Soil Taxonomy: 11th Edition Keys Available

The 11th edition of Keys to Soil Taxonomy, as well as a summary of all changes for this new version of the Keys is available at: http://soils.usda.gov/technical/classification/tax_keys/

The Keys are in PDF format and suitable for download and printing locally. A national bulletin soon formally announcing this, but be aware that the Keys are posted and you are welcome to view or download a copy now.

In the near future, a supply of bound copies of Soil Taxonomy, 11th edition, 2010 will be distributed to each State.

Changes to the National Soil Information System (NASIS 6.0) as well as the Soil Classification File (new web application to be released after NASIS 6.0 - see here) are being made to accommodate these changes in USDA-NRCS' databases. So while NCSS soil scientists can use the new keys now to classify soils, they will have to wait for these changes to be incorporated before they can enter any of the new taxa into the various applicable databases.