ABSTRACT
Poland has an old, developed school of soil science. Soil surveys started there in the early 1950s, and the country faced the need for a unified soil classification. The first classification (Anonymous, 1956), though based on a qualitative approach, was successfully used in Poland for mapping and classifying soils for more than 30 years. However, in the late 1980s it was decided that the classification should be updated according to new concepts in pedology, and that the diagnostics should be quantitative as in most classifications. The Polish classification is suited for soil mapping at any scale and for scientific soil research (Polish Society of Soil Science, 1989). This classification is designed for use only within the country (Table 13.1). Like most recent soil classifications, the soils of urban and industrial areas, and soils deeply transformed by agriculture, are included in the classification at high taxonomic levels. Bare rock and underwater sediments are not regarded as soils. The scope of soil classification of Poland
|
Superficial bodies |
Representation in the system |
|---|---|
|
Natural soils |
National coverage |
|
Urban soils |
Included in a special order of industrial and urban soils |
|
Man-transported materials |
Included in a special order of industrial and urban soils |
|
Bare rock |
Not considered as soils |
|
Subaquatic soils |
Not considered as soils |
|
Soils deeply transformed by agricultural activities |
Included in a special order of cultivated soils (Kulturozems) |
