ABSTRACT
Australia has a developed and extensive agricultural sector; grazing is especially important. Processes of land degradation and desertification are widespread in Australia, and soil science provides a necessary scientific basis for land conservation, improvement and reclamation. It is quite natural that soil classifications were developed in this country as early as the beginning of the 20th century. The objectives of the Australian classification were to serve as a basis for soil inventory and mapping. The recent version of soil classification of Australia (Isbell, 2002) has the same aim and has national coverage (Table 27.1). The scope of the Australian soil classification
|
Superficial bodies |
Representation in the system |
|---|---|
|
Natural soils |
National coverage |
|
Urban soils |
Included as several suborders in the order Anthroposols |
|
Man-transported materials |
Included in the suborder Dredgic Anthroposols |
|
Bare rock |
Not recognized as soil |
|
Subaquatic soils |
Included in the order Hydrosols |
|
Soils deeply transformed by agricultural activities |
Included as several suborders in the order Anthroposols |
