Manuscript on Glossic Soils of the Contiguous USA Published

The manuscript entitled “Factors governing the formation, distribution and taxonomy of soils with glossic horizons and features in the contiguous USA” has been published in “Geoderma Regional." This work was led by Jim Bockheim (University of Wisconsin–Madison) and coauthored by Alfred Hartemink (University of Wisconsin–Madison) and Ryan Hodges (USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, Soil and Plant Science Division's Research Branch). In this manuscript the authors analyzed site factors and soil properties that govern the formation, distribution, and taxonomic classification of glossic soils.  In the contiguous U.S., there are 739 soil series covering 227,000 km² with a glossic horizon or glossic features, affecting a substantial portion of the country’s natural resources. The following map is the final product of this specific objective.

Fiscal Year 2024 Annual Report

Read about all the great things the NRCS Soil and Plant Science Division accomplished last fiscal year! 

2024 Annual Soils Refresh

The USDA NRCS, Soil and Plant Science Division refreshed the publicly available soil survey database on October 1. This Annual Soils Refresh (ASR) provides new soils data, updates to existing soils data, and new soil interpretations. This data is now available to the public through Web Soil Survey (WSS) or Soil Data Access (SDA). Read more ...

Lab Data Mart

Protect Your Investments in the Soil: USDA’s Modernized Lab Data Mart Provides User-Friendly, State-of-the-Art Data

The Lab Data Mart website offers a variety of soil information sampled by soil scientists nationwide and analyzed at the NRCS’ Kellogg Soil Survey Laboratory (KSSL).

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