Soil Diversity as Affected by Land Use in China: Consequences for Soil Protection

Table 2

Distribution and brief description of characteristics of the soil orders in China.

Order	Distribution	Characteristics
Alfisols	Humid region	Calcium carbonate leached well, acid or neutral, clay-enriched B horizons
Semi-Alfisols	Semihumid region	Weak leaching, neutral to slight alkaline, calcium carbonate illuviated, argillation of different degree
Pedocals	Semiarid and arid regions	Horizons with off-white lime
Aridisols	Arid region	Arid A horizons and any other subhorizons
Desert soils	Most arid region	Hydromica as major clay mineral, crust with vesicles and platy horizon, horizon with rich gypsum and salt
Amorphic soils	Azonal	Week pedogenesis, characteristics of parent material
Semiaqueous soils	Intrazonal	Groundwater invasion or temporarily stagnant water, soil humification surface horizon and rust horizon of oxidation-reduction
Aqueous soils	Intrazonal	Surface water or groundwater near the surface, crude humification or peat surface layer, gley horizon
Alkaline-saline soils	Intrazonal	Soil property and profile change caused by soil salt or alkalization, no crops
Anthrosols	Nonzonal	Characters caused by long period of cultivation
Alpine soils	Plateau and alpine area	Week humification, freezing-thawing morphology, low soil depth, coarse soil texture, low mineral chemical decomposition
Ferralsols	Warm-wet climate zone	Desilication, Fe and Al enriched, bioaccumulation