DEAPARTMENTOFSOI

LSCI
ENCE

LECTURENOTES(
SOS211)–FOUNDAMENTALSOFSOI
LSCI
ENCE

Whati
ssoi
l?

Manyt
ermsar
eusedt
oref
ert
othenon-
wat
ersur
faceoft
heear
th.Whatasoi
l
sci
ent
istcal
l
ssoi
l
,ageol
ogi
stmaycal
lfr
agment
ed r
ockorov
erbur
den,an
engi
neermaycal
lear
thorr
ock,andaneconomi
stmaycal
lland.Soi
l
sar
ethe
l
oosemi
ner
aloror
gani
cmat
eri
alsf
oundont
heear
th'
ssur
face,usual
l
y(or
av
eragel
y)madeupofabout25% ai
r,25% wat
er,45% mi
ner
aland5% or
gani
c
mat
ter(
humus,
tinyl
i
vingor
gani
smsandsomet
imespl
antr
esi
due)
.Soi
lcanal
so
bedef
inedast
heunconsol
i
dat
edmi
ner
almat
eri
alont
hei
mmedi
atesur
faceof
t
heear
tht
hatser
vesasanat
uralmedi
um f
ort
hegr
owt
hofl
andpl
ant
s.Thi
s
def
ini
ti
oni
sincompl
ete.Thei
mpl
i
cat
ioni
sthatt
ruesoi
l
sar
esur
facemat
eri
als.
Fori
nst
ance,sand dunes do notnecessar
il
y suppor
tpl
antl
i
fe,butwi
th
st
abi
l
izat
ion(
ret
ardedmobi
l
ity
)andwat
er,
ifneeded,
theycoul
ddoso,
socanbe
consi
der
edsoi
l
s.Thet
radi
ti
onaldef
ini
ti
oni
s:Soi
lisady
nami
cnat
uralbody
hav
ing pr
oper
ti
esder
ived f
rom t
he combi
ned ef
fect
sofcl
imat
e and bi
oti
c
act
ivi
ti
es,
asmodi
fi
edbyt
opogr
aphy
,act
ingonpar
entmat
eri
alsov
ert
ime.
Nonsoi
lsar
esur
facemat
eri
alst
hatdonotsuppor
tpl
antl
i
fe,suchast
hesal
tof
f
lat
sofGr
eatSal
tLake,
rockbar
rens,
andsev
erel
yer
odi
ngpor
ti
onsoft
heDakot
a
Badl
ands.Concei
vabl
y,somenonsoi
l
scoul
dbemodi
fi
ed(
leachedorst
abi
l
ized)
andsubsequent
lyr
ecl
assi
fi
edassoi
l
s.

Mi
ner
alsoi
l-mat
eri
alsar
efor
medbyt
hedi
ssol
vi
nganddi
sint
egr
ati
onofr
ocks.
Thesmal
llooser
ockpar
ti
clesbecomeamassofmi
ner
als(
asoi
l
)thatmay
begi
ntodev
elopchangesi
nit
spr
ofi
l
e.Unconsol
i
dat
ed(
scat
ter
ed)sedi
ment
s,
newl
ydeposi
tedont
hesur
face,
areundev
elopedsoi
l
s.

Or
gani
c soi
ls-i
n cont
rastt
o mi
ner
alsoi
l
s,or
gani
c soi
l
s dev
elop f
rom an
accumul
ati
onofpl
antr
esi
duest
hatar
epr
eser
vedbyt
hel
owoxy
genenv
ironment
ofshal
l
ow andst
agnantwat
ers.Or
gani
csoi
l
sincl
udet
het
undr
a,t
heI
ri
shpeat
bogs,
andt
hemuckandpeatsoi
l
soft
heUni
tedSt
ates.

I
MPORTANCEOFSOI
LS

Soi
l
sar
eessent
ialf
orl
i
fe,i
nthesenset
hatt
heypr
ovi
det
hemedi
um f
orpl
ant
gr
owt
h,habi
tatf
ormanyi
nsect
sandot
heror
gani
sms,actasaf
il
tr
ati
onsy
stem
f
orsur
facewat
er,
car
bonst
oreandmai
ntenanceofat
mospher
icgases.

Medi
um f
orpl
antgr
owt
h

 Soi
l
ssuppor
troot
sandkeept
hem upr
ightf
orgr
owt
h.
 Soi
l
spr
ovi
depl
ant
swi
thessent
ial
miner
alsandnut
ri
ent
s.
 Soi
l
spr
ovi
deai
rforgaseousexchangebet
weenr
oot
sandat
mospher
e.
 Soi
l
spr
otectpl
ant
sfr
om er
osi
onandot
herdest
ruct
ivephy
sical
,bi
ologi
cal
andchemi
cal
act
ivi
ty.
 Soi
l
shol
dwat
er(
moi
stur
e)andmai
ntai
nadequat
eaer
ati
on.

Habi
tatf
ormanyi
nsect
sandot
heror
gani
sms:(
Soi
l
sar
ehomest
oadi
ver
se
r
angeofor
gani
smssuchaswor
msandt
ermi
tes)
.
  Soi
l
sar
ehomest
oadi
ver
ser
angeofor
gani
smssuchaswor
msand
t
ermi
tes.
 Theypr
ovi
det
heneededmoi
stur
eandai
rforbr
eakdownofor
gani
cmat
ter
.

Fi
l
trat
ionsy
stem f
orsur
facewat
er-
(Af
terr
ainf
all
andsnowmel
ts,
wat
erf
lowson
t
heear
th’
ssur
facet
owat
erbodi
es,
butmuchofi
tsoaksandget
sinf
il
tr
atedi
nto
t
hegr
ound.Asi
tcont
inuesi
tswaydownwar
dst
hrought
hemanyl
ayer
sint
he
gr
ound,i
tisf
il
ter
edf
rom dust
,chemi
cal
sandot
hercont
ami
nant
s.Thi
siswhy
aqui
fer
s(under
groundwat
er)ar
eoneoft
hepur
estsour
cesofwat
er.Fi
l
ter
ed
wat
eral
sopr
ovi
despl
ant
swi
thcl
ean,
unpol
l
utedwat
erneededf
orgr
owt
h).

Car
bon st
ore and mai
ntenance ofat
mospher
ic gases (
Soi
l
s hel
pregul
ate
at
mospher
icCar
bondi
oxi
de(
CO2)byact
ingasacar
bonst
ore.Onagl
obalscal
e,
soi
l
scont
ainaboutt
wiceasmuchcar
bonast
heat
mospher
eandaboutt
hree
t
imesasmuchasv
eget
ati
on)
.Thi
sresul
tsi
ntheaccumul
ati
onofor
gani
cmat
ter
i
nthesoi
lwhi
char
ehi
ghi
ncar
boncont
ent
.Ni
tr
ogen,phosphor
us,andmany
ot
hernut
ri
ent
sar
est
ored,
transf
ormed,
andcy
cledi
nthesoi
l
.

COMPONENTSOFSOI
LS

Soi
lcomposi
ti
on
 Soi
lMi
ner
als
 Soi
lOr
gani
cMat
ter
 Soi
lWat
er
 Soi
lAi
r

Soi
lComposi
tion
Soi
lcomposi
ti
oni
sani
mpor
tantaspectofnut
ri
entmanagement
.Whi
l
esoi
l
mi
ner
alsandor
gani
cmat
terhol
dandst
orenut
ri
ent
s,soi
lwat
eri
swhatr
eadi
l
y
pr
ovi
desnut
ri
ent
sforpl
antupt
ake.Soi
lai
r,t
oo,
play
sani
ntegr
alr
olesi
ncemany
oft
hemi
croor
gani
smst
hatl
i
vei
nthesoi
lneedai
rtounder
got
hebi
ologi
cal
pr
ocessest
hatr
eleaseaddi
ti
onal
nut
ri
ent
sint
othesoi
l
.

Thebasi
ccomponent
sofsoi
lar
emi
ner
als,or
gani
cmat
ter
,wat
erandai
r.The
t
ypi
calsoi
lconsi
stsofappr
oxi
mat
ely45% mi
ner
al,5% or
gani
cmat
ter
,20-
30%
wat
er,and20-
30% ai
r.Theseper
cent
agesar
eonl
ygener
ali
zat
ionsatbest
.In
r
eal
i
ty,t
hesoi
lisv
erycompl
exanddy
nami
c.Thecomposi
ti
onoft
hesoi
lcan
f
luct
uat
eonadai
l
ybasi
s,dependi
ngonnumer
ousf
act
orssuchaswat
ersuppl
y,
cul
ti
vat
ionpr
act
ices,
and/
orsoi
lty
pe.

Appr
oxi
mat
ecomposi
ti
onofsoi
l
.

