carried out on a

continuing basis throughout the course of the project. Soil correlation can be
described by the following steps:

(1) Design of map units.

(2) Characterization of map units.

(3) Classification of map unit components.

(4) Correlation of map units, and (5) certification.

Design of Map Units

Every soil survey must begin with a clear understanding of the purpose and
needs for the project. At a minimum, a project plan must be developed to
outline the needs of a soil survey. Preferably, all partners in a survey create a
memorandum of understanding and agree to it. These documents outline the
scale to be used in making the survey, minimum delineation size for map
units, kinds of map units, documentation requirements, and interpretation
needs of the soil survey users. Commonly, there is agreement on soil-landscape
models to be used and the important soil-forming factors and soil orders
known in a project area. These documents are essential to balancing survey
detail, survey costs, and time frames for a project .A map unit can be
tentatively correlated as soon as it has been accurately described and mapped.
Map units in a survey are correlated to ensure consistency in design and level
or order of mapping in a survey area.

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Characterization of Map Units

Map unit characterization includes identifying the kind of components and the
kind of map units to use and what data to collect for the soil database. Surveys
in high-value, heavily used areas may require that most map units be
consociations with components identified to the series level. Surveys in remote
areas used primarily for watershed protection or wildlife habitat may only
require that map units be complexes and associations with components named
for taxonomic categories above the series.

Classification of Map Unit Components

Soil pedons representing the components of the map unit are described and
classified to the appropriate taxonomic level (series or higher). In addition to
pedon description and classification, laboratory characterization data are
collected, and interpretive features (such as ecological site descriptions) may be
developed. The importance of this information cannot be overemphasized. The
descriptions and data provide the basic information needed for complete and
accurate interpretation. Working from the soil descriptions, supervisory soil
scientists can give maximum help to the survey team. Soil taxa (series or
higher category) are used to name the components making up the map unit.
Soil map unit components are correlated internally to ensure that classification
is consistent and that the recorded properties coincide with established
taxonomic limits. Property ranges documented for the component that extend
slightly beyond the taxonomic ranges are used to document and interpret the
map unit component. Laboratory data supports the aggregation or grouping of
pedons as well as soil database population. Pedons described in U.S. surveys
use the Soil Taxonomy system of classification.

Correlation of Map Units

The correlation of map units impacts many subparts of a soil survey. Similar
and dissimilar soils should be consistently and objectively evaluated and listed
in map unit descriptions and databases to properly account for the complexity
in a survey. A system of analyzing this information should be developed and
followed. Analysis methods might include the use of spatial analysis software
or tabular information in databases to identify correct groupings.Taxonomic
unit descriptions represent the range in characteristics of the dominant soils in
a survey area. Each map unit should reference a typical pedon that describes
the range of characteristics for that taxa within the survey. The typical pedon,
and commonly the taxonomic unit description, represent only a portion of the
full range in characteristics for a given soil series.Soil interpretations and
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ratings are correlated to ensure that soil suitabilities or limitations are
evaluated equitably across the survey. Correlation ensures consistency within
the map unit descriptions, including consistent wording to describe important
features and consistent use of performance data among map units having the
same use and management.Map unit correlation also includes the proper
documentation of the map unit history. This includes conceptual changes that
may occur over the course of a survey project as new areas are identified for
use of the same map unit. Current surveys maintain and track this history in a
soil database.

Certification

Soil surveys typically have a formal, final correlation document that

summarizes all correlation decisions within a survey project. This document
lists the final versions of map unit and taxonomic legends and explains the
reasons for combining soils into map units, any classification anomalies, and
any geographical exceptions. An explanation of the correlation of map units
and components between adjoining survey areas ensures consistency between
surveys. Both initial and update surveys use a similar process to explain
correlation decisions and to present new information and data collected to
support those decisions .Correlation documents certify that a soil survey
product has followed and met the standards used to make a survey. This
certification is essential for product delivery. Current delivery of U.S. soil
surveys uses the publicly available Web Soil Survey.

