RMCDIA6RAR KEYS F@ 'SOIL T ~ ' 0. SOIL kOISNR d TWERATURE REGIHES. AND

D I m I C HORIZQ)B AND PRQPERTIES FOR O f M N I C SOILS

BY R.F.THoMAs, L.C. BUKEM~RE AMD D.I. KINLOCH Soil Bureau, Lower Hutt

[kpartnent o f Sclent4fic and Industrial i search. Ibw Zerl8nd 1980

Blbl fographlc Reference:

THOHAS, R.F.; BUKEHDRE, L.C.; KINLOCH, D . I . 1980: Flaw-diagram keyl for "5011 Ta%OnarlyN. B. Soil m l s t u r e and taaperaturr ragtar , and

dfagnostic horfzons and properttar f o r organlc solls. .. W

R. 2. Soil Bureau Sdont i fdo R e v t 38B. Ll-

Aready pub1 lshed: A . Diagnostic hori zons and properties : mineral soils, (1979)

The design symbolises the r o l e of the s c i e n t i f i c s tudy o f s o i l in a s s i s t i n g the na tura l endowments o f sunshine m d r a i n t o promote plant growth.

Forest and pas ture (both depicted) &re the predominant forms of land use i n New Zealand. However, recent increases i n .ore in tens ive uses of land have demanded w r e d e t a i l e d s o i l i n f o r u t i o n and a g r e a t e r degree o f land-use i n t e r p r e t a t i o n .

The o r i g i n a l mural. of which t h i s is an obliqus photogrrph, is constructed i n r e l i e f on t h e northern wall o f S o i l Bureau's Taylor Building i n Lower Hutt. New Zealand.

P.D. HASSELBERG, OOVERIIlENf PRINTER, Y E L L I ~ N , NEU fUUUQ) - '980

CONTENTS

Abstract

Acknowl edqmnts

Intmductlon

L i s t o f flow diagrams

~ i s t of appendices

Flaw diagram

Append1 ces

Pa g t

8 f v

B Iv

B v

8 v i i

B v i i

B ia

B xi

ABSTRACT

This i s t he second volume i n a s e r i e s which seeks t o expla in , i n flow diagram form, the d e f i n i t i o n s and keys given i n t h e USM Agricul ture Handbook "Soil Taxonomy". In t h i s v o l l a s flow diagrams, cons i s t ing o f step-by-step decis ion t r e e s ( together with explanatory notes where appropriate), a r e presented f o r t h e s o i l ~ o i s t u r e and s o i l t pmpen tu re r e g i w s (pages 51-7 and 57-63, r e spec t ive ly , of "Soil Taxonoryu) and f o r t h e d iagnost ic horizons and p rope r t i e s of organic s o i l s (Chapter 4, pages 65-70, of "Soil Taxonow') . USM-approved m n d m n t s a s a t 2 June 1978 a r e incorporated, and appendices p resen t approximations designed t o assist the conversion of e x i s t i n g New Zealand temperature d a t a i n t o t h e form w e d i n USDA determinations.

The f l w diagrams a r e intended t o permit e a s i e r i n t e r p r e t a t i o n o f t h e d e f i n i t i o n s and a r e l i k e l y t o be p a r t i c u l a r l y use fu l t o persons not ye t f u l l y conversant with t h e t e x t . They a r e not intended t o replace the o r ig ina l formal t e x t .

Key Words: s o i l c l a s s i f i c a t i o n ; s o i l taxonony; s o i l water; s o i l moisture r e g i w s ; s o i l temperature; s o i l t e l p a r a t u r e regimes; s o i l hor izons; His tosols ; s o i l o rgan ic composit- ion

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors wish t o thank a11 persons who a s s i s t e d i n t h e production of t h i s volume. In p a r t i c u l a r , f o r t h e i r he lp i n prepara t ion o f t h e f i n a l copy, we wish t o thank ldrs Marjolane Bal1;Mr Paul Clegg and Mr Quentin C h r i s t i e .

