Soil history

Abstract

Abstract Proposal Soil history can be included in formal soil records. Application Context information accompanying soil-profile descriptions can include an explicit text field “soil history”; soil-map polygon attributes can capture soil history; soil characteristics from points, transects and areas can include soil history as descriptors for points, features, areas, and landscapes. Scope Soil history can capture facts, knowledge and inferences about human interaction with earth materials, such as earthworks, drainage, irrigation, cultivation, liming, fertilising, construction and demolition, excavation and deposition, sealing, compaction, and contamination, while the purpose, meaning or social context of such actions can usefully support understanding. Sources contributing to soil history include soil management records, engineering and planning designs, documentary accounts of land use activities, maps showing building and pavement forms and topographic features, local knowledge and folklore accounts, public administration records, legal instruments, supported by interpretations from site and soil morphologies. Potential While soil genesis is often obscure when based on soil morphology, soil history built on independent sources helps understanding of soils, principally anthropogenic soils and human action in soils more broadly. Recording soil history supplements morphological soil characterisation, and can inform World Reference Base classification. Including soil history within formal and structured soil information is now possible and needed.