Introduction
The intent of updating the New Zealand soil description handbook is to produce a document that can enable a soils professional to describe a soil profile and its landscape context in a way that effectively informs agronomic, ecological, and research applications. These include, but are not limited to:
- soil mapping at regional and farm scales;
- land use evaluations e.g., crop suitability assessments;
- on-farm decision-making e.g., determining fertiliser application rates; and
- land restoration activities e.g., native ecosystem rehabilitation, tree establishment.
Engineering applications are considered out of scope, but relationships can and should be drawn between this standard and international and New Zealand geotechnical standards.
The document aims to support the requirements of the 4th edition of the New Zealand Soil Classification (Hewitt and MWLR Pedology Staff, 2025), and, wherever possible, be compatible with international soil description and classification standards.
Foreword to the third edition
TBA