Soil Classification Education Materials

Job Aids for Soil Classification

Classification

World Reference Base (WRC) Teaching Materials
Soil Taxonomy Forum–is an online discussion site for the U.S. soil classification system titled Soil Taxonomy, A Basic System of Soil Classification for Making and Interpreting Soil Surveys, as well as for the Keys to Soil Taxonomy. Sponsored by the USDA-NRCS and hosted by Virginia Tech University, the Forum is moderated and encourages free and open discussion of topics related to soil classification, soil description, diagnostic soil properties and qualities of soil, taxonomic classes, and ideas to improve the utility and completeness of Soil Taxonomy.

To post new subject threads or reply to existing threads, a user needs to register as a member of the Forum. Registration is a very simple process, but step by step instructions on registration and receiving RSS Feeds on new postings are found in the Instructions for Using the Soil Taxonomy Forum.
Java Simulation Newhall Model (jNSM)
English to Metric Conversion Chart
Glossary of soil science terms by the Soil Science Society of America, 2008
Rounding Off Numbers
Identifying/Classifying Buried Soil Horizons (Dr. John M. Galbraith, Virginia Tech)
Control Sections
Soil Texture Calculator

Guy Smith Interviews

This monograph summarizes and discusses the various rationale behind many of the concepts implicit in Soil Taxonomy.

The Guy Smith Interviews: Rationale for Concepts in Soil Taxonomy (PDF; 3.12 MB)

The Guy Smith Interviews: Rationale for Concepts in Soil Taxonomy (DOC; 3.12 MB)

These concepts and rationale were presented in a series of interviews by the late Dr. Guy D. Smith in 1980-81. The interviews covered by this monograph were held at Cornell University in 1980; by Dr. H. Eswaran in Ghent, Belgium in 1980; by Dr. M. Leamy in Ghent, Belgium in 1980; at the University of Minnesota in 1981; at Texas Tech University (not Texas A&M University) in 1980; in Maracay, Venezuela in 1981; and by Dr. J. Witty and Dr. R. Guthrie in Belgium in 1980. There is also the text of a lecture that Dr. Smith delivered at the Department of Soil Science, University of the West Indies on February 6, 1981.

The microfiche included with the original publication contains 479 pages of transcribed dialogue of the original taped interviews. The microfiche has been converted to the PDF files listed below. These file were processed using OCR (optical character recognition), so that they are searchable. If the OCR could not recognize a character, then that text will not show up in a search. This is especially noticeable if text is cut and pasted into a document.

Interview by Dr. M. Leamy in Ghent, Belgium (PDF; 4.3 MB)

Interview by Dr. J. Witty and Dr. R. Guthrie in Belgium (PDF; 1.3 MB)

Interview at the Agronomy Department of Cornell University (PDF; 11.1 MB)

Interview at the Agronomy Department of the University of Minnesota (PDF; 20.0 MB)

Interview by Dr. H. Eswaran in Ghent, Belgium (PDF; 1.5 MB)

Lecture Given at the University of West Indies (PDF; 1.3 MB)

Interview at the Agronomy Department of Texas Tech University (PDF; 19.5 MB)

Interview by Coplanar Staff and J. Comerma in Maracay, Venezuela (PDF; 7.2 MB)