SOIL SURVEY REPORT WRITING

The results of soil surveys are usually published to provide the public with the
soil information it needs to make sound decisions about land use and
management and to provide a permanent record of what has been learned
about soils. The soil survey is the key element in planning both agricultural
and nonagricultural uses. The major assignment of a soil survey group is to
complete the fieldwork and assemble the information for the final publication of
a survey. The soil survey work plan, however, should provide reasonable extra
time to allow the survey group to satisfy any obligations it may have to collect
specific information for particular groups or individuals.

Soil Survey Report

Soil survey reports are the primary means for disseminating the information
gathered by the National Cooperative Soil Survey in the United States. Soil
survey report usually cover a particular part of a State. The area covered by a

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survey is determined by factors, such as complexity of soils, topography, and
the needs of users. Besides the formal soil survey report, special summaries of
soils information for the survey area may be required. Information may be
needed before the formal report is finished, or new information may be needed
after the report has been released. Special reports are often useful to present
information on specific topics. Many people and agencies contribute to the
making and publishing of soil survey reports. Local, State, and Federal
cooperators may provide funds and personnel for the survey. The central
responsibility for coordinating the individual soil surveys, as well as the
national soil survey program in the United States, rests with the Soil
Conservation Service.

Soil survey publications are distributed widely, although most of the copies of a
survey are distributed in the area covered by that survey. Survey reports are
distributed by the cooperating agencies and the local conservation district.
Publications are also available from Members of Congress. The Extension
Service conducts educational programs about the use of soil surveys.

Where to find Soil Survey Reports

Published soil surveys are available in

i. Libraries of most universities and colleges in the United States and in

ii. Libraries of many towns and cities.

iii. They are distributed to agricultural colleges,

iv. Ministries of agriculture, and

v. Libraries in many other countries.

Contents of Soil Survey Reports

A total of all that were investigated about the soil of an area are usually
documented in a soil survey report. Also, other previously identified
information is incorporated into the soil survey report. The following are
usually documented

i. Map showing the distribution of the different kinds of soils in the area

ii. Summaries of research that has been done on the effects of soil on plants
and engineering practices.

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iii. Descriptions, laboratory data, and other information about the properties of
the soils.

iv. From the above, basic data interpretations are made about potentials,
suitability, and limitations of the soils for crops, pasture, forest, wildlife
habitat, recreation, engineering, and any other uses known to be important at
the time of the survey.

v. Discussions of land use and management are written to bring out specific
relationships to individual soils or groups of soils shown on the map.

vi. The properties, responses to management, and suitability and limitations of

each kind of soil are given to enable the public to make full use of the soil map,
whether for producing crops or for locating building sites or sources of
construction material.

vii. Predictions are made of the behavior of each kind of soil under specified
uses and management systems. Predicted yields under defined systems of
management and use are also provided.

viii. The use of a soil classification system permits eventual development of

many useful interpretations beyond those required for the immediate objectives
of the survey.

ix. A published soil survey contains instructions for its use, information about
how the survey was made, an account of the general nature of the area, a
description of the general soil map, a classification of the soils, a discussion of
soil formation, references, and a glossary.

The form and content of the publication depends on the nature of the area
surveyed, local conditions and needs, and the kinds of uses anticipated. The
contents are arranged so that the user can find information as conveniently
and rapidly as possible. Data and interpretations are assembled in tables to
bring out relationships and contrasts among soils.

Technical Reports

Some technical soil survey information is used mainly by workers in soil

science and in related fields. This information is recorded in technical papers,
theses, and dissertations, many of which are published in technical report
series and summarized in professional journals.

1). Soil survey investigative reports.

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The Soil Survey Investigation Reports, published by the U.S. Department of
Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service, makes technical information available
from cooperative laboratory and field investigations of soils of the 50 States,
Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. Some volumes contain physical, chemical,
and mineralogical data from soil laboratories and descriptions of the profiles
that were sampled. Others report studies of the genesis of significant soils in a
particular area.

Before Soil Survey Investigative Reports were started, laboratory data were
distributed in unpublished form to those immediately concerned with specific
problems. Some data appeared in technical journals, regional or national
technical bulletins, or published soil surveys; however, much of the data was
not readily available. Some experiment stations issue summaries of available
data on soils within their States .These summaries are issued periodically as
data accumulate and are available to those who need it.

2). Technical monographs.

