March 15, 2005 (Vol. 25, No. 6)
URL:
http://soils.ag.uidaho.edu/soilorders
Rating:
Strong Points: General info
Weak Points: Too little information
Summary:
Were you aware that soil taxonomy even exists? I certainly wasn’t; so it was with considerable interest that I read about the subject at the Soil Orders site. There are, I learned, twelve soil orders in the world, ranging from Andisols (soils formed in mountain ash) to Gelisols (soils with permafrost within two meters of the surface). At the site, users can learn the characteristics of each of these soil types, view a world map depicting where they are found, and navigate to numerous other soil-related sites via the links section. With plenty of photos, the site provides newbies with an excellent introduction to an important topic. Worth a quick look.