They differ from unweathered parent material in their aggregate structure, color, clay content, carbonate content, or other properties that give some evidence of soil-forming processes.
Because of their aggregate structure and high content of weatherable minerals, they usually can be utilized for agriculture projects depending on the limitations of terrain and climate.
Cambisols are the second most extensive soil group on earth, occupying 12 percent of the total continental land area; primarily in boreal polar regions, in landscapes with high rates of erosion, and in regions of material resistant to clay movement and they are not common in humid tropical climates.
For a soil to qualify as a Cambisol, the texture of the subsurface horizons must be sandy loam or finer, with at least eight percent clay by mass and a thickness of 15 cm (6 inches) or more.
These soils naturally form on medium-textured to fine-textured materials under any climatic, topographic, and vegetative-cover conditions.
They differ from Leptosols and Regosols because of their greater depth and finer texture and are often found in connection with Luvisols.
2. From the classification system of the Food and Agriculture Organization, FAO.3. Etymology: from Latin cambiare, "to change".