A Soil Body is part of the soil cover that is delineated at a scale useful for an application, and is relatively homogeneous with regard to certain soil properties and/or spatial patterns.
A Soil Body is bounded above by the surface and below by the R-Horizon or substrate, and is usually described as a sequence of soil layers, or arrangement of soil horizons. This may be a single layer.
'Soil individual' and 'Pedon' are related terms used for Soil Bodies.
'Soil mapping unit' can be a single soil (soil body) or not (an association/complex).
Soil bodies are characterised through observations made on soil profiles at soil sites.
Soil bodies may be be classified using the order-suborder-greatgroup-subgroup-family system used for soil profiles.
Note: Soil Horizon is a special kind of layer, defined on pedological grounds. Note: A Soil Body is usually characterized by observations made in a Soil Profile.