Thesol
i
dphaseofsoi
l
,whi
chi
ncl
udesmi
ner
alsandor
gani
cmat
ter
,ar
egener
all
y
st
abl
einnat
ure.Yet
,ifor
gani
cmat
teri
snotpr
oper
lymanaged,i
tmaybe
depl
etedf
rom t
hesoi
l
.Thel
i
qui
dandgasphasesoft
hesoi
l
,whi
char
ewat
erand
ai
rrespect
ivel
y,ar
ethe mostdy
nami
c pr
oper
ti
es oft
he soi
l
.The r
elat
ive
amount
sofwat
erandai
rint
hesoi
lar
econst
ant
lychangi
ngast
hesoi
lwet
sor
dr
ies.
 1.Soi
lMi
ner
als

Soi
lmi
ner
alspl
ayav
italr
olei
nsoi
lfer
ti
li
tysi
ncemi
ner
alsur
facesser
veas
pot
ent
ialsi
tesf
ornut
ri
entst
orage.Howev
er,
dif
fer
entt
ypesofsoi
lmi
ner
alshol
d
andr
etai
ndi
ff
eri
ngamount
sofnut
ri
ent
s.Ther
efor
e,i
tishel
pfult
oknow t
he
t
ypesofmi
ner
alst
hatmakeupy
oursoi
lsot
haty
oucanpr
edi
ctt
hedegr
eet
o
whi
cht
hesoi
lcanr
etai
nandsuppl
ynut
ri
ent
stopl
ant
s.Ther
ear
enumer
ous
t
ypesofmi
ner
alsf
oundi
nthesoi
l
.Thesemi
ner
alsv
arygr
eat
lyi
nsi
zeand
chemi
cal
composi
ti
on.

Soi
lMi
ner
alPar
ticl
eSi
ze

Par
ti
clesi
zei
sani
mpor
tantpr
oper
tyt
hatal
l
owsust
omakedi
sti
nct
ions
amongt
hedi
ff
erentsoi
lmi
ner
als.Soi
l
scont
ainpar
ti
clest
hatr
angef
rom v
ery
l
argeboul
der
stomi
nut
epar
ti
cleswhi
char
einv
isi
blet
othenakedey
e.Tof
urt
her
di
sti
ngui
shpar
ti
clesbaseduponsi
ze,
par
ti
clesar
esepar
atedi
ntot
wocat
egor
ies:
t
hecoar
sef
ract
ionandt
hef
ineear
thf
ract
ion.
Fi
neear
thf
ract
ion

Soi
l
scont
aini
ngf
ineear
thf
ract
ionar
eexcl
usi
vel
yfi
nel
ytext
ured.Thef
ineear
th
f
ract
ioni
ncl
udesanypar
ti
clel
esst
han2.
0mm (
.078i
nches)andi
sdi
vi
dedi
nto
t
hreecl
assesofsi
ze:sand,si
l
t,orcl
ay.Tabl
e1pr
ovi
desdescr
ipt
ionsofeach
cl
assi
nthef
ineear
thf
ract
ion.

Tabl
e1.Descr
ipt
ionofsand,
sil
t,andcl
aycl
asses.

Si
ze Text
ure Char
act
eri
sti
cs

Sand 2.
0 mm -
0.05gr
it
ty Sand i
svi
sibl
etot
henaked ey
e,consi
stsof
mm par
ti
cles wi
thl
ow sur
face ar
ea,and per
mit
s
excessi
vedr
ainage.

Si
lt 0.
05mm -0.
002but
ter
y Si
l
tisnotv
isi
blet
othenakedey
eandi
ncr
eases
mm t
hewat
erhol
dingcapaci
tyofsoi
l
.

Cl
ay <0.
002mm st
icky Cl
ayhasahi
ghsur
facear
ea,hi
ghwat
erhol
ding
capaci
ty,many smal
lpor
es,and possesses
char
gedsur
facest
oat
tractandhol
dnut
ri
ent
s.
Coar
sef
ract
ion

Thecoar
sef
ract
ionofsoi
lincl
udesanysoi
lpar
ti
clesgr
eat
ert
han2mm.The
coar
sef
ract
ioni
ncl
udesboul
der
s,st
ones,gr
avel
s,andcoar
sesands.Thesear
e
r
ockyf
ragment
sandar
egener
all
yacombi
nat
ionofmor
ethanonet
ypeof
mi
ner
al.

2.Soi
lOr
gani
cMat
ter

Soi
lor
gani
cmat
ternotonl
yst
oresnut
ri
ent
sint
hesoi
l
,buti
sal
soadi
rect
sour
ceofnut
ri
ent
s.Someoft
hewor
ld’
smostf
ert
il
esoi
l
stendt
ocont
ainhi
gh
amount
sofor
gani
cmat
ter
.Soi
lor
gani
cmat
teri
ncl
udesal
lor
gani
c(orcar
bon-
cont
aini
ng)subst
anceswi
thi
nthesoi
l
.

Soi
lor
gani
cmat
teri
ncl
udes:

o Li
vi
ngor
gani
sms(
soi
lbi
omass)
o Ther
emai
nsofmi
croor
gani
smst
hatoncei
nhabi
tedt
hesoi
l
o Ther
emai
nsofpl
ant
sandani
mal
s
o Or
gani
ccompoundst
hathav
ebeendecomposedwi
thi
nthesoi
l
and,ov
ert
housandsofy
ear
s,r
educedt
ocompl
exandr
elat
ivel
y
st
abl
esubst
ancescommonl
ycal
l
edhumus.

Asor
gani
cmat
terdecomposesi
nthesoi
l
,itmaybel
ostt
hroughsev
eral
avenues.
Si
nceor
gani
cmat
terper
for
msmanyf
unct
ionsi
nthesoi
l
,iti
simpor
tantt
o
mai
ntai
n soi
lor
gani
c mat
terbyaddi
ng f
resh sour
ces ofani
maland pl
ant
r
esi
dues,
especi
all
yint
het
ropi
cswher
ethedecomposi
ti
onofor
gani
cresi
duesi
s
cont
inuoust
hroughoutt
hey
ear
.

I
mpor
tantFunct
ionsofOr
gani
cMat
ter

Al
thoughsur
facesoi
l
susual
l
ycont
ainonl
y1-
6% or
gani
cmat
ter
,soi
lor
gani
c
mat
terper
for
msv
eryi
mpor
tantf
unct
ionsi
nthesoi
l
.Soi
lor
gani
cmat
ter
:

 Act
sasabi
ndi
ngagentf
ormi
ner
alpar
ti
cles.Thi
sisr
esponsi
blef
or
pr
oduci
ngf
ri
abl
e(easi
l
ycr
umbl
ed)sur
facesoi
l
s.
 I
ncr
easest
heamountofwat
ert
hatasoi
lmayhol
d.
 Pr
ovi
desf
oodf
oror
gani
smst
hati
nhabi
tthesoi
l
.
 Humusi
sani
ntegr
alcomponentofor
gani
cmat
terbecausei
tisf
air
ly
st
abl
eandr
esi
stantt
ofur
therdecomposi
ti
on.Humusi
sbr
ownorbl
ack
andgi
vessoi
l
sit
sdar
kcol
our
.Li
kecl
aypar
ti
cles,humusi
sani
mpor
tant
sour
ceofpl
antnut
ri
ent
s.

3.Soi
lWat
er
I
nnut
ri
entmanagement
,apr
operbal
ancebet
weensoi
lwat
erandsoi
lai
ris
cr
it
icalsi
ncebot
hwat
erandai
rar
erequi
redbymostpr
ocessest
hatr
elease
nut
ri
ent
sint
othesoi
l
.Soi
lwat
eri
spar
ti
cul
arl
yimpor
tanti
nnut
ri
entmanagement
.
I
naddi
ti
ont
osust
aini
ngal
lli
feonEar
th,soi
lwat
erpr
ovi
desapoolofdi
ssol
ved
nut
ri
ent
sthatar
ereadi
l
yav
ail
abl
eforpl
antupt
ake.Ther
efor
e,i
tisi
mpor
tantt
o
mai
ntai
npr
operl
evel
sofsoi
lmoi
stur
e.

Soi
lwat
eri
simpor
tantf
ort
hreespeci
alr
easons:

 Thepr
esenceofwat
eri
sessent
ialf
oral
lli
feonEar
th,i
ncl
udi
ngt
hel
i
ves
ofpl
ant
sandor
gani
smsi
nthesoi
l
.
 Wat
eri
sanecessar
yfort
heweat
her
ingofsoi
l
.Ar
easwi
thhi
ghr
ainf
all
t
ypi
cal
l
yhav
ehi
ghl
yweat
her
edsoi
l
s.Si
ncesoi
l
svar
yint
hei
rdegr
eeof
weat
her
ing,i
tis expect
ed t
hatsoi
l
s hav
e been af
fect
ed bydi
ff
erent
amount
sofwat
er.
 Soi
lwat
eri
sthemedi
um f
rom whi
chal
lpl
antnut
ri
ent
sar
eassi
mil
atedby
pl
ant
s.Soi
lwat
er,somet
imesr
efer
redt
oast
hesoi
lsol
uti
on,cont
ains
di
ssol
ved or
gani
c and i
nor
gani
c subst
ances and t
ranspor
ts di
ssol
ved
nut
ri
ent
s,suchasni
tr
ogen,phosphor
us,pot
assi
um,andcal
cium,t
othe
pl
antr
oot
sforabsor
pti
on.
Theamountofwat
eri
nthesoi
lisdependentupont
wof
act
ors:

 Fi
rst
,soi
lwat
eri
sint
imat
elyr
elat
edt
othecl
i
mat
e,ort
hel
ongt
erm
pr
eci
pit
ati
onpat
ter
ns,
ofanar
ea.
 Secondl
y,t
heamountofwat
eri
nthesoi
ldependsuponhowmuchwat
era
soi
lmayhol
d.