I NTRODUCT [ON

The U.S. system of s o i l c l a s s i f i c a t i o n , a s given in "Soil Taxonomy" (So i l Survey S t a f f 1975), has been ndopted by Soi l Bureau. IEIR, fo r t r i a l in New Zealand.

To a s s i s t our understanding of the c l a s s ~ f i c a t l o n we i n i t i a l l y prepared flow diagrams f o r t he b a s i c d e f i n i t i o n s and f o r t he d iagnost ic horizons and p rope r t i e s of mineral s o i l s . Theao diagrums were published a s volume A of N . i . So i l Bureau S c i e n t i f i c Report 59. Tho present volume (B) con ta ins d i a g r a m fo r s o i l moisture and tempcrsturo regimes and f o r t he d i agnos t i c horizons and p r o p e r t i e s of organic s o l l a . Volum C w i l l conta in diagrams fo r t h e key t o s o i l o rde r s . In prepara t ion a r e s e t s of flow diagrams fo r each o rde r , so t h a t eventual ly a s o i l m y be c l s s s l f i e d t o a t l e a s t grea t group level by t h i s method.

The flow diagrams and add i t i ona l notes presented hare roprasont the definitions of s o i l moisture and s o i l temperature regimes (pp 51-7 and 57 -65 , r e spec t ive ly , of "Soil Taxonomy") and of the dlagnost i c horizons and p rope r t i e s o f organic s o i l s (Chapter 4.pp 65-70, of "Soil Taxonomyw), and incorpora te t he approved afnendl~cnts c i r c u l a t e d by USDA on 2 June 1978 (amendments dated 5 May 1978). Appendices provide approximations designed t o a s s i s t t h e conversion of e x i s t i n g New Zealand temperature da t a i n t o t he form used i n USDA determinat ions .

To allow f o r t he p robab i l i t y o f fu tu re amendments o r add i t i ons ( a s wi th "So11 Taxonomy" i t s e l f ) t h e pages i n t h i s pub l i ca t ion a r e not numbered In t he usual way. Ins tead, each of t h e items l i s t e d has bean given 8 reference ntllnber (81, 82, e t c . - t h e R r e f e r s t o t h i s volume) and ind iv idua l pages of each sec t ion a r e then numbered Bl.1, 0 1 . 2 , e t c . Although t h i s volume has been produced with a s t a p l e binding we expect t h a t u se r s may wish to remove t h e b inding und punch the pages f o r use i n some form o f r i ng b inder . Th i s would a l s o make i t easy t o add the new o r amended s e c t i o n s which may be provided From time t o t ime.

F ina l ly , we emphasise t h a t any e r r o r s i n t h i s volunr a r e our respons- i b i l i t y , and t h a t t hese flow diner- and notes a r e not intended t o replace t h e f u l l d e f i n i t i o n s provided i n "Soil Taxonomy". In i n s t ances where we f e l t t h a t t h e t e x t meaning was unc lea r o r i ncons i s t en t we have chosen t o accept a p a r t i c u l a r i n t e r p r e t a t i o n and t o exp la in ou r ac t ion in a footnote . In any case where our i n t e r p r e t a t i o n seems doubtful , however, the o r i g i n a l t e x t should ba consul ted .

Reference

SOIL SURVEY STAFF 1975: "Soil Taxonomy, a bas i c system of s o i l c l a s s i f i c - a t i o n f o r making and i n t e r p r e t i n g s o i l surveys". U.S. Peparbnmt of Agrioulture, Sail Conservation S e d c e , Agriculture Handbook No. 436. 754p.

