Technical Soil Services Handbook (TSSH)

The Technical Soil Services Handbook is a subdivision of the NRCS directives system. The handbook provides operational and procedural policy and guidance for technical soil services within NRCS. Staff of the Soils Division are primary authors of this handbook. A major responsibility of Technical Soil Services within NRCS is to assist users with understanding and properly using the soil survey and to provide users with predictions and interpretations about the behavior of each kind of soil mapped or identified under defined situations.

Recommended Citation:

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service. Technical Soil Services Handbook. Available online at http://soils.usda.gov/technical/tssh/. Accessed [month/day/year].

Table of Contents

Note: Unlisted parts are reserved.

General (Parts 600 to 608)

• Introduction (Part 600)
• Legislative Authority for Technical Soil Services (Part 601)
• Historical Overview of Technical Soil Services (Part 602)
• Concepts and Use of Technical Soil Services (Part 603)
• Delivery of Technical Soil Services (Part 604)

Technical Policy and Program Services (Parts 609 to 615)

• Managing Soils Data for Agency Programs and Customers (Part 609)
• Conservation Practice Standards (Part 610)
• Assistance to Other Units of Government (Part 611)

Planning Services (Parts 616 to 628)

• Determinations of Highly Erodible Lands (HEL) (Part 616)
• Water Table Determinations (Part 617)
• Determinations and Delineations of Hydric Soils (Part 618)
• Field Office Operations (Part 619)
• Rangeland Management and Rangeland Health Assessments (Part 620)
• Soils and Cultural Resources (Part 621)
• The Role of the Resource Soil Scientist in Support of Soil Survey (Part 622)
• Dynamic Soil Properties (Part 623)
• Developing Comprehensive Nutrient Management Plans (Part 624)

Site-Specific Soil Investigations, Testing, Interpretation, and Evaluation (Parts 629 to 634)

• Onsite Soil Investigations (Part 629)
• Special Projects, Studies, and Inventories (Part 630)
• Development of Use-Specific Local Interpretations (Part 631)

Expert Services for Judicial Requests (Parts 635 to 636)

• Acting as an Expert Witness (Part 635)

Informational Services (Parts 637 to 640)

• Providing Education and Training (Part 637)
• Promoting Customer Awareness of Soils Information (Part 638)
   

Download the TSSH

Microsoft Word documents are available for download by clicking here.