ABSTRACT

There are 12 different soil orders in the United States representing a wide variation among soils both horizontally and vertically with a range of economic, social, and environmental functions (Hamdar 1999). The distinct traits of these soil orders have been used to create a classification system similar to the way in which we divide animals or plants into genus and species. The names of these soil orders provide us with a general description of the soils: Alfisol (moderately weathered); Andisol (volcanic ash); Aridisol (very dry); Entisol (newly formed); Gelisol (frozen); Histosol (organic, wet); Inceptisol (slightly developed, young); Mollisol (deep, fertile); Oxisol (very weathered); Spodosol (sandy, acidic); Utisol (weathered); and Vertisol (shrinks and swells). Soil classification allows for a comparison of different soil series and their aggregation into soil associations, which describe how different series are positioned adjacent to each other across a landscape. A county soil map provides a visual

2.1 Introduction .................................................................................................... 19 2.2 Dimensions of Marginality .............................................................................23 2.3 Soil Degradation and Loss of Soil Function ...................................................23