Inclusion of soils and soil-like bodies of urban territories into the Russian soil classification system

• Published in: Eurasian soil science 2014-10, Vol.47 (10), p.959-967
• Main Authors: Prokof’eva, T. V., Gerasimova, M. I., Bezuglova, O. S., Bakhmatova, K. A., Gol’eva, A. A., Gorbov, S. N., Zharikova, E. A., Matinyan, N. N., Nakvasina, E. N., Sivtseva, N. E.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Alkalinity; Analysis; Classification; Earth and Environmental Science; Earth Sciences; Genesis and Geography of Soils; Geotechnical Engineering & Applied Earth Sciences; Peat; Soil classification; Soil sciences; Soil types; Soils; Urban areas; Urban environments
• ISSN: 1064-2293; 1556-195X
• DOI: 10.1134/S1064229314100093

The results of the Internet discussion on the classification of urban soils aimed at evaluating their possible inclusion into the modern Russian soil classification system adopted by a wide range of specialists are presented. The first step was to address the urban diagnostic horizons as the basis for identifying soil types according to the rules of the Russian soil classification. New diagnostic horizons were proposed for urban soils: urbic (UR), filled compost-mineral (RAT), and filled peat (RT). The combination of these horizons with other diagnostic horizons and layers of technogenic materials correspond to different soil types. At the subtype level, the diagnostic properties (qualifiers) that may reflect both natural phenomena (gley, alkalinity) and technogenic impacts on the soils (urbistratified; phosphatic; or poorly expressed urban —ur, rat, rt) are used. Some corrections were proposed for the system of parent materials in urban environments. Urban soils formerly described in another nomenclature—urbanozems, urbiquasizems, and culturozems—are correlated with the taxa in all the trunks of the system. The proposals accepted can be used for the next updated version of the new Russian soil classification system.