Anthrosols

Anthrosols occur over large areas in the Far East where growing of paddy rice takes place for centuries, in the Middle East where prolonged irrigation has been practised, and over small areas in western Europe and other parts of the world where long-time fertilization and earth-manuring have profoundly modified existing soils.

Characteristics

Soils having either a hortic, irragric, plaggic or terric horizon 50 cm or more thick, or an anthraquic horizon and an underlying hydragric horizon with a combined thickness of 50 cm or more.

Anthrosol build-up of irrigation sediments (“Oasis soil”) in the Xinjiang Autonomous Region of China (Irragric Anthrosol; ISRIC reference soil CN 010)

Deep "plaggen" soil overlying remnants of a Podzol, the Netherlands (Spodi-Plaggic Anthrosol; ISRIC reference soil NL 022)