Monographs summarize the existing data and provide additional data for as
nearly complete an understanding of the genesis, morphology, and
classification of the subject soils as possible. A technical monograph generally
deals with the dominant soils of a comparatively large area, such as a major
land resource area. In such areas, the dominant soils are broadly similar in
genesis and morphology. Technical monographs differ somewhat in form and
content from one area to another. Generally, a monograph contains an
introduction that gives pertinent geographic information, a small-scale soil
map with explanation, general and detailed description of the soils, laboratory
data for soil characterization, and a thorough discussion of the classification of
the soils. "The Desert Project Soil Monograph" is an example.

3). Scientific papers.

Papers and reports on special studies about soils record the procedures used
and the results obtained. For the most part, these papers are presented and
distributed at professional meetings. Many of the papers are published in
professional journals and similar publications. These papers not only keep soil
scientists up-to-date on soils information, but they are also helpful to scientists
in other disciplines. Some papers integrate soil data with data of other
disciplines and are published in the journals of those fields.

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Soil Interpretations

Soil Interpretations seek to give meanings to several soil survey reports in a

manner that can make the reports useful to its different users. Soil surveys
must be based on sound scientific principles and at the same time they must
be useful. They must be interpreted in terms of both regional objectives and
local needs. They should be regarded as a prerequisite for planning both
agricultural and non-agricultural development. The soil descriptions and the
soil map form the factual information of a soil survey and have a longer "life"
than the interpretations which may be invalidated by changes in social and
economic conditions and by the acquisition of the of scientific knowledge.

Soil survey information answers a wide range of soil-related questions, such as

which crops will grow where and what are the best locations for infrastructure.
Soil information can be used alone or as one layer of information in integrated
systems that also consider other natural resources, demographics, climate,
and ecological and environmental factors in decision making. Historically, soil
survey interpretations primarily have been used to provide the public with soil
interpretive predictions specific to a land use(Soil Survey, 2017).

Developing a Soil Interpretation

One of the first tasks in developing an interpretation is to create a criteria table

of the soil, site, and climatic attributes that are thought to impact the land use.
It contains a comprehensive set of criteria for interpreting soils for septic tank
absorption fields. Some of the included criteria may not be applicable in some
places (e.g., areas of permafrost). Using this example, the soil scientist or group
developing an interpretation first determines a list of soil properties that are
known, or thought to be, important for septic tank absorption fields. Depth to
water table, saturated hydraulic conductivity, depth to bedrock, depth to
cemented pan, depth to permafrost, slope, flooding, ponding, fragments > 75
mm, and susceptibility to downslope movement or subsidence are considered
important properties. After determining the list of soil properties, the soil
scientist or group develops limits for each property and each class. This
iterative phase is commonly the most difficult. The initial set of criteria is
tested in different areas of the country under a wide variety of soil conditions.
Results of the tests may require adjustments to the criteria and retesting. Once
the limits are set, they may be arrayed in the table according to degree of
severity or importance. Soil interpretations are models for predicting how soils
respond under a specific use. They use a set of rules or criteria that are based
on the basic soil properties, modeled properties, or classes of properties.

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Generally, preparation of interpretations involves the following steps:

1. Assembling information about soils and their landscapes

2. Deriving inferences, rules, and models for predicting the impact of soil
properties on soil behavior under specific land uses, and

3. Integrating these predictions into generalizations for each map unit

component.

Soil interpretations provide numerical and descriptive information pertaining to

a wide range of soil interpretive predictions. This information can be expressed
as classes, indexes, or values with different units of measure. For example,
particle-size data can be inferred from soil separates of sand, silt, and clay;
USDA texture classes; or Unified soil classes.

Generally, soil interpretations are made for specified uses and are
reported in the form of;

i. Limitations: For limitations, soil properties that limit land use or establish
the severity of limitation are typically indicated.

ii. Suitability: Soil properties that determine a soil’s suitable characteristics

may be given.

iii. Potentials: Soil interpretations, either as limitations or suitability, may be

incorporated into potential ratings along with other resource data and
interpretive information.

The interpretive results can be presented in tables or in maps that depict the
spatial extent at scales appropriate for a specific application. The predicted
practicality of alternative management options can be derived from soil
interpretations. For any particular land use, soil responses to management
alternatives can be predicted, the kinds of management needed can be
identified, and the benefit-to-cost relationship for the management selected can
be evaluated.