Soi
lwat
erhol
dingcapaci
ty

Bef
orewedi
scusst
hecapaci
tyofsoi
l
stohol
dwat
er,wemustunder
standt
he
conceptofcapi
l
lar
it
y.

Capi
ll
ari
ty

 Wat
ermol
ecul
esbehav
eint
woway
s:

o Cohesi
onFor
ce:Becauseofcohesi
onf
orces,wat
ermol
ecul
esar
e
at
tract
edt
ooneanot
her
.Cohesi
oncauseswat
ermol
ecul
est
ost
ick
t
ooneanot
herandf
orm wat
erdr
opl
ets.
o Adhesi
on For
ce:Thi
sfor
ce i
sresponsi
blef
ort
he at
tr
act
ion
bet
weenwat
erandsol
i
dsur
faces.Forexampl
e,adr
opofwat
ercan
st
ickt
oagl
asssur
faceast
her
esul
tofadhesi
on.

 Wat
eral
soexhi
bit
sapr
oper
tyofsur
facet
ensi
on:
o Wat
ersur
facesbehav
einanunusualwaybecauseofcohesi
on.
Si
ncewat
ermol
ecul
esar
emor
eat
tr
act
edt
oot
herwat
ermol
ecul
es
asopposedt
oai
rpar
ti
cles,wat
ersur
facesbehav
eli
keexpandabl
e
f
il
ms.Thi
s phenomenon i
s whatmakes i
tpossi
blef
orcer
tai
n
i
nsect
stowal
kal
ongwat
ersur
faces.

 Capi
l
lar
yAct
ion:
o Capi
l
lar
yact
ion,
alsor
efer
redt
oascapi
l
lar
ymot
ionorcapi
l
lar
it
y,i
s
acombi
nat
ionofcohesi
on/
adhesi
onandsur
facet
ensi
onf
orces.
 o Capi
l
lar
yact
ioni
sdemonst
rat
edbyt
heupwar
dmov
ementofwat
er
t
hroughanar
rowt
ubeagai
nstt
hef
orceofgr
avi
ty.
o Capi
l
lar
y act
ion occur
s when t
headhesi
vei
nter
mol
ecul
ar
f
orcesbet
weenal
i
qui
d,suchaswat
er,andt
hesol
i
dsur
faceoft
he
t
ubear
est
rongert
hant
hecohesi
vei
nter
mol
ecul
arf
orcesbet
ween
wat
ermol
ecul
es.
o As t
he r
esul
tofcapi
l
lar
it
y,aconcav
emeni
scus(
orcur
ved,U-
shapedsur
face)f
ormswher
ethel
i
qui
disi
ncont
actwi
thav
ert
ical
sur
face.
o Capi
l
lar
yri
sei
sthehei
ghtt
owhi
cht
hewat
err
iseswi
thi
nthet
ube,
and decr
eases as t
he wi
dth oft
he t
ube i
ncr
eases.Thus,t
he
nar
rowert
het
ube,
thewat
erwi
l
lri
set
oagr
eat
erhei
ght
.

Capi
l
lar
y act
ion i
sthe same ef
fectt
hatcausespor
ousmat
eri
als,such as
sponges,
tosoakupl
i
qui
ds.

 Capi
l
lar
it
yist
hepr
imar
yfor
cet
hatenabl
est
hesoi
ltor
etai
nwat
er,
aswel
l
ast
oregul
atei
tsmov
ement
.
o Thephenomenonofcapi
l
lar
it
yal
sooccur
sint
hesoi
l
.Int
hesame
wayt
hatwat
ermov
esupwar
dst
hroughat
ubeagai
nstt
hef
orceof
gr
avi
ty;wat
ermov
esupwar
dst
hroughsoi
lpor
es,ort
hespaces
bet
weensoi
lpar
ti
cles.
o Thehei
ghtt
owhi
cht
hewat
err
isesi
sdependentuponpor
esi
ze.As
ar
esul
t,t
hesmal
l
ert
hesoi
lpor
es,
thehi
ghert
hecapi
l
lar
yri
se.
o Fi
nel
y-
text
uredsoi
l
s,l
i
kei
nMaui
,ty
pical
l
yhav
esmal
l
erpor
est
han
coar
sel
y-
text
ured soi
l
s.Ther
efor
e,f
inel
y-
text
ured soi
l
s hav
ea
gr
eat
erabi
l
ityt
ohol
dandr
etai
nwat
eri
nthesoi
li
nthei
nter
-par
ti
cle
spaces.Wer
efert
othepor
esbet
weensmal
lcl
aypar
ti
clesas
mi
cropor
es.I
n cont
rast
,thel
argerpor
espaci
ng bet
ween l
ager
par
ti
cles,
suchassand,
arecal
l
edmacr
opor
es.
o I
naddi
ti
ont
owat
err
etent
ion,capi
l
lar
it
yinsoi
lal
soenabl
est
he
 upwar
dandhor
izont
almov
ementofwat
erwi
thi
nthesoi
lpr
ofi
l
e,as
opposedt
odownwar
dmov
ementcausedbygr
avi
ty.Thi
supwar
d
andhor
izont
almov
ementoccur
swhenl
owersoi
llay
ershav
emor
e
moi
stur
ethant
heuppersoi
ll
ayer
sandi
simpor
tantbecausei
tmay
beabsor
bedbyr
oot
s.

Fi
gur
e2.Thi
spi
ctur
eshowshowmor
ewat
ermaybehel
dbet
weenf
inerpar
ti
cles
agai
nstt
hef
orceofgr
avi
ty,ascompar
edt
ocoar
serpar
ti
cles.Asar
esul
t,f
iner
-
t
ext
uredsoi
l
shav
egr
eat
erwat
erhol
dingcapaci
ti
es.

Wat
erhol
dingcapaci
ty

Si
ncewat
eri
shel
dwi
thi
nthepor
esoft
hesoi
l
,thewat
erhol
dingcapaci
ty
dependsoncapi
l
lar
yact
ionandt
hesi
zeoft
hepor
est
hatexi
stbet
weensoi
l
par
ti
cles.Sandysoi
l
shav
elar
gepar
ti
clesandl
argepor
es.Howev
er,l
argepor
es
donothav
eagr
eatabi
l
ityt
ohol
dwat
er.Asar
esul
t,sandysoi
l
sdr
ainexcessi
vel
y.
Ont
heot
herhand,
clay
eysoi
l
shav
esmal
lpar
ti
clesandsmal
lpor
es.Si
ncesmal
l
por
eshav
eagr
eat
erabi
l
ityt
ohol
dwat
er,cl
ayeysoi
l
stendt
ohav
ehi
ghwat
er
hol
dingcapaci
ty.
 4.Soi
lAi
r

I
n nut
ri
entmanagement
,soi
laer
ati
oni
nfl
uencest
heav
ail
abi
l
ityofmany
nut
ri
ent
s.Par
ti
cul
arl
y,soi
lai
risneededbymanyoft
hemi
croor
gani
smst
hat
r
eleasepl
antnut
ri
ent
stot
hesoi
l
.Anappr
opr
iat
ebal
ancebet
weensoi
lai
rand
soi
lwat
ermustbemai
ntai
nedsi
ncesoi
lai
risdi
spl
acedbysoi
lwat
er.

Ai
rcan f
il
lsoi
lpor
es as wat
erdr
ains ori
sremov
ed f
rom a soi
lpor
e by
ev
apor
ati
onorr
ootabsor
pti
on.Thenet
wor
kofpor
eswi
thi
nthesoi
laer
ates,or
v
ent
il
ates,t
hesoi
l
.Thi
saer
ati
onnet
wor
kbecomesbl
ockedwhenwat
erent
ers
soi
lpor
es.Notonl
yar
ebot
hsoi
lai
randsoi
lwat
erv
erydy
nami
cpar
tsofsoi
l
,but
bot
har
eof
teni
nver
sel
yrel
ated:

 Ani
ncr
easei
nsoi
lwat
ercont
entof
tencausesar
educt
ioni
nsoi
laer
ati
on.
 Li
kewi
se,r
educi
ng soi
lwat
ercont
entmaymean an i
ncr
ease i
n soi
l
aer
ati
on.
 Si
ncepl
antr
oot
srequi
rewat
erandoxy
gen(
from t
heai
rinpor
espaces)
,
mai
ntai
ning t
he bal
ance bet
ween r
ootand aer
ati
on and soi
lwat
er
av
ail
abi
l
ityi
sacr
it
ical
aspectofmanagi
ngcr
oppl
ant
s.

