| - Major Soil Orders/Sub-Orders, Number of Soil Series |
|
| Conserved Orders |
Sub-Orders |
No. of Series |
Extent (ha) |
| Inceptisol |
Aquepts |
53
|
528,601 |
| Udepts |
99 |
5,579,328 |
| Entisol |
Aquents |
12 |
31,782 |
| Fluvents |
6 |
25,617 |
| Orthents |
24 |
866,461 |
| Psamments |
18 |
105,465 |
Ultisol
|
Aquults |
5 |
39,310 |
| Humults |
10 |
45,545 |
| Udults |
48 |
1,118,276 |
| Alfisol |
Aqualfs |
24 |
439,056 |
| Udalfs |
47 |
420,405 |
Andisols
|
Udands |
41 |
138,832 |
Mollisol
|
Aquolls |
1 |
166 |
| Udolls |
15 |
66,751 |
| Histosol |
Hemists |
1 |
359 |
| Saprists |
1 |
50 |
|
When described using the Soil Taxonomy of the USDA, soils in Korea are classified into seven Soil Orders which are then further divided into 16 Sub-Orders according to soil moisture regime. Among those seven Soil Orders, the younger soils, Entisols and Inceptisols, are dominant. Entisols are the youngest soils, followed by Inceptisols. Alfisols and Ultisols are relatively older soils. The working unit of soil classification is Soil Series. So far 405 Soil Series have been identified in Korea. Table summarized Of the areal extent of the different Soil Orders and the number of Soil Series within them.
Table shows that the occurrence of younger soils (Entisols and Inceptisols) is overwhelming. This is a result of the influence of both Korea’s unique climate, with concentrated rainfalls In summer, and rugged topography as characterized by the wide occurrence of highly-sloped Mountains. This strongly suggests that, if the soil resources are to be adequately conserved, Serious attention must be paid to development of measures to minimize the soil erosion in hilly lands.
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