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Soil Names On A Soil Map

During a soil survey (the process of gathering soil information and then plotting it on a map), the boundaries of an area of land dominated by a particular soil are drawn onto a map as a map unit.
:: names represent the main soil type ::
This soil map unit is named after the dominant soil occurring within it. Map units, therefore, may contain other soils.
Typically, a map unit consists of one or more main soils and some minor ones.

The dominant soil in a map unit is indicated by a symbol, eg TK for Te Kowhai. 

Where different soils are intricately mixed or nearly equal in significance for a map unit, compound symbols are used:

   - TK+B indicates the presence of two distinct soils (Te Kowhai and Bruntwood), the first of which is most abundant

   - TK-B indicates a gradation from the most abundant soil (Te Kowhai) to another, slightly less abundant soil (Bruntwood).

Even the most detailed soil maps cannot show the kind of soil at a specific site - for siting experimental trials within paddocks, a detailed soil inspection would be necessary.