Soi
lai
risv
ery di
ff
erentt
han t
he abov
e-gr
ound at
mospher
e.A si
gni
fi
cant
di
ff
erencei
sbet
weent
hel
evel
sofcar
bondi
oxi
de.Si
ncet
hesoi
lcont
ainshi
gh
amount
sofcar
bondi
oxi
de,oxy
genl
evel
smaybecomel
i
mit
ed.Si
ncepl
ant
s
musthav
eoxy
gent
oli
ve,i
tisi
mpor
tantt
oal
l
owpr
operaer
ati
oni
nthesoi
l
.See
Tabl
es3and4f
orr
efer
encest
osoi
lai
rcomposi
ti
on.

Tabl
e3.Compar
isonbet
weensoi
lai
randat
mospher
iccomposi
ti
on

Component Soi
lAi
r(%) At
mospher
e(%)

N2 79.
2 79.
0
O2 20.
6 20.
9

CO2 0.
25 0.
03

Soi
lAt
mospher
e

 Thesoi
lat
mospher
eisnotuni
for
mthr
oughoutt
hesoi
lbecauset
her
ecan
bel
ocal
i
zedpocket
sofai
r.
 Ther
elat
ivehumi
dit
yofsoi
lai
riscl
oset
o100%,
unl
i
kemostat
mospher
ic
humi
dit
y.
 Ai
rint
hesoi
lof
tencont
ainssev
eral
hundr
edt
imesmor
ecar
bondi
oxi
de.

5.Mi
croor
gani
sms

Mi
croor
gani
smsar
ethef
inalbasi
cel
ementofsoi
l
s,andt
heyar
efoundi
nthe
soi
linv
eryhi
ghnumber
sbutmakeupmuchl
esst
han1%oft
hesoi
lvol
ume.A
commonest
imat
eist
hatonet
himbl
eful
loft
opsoi
lmayhol
dmor
ethan20,
000
mi
crobi
alor
gani
sms.The l
argestoft
hese or
gani
sms ar
e ear
thwor
ms and
nemat
odes and t
he smal
l
estar
e bact
eri
a,act
inomy
cet
es,al
gae,and f
ungi
.
Mi
croor
gani
sms ar
e t
he pr
imar
y decomposer
s of r
aw or
gani
c mat
ter
.
Decomposer
sconsumeor
gani
cmat
ter
,wat
er,andai
rtor
ecy
cler
aw or
gani
c
mat
teri
nto humus,whi
ch i
sri
ch i
nreadi
l
yav
ail
abl
e pl
antnut
ri
ent
s.Ot
her
speci
ali
zed mi
croor
gani
sms such as ni
tr
ogen-
fi
xi
ng bact
eri
a hav
e sy
mbi
oti
c
r
elat
ionshi
pswi
thpl
ant
sthatal
l
owpl
ant
stoext
ractt
hisessent
ialnut
ri
ent
.Such
"
nit
rogen-
fi
xi
ng"pl
ant
sar
eamaj
orsour
ceofsoi
lni
tr
ogenandar
eessent
ialf
or
soi
ldev
elopmentov
ert
ime.My
cor
rhi
zae ar
efungalcompl
exes t
hatf
orm
mut
ual
i
sti
crel
ati
onshi
pswi
thpl
antr
oot
s.Thef
ungusgr
owsi
ntoapl
ant
'sr
oot
,
wher
ethe pl
antpr
ovi
des t
he f
ungus wi
th sugarand,i
nret
urn,t
he f
ungus
pr
ovi
dest
hepl
antr
ootwi
thwat
erandaccesst
onut
ri
ent
sint
hesoi
lthr
oughi
ts
i
ntr
icat
ewebofhy
phaespr
eadt
hroughoutt
hesoi
lmat
ri
x.Wi
thoutmi
crobes,a
soi
li
sessent
ial
l
ydeadandcanbel
i
mit
edi
nsuppor
ti
ngpl
antgr
owt
h.
SOI
LFORMATI
ON

Soi
lfor
mat
ioncompr
isest
wodi
ff
erentpr
ocesses.Fi
rst
,thechangesf
rom a
consol
i
dat
edmass(
rock)notcapabl
eofgr
owi
ngpl
ant
stot
hedev
elopmentof
anunconsol
i
dat
ed(
loose)l
ayerofmat
eri
alt
hatcansuppor
tpl
ant
sifcl
i
mat
eis
sui
tabl
eandwat
eri
sav
ail
abl
e;second,t
hechangesoccur
ri
ngwi
thi
nthel
oose
mat
eri
alast
imepasses.Thi
slat
terpr
ocessi
sal edsoi
socal
l ldevel
opment
.

Soi
lfor
mat
ioni
susedt
omeanbot
hthepr
oduct
ionofunconsol
i
dat
edmat
eri
al
byweat
her
ingpr
ocessesandsoi
lpr
ofi
l
edev
elopment
,whi
char
ethechanges
i
nvol
vedi
ndev
elopmentofhor
izons.

Changesdur
ingsoi
lfor
mat
ion

Soi
lfor
mat
ion-
thepr
ocessesofweat
her
ingandofchangeofwi
thi
nasoi
lmass-
i
scausedbymanyf
act
ors.Addi
ti
ons,l
osses,t
ransf
ormat
ionandt
ransl
ocat
ions
occurconst
ant
ly.

Addi
ti
ons-ar
emade,amongot
her
s,bywat
er(
rai
nfal
l
,ir
ri
gat
ion)
,ni
tr
ogenf
rom
bact
eri
alf
ixat
ion,ener
gyassunl
i
ght
,sedi
mentf
rom wi
nd and wat
er,sal
ts,
or
gani
cresi
dues,
andf
ert
il
izer
s.

Losses-r
esul
tfr
om chemi
cal
ssol
ubl
einsoi
lwat
er,
erodedsmal
l
-si
zedf
ract
ions,
nut
ri
ent
singr
azedandhar
vest
edpl
ant
s,wat
erl
osses,
car
bonl
ossesasCO2,
and
deni
tr
if
icat
ionl
ossofN2.

Tr
ansf
ormat
ions-happens because oft
he many chemi
caland bi
ologi
cal
r
eact
ionst
hatdecomposeor
gani
cmat
ter
,for
minsol
ubl
emat
eri
alsf
rom sol
ubl
e
subst
ances,
andal
terordi
ssol
vesomemi
ner
als.

Tr
ansl
ocat
ion-aswat
erandor
gani
smsmov
ewi
thi
nthesoi
l
,manysubst
ances
ar
etr
ansl
ocat
edt
odi
ff
erentdept
hs-f
oreg,cl
ayst
odeeperl
ayer
s,andsol
ubl
e
sal
tsi
ntot
hegr
oundwat
erort
othesoi
lsur
faceaswat
erev
apor
ates.

Rock-meanshar
dened(
consol
idat
ed)massesofmi
ner
alsubst
ances.
When pi
eces ofr
ock become i
nter
mixed wi
thf
ine sands orsmal
ler
par
ticl
es,someoft
hesemassesofmat
eri
almi
ghtqual
ifyassoi
lsor
ear
th.

Typesofr
ocks

Rocksar
ecl
assi
fiedbyt
hreemaj
ordi
visi
ons

i
) I
gneous:Cool
edmol
tenr
ock.
i
i) Sedi
ment
ary: Sedi
ment
s deposi
ted i
n wat
er and
consol
idat
ed(
madei
ntoahar
denedmassofr
ock)
.
i
ii
) Met
amor
phi
c:I
gneous orSedi
ment
aryr
ocks changed
by heat or pr
essur
e(har
dened or changed mi
ner
al
or
ient
ati
ons)orchemi
calsol
uti
on

I
gneous r
ock-when mol
ten magma f
rom undert
he ear
th’
s cr
usti
s
exposed on t
he sur
face oratdi
ffer
entdept
hs i
nthe ear
th,i
gneous
r
ocksar
efor
medf
rom i
tasi
tcool
s.Thesear
evol
cani
corext
rusi
ve
i
gneous r
ocks.Eg,gr
ani
tes.Compact
ion or cement
ati
on of t
hese
sedi
ment
sresul
ti
ng f
rom vol
cani
c er
upt
ion pr
oduces sedi
ment
ary
r
ocks (
eg.l
imest
ones,sandst
ones,shal
es,and dol
omi
tes)
.Under
i
ntense heat and/
or pr
essur
e,i
gneous and sedi
ment
aryr
ocks ar
e
har
dened ormodi
fied i
nto met
amor
phi
crockssuchasgnei
ss(
nice)
,
schi
sts,Quar
tzi
te,sl
ates,and mar
ble.Met
amor
phi
crocksmaybeas
har
dasorhar
dert
hant
hei
gneous,sedi
ment
aryorot
hermet
amor
phi
c
r
ockf
rom whi
cht
heyf
ormed,butweat
her
edt
opr
oducesi
mil
arsoi
ls.

