Soil Systems: An Architecture to Bridge Scales and Strengthen Long-Term Studies.

Soil Systems provide an architecture with which to array and evaluate soil data and from which to track and extrapolate soil processes across scales.  Soil Systems are comprised of groups of major catenas that define physiographic areas.  Catenas describe spatial relationships of different soil types in an integrated whole, which identifies relationships not obtainable by studying isolated soil pedons or map units.  Soil systems enable linking groups of soils and the evaluation of soil change in space and through time.  Dynamic soil processes can be extended to wide areas by focusing long-term soil process studies in a cantenary context.