Entisol

Entisol, one of the 12 soil orders in the U.S. Soil Taxonomy. Entisols are soils defined by the absence or near absence of horizons (layers) that clearly reflect soil-forming processes. Occupying just under 11 percent of the nonpolar continental land surface of the Earth, they are formed on surface features of recent geologic origin, on underlying material that is highly resistant to weathering, or under conditions of extreme wetness or dryness. Typical geographic settings include areas of active erosion or deposition (i.e., steep slopes or floodplains), areas of quartzite bedrock or quartz sand (i.e., major desert and dune regions), and wetlands. Arid Entisols covering vast areas in Arctic and Antarctic regions also have been mapped. They often are associated with urban areas because of the tendency for human settlement to concentrate on river delta or coastal lands. They also can be created by disturbing the land, as in extraction, the moving of earth materials, or the disposal of waste products. Despite their lack of distinct horizons (an optimal condition for agricultural soils), Entisols are commonly arable if given an adequate supply of plant nutrients and water.

Entisols differ from mere weathered earth materials (saprolite) by the partial formation of a surface horizon. They differ from Inceptisols, another soil of recent origin, by a lesser subsurface accumulation of transported clay.