TOFG-all

Soils & Soil Physical Properties

Part 2 – 38 | Unit 2.1

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources
Conservation Service. Web Soil Survey.

websoilsurvey.nrcs.usda.gov/app/

The USDA’s Web Soil Survey (WSS) provides

soil data and information produced by the

National Cooperative Soil Survey. You can use

the site to create a custom soil resource report

for your area of interest, view or print a soil

map, and access data to help you determine the

suitability of the soils for a particular use.

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources
Conservation Service. National Soil Survey Hand-
book, Title 430-VI. Available in libraries and online
at:

http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detail/soils/

survey/?cid=nrcs142p2_054242

Soil Survey Division Staff. 1993. Soil Survey Manu-
al. United States Department of Agriculture, Wash-
ington DC., U.S. Government Printing Office.

http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detail/soils/

ref/?cid=nrcs142p2_054262

This is the manual that soil scientists use to

carry out soil survey work. The most definitive

guide on how to describe the physical properties

of soil. Available online at:

Soil Survey Staff. 1999. Soil Taxonomy: A Basic
System of Soil Classification for Making and Inter-
preting Soil Surveys, 2nd edition. Natural Resources
Conservation Service. United States Department of
Agriculture Handbook 436. Available online at:

http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/main/soils/

survey/class/taxonomy/

The reference used to classify soils. Highly

technical, used mainly by soil scientists. This

publication can also be ordered from the NRCS

Distribution Center:

nrcspad.sc.egov.usda.gov/DistributionCenter/

Enter the keywords “Soil Taxonomy, 2nd

edition.”

You can also order by contacting NRCS at their

toll free number: 1-888-526-3227 or by email:

[email protected]

OTHER WEB-BASED RESOURCES

Australia’s Soil Quality Group Fact Sheets

soilquality.org.au/factsheets/category/physical-

indicators

Fact sheets provide clear explanations and

illustrations of soil physical qualities, including

soil texture, bulk density, and available water.

California Natural Resources Conservation Service

(NRCS)

http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/site/ca/home

Home page of the California NRCS, with

information on drought assistance, conservation

planning, technical resources, and much more.

Canadian Soil Information System

sis.agr.gc.ca/cansis/

Includes Canada’s National Soils Database,

soil survey reports and maps, and reference

materials.

National Sustainable Agriculture Information

Service: ATTRA

attra.ncat.org/soils.html

Lists sustainable agriculture publications related

to soils and compost; many are available as

PDFs.

North Carolina State University

courses.soil.ncsu.edu/resources/physics/texture/

soilgeo.swf

NCSU offers a short animation on how the

surface area of soil affects the size and shape of

soil particles

Soil Science Society of America (SSA): Glossary of

Soil Science Terms

http://www.soils.org/publications/soils-glossary

University of Arizona Cooperative Extension

extension.arizona.edu/sites/extension.arizona.

edu/files/pubs/az1413.pdf

Describes the use of gypsum and other calcium

amendments in southwestern soils to stabilize

soil aggregates

Resources