Site Data

1. Climate

i. Mean annual air temperature.—The mean air temperature for the calendar
year.

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ii. Frost-free period.—The average length of the longest time period per
calendar year that is free of killing frost.

iii. Mean annual precipitation.—The mean annual moisture received per

calendar year, including rainfall and solid forms of water.

2. Landscape

i. Slope.—The range in slope gradient, in percent.

ii. Slope aspect.—The direction in which the slope faces, in degrees.

iii. Slope shape.—Whether the land surface is convex, concave, or linear in the
up-down or across planes.

iv. Elevation.—The height above sea level.

v. Geomorphic component.—The part of the landform the soil occupies (e.g.,

interfluve, head slope, nose slope, side slope).

vi. Hills lope position.—The position the soil occupies on the landscape (e.g.,
summit, shoulder, back slope, foot slope, toe slope).

Component Data

Field Water Characterization

i. Available water capacity (AWC).—The volume of water that a soil layer retains
between the tensions of 10 kPa (sandy soils) or 33 kPa and 1500 kPa. The
water is considered to be available to most common agronomic plants. The
standard of reference is the water retention difference (Soil Survey Staff, 2014).
The amount of available water to the expected maximum depth of root
penetration (commonly either 1 or 1.5 m) or to a physical or chemical root
limitation, whichever is shallower, has been formulated into a set of classes for
root-zone available water storage. For the class sets, the depth of rooting that is
assumed and the class limits that are stipulated differ among the taxonomic
moisture regimes.

ii. Hydrologic soil groups (HSG).—Interpretive classes that have similar runoff
potentials under conditions of maximum yearly wetness. It is assumed that the
ground surface is bare and that ice does not impede infiltration and
transmission of water downward. In some cases, HSG is used as a soil
property.

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iii. Flooding.—Inundation by flowing water. The frequency and duration of
flooding are placed in classes.

iv. Ponding.—Inundation by stagnant water. The duration and month(s) of the

year that ponding occurs are recorded.

v. Moisture status.—The thickness of the zone with a particular water state,

the kind of water state, and the months of year that the water state is present
within the soil. Three general water state classes are used in the soil survey
database—dry, moist, and wet.

Horizon Data

1. Particle Size and Fragments > 2 mm

i. USDA texture classes and modifiers.—Texture is the relative proportion, by

weight, of sand-, silt-, and clay-sized particles (texture classes). The texture
classes are modified by adjectival classes based on proportion, size, and shape
of rock fragments and by the proportion of organic matter, if the content is
high.

ii. Particle-size separates (based on < 2 mm fraction).—The particle-size

separates recorded in the soil survey database are percent total sand (2.0–0.05
mm), very coarse sand (2.0–1.0 mm), coarse sand (1.0–0.5 mm), medium sand
(0.5–0.25 mm), fine sand (0.25–0.10 mm), very fine sand (0.10–0.05 mm), total
silt (0.05–0.002 mm), coarse silt (0.05–0.02 mm), fine silt (0.02–0.002 mm),
total clay (< 0.002 mm), and carbonate clay. Percentages are expressed as a
weight percent and are based on the < 2 mm fraction. For soils that disperse
with difficulty, the total clay percentage is commonly evaluated based on the
ratio of 1500 kPa water retention to clay.

iii. Soil fragments > 250 mm (based on whole soil).—This quantity is expressed
as a weight percent of the horizon occupied by fragments up to an unspecified
upper limit (size of rock fragments does not exceed the size of the pedon).
Fragments include pieces of bedrock, bedrock-like material, durinodes,
concretions, nodules, and woody materials (organic soils). Fragments larger
than 250 mm are not included in the determination of Unified or AASHTO class
placements, but they may significantly influence suitability for certain soil
uses.

