4.2.2 The U.S.A Soil Classification System
As mentioned in Chap. 2, after the study of Selkhozprom
export, 1980, extensive soil survey studies have been conducted in different areas with medium to high potential for
agriculture in Libya by different international companies or
officers. In these studies, the U.S.A and FAO soil classification systems were used.
In the 1990s, Libyan soil scientists and researchers in the
Department of Soil and Water Sciences at the University of
Table 4.1 The scheme of soil
division into classes, types,
subtypes, and genera in
northwestern region
Soil type
Soil subtype
Soil genus
Siallitic
cinnamon
Typical
Carbonate, carbonate saline, leached
Crust
Reddish-brown
arid
Differentiated
Carbonate, carbonate saline, carbonate
solonetzic-saline and carbonate gypsic
Differentiated crust
Carbonate and carbonate saline
Slightly differentiated
Carbonate, carbonate saline, carbonate
solonetzic-saline, carbonate gypsic, and
leached
Reddish-brown
arid
Slightly differentiated crust
Carbonate, carbonate saline, carbonate gypsic,
and leached
Non- differentiated
Carbonate, carbonate saline, leached, and
non-carbonate
Non-differentiated crust
Carbonate, carbonate saline, and leached
Alluvial
Slightly differentiated
Carbonate
Lithosols
Cinnamonic
Carbonate, carbonate saline, and carbonate
gypsic
Reddish-brown
Crusts
Non-monolithic
Solonchaks
Hydromorphic, Hydromorphic
crust, and Hydromorphic Sebkha
Fig. 4.1 Soil Types in
north-western region
4 Soils Classification and Properties
51