Application of Soil Taxonomy in Engineering Edward A
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24 ture is one of the major determinants of soil permeabil Classification. U.S. Department of Agriculture ity and also affects the ease of soil excavation. For ex Yearbook, 1938, pp. 979-1001. ample, the fragipans of Canfield soils, which have a 2. B. R. Brasher, D. P. Franzmeier, V. T. Valassis, weak, platy structure, are very dense, very hard when and S. E. Davidson. Use of Saran Resin to Coat dry, and more difficult to excavate than horizons above Natural Clods for Bulk Density and Water Retention and below. The C horizo11s of Geeburg soils are also Measurement. Soil Science, Vol. 88, 1966, pp. compact, but the high clay content of Geebuxg soils causes 101-108. them to be sticky and difficult to grade when they are 3. R. A. Crawford and J. B. Thomas. Computerized moist or wet. In both soils, the blocky structure of the Soil Test Data for Highway Design. HRB, Highway upper B horizon results in easy excavation. Research Record 426, 1973, pp. 7-13. 4. D. D. Fritton and G. W. Olson. Depth to Apparent Soil pH and Exchangeable Cations Water Table in 17 New York Soils From 1963 to 1970. Cornell Univ. Physical Sciences Bulletin, Agronomy These properties a1·e important in preparing specilica No. 2, March 1972. tions for concrete, and they also influence the p1·oper use 5. G. 0. Johnson. Compiling Preliminary Foundation of lime or other chemicals for stabilization of soils as Data From Existing Information on Soils and Geology. subgrade. Again, as a result of the same kind and de Transportation Research Record 426, 1973, pp. 1-6. gree of soil weathering in similar parent material, given 6. G. J. Latshaw and R. F. Thompson. Water Table horizons of soil series have a narrow r a nge in these Study for Selected Soils in Montgomery County, Pa. properties. Soil Conservation Service, Harrisburg, Pa., 1972. 7. D. E. McCormack and L. P. Wilding. Soil Prop SUMMARY erties Influencing Swelling in Canfield and Geeburg Soils. Proc., Soil Science Society of America, Vol. Soil series are the lowest category in Soil Taxonomy, 39, No. 3, 1975, pp. 496-502. having a narrower range in both properties and perfor 8. J. S. Mill. A System of Logic. Harper and Brothers, mance than any of the five higher categories. Soil series New York, 8th Ed, 1891, 659 pp. occupy unique landscape positions and have narrow 9. F. F. Riecken and G. D. Smith. Lower Categories l'anges in important site and environmental conditions of Soil Classification: Family, Series, Type, and that are considered soil properties in pedology but not Phase. Soil Science, Vol. 74, No. 3, 1952, pp. in soil mechanics. 107-115. Confined in their ranges by the limits of the higher 10. R. W. Simonson. Lessons From the First Half categories, soil series represent the product of a spe Century of Soil Survey: I. Classification of Soil. cific kind and degree of soil weathering. Of particular Soil Science, Vol. 74, No. 3, 1952, pp. 249-257. importance is a limited and specifically defined range in 11. Official Series Description File. Soil Conservation composition (especially in mine1·alogy and particle size) Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture. that relegates the occurrence of soil series to a specific 12. Soil Conservation Service. New Soil Classification. kind, or very similar kinds, of parent material. Knowl Soil Conservation, Vol. 30, No. 5, Dec. 1964. edge of the soil series thus identifies, within nan·ow 13. Soil Taxonomy: A Basic System of Soil Classifica ranges, not only the parent material but also the grain tion for Making and Interpreting Soil Surveys. Soil size distribution, composition, and chemical properties Conservation Service, U.S. Department of Agricul of each horizon, the thickness and stl'ucture of each, and ture, Handbook 436, U.S. Government Printing Of the seasonal soil temperature and wetness at the site. fice, 1975. Soil series provide a structure for organizing knowl 14. J. Thorp and E. E. Gamble. Annual Fluctuations edge about soils and a basis for predicting the perfor of Water Levels in Soils of the Miami Catena, Wayne mance oi soils in highway construction and for othe1· en County, Indiana. Earlhams College, Richmond, Ind., gineering uses. Identifying soil series is helpful in plan Science Bulletin 5, 1972. ning the testing probrrams required for highway design. REFERENCES Publicl!tion of this pBper sponsored by Committ88 on Exploration and 1. M. Baldwin, C. E. Kellogg, and J. Thorp. Soil Classification of Earth Materials. Application of Soil Taxonomy in Engineering Edward A. Fernau, Soil Mechanics Bureau, New York State Department of Transportation Transferral of soil information among the disciplines concerned with soil operating agencies into all recent pedotogicat mapping and reports con· is important. One of the traditional sources of basic soils information for tains key formative elements as building blocks for constructing soil clas engineering uses at the reconnaissance