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The Soils of the USA pp 131–163Cite as

Soils of the Great Plains

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Part of the book series: World Soils Book Series ((WSBS))

Abstract

The Great Plains is one of the largest physiographic provinces in North America and an important agricultural region. Stretching from Texas to Montana, the US portion of the Great Plains contains a diversity of soils including Mollisols, Alfisols, Aridisols, Inceptisols , and Entisols that reflect the soil-forming factors dominant in the region—parent material, climate, and time . The regional climate sets up a strong, roughly east–west, decreasing precipitation gradient and a north–south latitudinal temperature gradient. Parent material in the Great Plains reflects both the underlying geology and the type and timing of geomorphic processes that have transported that material across the region. This chapter discusses the general environment of and geomorphic processes acting in the Great Plains and explains the genesis and properties of soils found in this region.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, 66045, USA

    Daniel Richard Hirmas

  2. Kansas Geological Survey, Lawrence, Kansas, 66047, USA

    Rolfe David Mandel

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  1. Daniel Richard Hirmas
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  2. Rolfe David Mandel
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Correspondence to Daniel Richard Hirmas .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Fayetteville, Arkansas, USA

    L.T. West

  2. Davis, California, USA

    M.J. Singer

  3. University of Wisconsin – Madison , Madison, Wisconsin, USA

    A.E. Hartemink

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Hirmas, D.R., Mandel, R.D. (2017). Soils of the Great Plains. In: West, L., Singer, M., Hartemink, A. (eds) The Soils of the USA. World Soils Book Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-41870-4_8

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