The new soil classification system in South Africa, its history, important changes made and implications for users

Abstract

The board of the Soil Science Society of South Africa endorsed the “Soil Classification: A Natural and Anthropogenic System for South Africa”, in 2020 making it the official soil classification system to be used in South Africa. This classification system, which builds on a rich history of soil classification in South Africa, represents the current understanding of soil bodies and addresses the need for soil classification as a language to communicate information. This article looks back on the history of soil classification in South Africa, highlights the changes from the Taxonomic System to the Natural and Anthropogenic System, and discusses the impacts these changes will have on disciplines using the classification system. The greatest improvement in the third edition is the adoption of the open-ended system, which allows the freedom to classify any natural soil entity. The introduction of the classification of anthropogenic soil materials is also seen as a leap forward. Smaller changes include the addition, omission and combination of diagnostic soil horizons, changes to family criteria and a different appearance of the book. Retaining the basic principle of soil classification being based on the sequence of diagnostic horizons should facilitate relatively easy adoption of the system.