Weat
her
ingofSoi
lMi
ner
alsandChangei
nMi
ner
alComposi
tion

Weat
her
ingi
sthepr
inci
pal
processt
hatact
supont
heear
th’
spr
imar
ymi
ner
alst
o
f
ormt
hesmal
l
erandf
inerpar
ti
clest
hatwecal
l“soi
l
.”Tr
opi
calsoi
l
sanexcel
l
ent
pl
ace t
o obser
vet
he ef
fect
s ofweat
her
ing si
nce i
tcont
ains bot
h sl
i
ght
ly
weat
her
edandhi
ghl
yweat
her
edsoi
l
s.I
nter
msofnut
ri
entmanagement
,the
pr
ocess ofweat
her
ing gr
eat
lyi
nfl
uences t
he av
ail
abi
l
ityofpl
antnut
ri
ent
s.
I
nit
ial
l
y,assoi
lpar
ti
cl
esbegi
ntoweat
her
,pr
imar
ymi
ner
alsr
eleasenut
ri
ent
sint
o
t
hesoi
l
.Ast
hesepar
ti
cl
esdecr
easei
nsi
ze,
thesoi
lisal
soabl
etor
etai
ngr
eat
er
amount
s ofnut
ri
ent
s.Ul
ti
mat
ely
,howev
er,t
he capaci
tyt
o hol
d and r
etai
n
nut
ri
ent
sisgr
eat
lyr
educedi
nhi
ghl
yweat
her
edsoi
l
s,si
ncemostnut
ri
ent
shav
e
beenl
ostduet
oleachi
ng.

Ther
ear
etwot
ypesofweat
her
ing:
phy
sical
weat
her
ingandchemi
cal
weat
her
ing.
Di
ff
erencesi
nweat
her
ingpat
ter
nsar
ether
easonwhyt
her
eisagr
eatr
angei
n
soi
lpar
ti
clesi
ze.Boul
der
sar
emuchl
essweat
her
edt
hangr
avel
.Inr
etur
n,gr
avel
i
smuchl
essweat
her
edt
hancl
aypar
ti
cles.Cl
aypar
ti
clesmayev
enweat
heri
nto
ot
hermat
eri
als,
suchasi
ronandal
umi
nium oxi
des,
whi
char
egener
all
yresi
stant
t
ofur
therweat
her
ing.I
nthet
ropi
cs,
chemi
calweat
her
ingi
sver
yimpor
tant
.Si
nce
t
he cl
i
mat
eist
ypi
cal
l
ywar
m and moi
sty
ear
-r
ound,i
tpr
ovi
des a sui
tabl
e
env
ironmentf
orcont
inuous chemi
calweat
her
ing t
o occur
.Ov
ert
ime,wi
th
suf
fi
cientamount
sofr
ainf
allandwar
mtemper
atur
es,mi
ner
alpar
ti
clesweat
her
i
ntosmal
l
erandsmal
l
ersoi
lpar
ti
cles.Asar
esul
t,t
ropi
calsoi
l
stendt
obehi
ghl
y
weat
her
edsoi
l
s.

Physi
calweat
her
ing

Phy
sicalweat
her
ingi
sapr
ocesst
hatbr
eaksupanddi
sint
egr
atespar
entr
ock,
or
pr
imar
ymi
ner
als,wi
thi
ntheear
th.I
nthet
ropi
cs,phy
sicalweat
her
ingi
scaused
byt
hewet
ti
nganddr
yingofr
ocks;er
osi
on;act
ionsofpl
ant
sandani
mal
s;ort
he
f
all
i
ng,
smashi
ng,
orbr
eaki
ngofr
ockmat
eri
alsi
ntosmal
l
erpi
eces.

Chemi
calweat
her
ing

Chemi
cal
weat
her
ingi
simpor
tanti
nnut
ri
entmanagementsi
ncet
her
esul
ti
ngsoi
l
par
ti
clesr
etai
nandsuppl
ynut
ri
ent
s.Howev
er,whenhi
ghl
yweat
her
ed,t
hesoi
l
l
osesmuchofi
tsnut
ri
ent
sduet
oexcessi
vel
eachi
ng.Thus,hi
ghl
yweat
her
ed
soi
l
stendt
obei
nfer
ti
lesoi
l
s,whi
l
emoder
atel
yweat
her
edsoi
l
sar
egener
all
y
mor
efer
ti
le.

Oncepar
entr
ockhasbr
okendowni
ntosmal
l
erpi
eces,anot
herpr
ocessact
s
upon t
he r
ock.Thi
s pr
ocess i
schemi
calweat
her
ing.Chemi
calweat
her
ing
i
nvol
ves t
he change,ort
ransf
ormat
ion,ofpr
imar
ymi
ner
alsi
nto secondar
y
mi
ner
als.Secondar
ymi
ner
alsser
veast
hebasi
cbui
l
dingbl
ocksoft
hesmal
l
par
ti
cleswi
tht
hesoi
l
.Asar
esul
t,new mat
eri
alsmaybesy
nthesi
zed,r
esi
dual
mat
eri
almayaccumul
atef
rom mat
eri
als(
suchasoxi
des)whi
chcannotbe
f
urt
her
edweat
her
ed,
ormat
eri
alscanbel
ostast
her
esul
tofl
eachi
ng.

Tabl
e2.I
mpor
tantPr
imar
yMi
ner
alsandWeat
her
edMat
eri
als
I
mpor
tantMi
ner
alsandWeat
her
edMat
eri
alsofBasal
tRocki
nHawai
i

Pr
imar
yMi
ner
alsofBasal
t  Pl
agi
ocl
aseFel
dspar
Rock  Ol
i
vine
 Augi
te
Ot
her
s:magnet
it
e,apat
it
e,i
l
meni
te

Secondar
yMi
ner
als  Smect
it
e, such as mont
mor
il
loni
te (
less
weat
her
ed)
 Kaol
i
n,suchashal
l
oysi
te(
mor
eweat
her
ed)
I
ronOxi
des  Hemat
it
e
 Goet
hit
e
 Magnet
it
e
 Maghemi
te
 Lepi
docr
osi
te
 Fer
ri
hydr
ide

Al
umi
num Oxi
de  Gi
bbsi
te

Amor
phousMi
ner
als  Al
l
ophane
 I
mogol
i
te

Amor
phousSubst
ances Nospeci
fi
cnamesgi
ven

Thesoi
l-
for
mingf
act
ors

Eveni
fal
lsoi
lswer
efor
medt
hrought
hesameweat
her
ingpr
ocesses,
t
heycoul
dst
il
ldi
fferbecauseofot
heri
nfl
uences.Ther
ear
epr
imar
ily
f
ivesoi
l-
for
mingf
act
orsr
esponsi
blef
ort
hedevel
opmentofsoi
ls:

i
) Par
entmat
eri
als
i
i) Cl
imat
e(most
lyt
emper
atur
eandpr
eci
pit
ati
on)
i
ii
) Bi
ospher
e(l
ivi
ngor
gani
smsandor
gani
cresi
dues)
i
v) Topogr
aphy(
slopes,aspect
,andel
evat
ion)
,and
v) Ti
me

Par
ent mat
eri
als-when a soi
lbegi
ns t
o under
go pr
ofi
le changes
becauseofweat
her
ingandl
eachi
ng,t
heor
igi
nalmat
eri
ali
nwhi
cht
he
changesar
ehappeni
ngi
scal
ledt
hepar
entmat
eri
al.Amassofpar
ent
mat
eri
alof
tenhasadi
sti
nctshapewi
thchar
act
eri
sti
cpar
ticl
essi
zes.
Thesechar
act
eri
sti
csmi
ner
aloror
gani
cmassesar
ecal
led l
andf
orms
(
egs.ofl
andf
orms-
mesas,but
tes,pl
ateaus,pl
ains,gl
aci
almor
aines,
t
err
aces et
c). Par
ent mat
eri
als i
nfl
uence soi
lfor
mat
ion by t
hei
r
di
ffer
entr
atesofweat
her
ing,t
henut
rient
stheycont
ainf
orpl
antuse,
and t
he par
ticl
e si
zes cont
ain(
sandst
one = sandy;congl
omer
ates =
r
ocky;shal
es=cl
ayey)
.Thel
essdevel
opedasoi
lis,t
hegr
eat
erwi
llbe
t
heef
fectofpar
entmat
eri
alsont
hepr
oper
tiesoft
hesoi
l.However
,
event
hepr
oper
tiesofwel
l-
devel
opedsoi
lswi
llbegr
eat
lyi
nfl
uencedby
t
hepar
entmat
eri
al.I
nsl
ightweat
her
edsoi
lst
hepar
entmat
eri
almay
be domi
nanti
n det
ermi
ning soi
lpr
oper
ties.I
tis notsur
pri
sing t
hat
manyear
lysoi
lsci
ent
ist
swer
eal
sogeol
ogi
stsandat
tri
but
edt
opar
ent
mat
eri
alst
hedomi
nantr
olei
ndet
ermi
ningt
hepr
oper
tiesofsoi
ls.

