Soils

Pankaj Kumar Singh

What is Soil?
How is soil formed?
A layer of loose broken up parent
material (rock) accumlutates.
This is known as the regolith
This can come from breakdown of rock
by weathering or be brought from
elsewhere. E.g. rock falls, glacial debris.
The 5 main factors!!!
Passive Factors
1. Parent material
2. Topography
3. Time
Active Factors
1. Climate
2. Organisms (biota)
3. (human influence)
Professor Hans Jenny came up
with the following
Soil=f(pm+cl+to+org+time)
However its easier to remember
CLORPT
Parent Material.
Parent Material.
Soils can develop from underlying rock or rock that has been
transported to an area.
The supply of minerals in the soil is dependent on that rock
It controls depth, texture, drainage colour and quality of the soil
The actual form the soil takes may depend on the dominant
weathering process on the parent material. E.g. Granite.
Topography
Large mountain ranges will relate to climatic changes and thus
weathering and length of growing season.
Important localised changes include drainage, soil depth and slope
gradient (affects erosion or succeptability to waterlogging)


Climate
Describe and
explain the
diagram to
the left.

Climate
Climate influences soil type on a global scale and
links also to vegetation patterns.
It affects rate of chemical and biological reactions.
Case study: The relationship of rainfall to potential
evapotranspiration affects whether water moves
down or up in the soil. This affects leaching or
capillary action. Net downward movement =
Pedalfer, e.g. east of Rockies. Net upward
movement=pedocals e.g. Rajasthan.
Affects length of growing season
Activity of soil organisms.
Organisms (biota)
Organic matter is a basic component of soil
soil organisms
bacteria + fungi
worms these ingest soil per day and pass it to the surface.
others eg spiders, snails.
Organisms are more active in warm, well drained, aerated soils
They perform 3 functions
Decomposition: - detrivores eg termites eat and bury leaf litter
(detritus). Fungi and bacteria break it down further releases
nutrient ions for plants. Rest stays as humus.
Fixation: some bacteria fix nitrogen from air to nitrates
Develop structure: fungi bind soil particles. Burrowing animals
create pathways to aerate and allow drainage.
Man as an animal has effects relating to farming, deforestation
and extractive industries.

Time
Usually take up to 400
years for 10mm to form.
Newly formed reflect
parent material but older
ones may reflect other
factors relating to climate
and vegetation.
Time taken for mature
soils to develop depend
on parent material and
climate. Faster on sands
and hot wet
environments.
Not a causative factor
Allows soil processes to operate and for soil to evolve.
Dependent on parent material, sandstones weather faster
than granites.
The Soil Profile
How soils develop over time (animation)
A horizon
B horizon
C horizon -

What is elluviation and illuviation



Soil Profiles
A soil profile is a vertical
section through the soil
showing its different
horizons.

Soil Profiles - The O Horizon
This is the top part of the A horizon.
This is the organic layer. It is made up of leaf litter at
various different stages of decomposition.
Organic matter that has been completely decomposed
forms a black, jelly-like substance called humus.
It contains a lot of valuable nutrients.
Soil Profiles - The A Horizon
This is where biological activity and humus content are at their maximum.
This horizon is most affected by the leaching of soluble material and by the
downward movement or eluviation.
The A horizon is a combination of weathered rock from below and organic matter
from above.
These two constituents are brought together and mixed up by the actions of
organisms living in the soil (earth worms)
The A horizon is usually the most fertile.
Soil Profiles - The B Horizon
This is the zone of accumulation or illuvation where
clays and other materials removed from the A horizon
are redeposited.
The A and B horizons together make up the true soil.
The B horizon is generally less fertile than the A
horizon because it is further from the source of organic
matter.
Soil Profiles The C Horizon
Regolith
The C horizon consists of recently weathered
parent material (regolith) resting on the bedrock.
The weathered rock provides the soil with its
mineral matter.


Soil Classification
Soils can be classified simply into 3 types
Zonal Soils: It is the soil which is well
developed soil in the process of time
and having latitudinal
distribution.This soils well associated
with broad zones of climate and
vegetation. It is simplistic but these are
mature soils that have had maximum
time for effect of climate and living
matter on rock.

Intrazonal Soils:Soils with in Zonal
soil. These have been strongly
influence by parent material and can
develop in more than one climate zone
e.g. rendzina soils (shallow and
containing clacium caarbonate)

Azonal Soils: Horizons are not
developedWhich have developed only
recently and show little horion
development. These include alluvial and
volcanic soils which form independently
of climate or vegetation.

Soil Forming Processes
Processes involve:
- the gains and losses of material to the profile
- The movement of water through the horizons
- Chemical transformations within each individual horizon

Soils Must be considered a open systems in a state of
dynamic equilibrium varying constantly as the factors and
processes that influence them alter.
Processes
1. Weathering.
Minerals released as inputs into
the soil store.
Name some of the weathering processes?
What factors may affect the rate of
weathering?

2. Humification and Cheluviation.
Humification is breakdown of organic matter to humus
by soil organisms. Occurs in the H and upper A
horizon.
Cheluviation: organic matter breaks down forming
nutrients and organic acids chelating agents.
They attack clays and other minerals and release Fe
and Al
Chelating agents combine with cations in Fe and Al
and form organic-metal compounds called
CHELATES. These are soluble and move down
through soil CHELUVIATION
These may redeposit further down profile in less
acidic soil.

3. Organic sorting.
Lots of processes occur
which move organic
material and minerals into
horizons.
a) Leaching. This
involves the downward
movement of water with
minerals in solution
Processes also
associated are
b) Eluviation going
down of particles not in
solution.
C) Illuviation
redeposition of minerals
Removal of soluble material. Where ppt
exceeds evpt and drainage is good.
Rainwater (with acids from soil) causes
chemical weathering and breaks down clays
and soluble bases . Ca and Mg eluviated from
A horizon making it more acid.
Podzolisation:
Cool climates where ppt a lot in
excess of pevpt.Soils are well
drained and sandy.
It is the removal of Fe and Al
oxides with humus.
Often under coniferous forest or
becomes acid which dissolves
the sesquioxides of fe and iron.
Leaves drained A horizon and
reddish brown B horizon of
illuviated sesquioxides. Often
has an iron pan.
4. b) podsolisation
and Gleying:
Occur in poor drainage
Gleying: bad drainage gives
anaerobic conditions. Pore
spaces filled and de-
oxygenised. Red colorued
Fe3+(ferrous oxide) reduces to
Fe2+ (ferric iron) which is grey
blue. Can have
Surface water or groundwater
gleying.
4, CAPILLIARY ACTION
Calcification
Low rainfall areas with
ppt =or just higher than
pevpt.
Some leaching but
calcium accumulates in B
horizon e.g. chernozems.
Salinisation
When pevpt greater than
ppt. and where water
table is near surface.
Moisture evaporates from
surface and salts move
up by capillary action.
May be caused by
irrigation.

Interesting few
pages to look at
Reflect the
dominance of a local
factor
Calcimorphic: - soils
developing on
limestone
Hydromorphic:
Having constantly
high water content.
E.g. gley soils
Halomorphic: - soils
with high levels of
salt.
Intrazonal Soils