| asl |
Above sea level |
| AvK |
Available potassium |
| AvP |
Available Phosphate |
| AWC |
Available water capacity (amount of water held in soil at suctions in the range for root uptake; = MC%@ FC – MC% @PWP) |
| BCI |
Barro Colorado Island |
| BCNM |
Barro Colorado Nature Monument |
| BS% |
Base saturation percentage (=TEB/CEC) |
| C |
Clay. Finest size class of mineral particles (< 0.002 mm) |
| Catapan |
Catastro de Panama (CRA) |
| CEC |
Cation exchange capacity (conventionally determined at pH7) |
| CL |
Clay loam |
| COLE |
Coefficient of linear extension (%) |
| Colluvium |
Local hillwash, moved by overland flow and slow creep. |
| Complex |
Soil mapping unit with several co-dominant classes. |
| Consociation |
Soil mapping unit with one soil class dominant and others as minor constituents. |
| CRA |
Comision de Reforma Agraria (MIDA) |
| Creep |
Slow gravitational mass movement of colluvium downslope. |
| CTFS |
Center for Tropical Forest Science |
| C/V |
Chroma and value in Munsell Soil Color coding system |
| Dbh, drh |
Diameter at breast (1.3 m above ground level) or reference (0.6 m above the highest buttress) height |
| EBS |
Effective base saturation (= TEB/ECEC as %) |
| ECEC |
Effective cation exchange capacity (=TEB + Extr Al) |
| Eluvial |
Soil horizon formed by the selective washing out of some original components |
| Exch |
Exchangeable cations extractable with 1M NH4OOCH3 |
| Extr |
Extractable with 1M KCl |
| FAO |
Food & Agriculture Organisation of United Nations |
| FC |
Field capacity (MC% at suction of 0.1 or 0.3 atmosphere) |
| Fine earth |
Fraction of soil with particle size < 2mm |
| gibb |
Gibbsite (Al2O3 clay mineral) |
| gilgai |
Dynamic soil surface undulations due to shrink-swell of expansible clays in seasonal climates |
| GIS |
Geographical information system |
| Gley |
Soil that is permanently wet and poorly aerated, with predominantly greyish colours, due to the reduction of free iron. May have locally oxidised rust – coloured mottles as spots and around root channels. |
| GPS |
Global positioning system |
| HAC |
High activity clay |
| Horizon |
Soil layer |
| Hydrature |
Supply of air and water to biota by soil pore system (sensu White, 1985) |
| ICP |
Induction coupled plasma spectrometer |
| IGN |
Instituto Geografico Nacional, Tommy Guardia |
| Illuvial |
Soil horizon formed by enrichment of some components washed in from eluvial horizon(s) above |
| Kaol |
Kaolinite (1:1 aluminosilicate clay mineral) |
| L |
Loam (Mixed soil with substantial proportions of all three of the main fine earth size classes, i.e. clay, silt and sand) |
| LAC |
Low activity clay |
| Linear |
Straight slope with similar gradients up- and downslope |
| LTER |
Long term ecological research |
| MC% |
Moisture content % (by mass) |
| MIDA |
Ministerio de Desarollo Agropecuaria (RoP) |
| Munsell |
System of soil colour notation, operated by matching soil against standard colour chips. Colour described by ‘hue’ (Spectral composition – red, yellow, blue, green); ‘value’ (dilution with multispectral white), & ‘chroma’ (darkness) |
| ND |
No data |
| NH4OOCH3 |
Ammonium acetate (1M, buffered at pH 7, for extracting exchangeable cations) |
| OC |
Organic carbon |
| PM |
Soil parent material |
| Profile |
Sequence of soil horizons from surface to parent material |
| PWP |
Permanent wilting [point (soil moisture suction of 15 atmospheres = 1.5 MPa) |
| Regolith |
All surface materials; includes solum (true soil), saprolite (in situ weathered rock), and mobile materials like colluvium or alluvium. |
| RoP |
Republic of Panama |
| S |
Sand (coarsest fine earth particle size class, 0.05 – 2 mm in USDA) |
| Series |
Equivalent to soil class on BCI. Sixth level of subdivision in USDA Soil Taxonomy. |
| SI |
Smithsonian Institution |
| Si |
Silt (intermediate fine earth mineral particle size class, 0.002 – 0.05 mm in USDA) |
| Slickenside |
Striated, polished clay pressure face, usually oblique, on prismatic or wedge structures in expansible clay subsoils. Diagnostic of vertic properties and Vertisols in ST. |
| SMR |
Soil Moisture Regime, as defined in ST |
| SMU |
Soil mapping unit |
| SOC |
Soil organic carbon |
| Solum |
True soil, in which physicochemical and bio-turbation processes have obliterated visible traces of parent rock structure. |
| SOM |
Soil organic matter |
| ST |
Soil Taxonomy (USDA system of soil classification) |
| STR |
Soil temperature regime, as defined in ST |
| STRI |
Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute |
| Surface wash |
Movement of detached surface soil particles by overland flow. |
| Tr |
Trace |
| Tufa |
Hard coating of secondary CaCO3 |
| TEB |
Total exchangeable bases (= exchangeable Ca + Mg + Na + K) |
| USDA |
United States Department of Agriculture |
| WRB |
World Reference Base for Soil Resources (FAO system of soil classification) |
| XRD |
X-ray diffraction (for determination of clay minerals) |
| Z, Zi |
Silt (intermediate fine earth particle size class, 0.002 – 0.05 mm in USDA) |