level has been the pedological maps sifications. Engineers may obtain useful information concerning soils on and soil surveys prepared by the Soil Conservation Service. The new Soil e regional basis by becoming familiar with tho new Soil Taxonomy. In· Taxonomy incorporated by the Soil Conservation Service und other, co· dividual soil profiles are classified and the formative elements give clues 25 to general climatic conditions and more specific information on such soil series multiplied. Arnold (8) indicates that the ex criteria as soil moisture, texture, and soil particle mineralogy. Examples plosion of soil series information made it difficult for any are given of information that can be inferred with accuracy, and limita· one individual to become knowledgeable about the hun tions are stressed at category levels above the soil series. Soil series will dreds of soil series except by constanUy using them in remain the basic unit for engineering interpretations of soil surveys be· cause of their familiarity and the availability of extensive quantitative routine work. But that makes it difficult to extrapolate data. knowledge into areas where no familiar soil series exist. APPLICATION OF SOIL TAXONOMY There are many related disciplines that concern them FOR ENGINEERING DA TA selves with the unconsolidated material at and below the sm·face of the earth. Soll scientists, geologists, and A basic knowledge of a few key words can provide the en geoteclmical engineers each study, define, classify, and gineer with soils information on a regional basis. For utilize soil for their own purposes, and much of the re example, the soils of New York State are geologically sulting information is transferred from one discipline to young, the result of glacial and postglacial deposits in a another. It is necessary, therefore, for each discipline temperate, humid climate. All soils in New York are to keep informed about recent developments in the others. classified into 5 orders, excluding the Histosols or or In 1960 a revised descriptive taxonomy popularly ganic soils. These include only 10 suborders and 1 7 known as the 7th Approximation was published by the great groups. The following table gives the higher clas Soil Conservation Service of the U.S. Department of Ag- sification of the mineral soils of New York State. 1·iculture (1). The taxonomy has had many grnwing pains th1·ough the yea1·s and is just now beginning to become Order Suborder Great Group known to the engineering profession. Johnson and Mc --- Clelland, in a paper in this Record, have explained the Entisols Aquents Fluvaquents Psa mmaquents history and philosophy of Soil Taxonomy. Orthents Udorthents Reactions to the new Soil Taxonomy have ranged from Psamments Udipsamments a humorous introduction by Handy (2) to a less than en Aquipsamments thusiastic reception of the nomenclature by Hunt (3). The Inceptisols Aquepts Fragiaquepts question seems to be, What are soil scientists attempting Haplaquepts to do by introducing a new taxonomy' and why is it or any Humaquepts importance to geotechnical and other engineers ? The Ochrepts Dystrochrepts system classifies soils as naturally occurring bodies in Eutrochrepts their natural setting and introduces quantitative values Fragiochrepts as well as qualitative determinations, thus, in part, Mollisols Aquolls Haplaquolls satisfying the engineer's quest for numbers. It also en Spodosols Aquods Fragiaquods ables one to become familiar with basic concepts of soil Sideraquods properties over large areas. Of course the engineer is Orthods F ragiorthods mostly interested in small sites; as the classification Haplorthods narrows, more detailed information becomes available. Alfisols Aqua Ifs Ochraqualfs However, for reasons explained later in tliis paper, it Udalfs Hapludalfs appears that the soil series will still provide the most data to engineers for some time to come. Knowing only information up to the great group level, the The Soil Taxonomy system, built on diagnostic soil engineer with no knowledge of New York soils would rec horizons, has been detailed by Bartelli in a paper in this ognize their geological youthfulness. The formative Record. These diagnostic horizons ai·e specific combi elements ent and ept would indicate little or minimum nations of physical and chemical properties that define change in the parent material on which the soil profiles a centi·al concept. Most of U1e distingu.ishing character are produced. The engineer would also recognize those istics of the system are based on the presence or ab soils tliat have characteristics associated with seasonal sence of the specific diagnostic horizons or on their ex wetness (Aquents, Aquepts, Aquolls, Aquods, and istence in specified portions of the soil profile. Aqualfs). The formative element ud, as in Udalf or Udorthent, indicates that t he soil is a well-drained soil PAST USE OF SOIL SURVEY DATA of the humid, temperate climates, as contrasted to the Uoralfs of colder areas or the Ustalfs of drier areas.