Soil Orders In HawaiiAndisol Aridisol Entisol Histosol Inceptisol

Mollisol Oxisol Spodosol-like soil Ultisol Vertisol

Andisols are soils derived from volca-nic ash. The less weathered Kula soil onMaui is quite productive, while the Hilo soilon the Big Island is highly weathered andrequires lots of fertilizers for crop produc-tion.

Aridisols are soils of the arid areas orsoils with high salt content. The Kawaihaesoil of the Big Island has features of anarid area of light color, low organic mat-ter, and shallow depth.

Entisols are least-developed soils show-ing only a weak surface development. Thecalareous Jaucas soil on Maui is an ex-ample with sandy texture, and excessivedrainage.

Histosols are organic soils with a highorganic matter content in the surface ho-rizon. The Papai soil on the Big Island haslost almost all of the surface organic mat-ter (OM), but the Alakai soil atop Mt. Kaalaon Oahu is high in OM.

Inceptisols are soils showing minimaldevelopment of soil horizons. TheKolekole soil on Oahu is an example.

Mollisols are fertile soils with highorganic C and high base saturation.Although the Kawaihapai soil on Oahu isdark, the Makawele soil on Kauai is redbecause of Fe oxides.

Oxisols are the most weathered soils ofthe tropics with low nutrient holding ca-pacity and high Fe and Al oxides. The Haliisoil on Kauai is an example.

Spodosols are soils with leached Al, Fe,and organic materials in the subsoil, show-ing a distinct layer.

Ultisols are highly weathered infertilesoils with clay accumulation in the sub-soils. Examples are Alaeloa soil on Oahuand Haiku soil on Maui.

Vertisols are soils that shrink when dryand swell when wet. They usually occurin valleys with poor drainage. They arefertile, but pose severe limitations forroads, housing, and related uses. TheLualualei soil on Oahu is an example.

Kawaihae Series, HawaiiHilo Series, Hawaii Jaucas Series, Maui Papai Series, Hawaii Alakai Series, OahuKula Series, Maui Kolekole Series, Oahu

Kawaihapai Series, Oahu Makawele Series, Kauai Halii Series, Kauai Oahu Alaeloa Series, Oahu Haiku Series, Maui Lualualei Series, Oahu

Prepared by Ike Ikawa, Nguyen Hue and Russell Yost