Cl
imat
e-i
s an i
ncr
easi
ngl
y domi
nantf
act
ori
n soi
lfor
mat
ion wi
th
i
ncr
eased t
ime,mai
nly because of t
he ef
fectof pr
eci
pit
ati
on and
t
emper
atur
e.Somedi
rectef
fect
sofcl
imat
eonsoi
lfor
mat
ioni
ncl
ude
t
hef
oll
owi
ng:

1.Ashal
low accumul
ati
onorr
etent
ionofl
ime(
car
bonat
es)i
n
ar
eas havi
ng l
ow r
ainf
all occur
s because cal
cium
bi
car
bonat
es(
from di
ssol
vingCO2,mi
ner
als,andl
ime)ar
e
l
eached i
fsuf
fici
entwat
eri
s notpr
esent
.Such soi
ls ar
e
usual
lyal
kal
ine.
2.Aci
dsoi
lsf
ormi
nhumi
dar
easduet
oint
enseweat
her
ing
andl
eachi
ngoutofbasi
ccat
i Ca2+,Na+,Mg2+,K+)
ons( .
3.Er
osi
on of soi
ls on sl
opi
ng l
ands const
ant
lyr
emoves
devel
opi
ngsoi
llayer
s.
4.Deposi
ti
onofsoi
lmat
eri
alsdownsl
opecover
sdevel
opi
ng
soi
ls.
 5.Weat
her
ing,l
eachi
ng,ander
osi
onar
emor
eint
enseandof
l
ongerdur
ati
oni
nwar
m andhumi
dregi
onswher
ethesoi
l
doesnotf
reeze.Ther
ever
sei
str
uei
ncol
dcl
imat
es,asi
n
Al
aska.

Moi
stur
eisi
mpor
tanti
n soi
lfor
mat
ion.A soi
lis sai
dto be
“
devel
oped” when i
t has det
ect
abl
elayer
s(hor
izons)
,such as of
accumul
ati
on ofcl
ays,or
gani
c col
loi
ds,car
bonat
es,orsol
ubl
e sal
ts
t
hathave been moved downwar
d by wat
er.The ext
entof col
loi
d
movementand t
hedept
hofdeposi
ti
onar
epar
tlybyt
heamountand
pat
ter
nofpr
eci
pit
ati
on,whi
chpr
oducet
hel
eachi
ngact
ion.

Cl
imat
e al
so i
nfl
uences soi
lfor
mat
ion i
ndi
rect
lyt
hrough i
ts
act
ion on veget
ati
on.Semi
ari
d cl
imat
es encour
age onl
y scat
ter
ed
shr
ubs and gr
asses.Ar
id cl
imat
es suppl
y onl
y enough moi
stur
efor
spar
se,shor
tgr
assesorshr
ubs,whi
ch maynotbedenseenough t
o
pr
otectt
hesoi
lagai
nstwi
ndandwat
erer
osi
on.Manyar
idsoi
lsexhi
bit
onl
ysl
ightor
gani
cmat
teraccumul
ati
onandsmal
lamount
sofpr
ofi
le
devel
opment
.

Bi
ospher
e- t
he act
ivi
ty of t
he l
ivi
ng pl
ant
s and ani
mal
s and t
he
decomposi
ti
on of t
hei
r or
gani
c wast
es and r
esi
dues (
the l
ivi
ng
envi
ronment
, t
he bi
ospher
e) have mar
ked i
nfl
uence on soi
l
devel
opment
.

Somesoi
lsbeneat
hhumi
dfor
estveget
ati
onmaydevel
opmany
hor
izons,ar
eleached (
washed,el
uvi
ated)i
nthe sur
face l
ayer
s,and
have sl
owl
y decomposi
ng or
gani
c mat
terl
ayer
s on t
he sur
face.I
n
cont
rast
,somegr
assl
andsoi
lsneart
het
ransi
ti
onzoneoff
orest
sar
e
r
ichi
nwel
l-
devel
opedor
gani
cmat
ter
,fr
equent
lyt
odept
hsof30cm or
mor
eint
othemi
ner
alsoi
l.

Bor
rowi
ng ani
mal
s, such as mol
es, gopher
s, pr
air
ie dogs,
ear
thwor
ms,ant
s,andt
ermi
tes,ar
ehi
ghl
yimpor
tanti
nsoi
lfor
mat
ion
when t
heyexi
sti
nlar
ge number
s.Soi
lst
hathar
bormanybur
rowi
ng
ani
mal
s have f
ewerbutdeeperhor
izons because of t
he const
ant
mi
xing wi
thi
nthepr
ofi
le,whi
ch nul
li
fiest
heor
gani
ccol
loi
d and cl
ay
movement
sdownwar
d.

Mi
croor
gani
sms hel
p soi
ldevel
opmentbysl
owl
ydecomposi
ng
or
gani
cmat
terand f
ormi
ng weakaci
dst
hatdi
ssol
vemi
ner
alsf
ast
er
t
hanpur
ewat
er.Someoft
hef
irstpl
ant
stogr
ow onweat
her
ingr
ocks
ar
ecr
ust
-li
kel
ichens,whi
char
ebenef
ici
al(
symbi
oti
c)combi
nat
ionof
al
gaeandf
ungi
.

Topogr
aphy

Theear
th’
ssur
facecont
ouri
scal
ledi
tst
opogr
aphy(
somet
imescal
led
r
eli
ef)
.Topogr
aphy i
nfl
uences soi
lfor
mat
ion pr
imar
ilyt
hrough i
ts
associ
ated wat
er and t
emper
atur
e r
elat
ions. Mat
eri
als l
ying i
n
l
andl
ockeddepr
essi
onsr
ecei
ver
unof
fwat
ersf
rom sur
roundi
nghi
gher
ar
eas.Such condi
ti
ons f
avor gr
eat
er pr
oduct
ion of veget
ati
on but
sl
ower decomposi
ti
on of dead pl
ant r
emai
ns because of oxygen
def
ici
ency i
n wat
erl
ogged (
sat
urat
ed)soi
l;t
hisr
esul
tsi
n soi
ls wi
th
l
arge amountofor
gani
c accumul
ati
ons.I
fthe ar
ea above t
he soi
l
sur
facei
swetf
ormanymont
hsoft
heyear
,or
gani
c(peatormuck)
soi
ls devel
op. I
fthe accumul
ati
ng wat
ers di
ssol
ve sal
ts f
rom
sur
roundi
ngsoi
ls,t
hedepr
essi
onmaybecomeasal
tcondi
ti
onswi
th
nopl
ant
satal
l.Whensoi
lsont
hewat
ershedar
est
rongl
yaci
dic,i
ron
mayl
eachf
rom t
hem andbedeposi
tedi
ndepr
essi
onst
ofor
m bogi
ron
(
limoni
te)
.

Ti
me

The l
engt
h oft
ime r
equi
red f
ora soi
lto devel
op t
he di
sti
nctl
ayer
s
cal
led genet
ic hor
izons depends upon many i
nter
rel
ated f
act
ors of
cl
imat
e,nat
ureoft
hepar
entmat
eri
al,t
heor
gani
sms,andt
opogr
aphy.
Hor
izons t
end t
o devel
op f
ast
er under war
m, humi
d, f
orest
ed
condi
ti
onswher
ether
eisadequat
ewat
ert
omovecol
loi
ds(
subvi
sibl
e-
si
zedcl
ays,humus,andot
hermat
eri
als)
.Soi
ldevel
opmentpr
oceedsat
ar
atet
hati
sacombi
nat
ion oft
heef
fect
sofpl
ust
hei
ntensi
ti
esof
cl
imat
eandbi
ota(
organi
sms)
,fur
thermodi
fiedbyt
heef
fectofl
and
r
eli
ef(
topogr
aphy)onwhi
cht
hesoi
lissi
tuat
edandt
heki
ndofpar
ent
mat
eri
alf
rom whi
ch i
tis devel
opi
ng.The soi
ls on di
ffer
ent
-aged
sur
faceshavebeenf
ormi
ngf
ort
hedi
ffer
entl
engt
hsoft
ime.Recent
deposi
tshavel
it
tlesoi
ldevel
opment
;landsur
facesexposedt
housands
ofyear
smayhavewel
l-
devel
opedpr
ofi
lest
hatar
equi
tedi
ffer
ent
.

