A scheme for soil classification of paddy fields in Japan with special reference to mineral paddy soils

Introduction

Paddy (irrigated) rice is the most important single crop in Japan. Nearly half of the total arable lands covering approximately 6.5 million hectares, are devoted to the growing of the rice plant. It is grown mainly on the alluvial plains which are intensively cultivated, and are the most productive soils of the country. Since the idea of modern pedology was introduced into Japan, some work has been done by some Japanese investigators to classify paddy soils on the basis of their morphological characteristics. A brief historical review on the soil survey work in Japan has been given by Kamoshita⁸⁾. In 1936 Kawamura described methods of soil survey in Korea through a careful study of the work developed by Stremme and his colleagues in Danzig. In those days Kamoshita⁹⁾,¹⁰⁾ devised a scheme of paddy soil classification by applying the concept of the wet soil types (mineralische Nassböden) proposed by Stremme, and he established five predominant soil types as follows: Bog soils (Moorböden), Half-bog soils (anmoorige Böden), Meadow soils (Wiesenböden), Gray lowland soils (graue Auenböden), and Brown lowland soils (braune Auenböden). The names in parentheses represent the wet soil types proposed by Stremme. These soil types are subdivided into soil kinds (Bodenarten) on the basis of differences in texture, rusty mottling, and humus content. The soil kinds were used as both categorical and cartographical units for detailed soil surveys.