LIST OF FLOU DIAGRAMS

SOIL MOISTURE AH) TEWERATURE REGIMES

S o i l mois ture c o n t r o l sec t i on and mois ture s ta tus Rough guide to l i m i t s B l a D e f i n l t l o n o f l i m i t s B l b

S o i l mois ture r ~ g i m s 62

Soi 1 temperature measurecnent (a) Est imat ion from d i r e c t masu rmwnts (b ) Est imat ion from a l r tenpera turn data

S o i l temperature regimes/classes (a) Regimes a t suborder and g rea t gmup l e v e l (b) Regims/classes i n the lower ca tegor ies

DIAGNOSTIC HORIZONS AND PROPERTIES FOR ORGANIC SOILS

Kinds o f organic s o i l m t e r l a l s (a) F ibres (b ) F i b r i c , hemic and sapr lc s o l 1 ma te r i a l s ( c ) H u n i l l u v i c ma te r i a l s (d) Limnic ma te r ta l s

Thickness of organ ic ma te r i a l s 86

t A f l ow diagram f o r t h i s p rope r t y i s not inc luded becauso the present d e f i n i t i o n is not s u f f i c i e n t l y p rec i se for such an i n t e r p r e t a t i o n t o be made. Reference should be agde t o t he t e x t , p67 "Soil Toxonorny".

LIST OF APPENDICES Referrnos No.

SOIL P(O1STURE AM) TEHPERATURE REGIKS

S o i l temperature measurawnt (a) Est imat ton from d i r e c t masurements (b) Est imat ion f rom a l r temperature data

App. B3a App. B3b

FLOW DIAGRAMS

y** u T I I I T U D i I* Y U L I I ( D D I C * O U D U M W T TU W I L L M * CllM I). SOIL WY(! Q I). TW w ~ 1 . nalm I* w a r t a u , n* WIL on m~ra 18 cowl- m rr unutm.

- ~

IN W VW. DDCI SOIL rmtMMlE I T soamfVLnactfOspc?

I

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IS rtll MUL SOIL T O P L M m Z Z O C )

rn lLll r n R m ma Ylrn SOIL TORMNm AT 50 a (011 LlTHlC 01 PMMlTHlC tOllTACl) DIFU BV

. Issrcs#rIruPrUrsm>G CWEMlVL MYS WITHIN TIE 4 rn FOUOYI6 TIE SUlCR SU.STlC€ Ill IP6T -7

ISsrrj#rINMLPMS~>6 tlffEMlH MYS VlTHll TIE 4 MRlilS W l 6 lHE HE SUeElSOUiTlCE Ill lOdf W?

' Soi l tenpelrture p a r u s t o r s needed for the def in i t ion of so i l t a q e r a t u r e : regims may be estimated f r a d i n o f m r M P r r n t r as out lined in ( a ) , or f r a ,'air tunpamtum data i f t h i s i s available for t he ' l oc l l i t y in question, as in

(b).

; Please note tha t approximt imr outlined hare are subjoct t o local verification and may need t o be n o d i f i d in individual c u r s i f found inapproprirte

' f a r a par t icular locali ty.

Throughout t h i s section, the fo l lw in# manlngr am i l p l i ed :

Suamcr - June, Ju ly , August i n northern hemisphere. = December, J m u u y , Febnury in southern hemisphere.

Winter - December, January, Pebruary in northern h r i rphore . June, Ju ly , August in southern ha i sphs re .

App. BSa

A reasonable approximation t o mean annual, 'rumor md wlnter s o i l temperatures cm be obtained by the36 m e ~ s u r e w n t s .

Mean sumner so4 1 tenperature

= Mean o f s o i l tenperature measurements taken a t 50 c~a depth on 15th day o f each o f the sutmner months.

[or - ( 2 K Mean annual so i l teaperature) - Warn Winter r o l l temperature]

Mean winter sol 1 t rnpera ture

= Mean o f s o i l tenperature m e a s u m n t s taken a t 50 an depth on 15th day o f each o f the w in ter months.

[or = ( 2 x Mean annual s o i l t e q e r a t u r e ) - Morn S w r s o i l t a p e r a t u r e ]

&an annual sot 1 temperature

= So i l tenperature measured i n a deep bore 0 10 m depth) a t any t ime o f year.

or - Ekan o f s o i l tenperature masuranents taken a t 50 cn depth on 4 days equal ly spaced throughout t he year.