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iv. Soil fragments 75–250 mm (based on whole soil).—This quantity is
expressed as a weight percent of the horizon occupied by fragments 75–250
mm in size. Fragments include pieces of bedrock, bedrock-like material,
durinodes, concretions, nodules, and woody materials (organic soils). The
upper fragment size limit cannot exceed the size of the pedon. Fragments
greater than 75 mm do not affect the Unified and AASHTO class placements,
but they may have a large influence on suitability for certain uses.

v. Soil fragments > 2 mm (based on whole soil).—This quantity is expressed as

a volume percent (whole soil base) of the horizon occupied by the > 2 mm
fragments. Associated data include the kind, size, shape, roundness, and
hardness of the fragments. Fragments include pieces of bedrock, bedrock-like
material, durinodes, concretions, nodules, and woody materials (organic soils).

vi. Percent passing sieve numbers 4, 10, 40, and 200 (based on < 75 mm
fraction).—The weight percentage of material passing each sieve. Sieve
openings are 4.8 mm (no. 4), 2.0 mm (no. 10), 0.43 mm (no. 40), and 0.075
mm (no. 200) in diameter. Quantities are expressed as a percentage of the < 75
mm material.

Material passing the number 4 and 10 sieves may be estimated in the field (see
chapter 3) or measured in the office or laboratory. Material passing the number
40 and 200 sieves may be measured directly in the laboratory. Percent passing
sieves also may be estimated from USDA particle-size and rock fragment
measurements made in the field or laboratory.

Soil Fabric-Related Analyses

i. Moist bulk density.—The oven-dry weight in megagrams divided by the

volume of soil in cubic meters at or near field capacity, exclusive of the weight
and volume of fragments > 2 mm.

ii. Linear extensibility percent (LEP).—The linear reversible volume difference of

a natural clod between field capacity and oven dryness, inclusive of rock
fragments. The volume change is expressed as a percent change for the whole
soil. Actual LEP (shrink-swell), in contrast, is dependent on the minimum
water content that occurs under field conditions. Organic soils typically do not
have reversible volume changes when oven dried. Shrink-swell classes are
defined based on LEP.

iii. Water retention (10, 33, and 1500 kPa).—The water content that is retained
at 10, 33, and 1500 kPa tension, expressed as a percentage of the oven-dry soil

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weight inclusive of rock fragments (whole soil). Measurements are conducted in
the laboratory on clods (for 10 and 33 kPa tension) and sieved samples (for
1500 kPa tension). Pedotransfer functions are also used to estimate the water
content at 10, 33, and 1500 kPa tensions.

iv. Available water capacity.—This is defined in the section “Field Water

Characterization” above as the volume of water that should be available to
plants if the soil, inclusive of rock fragments, were at field capacity. Field
capacity is the volume of water that remains in the soil 2 or 3 days after being
wetted and after free drainage becomes negligible. Contents of water are
expressed both as a volume fraction and as a thickness of water. Available
water is estimated as the amount of water held between 10 or 33 kPa and 1500
kPa tension. Reductions in water retention difference should be made for root-
restricting layers that are associated with certain taxonomic horizons and
features (such as fragipans) and for chemical properties that are indicative of
root restriction (such as low levels of available calcium and high levels of
extractable aluminum). Adjustments may also be made for the osmotic effect of
high salt concentrations, if present.

v. Saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ksat ).—The amount of water that would

move downward through a unit area of saturated in-place soil in unit time
under unit hydraulic gradient. It is used to convey the rate of water movement
downward through the soil under saturated conditions (and unit hydraulic
gradient).

Engineering Classification

i. Liquid limit (LL) .—The water content at the change between liquid and
plastic states. It is measured on thoroughly puddled soil material that has
passed a number 40 sieve (0.43 mm) and is expressed on a dry weight basis.
Values are typically placed in interpretive classes.

ii. Plasticity index (PI).—The range in water content over which soil material is
plastic. The value is the difference between the liquid limit and plastic limit of
thoroughly puddled soil material that has passed a number 40 sieve (0.43
mm). The plastic limit is the water content at the boundary between the plastic
and semisolid states. Values are typically placed in interpretive classes.

iii. Unified classification.—An interpretive classification system of soil material

designed for general construction purposes. It is dependent on particle-size
distribution of the < 75 mm, liquid limit, and plasticity index and on whether
the soil material has a high content of organic matter. There are three major

