Inceptisols are a soil order in
USDA soil taxonomy
USDA soil taxonomy (ST) developed by the United States Department of Agriculture and the National Cooperative Soil Survey provides an elaborate classification of soil types according to several parameters (most commonly their properties) and in ...
. They form quickly through alteration of parent material. They are more developed than
Entisols. They have no accumulation of clays,
iron oxide
Iron oxides are chemical compounds composed of iron and oxygen. Several iron oxides are recognized. All are black magnetic solids. Often they are non-stoichiometric. Oxyhydroxides are a related class of compounds, perhaps the best known of w ...
,
aluminium oxide or organic matter. They have an ochric or
umbric horizon and a cambic subsurface horizon.
In the
World Reference Base for Soil Resources The World Reference Base for Soil Resources (WRB) is an international soil classification system for naming soils and creating legends for soil maps. The currently valid version is the fourth edition 2022. It is edited by a working group of the Inte ...
(WRB), most Inceptisols are
Cambisol
A Cambisol in the World Reference Base for Soil Resources (WRB) is a soil in the beginning of soil formation. The horizon
The horizon is the apparent line that separates the surface of a celestial body from its sky when viewed from the pers ...
s or
Umbrisol
In soil classification, an Umbrisol is a soil with a dark topsoil and in which organic matter has accumulated within the mineral surface soil—in most cases with low base saturation—to the extent that it significantly affects the beha ...
s. Some may be
Nitisol
A nitisol in the World Reference Base for Soil Resources (WRB) is a deep, red, well-drained soil with a clay content of more than 30% and a blocky structure. Nitisols correlate with the kandic alfisols, ultisols and inceptisols of the USDA soil ...
s. Many Aquepts belong to
Gleysols and
Stagnosols.
Suborders
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Aquepts – with a water table close to the surface
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Gelepts – in very cold climates
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Cryepts – in cold climates
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Udepts – in humid climates
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Ustepts – in semiarid and sub-humid climates'
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Xerepts – in areas with very dry summers and moist winters
References
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{{Authority control
United States Department of Agriculture
Pedology
Types of soil