A soil profile is exposed by a vertical cut through the soil. It is commonly conceived as a plane at right angles to the surface. In practice, a description of a soil profile includes soil properties that can be determined only by inspecting volumes of soil. A description of a pedon is commonly based on examination of a profile, and the properties of the pedon are projected from the properties of the profile. The width of a profile ranges from a few decimeters to several meters or more. It should be sufficient to include the largest structural units. A soil horizon is a layer, approximately parallel to the surface of the soil, distinguishable from adjacent layers by a distinctive set of properties produced by the soil-forming processes. The term layer, rather than horizon, is used if all of the properties are believed to be inherited from the parent material or no judgment is made as to whether the layer is genetic. The solum of a soil consists of a set of horizons that are related through the same cycle of pedogenic processes. Included are horizons with an accumulation of carbonates or more soluble salts if they are either within, or contiguous, to other genetic horizons and are judged to be at least partly produced in the same period of soil formation. The solum of a soil presently at the surface, for example, includes all horizons now forming. It includes a bisequum. The primary aim of this encyclopaedia is to present a succinct account of the essential features of this subject. It is being prepared by keeping in view the requirements of the students and academic professionals.

A soil profile is exposed by a vertical cut through the soil. It is commonly conceived as a plane at right angles to the surface. In practice, a description of a soil profile includes soil properties that can be determined only by inspecting volumes of soil. A description of a pedon is commonly based on examination of a profile, and the properties of the pedon are projected from the properties of the profile. The width of a profile ranges from a few decimeters to several meters or more. It should be sufficient to include the largest structural units. A soil horizon is a layer, approximately parallel to the surface of the soil, distinguishable from adjacent layers by a distinctive set of properties produced by the soil-forming processes. The term layer, rather than horizon, is used if all of the properties are believed to be inherited from the parent material or no judgment is made as to whether the layer is genetic. The solum of a soil consists of a set of horizons that are related through the same cycle of pedogenic processes. Included are horizons with an accumulation of carbonates or more soluble salts if they are either within, or contiguous, to other genetic horizons and are judged to be at least partly produced in the same period of soil formation. The solum of a soil presently at the surface, for example, includes all horizons now forming. It includes a bisequum. The primary aim of this encyclopaedia is to present a succinct account of the essential features of this subject. It is being prepared by keeping in view the requirements of the students and academic professionals.