[or = (Mean summer s o i l temperature + Mean winter s o i l trmperature) + 21

Note t ha t t he necessary data t o estimate a l l 3 pr inc ipal p a r u s t a r s can, i f deep augering (> 10 a) i s possible, be obtained in 2 months i n e i t h e r s-r o r winter. Expressions i n brackets allow calcula t ion of the t h i rd temperature paranetor once 2 of them a m known.

App. BSb

Mean s m w r sol1 tawperaturn - &an summer a i r temperature -0.6"C

Mean annual sol 1 temperatun

Mean annual a i r tanperaturn + lmC

Mean winter sol 1 temperature

( 2 x Mean annual sol1 tanperaturn) - mean rumor sol1 tmperr ture

Soi l tnrparatum character is t ics a m us& in t h n e ways in "Soil Tummy" : .' i ) To es tabl ish c lasses a t suborder and great 'group level uhers the pmfixer

"bor-" and "cry-" are wed;

,3(ii) To es tabl ish c lasses a t lower categories in the tumomy;

, f i i i ) To define "soil te lpera ture c lassesw a t the level o f f u i l y d i f ferant ino .

In the f i r s t , only three t m s r a t u r o r e s i r s s are dist inguished: pergetio, myic and frigid. Their i d s n t i f i c a t i m i s outl ined in flow d i a g r u (a) following.

In the remaining tuo, s ight t q w r a t u r e regilcrs/classes a r e dist inguished: pigid, m e i c , thennio, hupert M o , inofkfgid, irunario, irothonnio and .rsohyperthemric. They ore defined In the same way in each in s tmce and t h e i r ident i f ica t ion is outlined in flow d i a g r u (b) following.

-..f .. ----- IS SOIL A IIRUL WIL? L t g

C -

4 I

IS ICM S I m l r n l L rmmn*E* <m

* ELM- II TY unla a m t c a a ~ r r a (u.62-3. 'SOIL T W ) IT IS nrm mn 'MA I M I a I D W I U NITMOUI mlUm U(. QDUIDLldD 10 I Y V I A U l l C m T U 1 ~ I U . .

- L... . mn UYL sol1 l O I E Y l ~ * l = U 7

' ..--. -- -=++?I

I d e n t i f i c a t i o n of t h e t h r e e win types of o rganic s o i l w t e r i a l s ( f i b r i c , h-c and wpTfc) is a n l i n e d i n f l w diagram BSb. derived frwa t h e d e f i n i t i o n s on pages 66-7 of "Soil Tuonwy" .

As t h e d c f l n i t i o n s of t h e d i f f e r a n t t y p e s depend l a r g a l y on a s t i a m t i a n of t h e f i b r e conten t , i t i s necessary f i r s t t o i d e n t i f y t h e fibrrr t h a u e l v e r . The d e f i n i t i o n o f f i b r e s ( f r m p.66, "Soil T u m m y 1 ' ] is out l ined i n flow diagram B5a.

Linmic m a t e r i a l s , which u y be presen t i n organic s o i l s in w r t a l n s i t u a t i o n s , a n defined. and t h e var ious types (oaprogaow e a r t h , diatanawoua earth, m l ) di s t inguishcd i n flow diagram BSd (der ived from pager b7-8 o f "Soil Taxonomy"). They a r e not exc lus ive , and w i l l n o n u l l y be f a d i n conjunction with o t h e r organlc s o i l a a t e r i r l s .

A f l w diagram h u not boon prepared f o r humilluvic u t e r l a l s (BSc i n t h e l i s t o f f l w diagrams) a s t h e d e f i n i t i o n (p.67 "Soil T u m m y " ) a t p resen t is not s u f f i c i e n t l y p r e c i s e .

