Pedalfer

Pedalfer is composed of aluminum and iron oxides. It is a subdivision of the zonal soil order comprising a large group of soils in which sesquioxides increase relative to silica during soil formation. Pedalfers usually occur in humid areas. It is not used in the current United States system of soil classification but the term commonly shows up in college geology texts.

Marbut's Pedocal/Pedalfer boundary lies near the 98 meridian and 30 inches annual precipitation. (after Marbut, 1935)

Pedalfers have three subdivisions of which one is Lateritic soils.

Pedalfer is a formative element in the United States soil taxonomic system for the Alfisols soil order. Alf is the formative element in the Alfisol name, and refers to aluminium (Al) and iron (Fe).

See also

• Pedocal
• USDA soil taxonomy

References

• Baldwin, M.; C.E. Kellogg; J. Thorp (1938). "Soil Classification". Soils and Men: Yearbook of Agriculture 1938. U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. pp. 979–1001.
• Brevik, Eric C. (November 2002). "Soil Classification in Geology Textbooks" (abstract). Journal of Geoscience Education. 50 (5): 539–543. doi:10.5408/1089-9995-50.5.539. S2CID 116487861. Retrieved 2006-04-06.
• Marshak, Stephen (2004). Essentials of Geology ((First Edition) ed.). W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. ISBN 0-393-92411-4.