MasteryExams
Geography • Physical GeographyHard

Which of the following soil orders in the USDA soil taxonomy is characterized by the accumulation of clay in the subsoil and typically develops under deciduous forests in humid temperate regions?

A. Oxisols
B. Spodosols
C. Alfisols✓ Correct Answer
D. Gelisols

💡 Solution & Explanation

Alfisols are moderately weathered soils that form mostly under forest and grass vegetation in humid and subhumid climates, possessing a subsurface zone of clay accumulation. Oxisols, by contrast, are intensely weathered tropical soils lacking high base status. Soil taxonomy orders are an important component of agricultural and physical geography syllabi.

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