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divisions: mineral soil material having less than 50 percent particle size <
0.074 mm (passing 200 mesh), mineral soil material having 50 percent or more
particle size < 0.074 mm, and certain highly organic soil materials. The major
divisions are subdivided into groups based on liquid limit, plasticity index, and
coarseness of the material more than 0.074 mm in diameter (retained on 200
mesh).

iv. AASHTO classification.—An interpretive classification system of soil material

for highway and airfield construction (Procedure M 145- 91; AASHTO, 1997). It
is based on particle-size distribution of the < 75 mm fraction and on the liquid
limit and plasticity index. The system separates soil materials having 35
percent or less particles passing the no. 200 sieve (< 0.074 mm in diameter)
from those soil materials having more than 35 percent. Each of these two
divisions is subdivided into classification groups based on guidelines that
employ particle size, liquid limit, and volume change. A group index may be
computed based on the liquid limit and plasticity index in addition to percent
of particles < 0.074 mm. The group index is a numerical quantity based on a
set of formulas.

Chemical Analysis

i. Calcium carbonate equivalent.—The quantity of carbonate in the soil

expressed as CaCO3 and as a weight percentage of the < 2 mm fraction. The
available water capacity and availability of plant nutrients are influenced by
the amount of carbonates, which affect soil pH.

ii. Cation-exchange capacity (CEC).—The amount of exchangeable cations that

a soil can adsorb at pH 7.0. Effective CEC (ECEC) is reported in soils where the
pH in 1:1 water is 5.5 or less.

iii. Gypsum.—The gypsum content pertains to amount in the < 20 mm fraction.

The methods of reference are under 6F.

iv. Organic matter.—Measured organic carbon is multiplied by the Van

Bemmelen factor of 1.72 to obtain organic matter content.

v. Reaction (pH).—The standard method for pH is the 1:1 water extraction. For
organic soil materials, the pH in 0.01M CaCl2 is used.

vi. Salinity.—A set of classes is used to indicate the concentration of dissolved

salts in a water extract. Classes are expressed as electrical conductivity (EC).
The measurement of reference is made on water extracted from a saturated
paste. Units are decisiemens per meter (dS/m).

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vii. Sodium adsorption ratio (SAR).—SAR is evaluated for the water extracted
from a saturated soil paste. The numerator is the concentration of water-
soluble sodium, and the denominator is the square root of half of the sum of
the concentrations of water-soluble calcium and magnesium.

viii. Sulfidic materials.—Upon exposure to air, soil materials that contain

significant amounts of reduced monosulfides develop very low pH. The
requirements are defined in the latest edition of the Keys to Soil Taxonomy.
Direct measurement of the pH after exposure to air is also used.

Factors and Groupings Related to Water or Wind Erosion

i. The K factor.—A relative index of susceptibility of bare, cultivated soil to

particle detachment and transport by rainfall. This interpretive factor is used in
the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (Renard et al., 1997). Measurements
are made on plots of standard dimensions. Erosion is adjusted to a standard of
9 percent slope. K factors are currently measured by applying simulated
rainfall on freshly tilled plots. Earlier measurements integrated the erosion for
the year for cultivated plots under natural rainfall. The K factor may be
computed from the composition of the soil, saturated hydraulic conductivity,
and soil structure.

ii. The T factor.—The maximum rate of annual soil erosion that will permit crop
productivity to be sustained economically and indefinitely (the soil loss
tolerance). It can be used in the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (Renard
et al., 1997). T factors are integer values from 1 through 5 indicating tons per
acre per year. The factor of 1 ton per acre per year is used for shallow or
otherwise fragile soils, and that of 5 tons per acre per year is used for deep
soils that are least subject to damage by erosion.

iii. Wind erodibility groups.—A set of classes, using integer designations from 1
through 8, based on compositional properties of the surface horizon that affect
susceptibility to wind erosion. Texture, presence of carbonates, content of iron
oxides, materials with andic soil properties, and the degree of decomposition of
organic soils are the major interpretive criteria. Each wind erodibility group is
associated with a wind erodibility index, expressed in tons per acre per year.
The wind erodibility index is the theoretical, long-term amount of soil lost per
year through wind erosion. It assumes a soil that is bare, lacks a surface crust,
occurs in an unsheltered position, and is subject to the weather.

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