In the soil taxonomy classification system, how many different epipedons are recognized for diagnosing soil types?

✅Explanation:
Soil Taxonomy, a widely used soil classification system, employs a set of diagnostic horizons to categorize soils. Epipedons are a specific type of diagnostic horizon that represent the upper layers.

• Currently, the Soil Taxonomy system recognizes nine distinct epipedons:
-Anthropic Epipedon: Formed by human activities like addition of organic materials or disturbance of the natural soil profile.
-Folistic Epipedon: A thick organic surface layer formed under forest vegetation.
-Histic Epipedon: A layer of organic matter, typically peat or muck, formed in wetlands.
-Melanic Epipedon: A dark-colored surface horizon rich in organic matter, often associated with grassland soils.
-Mollic Epipedon: A dark, thick surface horizon with high organic matter content and good structure, commonly found in fertile agricultural soils.
-Ochric Epipedon: A light-coloured surface horizon with low organic matter content, typically found under forest vegetation.
-Plaggen Epipedon: A man-made surface horizon formed by the addition of organic materials and mineral soil over a long period.
-Umbric Epipedon: A dark-colored surface horizon with moderate organic matter content, often found under moist forest vegetation.
-Spodic Epipedon: A subsurface horizon with an accumulation of aluminum and/or iron oxides, typically reddish in color. (While Spodic horizons can occur below the surface, they can influence the overlying epipedon and are included in the classification system.)