ACambisol in theWorld Reference Base for Soil Resources (WRB)[1] is asoil in the beginning ofsoil formation. Thehorizon differentiation is weak. This is evident from weak, mostly brownish discolouration and/or structure formation in thesoil profile.
Cambisols are developed in medium and fine-textured materials derived from a wide range of rocks, mostly inalluvial,colluvial andaeolian deposits.
Most of these soils make good agricultural land and are intensively used. Cambisols in temperateclimates are among the most productive soils on earth.
Cambisols cover an estimated 15 million square kilometres worldwide. They are well represented intemperate and boreal regions that were under the influence ofglaciation during thePleistocene, partly because the soil's parent material is still young, but also because soil formation is comparatively slow in the cool, northern regions. Cambisols are less common in the tropics and subtropics, but they are common in areas with activeerosion where they may occur in association with mature tropical soils.
