This Handbook specifies methods, standards and terminology for the description of sites in the field. It provides Australia with one reference set of definitions and has been designed for field use.
Consensus is not the only basis for the recommended survey practice. The book advocates that a comprehensive suite of land and soil attributes be recorded in a uniform manner. This approach is held to be more useful than the allocation of land or soil to preconceived types or classes. Its usefulness is enhanced where computer facilities are available.
The second edition has been extensively revised and contains a number of new sections, in particular a much expanded chapter on substrate. This edition supersedes the 1984 version.
The authors have long and wide-ranging experience in soil and land survey practice.
