one of the 30 soil groups in the classification system of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) (soil). Phaeozems are characterized by a humus-rich surface layer covered in the natural state with abundant grass or deciduous forest vegetation. They are highly arable soils and are used for growing wheat, soybeans, and pasture for cattle, as well as for wood and fuel production. Occupying about 1.5 percent of the continental land area on Earth, Phaeozems are found principally in the North American prairies (prairie), the South American pampas (Pampas, the), and the subtropical steppes of Asia.