| i am not a soil scientist, but very briefly this time - the soil names you refer to (taitapu loam) are called soil series and they were grouped under the older genetic soil classification - soils with similar dvelopmental history as revelaed in their morphology. The taitapu loam is a gleyed soil in the Recent Soil group. that is a formal name. the other main soil groups are Podzols, Yellow Brown Earths (leached soils), Yellow Grey Earths, Brown Grey Earths, Rendzinas etc.
About 10years ago nz pedologists (soil scientists) undertook to modernise the soil classification system here - to be more consistent and quantitative in its criteria and to align with other classifications in USA and the UN. the large level groups are known as Soil Orders. For the genetic soil types above the current approximate equivalents in the current NZ soil classification (developed by Allan Hewitt in conjunction with his colleagues)are respectively Podzols, Brown Soils, Pallic Soils, Semi-arid soils, and Melanic soils. Recent soils in the old system are still called Recent and some are called Raw soils.
the NZERN website has a table that matches the old genetic types to the contemporary Soil Orders.
the soil series names referred to at the beginning are still valid and they represent local variants (named for a type or representative site where the soil has been chracterised) of each soil order. the map legends always show the higher level classification of the soil series.
for our purposes in 'Planterguide', a combination of Ecological Region (that defines broad climatic conditions and local species patterns/distributions) and Soil Order (that defines climate and its interaction with local hydrology) suffices to define the conditions of the site and ascribe appropriate plant species - that are found locally and are suitable for those particular conditions. if you are unsure, you should always look at the detailed information under each species to ensure that the plant fits the place and is planted in the right sequence (before or after initial shelter has been achieved).
colin meurk |
