ИСТИНА

We have entered an age of instant communication, global agriculture, and international environmental problems. Consequently, there is a need for better communication, including better international communication about the nature and properties of soils. At the 2010 World Congress of Soil Science in Brisbane, Australia a working group on the Universal Soil Classification System was established. Within that working group, several task groups were formed, including this one whose objective is to compare and blend existing nomenclature systems and make a recommendation for an international standard. Much commonality exists among different national systems. For example, nomenclature for eluvial, illuvial and organic horizons is ubiquitous. Pedogenic carbonates, gypsum, silica, soluble salts, slickensides, concretions, buried genetic horizons, gleying, strong cementation, ploughing, and weak development are also widely recognized, although symbols for these properties often differ. Other properties are more diversely recognized, such as phosphorus accumulation, sulfides, unweathered material, low bulk density, lamellic features, and dry permafrost. We will present a recommendation developed from this compilation and blending of existing systems with the expectation that the standards will not only enhance international communication, but will also provide a greater understanding of global soils.