# Orthent

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{{No footnotes|date=December 2021}}

'''Orthents''' are [soil](/source/soil)s defined in [USDA soil taxonomy](/source/USDA_soil_taxonomy) as [entisols](/source/entisols) that lack {{clarify|text=horizon development|what does this mean, in layman’s terms?|date=November 2022}} due to either steep slopes or parent materials that contain no permanent weatherable [minerals](/source/minerals) (such as [ironstone](/source/ironstone)). 

Typically, Orthents are exceedingly shallow soils. They are often referred to as ''skeletal soils'' or, in the United Nations [FAO soil classification](/source/FAO_soil_classification), as ''lithosols''. 

The basic requirement for recognition of an orthent is that any former soil has been either completely removed or so truncated that characteristics typical of all orders other than entisols are absent.

==Characteristics==
Most orthents are found in very steep, mountainous regions where erodible material is so rapidly removed by erosion that a permanent covering of deep soil cannot establish itself. Such conditions occur in almost all regions of the world where steep slopes are prevalent. 

In [Australia](/source/Australia) and a few regions of [Africa](/source/Africa), orthents occur in flat terrain because the [parent rock](/source/parent_rock) contains ''absolutely no weatherable minerals except short-lived additions from rainfall'', so that there is no breaking down of the minerals (chiefly [iron](/source/iron) oxides) in the rock.

The steepness of most orthents causes the [flora](/source/flora_(plants)) on them to be sparse shrubs or [grassland](/source/grassland). In those on ancient, flat terrain, [dry grassland](/source/dry_grassland), [savanna](/source/savanna), or rarely, [rainforest](/source/rainforest) can prevail.

Because of their extreme shallowness and, usually, steepness and consequent high erosion hazard, orthents are not suitable for arable farming. The flora typically supported on them is generally of very poor nutritive value for grazing, so that typically only low [livestock](/source/livestock) stocking rates are practicable. Many orthents are very important as [habitat](/source/habitat) for wildlife.

==See also==
*[Pedogenesis](/source/Pedogenesis)
*[Pedology](/source/Pedology)
*[Soil classification](/source/Soil_classification)

==References==
*[ftp://ftp-fc.sc.egov.usda.gov/NSSC/Soil_Taxonomy/tax.pdfv Soil Taxonomy p420]{{dead link|date=May 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}
*[https://books.google.com/books?id=0NICAAAAIAAJ&q=Lithosols New Zealand Journal of Science]
*[https://books.google.com/books?id=iwG4Uke_zyMC&dq=Lithosols&pg=RA1-PA156 Fundamentals of Soils By John Gerrard]

Category:Pedology
Category:Types of soil

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Orthent](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orthent) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orthent?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.