ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an introduction to soil description in the field, soil classification, and soil survey. The terminology and approach used are those of the Soil Survey Staff of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service (USDA-NRCS), the federal agency with primary responsibilities for defining and cataloging hydric soils in the U.S. Topics covered include the information necessary to complete the soils portion of wetland delineation forms and some common soil science terminology that experience has shown may be misunderstood by wetland scientists who have had no formal training in soil science.
