Soil Properties, Soil Orders, and Relationships to Vegetation and Climate

Learn about soil properties, soil orders, and their relationships to vegetation and climate. Find out which Canadian soils are acidic, good for farming, and experiencing dramatic impacts due to climate change.

Running Head: SOIL CLASSIFICATION 1
Soil Properties, Soil Orders, and Relationships to Vegetation and Climate
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SOIL CLASSIFICATION 2
Soil Properties, Soil Orders, and Relationships to Vegetation and Climate
1. List the dominant soil (1 point), vegetation type (1 point), annual temperature in °C, and
annual average precipitation totals in mm (1 point for both; you may state a range of values
if appropriate, i.e., ___ - __ ºC; ___ - ___ mm) for the following locations, indicated with red
★’s on Figure 1a (Canadian locations) or b (Global). (3 points each x 5 locations = 15 total)
Northern Canada, e.g., West of Iqaluit
Soil Order ___________gleysollic order __________Vegetation/Ecozone____________
Temperature_________3-5*C_________________Precipitation___200mm___________
Southern Saskatchewan, just north of Regina
Soil Order- _brunisolic order__________ Vegetation/Ecozone_decidous / coniferous forests
Temperature_____0*C_____________________Precipitation-_less than 700mm
Southern Quebec, north of Quebec City/west of Fredericton NB
Soil Order -podzolic order ____________________Vegetation/Ecozone__coniferous
Temperature_______________0*C_____________Precipitation___cool mosit climate _
Amazon Basin:
Soil Order __ cryosolic soil ________________Vegetation________thick forests _
Temperature______________5-10*c_ Precipitation____500mm
Central Sahara Desert
Soil Order _______Luvisonic soil_______________Vegetation- shrubs
Temperature_______100*C________________________Precipitation__0 mm___________
2. What generalizations can you make about the relationships among Soil and Vegetation
and/or precipitation/temperature? Base your answers on the above findings as well as your
observations regarding the wider distribution of these particular soils and associated

SOIL CLASSIFICATION 3
vegetation and climate indicated more generally in the maps below. For Instance:
"Temperature has ______ effect on vegetation type", or "____soils are strongly associated
with rainforests", or “Low moisture is associated with ___ soils, while low temperature is
more correlated with ___ soils”, etc. (5 points)
 Temperature has high effect on vegetation type
 Temperature has high effect on the type of soil
 Brunisolic soils are strongly associated with rainforests
 Low moisture is associated with the luvisonic soils
 Low temperature is more correlated with brusonic soils
3. 1 point per blank, 2 per explanation =3 x 5 = 15; plan you answers so they would roughly fit
the spaces allocated on this handout (although you will be typing these into the portal on
Connect)
a) Which of the soils in Canada (name the order) would you expect to be quite acidic?
Explain (in terms of dominant processes or properties, including vegetation type and
decomposition rates, in this soil)
Brunisolic order soils are they soil types found in Canada which are normally acidic.
These soils are associated to deciduous or coniferous forests. They occur in cooler and dry areas in
Canada which have temperatures of 0 degrees centigrade. They require a precipitation of about
700mm. these soils are acidic with a value PH of 5.5. They are also associated with sandy fluvial-
glacial regions or glacial tills. Mature soils are related to podzolic and luvisolic soil orders. They
have a Bt horizon which is clay and brown in color (Simonson, 2018).
b) Name a related soil to the one you mentioned in a) ____________. Explain how and why it
differs from the soil in a).

SOIL CLASSIFICATION 4
Luvisonic order soils are related to the brunisonic order soils mentioned above. The difference in
this soil is that they are imperfectly drained soils (Tarnocai, 2018). They occur in forested areas
which have a loamy till. They are from glacially eroded parent rock which is sedimentary. They
are rich in lacustrine sediments and may have calcium and magnesium ions.
c) Which Canadian soil would be quite good for farming/cultivation?
____________________________ Explain why in terms of soil properties and the pedogenic
processes responsible for these:
The chernozemic soil order is good for agriculture. They have dark and thick A horizons
containing high organic matter content. They are formed by grass decomposition in the areas of
prairies. These soils have rich and high in nutrients, have good capacity for holding water and an
excellent structure that makes them ideal for farming. They are formed in cold winter areas, hot
summer areas and have low precipitation that evaporates quickly from the heat of the summer
(Simonson, 2018). They range in colors from shades of grey and brown as this depends on the
organic matter content that have decomposed. The deepest dark soils from in the Canadian prairies
where there are high precipitation rates.
d) Which Canadian soil is currently experiencing dramatic impacts associated with climate
change within its profile? ______________. Explain.
Cryosols order soils are the soil types that dramatically change according to changes in climate.
The formation of these soils is influenced by climatic changes. Cool short summers and prolonged
winters will favor the formation of organic matter which does not decompose due to lack of
microbial activities. They have unique characteristic which involves presence of a perennial frozen
layer which is 40-80cm below surface (Wills, Seybold, Chiaretti, Sequeira, & West, 2013). This is

SOIL CLASSIFICATION 5
affected by seasonal freezing and thawing activities. On top of the permafrost layer is the upper
layer which thaws during summer to become active layer. The active layer thickness is controlled
by factors such as soil moisture regime, texture, thickness of organic surface layer. During the end
of summer freezing take pace in the active layer downwards from frost table and upwards from
upper layer.
e) Which soil (globally) would you expect to have a very high concentration of “salts”?
________ Explain in terms of climates and processes in these soils (and indicate what
specifically “salts” refer to):
Aridisols are soil types that have very high salt concentrations. These are calcium soils that
contain carbonates in the arid areas that have at least a development of subsurface horizon. They
are normally very dry in most parts of the year and their leaching is normally very limited. They
contain horizons which have clays, carbonate, silica, calcium carbonate, salts and gypsum
accumulation. These materials are said to be easily leached from the soils during moisture climates
(Tarnocai, 2018). Salts refer to the metal ions for the above named horizons.
Wait! Where in Canada would you expect to find the soils in questions a-d? No need to tell
us. Just ensure you are aware of the geographic distribution of the soils you have mentioned
above.
Total: _____ / 35

SOIL CLASSIFICATION 6
References
Tarnocai, D. (2018). The amount of organic carbon in various soil orders and ecological provinces
in Canada. In Soil processes and the carbon cycle (pp. 95-106). CRC Press.
Simonson, R. W. (2018). Soil Classification. In Handbook of Soils and Climate in Agriculture (pp.
103-130). CRC Press.
Wills, S., Seybold, C., Chiaretti, J., Sequeira, C., & West, L. (2013). Quantifying tacit knowledge
about soil organic carbon stocks using soil taxa and official soil series descriptions. Soil
Science Society of America Journal, 77(5), 1711-1723.