Pedalfer is composed of aluminum and iron oxides. It is a subdivision of the zonal soil order

1938 USDA soil taxonomy

The 1938 USDA soil taxonomy was a soil classification system adopted by the United States Department of Agriculture, now obsolete. The classification system used previously was developed and published in 1936 by C.F. Marbut, who was chief of the U.S. Soil Survey at that time. A drastic...

 comprising a large group of soil

Soil

Soil is a natural body consisting of layers of mineral constituents of variable thicknesses, which differ from the parent materials in their morphological, physical, chemical, and mineralogical characteristics...

s in which sesquioxide

Sesquioxide

A sesquioxide is an oxide containing three atoms of oxygen with two atoms of another element. For example, aluminium oxide is a sesquioxide.Many sesquioxides contain the metal in the +3 oxidation state and the oxide ion, e.g., Al2O3, La2O3...

s increase relative to silica during soil formation

Pedogenesis

Pedogenesis is the science and study of the processes that lead to the formation of soil ' and first explored by the Russian geologist Vasily Dokuchaev , the so called grandfather of soil science, who determined that soil formed over time as a consequence of...

. Pedalfers usually occur in humid areas. It is not used in the current United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 system of soil classification

Soil classification

Soil classification deals with the systematic categorization of soils based on distinguishing characteristics as well as criteria that dictate choices in use.- Overview :...

 but the term commonly shows up in college geology

Geology

Geology is the science comprising the study of solid Earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which it evolves. Geology gives insight into the history of the Earth, as it provides the primary evidence for plate tectonics, the evolutionary history of life, and past climates...

 texts.

Pedalfers have three subdivisions of which one is Lateritic soils.

Pedalfer is a formative element in the United States soil taxonomic system for the Alfisols

Alfisols

Alfisols are a soil order in USDA soil taxonomy. Alfisols form in semiarid to humid areas, typically under a hardwood forest cover. They have a clay-enriched subsoil and relatively high native fertility. "Alf" refers to aluminium and iron . Because of their productivity and abundance, the...

soil order. Alf is the formative element in the Alfisol name, and refers to aluminium (Al) and iron (Fe).