On the Soil in Soil Survey Horizons (1960–2009)

Soil Survey Horizons was first published in 1960, and the 50th volume was published in 2009. Here we analyze what has been published in those 50 volumes (5575 pages). We classified 1080 contributions as to their focus (e.g., mapping, soil genesis), geographic origin, and what U.S. Soil Taxonomy order was described or studied. Almost 40% of all contributions focused on soil mapping. The number of soil mapping contributions had its peak in the mid‐1980s and then gradually dropped but has been on the increase since 2005. Soil genesis, soil classification, and soil morphology were the focus of more than 150 contributions each. Soil Survey Horizons always has had a steady number of contributions, which we classified as “reflections on the discipline,” and has published a number of ideas that were ahead of their time. Most of the contributions have come from the Central and Midwest part of the United States, and a considerable number of those have focused on Mollisols. Less than 10% of the contributions have been from outside the United States. In the past 50 years, Soil Survey Horizons has developed from a U.S. Midwest pedology and soil survey newsletter into a broader publication with research articles and reports.