I
nter
act
ionsofsoi
l-
for
mingf
act
ors

The f
ormat
ion ofsoi
lis a di
ver
se and compl
expr
ocess,wi
th ef
fect
f
rom t
hef
ivemaj
orf
act
orswor
kingi
ncombi
nat
ion.Fori
nst
ance,soi
l
wi
th good dr
ainage (
topogr
aphy or par
ent mat
eri
al) and mi
ld
t
emper
atur
e and hi
gh r
ainf
all(
cli
mat
e)wi
llpr
obabl
y suppor
tampl
e
pl
antl
ife(
biospher
e)becausef
avor
abl
edr
ainagepr
ovi
desanaer
ated
l
ocat
ionf
ort
hepl
antr
oot
s.Thepl
ant
s,i
ntur
n,decompose,pr
oduci
ng
CO2,whi
chcombi
neswi
thwat
erf
rom r
ainf
allt
ofor
m car
boni
caci
d(H+
andHCO3-)
.Aci
dit
yincr
easest
hesol
ubi
li
tyofpar
entmat
eri
al;sodi
um,
pot
assi
um,cal
cium,andmagnesi
um ar
edi
ssol
vedandl
eachawayi
n
t
hedr
aini
ng soi
lwat
er,and t
hesoi
lbecomesevermor
eaci
dic.Hi
gh
r
ainf
allal
so moves some cl
ays and smal
lor
gani
c mat
terpar
ticl
es
deeperi
ntot
hesoi
l.

The same cl
imat
e(or cl
ayey par
ent mat
eri
al) but di
ffer
ent
t
opogr
aphymi
ghtpr
oducewat
erl
oggedsoi
l(whi
chhaspoordr
ainage)
.
Poordr
ainage r
esul
tsi
n st
agnantwat
erand non-
aer
ated soi
l,of
ten
wi
thr
esul
tantpoorpl
antgr
owt
handdecr
easedr
atesofor
gani
cmat
ter
decomposi
ti
on.

Ar
easofhi
gh r
ainf
alland good dr
ainaget
ypi
cal
lydevel
op aci
d
soi
ls,hor
izonsofor
gani
cmat
teraccumul
ati
oni
ntheupperl
ayer
s,and
movementofcol
loi
dsoutofupperhor
izonsandaccumul
ati
oni
nthe
deeperhor
izons.

Soi
lpr
ofi
leandi
tsdev
elopment
Thei
nter
act
ionoft
hef
ivesoi
l
-for
mingf
act
ors;t
ime,cl
i
mat
e,par
entmat
eri
al,
t
opogr
aphy
,andpl
antandani
mall
i
fe,r
esul
tint
hedev
elopmentofasoi
lpr
ofi
l
e.
A soi
lpr
ofi
l
eisa v
ert
icalsect
ion oft
hesoi
lbegi
nni
ng att
hesur
faceand
ext
endi
ngdowni
ntot
heunconsol
i
dat
edunder
lyi
ngmat
eri
alt
oadept
hof50cm
ormor
e.Thepr
ofi
l
eismadeupofl
ayer
s,r
unni
ngpar
all
elt
othesur
face,cal
l
ed
Soi
lHor
izons.Eachhor
izonmaybesl
i
ght
lyorv
erydi
ff
erentf
rom t
heot
herabov
e
orbel
ow i
t.Each hor
izon t
ell
sast
oryaboutt
hemakeup,age,t
ext
ureand
char
act
eri
sti
csoft
hatl
ayer
.Mostsoi
l
shav
ethr
eemaj
orhor
izons.Thesear
eA
Hor
izon,
BHor
izon,
andOHor
izon.Asi
det
heset
hree,
ther
ear
eal
sot
heO,
Eand
Rhor
izons.

TheOhor
izon-i
sver
ycommoni
nmanysur
faceswi
thl
otsofv
eget
ati
ve
cov
er.I
tist
hel
ayermadeupofor
gani
cmat
eri
alssuchasdeadl
eav
esand
sur
faceor
gani
sms,t
wigsandf
all
ent
rees.I
thasabout20%or
gani
cmat
ter
.Iti
s
possi
blet
o see v
ari
ous l
evel
s ofdecomposi
ti
on occur
ri
ng her
e(mi
nimal
,
moder
atel
y,hi
ghl
yandcompl
etel
ydecomposedor
gani
cmat
ter
).Thi
shor
izoni
s
of
tenbl
ackordar
kbr
owni
ncol
or,
becauseofi
tsor
gani
ccont
ent
.

TheA hor
izon-maybeseeni
ntheabsenceoft
heO hor
izon,usual
l
y
knownast
het
opsoi
l
.Iti
sthet
opl
ayersoi
l
sformanygr
assl
andsandagr
icul
tur
al
l
ands.Ty
pical
l
y,t
heyar
emadeofsand,si
l
tandcl
aywi
thhi
ghamount
sof
or
gani
cmat
ter
.Thi
slay
eri
smostv
ulner
abl
etowi
ndandwat
erer
osi
on.I
tisal
so
knownast
her
ootzone.

TheEhor
izon-i
susual
l
yli
ght
eri
ncol
or,
oft
enbel
owt
heOandAhor
izons.
I
tisof
tenr
ichi
nnut
ri
ent
sthatar
eleachedf
rom t
het
opAandOhor
izons.I
thas
al
owercl
aycont
entandar
ecommoni
nfor
est
edl
andsorar
easwi
thhi
ghqual
i
ty
OandAhor
izons.

TheB-
hor
izon-hassomesi
mil
ari
ti
eswi
tht
heE-
hor
izon.Thi
shor
izoni
s
f
ormedbel
ow t
heO,AandEhor
izonsandmaycont
ainhi
ghconcent
rat
ionsof
si
l
icat
ecl
ay,i
ron,al
umi
num andcar
bonat
es.I
tisal
socal
l hei
edt l
luvi
ati
onzone
becauseoft
heaccumul
ati
onofmi
ner
als.I
tist
hel
ayeri
nwhi
cht
her
oot
sofbi
g
t
reesend.
 TheChor
izon-l
acksal
lthepr
oper
ti
esoft
hel
ayer
sabov
eit
.Iti
smai
nly
madeupofbr
okenbedr
ockandnoor
gani
cmat
eri
al.I
thascement
edsedi
ment
andgeol
ogi
cmat
eri
al.Ther
eisl
i
ttl
eact
ivi
tyher
eal
thoughaddi
ti
onsandl
osses
ofsol
ubl
emat
eri
alsmayoccur
.TheChor
izoni
sal
soknownassapr
oli
te.

TheR hor
izon-i
sbedr
ock,mat
eri
al,compact
edandcement
edbyt
he
wei
ghtoft
heov
erl
yi
nghor
izons.I
tist
heunweat
her
edpar
entmat
eri
al.Rock
t
ypesf
oundher
eincl
udegr
ani
te,
basal
tandl
i
mest
one.
 SOI
LPHYSI
CALFACTORS
Thephy
sicalpr
oper
ti
esofsoi
l
s– t
ext
ure,st
ruct
ure,densi
ty,por
osi
ty,wat
er
cont
ent
,consi
stency
,temper
atur
e,andcol
or-ar
edomi
nantf
act
orsaf
fect
ingt
he
useofasoi
l
.Thesepr
oper
ti
esdet
ermi heav
net ail
abi
l
ityofoxygeni
nsoi
l
s,t
he
mobi
l
ityofwat
eri
ntoort
hroughsoi
l
s, heeaseofr
andt ootpenet
rat
ion.

Thet
housandsofdi
ff
erentsoi
l
swi
l
lexhi
bitmul
ti
tudi
nous/
count
less
di
ff
erences.Casualobser
vat
ionofdi
ff
erentsoi
l
swi
l
lrev
ealv
ary
ingamount
sof
st
onesandpebbl
es;coar
seandf
inesands;f
inepowder
ysoi
l
,whi
chhasadr
y
t
ext
uresi
mil
art
ofl
our(
sil
ts)
;cl
ays(
thesmal
l
estoft
hesoi
lpar
ti
cles)
;lumpsor
cl
ods,whi
char
esoi
lpar
ti
clescement
edbycl
aysandor
gani
cmat
ter
;li
vi
ngand
deadpl
antmat
eri
als;t
hedar
kremnant
sofdecomposedor
gani
csubst
ances
(
humus)
;andani
mal
li
fesuchasant
sandear
thwor
ms.

