FAOPrimeValue

-- Name -- FAO prime value

A prime and double prime may be used to connotate the master horizon symbol of the lower of two (prime) or three (double prime) horizons having identical Arabic-numeral prefixes and letter combinations. The allowed values for this code list comprise only the values specified in Guidelines for soil description, 4th edition, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome, 2006, pp. 67-77. -- Description -- Identical designations may be appropriate for two or more horizons or layers separated by at least one horizon or layer of a more different kind in the same pedon. The sequence A-E-Bt-E-Btx-C is an example - the soil has two E horizons. To make communication easier, a prime is used with the master horizon symbol of the lower of two horizons having identical letter designations: A-E-Bt-E’-Btx-C. The prime is applied to the capital letter designation, and any lower case symbol follows it: B’t. The prime is not used unless all letters of the designations of two different layers are identical. Prime can be used for both minerals and organic soils.