Fundamental Soil Layers New Zealand Soil Classification

Source: Landcare Research Method: "At its highest level, the New Zealand Soil Classification starts with 15 soil orders. These are divided into 73 major soil groups and 272 subgroups, with further subdivisions into soil forms. The NZSC was developed from regional soil databases and was validated against the National Soils Database (NSD) and other relevant data sources. The data was then linked to the soil polygons in the New Zealand Land Resource Inventory (NZLRI) and mapped. The NSD is a national point database of soil chemical, mineralogical, and physical characteristics for more than 1,500 soil profiles. The NZLRI is a national polygon database of physical land resource information that includes soils. The 15 soil orders of the New Zealand Soil Classification comprise: - young soils (raw, recent, anthropic) - mature soils (semiarid, pallic, brown, podzols, gley, organic, melanic, pumice, allophanic) - old soils (ultic, granular, oxidic). Key attributes such as drainage and structure, as well as the ability to provide key processes and services, vary according to soil type."