L

FIW CIIFMQUTlCCUIlLDYOWlPM MlTw f tWU7

Dl A IIIIE. WK€ FlYlllEnl

i

If 1

MLS MTERIN WIM mn alED. m i * CLfRlS WlCM E E T YllN 0lfFlClJt.n OI Dl WICH lsPW UIIIMTEU'? tOIOCUXlS

DOES UTW CDUM 011 YllK FILm P M R PUCCI) IN A PASTE OF SOIL M n l M IN SATMATED SWIM m l f SOLU71011 I V E A HIWR VAWE AIO L W R C W i W nrrJl 1WR 1/37

WYt IIR WAC€ TIER M CO(T(DL SLCTlOl r E n n l m a COITKI TOP OI

r m UItl

IS T E E F W M SOIL Y1T) I l lS u OF SURFACE. 2 lllllTHS ma SUlU SOLSTICE?

I SWW TIER $ AnDcurm SECTIOII I S ME A L I R I C OR PAMLl lH lC C4#lKl D -m %Fll YITHIl2SurCDYlOPffFFlDmUYa7

KM4lMlE TERI)IMT~ a s a w

TIER YO IS we 1 L t m c an H Y ~ L I ~ W I C ( ~ Y I

SECT lOI M l l l l l b o lELDl mr ff FWJm w U 7 TLIIII*ITE A 7

APPEND ICES

S o i l t s r p e l r t u r e s i n New Zealand have l a r p boon n u u r u l a t SO u depth t h e r than SO m as now requi red by S o i l Tummy. To convert 30 a - d e r i v e d

i g u r e s t o 50 cm f i g u r s r , t h e fol lowing r e l a t i o n s h i p s (Aldridpe 1977) cur be f jrscd :

Mean sunner sol1 t a p e r r t u r n b a n surnar t o l l tnrprrr ture a t a t 50 an depth 30 ar depth - 0.6.C

Mean wlnter sot1 t w e r a t u r e Hem wlnter so l l t w e r r t u n a t a t 50 an depth 30 cm depth + O.boC

Mean annual sol l t a p e r r t u r e Maan rnnual sol l t*lperaturr a t a t 50 cm depth 30 u depth

Seasonal temperature rmge Sessanal taqmrrture range a t a t 50 a depth 30 cn depth - 1 .Z°C

Reference:

&LDRIDCE, R . , 1977: The a p p l i c a t i o n of m i l temperature r o g i m r u definod i n , S o i l T ~ x o n a y t o t h e N e w t e a l a n d s i t u a t i m . . .: Pp.43-8 i n "Proc.eedings o f t h e Twenty-fif th New Zealurd S o i l Bureau Q, Conference, 12-16 September 1977". Soil Bureau, Depart lent of S c i e n t i f i c

and I n d u s t r i a l Research. Now Zealand. 100 p.

, The approxlmat ton f o r man annual $01 l temperature has been t e s t e d i n You *Zealand and revised ln r e l a t i o n t o a 30 cm t e s t depth 8s fol lows (Aldridge 1977)

Worth I s land:

Mean annual so i l temperature . Mesn annual a i r tamperaturn a t 30 cm depth n o m l + 1.6'C

South I s land:

Mean annual s o i l temperature Mean annual a i r temperature a t 30 cm depth norms1 + 0.9"C

In a d d i t i o n , a method of es t imat ing mean annus1 s o i l temperature from a l t i t u d e and l a t i t u d e d a t a o n l y has been der ived f o r New Zealand a s follows:

Mean annual so l1 temperature . 36.63 - 0.00450 (Altitude (m) - 0.554 a t 30 cm depth ( ' C ) ( L a t i t u d e (degrees and tenths I ) This may be used where a i r temperature d a t a i s unava i lab le .

Reference:

.AIl)RIDGE. R . , 1977: The a p p l i c a t i o n o f s o i l t e q e r a t u r e regimes 8s defined i n , S o i l Taxonomy t o t h e Na, Zealand s i t u a t i o n .

Pp. 43-8 i n "Proceedings of t h e Twenty-fif th New Zealand S o i l Burour : Confemnce, 12-16 September 1977". S o i l Bureau. Department of S c i e n t i f i c ; and i n d u s t r i a l Research, New Zealand. 100 p.