A SOIL CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM FOR DESCRIBING WATER AND CHEMICAL TRANSPORT

Abstract

The authors present an initial version of a soil classification system based on selected soil properties believed to be useful in describing water and chemical transport through soils. The system is based primarily on surface texture, clay mineralogy, and nature of soil structure. We now have developed this system for the more extensive soil series in South Carolina, and these soils have been grouped into eight different classes. While variability of some soil properties within a given class certainly exists, a class is distinct from each of the other seven classes in water and chemical transport characteristics. A classification system such as this can help to identify those soil properties that most affect transport processes and will help to provide the framework for development of mathematical transport models that incorporate these same soil properties.