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Soil classification keys

Free step-by-step keys to three soil classification systems: WRB 2022 (international), the Brazilian SiBCS (2018) and the South African system (2018), in seven languages. No AI.
Soil profile in the field
Photo: Trevan Flynn.

Step-by-step keys to three soil classification systems. Each one follows the book's key order: answer one question at a time, or upload your horizon data, and the first class that fits is the answer. Not sure is always an option; the key carries on and tells you what to check. Everything runs in your browser, and nothing you enter is sent or stored.

International

WRB 2022

The World Reference Base for Soil Resources, 4th edition: the international system for naming soils and making map legends.

To the Reference Soil Group · step by step or from profile data
EnglishفارسیKiswahili
Photo: Epileptic Protovertic Cambisol, Taget, Ethiopia. Jan Nyssen, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Open the WRB key →
Brazil

SiBCS 2018

The Brazilian Soil Classification System, 5th edition (Embrapa), with class names in Portuguese as in the official English edition.

Orders, suborders and great groups · step by step or from a CSV
EnglishPortuguês
Photo: Latossolo Bruno. HarãHayder, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Open the SiBCS key →
South Africa

South Africa 2018

Soil Classification: A Natural and Anthropogenic System for South Africa, from the diagnostic horizons to the soil form and family.

Soil forms and families · step by step, from a description or a CSV
EnglishAfrikaansisiZulu
Photo: Trevan Flynn.
Open the South African key →
No AI. No machine learning.

The keys follow the published classification criteria step by step, the way you would key out a soil in the field. The same profile always gives the same answer, and you can see exactly which criterion led there.

Language and criteria grow together. We add languages as we refine the criteria, working with soil scientists who speak them. If you would like a key in your language, or find a criterion that needs fixing, get in touch.

How to cite

Please also cite the classification system itself; each key lists its source at the bottom. All citations →