The IBGE makes available today (December 03) the 3rd edition of the Technical Manual of Pedology (soil science), in two versions: a thorough one, with all the activities and procedures required in soil surveys, and a Practical Guide to Field Work, with specific information on the carrying out of soil field work. The publication is an essential tool for the planning of projects of agriculture and forestry, infrastructure construction works, other economic activities, contributing to the sustainable use of the soil. It aims at supporting public and private institutions of technical assistance, governments, rural land owners and research centers to conduct soil surveys and classification.

The review and expansion of the publication was motivated mostly by the reedition of the Brazilian System of Soil Classification, coordinated by the Embrapa in 2013, and coincides with the choice of the year 2015 as the International Year of Soils, by the United nation (UN) and with the World Soil Day (December 5), created in 2002, by the International Union of Soil Science (IUSS). The creation of the date was encouraged by the Food and Agricultural organization of the United Nations (FAO), in order to raise public awareness of the importance of soils as a crucial element of the environment and of the risks of its dengeneration around the world.

In print and digital versions, the publication is available for free download .The print version can also be purchased at the IBGE’s virtual shop.

New edition of the manual is illustrated by 435 photographs and pictures

The Manual of Pedology gathers a set of norms and procedures used in soil studies, covering from the planning stage up to the ways of presenting reports, maps and legends. The publication has updated information on the activities of definition, characterization, classification and cartography of soils, in a simple language and fully illustrated. Divided in three parts – Soil, Taxonomy and soil classification, Thematic cartography and soil surveys -, the manual encompasses a wide list of topics, as the concept of soils, the determination of the color of the soil in the field, the depth of soils, the sampling in trenches and gullies, physical and chemical determinations, inventory and identification of the main types of Brazilian soils and inventory of soil fertility, among others.

The 3rd edition of the manual brings new topics and some techniques and procedures little exploited in similar works, as, for example, details on the sampling collection and profile preparation, for the opening of trenches and carrying out of filed tests. In relation to the 2nd edition, of 2007, 171 new illustrations were included, adding up to 435 photographs and pictures.

In the item 2.3, the main kinds of soils are identified in the Brazilian territory, among which the Ultisols, which together with the Oxisols, are the most common, occurring practically all over the country. With a high agricultural potential, the Oxisols, for instance, are the most abundant in Brazil and are responsible for the significant share of the national agricultural production - especially sugarcane, in São Paulo -, and a great number of grains.

The Technical Manual of Pedology integrates the Series of Technical Manuals in Geosciences, inaugurated in 1991, aiming at standardizing and defining criteria for the works carried out by the IBGE at national level. Nowadays, the series contributes to make available standards and methodologies even outside the institution. The first edition of the manual was launched in 1995 and the second edition, in the year 2007.