Book

Isbell RF & National Committee on Soil and Terrain (2021). The Australian soil classification, 3rd edn, CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne.

Description

This third edition provides updated information on Australian soils, including Arenosols.

The Australian Soil Classification provides a framework for organising knowledge about Australian soils by allocating soils to classes via a key.

Since its publication in 1996, this book has been widely adopted and formally endorsed as the official national system. It has provided a means of communication among scientists and land managers and has proven to be of particular value in land resource survey and research programs, environmental studies and education.

Classification is a basic requirement of all science and needs to be periodically revised as knowledge increases. This third edition of The Australian Soil Classification includes updates from a working group of the National Committee on Soil and Terrain (NCST). The main change in this edition accommodates new knowledge and understanding of the significance, nature, distribution and refined testing for soils comprising deep sands, leading to the inclusion of a new Order, the Arenosols. The introduction of the Arenosols Order led to a review and changes to Calcarosols, Tenosols and Rudosols.

The Australian Soil Classification is Volume 4 in the Australian Soil and Land Survey Handbooks Series.

( CSIRO | The Australian Soil Classification)

Parts, chapters and sections

• The authors p. iii
• Acknowledgements p. vii
• Preface to the third edition ix [HTML]
• Background p. 1 [HTML]
• How to classify p. 3 [HTML]
• Key to Soil Orders p. 12 [HTML]
• Anthroposols [AN] p. 15 [HTML]
• Arenosols [RE] p. 19 [HTML]
• Calcarosols [CA] p. 28 [HTML]
• Chromosols [CH] p. 35 [HTML]
• Dermosols [DE] p. 41 [HTML]
• Ferrosols [FE] p. 48 [HTML]
• Hydrosols [HY] p. 52 [HTML]
• Kandosols [KA] p. 67 [HTML]
• Kurosols [KU] p. 74 [HTML]
• Organosols [OR] p. 79 [HTML]
• Podosols [PO] p. 85 [HTML]
• Rudosols [RU] p. 91 [HTML]
• Sodosols [SO] p. 98 [HTML]
• Tenosols [TE] p. 104 [HTML]
• Vertosols [VE] p. 116 [HTML]
• Glossary p. 123 [HTML]
• Colour Classes p. 149 [HTML]
• References p. 151 [HTML]
• Appendix 1: Use of codes and confidence levels in recording classification of soil profiles p. 155 [HTML]
• Appendix 2: List of codes and equivalent class names p. 157 [HTML]
• Appendix 3: Class names and equivalent codes, and the level at which they occur in the Soil Orders p. 162 [HTML]
• Appendix 4: Analytical requirements for the Australian Soil Classification p. 169 [HTML]
• Appendix 5: Approximate correlations between the Australian Soil Classification Orders and other soil classifications p. 171 [HTML]
• Appendix 6: History of the development of the Australian Soil Classification p. 173 [HTML]
• Appendix 7: Summary of changes in the third edition p. 178 [HTML]

About the Author

Ray Isbell had a distinguished international career as a soil scientist, specialising in soil characterisation, distribution, genesis and classification. He was recognised overseas and at home as the Australian pedologist with the widest experience of Australian and world soils. He traveled extensively in the tropics and worked on comparative pedology, particularly in Africa and South America.

Ray graduated as a geologist and commenced his soil science career with the Queensland Bureau of Investigation where he was involved in soil surveys and soil assessment for proposed irrigation areas and other land development releases in southern and central Queensland. He joined CSIRO in 1958 and embarked upon a study of lands in eastern Australia dominated by brigalow (Acacia harpophylla). This sparked Ray’s interest in cracking clay soils and led to an input into the development of the Ug classification in the Factual Key (Northcote 1979).’ (Soil Science Australia | Raymond Frederick Isbell).

Where to find

The South Australian public library network holds multiple copies. Although not within Alexandrina libraries, it is available as an inter-library loan: See Source at Libraries SA.

Where to buy

The Australian Soil Classification is available through the publishing house, local bookstores, and online resellers. Through the CSIRO Web site, this book is downloadable as a PDF or in ePub format. A HTML version is also available on the Soil Science Australia website: The Australian Soil Classification (HTML Format)

Additional CSIRO publications on soil related topics

The Australian Soil and Land Survey Handbooks set standards for all aspects of land resource survey in Australia. Individual volumes address field procedures and terminology, guidelines for conducting surveys, soil chemical and physical measurement methods, and soil classification. (CSIRO | Australian Soil And Land Survey Handbooks Series)

References

• CSIRO 2025, Australian Soil And Land Survey Handbooks Series, viewed on 31 May, 2026, https://www.publishing.csiro.au/books/series/44. This page provides a list of books which can be purchased or downloaded as PDF or ePub formats.
• Libraries SA 2026, The Australian Soil Classification, viewed on 31 May, 2026, https://libraries.sa.gov.au/client/en_AU/sapubliclibraries/search/results?qu=&qu=TITLE%3DThe+Australian+Soil+Classification+&dt=thumb&h=1. This Libraries SA search yields multiple copies in the library network and can be borrowed as an inter-library loan.
• Soil Science Australia 2026, Raymond Frederick Isbell (1928-2001), viewed on 31 May, 2026, https://www.soilscienceaustralia.org.au/asc/soilauthor.htm#:~:text=Raymond%20Frederick%20Isbell%20(1928%2D2001,of%20Australian%20and%20world%20soils.. This page is dedicated to the long standing career of R. F. Isbell, geologist and soil expert.
• WorldCat 2026, Australian soil classification, viewed on 31 May, 2026, https://search.worldcat.org/title/1245929694. This WorldCat search yields a listing for the Australian Soil Classification handbook.

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