美国土壤系统分类不同于联合国土壤资源参考数据库

美国农业部的土壤分类法（Keys to Soil Taxonomy, 2006）包含了土壤水分和温度制度等级方面的气候信息，因此土壤与大类等级（第 3 级）生产力的相关性相对较高。相比之下，联合国粮农组织（FAO）的世界土壤地图和最新的土壤资源参考数据库（WRB，2006 年）缺乏有关温度和湿度变化的信息，因此也缺乏有关土壤生产力潜力的信息。

1. USDA Soil Taxonomy and Climate Information:

   • The USDA Soil Taxonomy is a system used in the United States to classify soils based on various physical, chemical, and climatic properties. One of the key features of this system is that it includes climatic factors, particularly soil moisture and temperature regimes. These regimes are essential for understanding how climate influences soil characteristics and, consequently, soil productivity.
   • Specifically, the soil moisture regime refers to the amount and timing of water availability in the soil, while the temperature regime refers to the temperature conditions that influence biological activity and soil development. These climatic factors are integrated into the classification system to determine how soils behave in different environmental conditions, which is crucial for understanding soil productivity. For example, soils in temperate climates might support different crops compared to soils in arid or tropical climates, and the USDA Taxonomy reflects these differences.

2. FAO World Soil Map and WRB (2006):

   • On the other hand, the FAO World Soil Map and the WRB (World Reference Base for Soil Resources) focus more on soil classification based on pedological (soil science) factors like soil texture, structure, and chemical properties. However, they do not explicitly include information about climate variables such as temperature and moisture regimes.
   • The WRB system is more internationally oriented and aims to provide a standardized system for classifying soils across different countries and regions. While the WRB acknowledges the importance of environmental factors in soil formation, it does not specifically incorporate climatic details into the soil classification. Instead, it focuses on more physical and chemical soil properties that can be observed and measured globally, regardless of local climate variations.

3. Why the Difference?:

   • The USDA Soil Taxonomy incorporates climate because, in the U.S., there is a strong emphasis on understanding how soil productivity is influenced by the local climate. Soils are classified with consideration of the moisture and temperature regimes because these factors are directly tied to agricultural productivity and land use.
   • In contrast, the FAO and WRB focus more on creating a universal soil classification system that can be applied across different regions with diverse climates. The emphasis is on standardization, making it easier to compare soils globally without being overly dependent on local climatic conditions.

In summary:

• The USDA Soil Taxonomy includes climate information because it is tailored to understanding soil productivity in relation to local climate conditions in the U.S., which is essential for agricultural applications.
• The FAO World Soil Map and WRB prioritize creating a standardized system for global soil classification and do not focus on the climatic conditions that influence soil productivity as directly as the USDA Taxonomy does. Instead, they rely more on inherent soil properties like texture and chemical composition.