Soil Orders and Climate Types
Cfa
Moist Warm Temperate Climate -no dry season -hot summer -ex: Atlanta, Georgia
ET
Polar Tundra
Aridisol
-soils of arid regions with one or more diagnostic horizons -low organic material -can be made productive with irrigation
Histosol
-wet, organic soils -in warm climates -productive after drainage
Vertisols
-dark tropical and subtropical soils developed on heavy clays -have deep shrinkage cracks when dry -swell when wet -generally fertile
Oxisols
-deeply weathered tropical and subtropical soils -low in fertility -low base saturation and limited ability to hold nutrients against leaching
Alfisol
-develop under humid regions of cool to warm temperatures -medium to high base saturation -generally fertile
Calcification
-found in grassland environments -abundant organic matter in soil -very basic
Laterization
-found in tropical rainforests -soils are strongly leached, due to constant downward motion of soil water -exchangeable bases are leached out and replaced with H+ ions
Mollisol
-high base status -associated with grasslands -very productive for grain crops
Ultisols
-low base status -subsurface clay horizon -low nutrient-holding ability -characterized by long weathering of their clay minerals
Gelisol
-permafrost layer near the surface
Spodosol
-range from cold to subtropical regions -generally marginal for agriculture
Podzolization
-soil process of cold climates with abundant precipitation -a dark organic horizon of partially decomposed vegetation underlain by a leached horizon of a whitish color -under that is the illuvial horizon where the partially decomposed organic matter is deposited
BWk
Cold Desert -caused by rain shadow
BSk
Cold Grassland -ex: denver
Csb
Cool dry summer
Dwd
Dry Winter Continental -ex: Siberia
Dwc
Dry Winter Continental -short summer
Cw
Dry season at low sun -w means dry winter -an extension poleward of the Aw climate -dry season at low sun is also caused by a seasonal shift of the Hadley cell
BWh
Hot Desert
BSh
Hot Grassland -ex: subtropical southern grasslands -lies adjacent to Aw and thus has a dry season at low sun
Dfa
Humid Continental - hot summer -ex: Chicago, IL
Dfb
Humid Continental - mild summer -ex: Winnipeg, Manitoba
Csa
Mediterranean -distinctive because of an absence of precipitation at high-sun -found on west coasts between 30 and 40 degrees
Cfb
Moist Warm Temperate Climate -no dry season -mild summer -ex: London, UK
Cfc
Moist Warm Temperate Climate -no dry season -short summer -ex: Juneau, Alaska
Am
Tropical Monsoon Climate -has a dry and wet season caused by movement of air from relatively cold surface (high pressure) to relatively hot surface (low pressure)
Aw
Tropical Wet and Dry Climate -dry season at low sun and a wet season at high sun, produced by the Hadley cell shift
Af
Wet Equatorial Climate -uniformly wet and hot all year