Soil genesis and development, lesson 5: Soil classification and geography

The system of soil classification developed by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is called Soil Taxonomy. This lesson focuses on broad descriptions of soils at the Order level of classification. At the completion of this lesson, students will be able to do the following: 1. Describe the structure of the USDA soil taxonomic system. 2. Describe the defining characteristic(s) of each of the 12 soil Orders. 3. Apply the concept of soil forming factors to the formation and occurrence of each of the 12 soil Orders. 4. Identify regional scale occurrences of soil orders in the USA. The lesson is written to target educational needs of lowerlevel undergraduate students and is open for use by the public and educational institutions