Themi
croscopi
csoi
lwor
ldasseenbymi
nut
eor
gani
smssuchas
bact
eri
aandnemat
odesi
sar
ought
err
ain.Sand,si
l
ts,andcl
aysar
ecl
umped
t
oget
her
,wi
tht
ort
uousandi
rr
egul
aropenpor
esofal
lsi
zest
hroughoutt
hesoi
l
mass.I
nundi
stur
bedsoi
l(uncul
ti
vat
edorbel
ow t
il
lagedept
h),por
esmaybe
l
i
nedwi
thpr
eci
pit
atedcal
cium car
bonat
es,deposi
tedl
ayer
sofcl
ay,i
ronoxi
des,
orot
hermat
eri
als.Themi
croscopi
cwor
ldi
saf
asci
nat
ingone,butst
il
llar
gel
y
unexpl
ored.

Soi
lText
ures

Text
urer
efer
stot
her
elat
ivepr
opor
ti
onsofpar
ti
clesofv
ari
oussi
zessuchas
sand,si
l
tandcl
ayi
nthesoi
l
.Text
urei
sani
mpor
tantsoi
lchar
act
eri
sti
cbecause
i
twi
l
l,i
npar
t,det
ermi
newat
eri
ntaker
ates(
absor
pti
on)
,wat
erst
oragei
nthesoi
l
,
t
heeaseoft
il
li
ngt
hesoi
l
,theamountofaer
ati
on(
vit
alr
ootgr
owt
h),andwi
l
l
i
nfl
uencesoi
lfer
ti
li
ty.Fori
nst
ance,acoar
sesandysoi
liseasyt
oti
l
l,haspl
ent
y
ofaer
ati
onf
orgoodr
ootgr
owt
h,andi
seasi
l
ywet
ted,
buti
tal
sodr
iesr
api
dlyand
easi
l
ylosespl
antnut
ri
ent
s,whi
char
edr
ainedawayi
nther
api
dlyl
ostwat
er.Hi
gh
-
claysoi
l
s(ov
er30% cl
ay)hav
ever
ysmal
lpar
ti
clest
hatf
itt
ight
lyt
oget
her
,
l
eav
ingl
i
ttl
eopenpor
espace,whi
chmeanst
her
eisl
i
ttl
eroom f
orwat
ert
ofl
ow
i
ntot
hesoi
l
.Thi
smakeshi
gh-
claysoi
l
sdi
ff
icul
ttowet
,di
ff
icul
ttodr
ain,and
di
ff
icul
ttot
il
l.

Soi
ltext
uralcl
asses

Text
uralnamesar
egi
vent
osoi
l her
sbasedupont elat
ivepr
opor
ti
onsofeachof
t
he t
hree soi
l separ
ates-
sand, si
l
t, and cl
ay. Soi
l
s t
hat ar
e
pr
eponder
ant
ly/
gener
all
ycl
ayar
ecal
l
edcl
ay(
text
uralcl
ass)
;thosewi
thhi
ghsi
l
t
cont
entar
esi
lt(
text
uralcl
ass)
;thosewi
thahi
ghsandper
cent
agear
esand
(
text
uralcl
ass)
.Asoi
lthatdoesnotexhi
bitt
hedomi
nantphy
sicalpr
oper
ti
esof
anyoft
heset
hreegr
oups(
suchasasoi
lwi
th40%sand,20%cl
ay,and40%si
l
t)
i
scal
l
edl
oam.Act
ual
l
y,l
oam doesnotcont
ainequalper
cent
agesofsand,si
l
t,
andcl
ay.

Thet
ext
uralt
ri
angl
e(bel
ow)i
susedt
odet
ermi
net
hesoi
ltext
ural
name af
tert
he per
cent
ages ofsand,si
l
t,and cl
ayar
e det
ermi
ned f
rom a
l
abor
ator
yanal
ysi
s.
TheSoi
lText
ural
Tri
angl
e

I
nusi
ngt
hedi
agr
am,
thepoi
ntscor
respondi
ngt
otheper
cent
agesofsi
l
tandcl
ay
pr
esenti
nthesoi
lunderconsi
der
ati
onar
elocat
edont
hesi
l
tandcl
ayl
i
nes
r
espect
ivel
y.Li
nesar
ethenpr
oject
edi
nwar
d,par
all
eli
nthef
ir
stcaset
othecl
ay
si
deoft
het
ri
angl
eandi
nthesecondcasepar
all
elt
othesandsi
de.Thenameof
t
hecompar
tmenti
nwhi
cht
het
wol
i
nesi
nter
secti
sthecl
assnameoft
hesoi
lin
quest
ion.Forexampl
esasoi
lcont
aini
ng15% cl
ay,20% si
l
tand65% sandi
s
sandyl
oam andasoi
lcont
aini
ngequalamount
sofsand,si
l
tandcl
ayi
scl
ay
l
oam.

Si
ncet
hesoi
l
’st
ext
uralcl
assi
fi
cat
ioni
ncl
udesonl
ymi
ner
alpar
ti
cles
andt
hoseofl
esst
han2mm di
amet
er,t
hesandpl
ussi
l
tpl
uscl
ayper
cent
ages
equal100per
cent
.Knowi
ngt
heamountofanyt
wof
ract
ionsaut
omat
ical
l
yfi
xes
t
heper
cent
ageoft
het
hir
done.I
nreadi
ngt
het
ext
uralt
ri
angl
e,anyt
wopar
ti
cle
f
ract
ionswi
l
llocat
ethet
ext
ural
classatt
hepoi
ntwher
ethoset
woi
nter
sect
.

Mi
ner
alf
ragment
sint
hesoi
llar
gert
han2mm i
ndi
amet
erbutl
ess
t
han25cm (
grav
elsandcobbl
es)mustbeconsi
der
edapar
toft
hesoi
lbecause
t
heygr
eat
lyi
nfl
uencei
tsuse.I
nthecl
assi
fi
cat
ionandmappi
ngofsoi
l
s,t
he
namesoft
hesef
ragment
spr
ecedet
het
ext
uralnameoft
hesoi
l
.Foreg,i
fa
sandyl
oam cont
ainsov
er20%gr
avel
,thet
ext
uralnamebecomesgr
avel
l
ysandy
l
oam.Al
so,i
fthel
argef
ragment
scompr
isemor
ethan50% oft
hesoi
lwei
ght
,
“
ver
y”i
saddedt
othesoi
ltext
ural ver
name- ygr
avel
l
ysandyl
oam.

Par
ti
cle-
size(
mechani
cal
)anal
ysi
s(Not
e:cal
cul
ati
on)
Thepr
ocedur
eusedt
osepar
ateasoi
li
ntov
ari
oussi
zegr
oupsf
rom t
hecoar
sest
sand,t
hrough si
l
t,t
othe f
inestcl
ay,i
s par
ti
cle-
size anal
ysi
s(mechani
cal
anal
ysi
s).Fort
hispur
pose,t
hemi
ner
almat
terl
esst
han2mm i
ndi
amet
eri
s
consi
der
edsepar
atel
yfr
om t
hel
argerpar
ti
cles.Al
llar
gerr
ocks,pebbl
es,r
oot
s,
andot
herr
ubbl
ear
eremov
ed(
andmeasur
ed)byscr
eeni
ngt
hef
inersoi
lpar
ts
t
hrougha2-
mm si
evebef
oreanal
ysi
s.

Soi
lst
ruct
ure

Soi
ltext
urei
sther
elat
ivepr
opor
ti
onofsands,si
l
t,andcl
ayi
nasoi
l
;howt
hese
par
ti
cles ar
e gr
ouped t
oget
heri
nto st
abl
e col
l
ect
ions oraggr
egat
es i
s soi
l
st
ruct
ure.Hence,
soi
lst
ruct
urer
efer
stot
heaggr
egat
ionofpr
imar
ysoi
lpar
ti
cles
(
sand,
sil
tandcl
ay)i
ntocompoundpar
ti
clesorcl
ust
erofpr
imar
ypar
ti
cleswhi
ch
ar
esepar
atedbyt
headj
oini
ngaggr
egat
esbysur
facesofweakness.Aggr
egat
es
ar
esecondar
yuni
tsorgr
anul
escomposedofmanysoi
lpar
ti
clesboundor
cement
edt
oget
herbyor
gani
csubst
ances,
ironoxi
des,
car
bonat
es,
clay
s,and/
or
si
l
ica.Nat
uralaggr
egat
esar
ecal
l
edpedsandv
aryi
nthei
rwat
erst
abi
l
ity
;and
cl
odi
susedf
oracoher
entmassofsoi
lbr
okeni
ntoanyshapebyar
ti
fi
cial
means
suchasbyt
il
lage.Twot
ermsar
eof
tenconf
usedwi
thaped.Onei
saf
ragment
,
whi
chconsi
stsofapi
eceofabr
okenped,
andt
heot
heri
saconcr
eti
onwhi
chi
s
acoher
entmassf
ormedwi
thi
nthesoi
lbyt
hepr
eci
pit
ati
onofcer
tai
nchemi
cal
s
di
ssol
vedi
nper
col
ati
ng(
seepage)wat
ers.

St
ruct
uremodi
fi
est
heef
fectoft
ext
urei
nregar
dtomoi
stur
eandai
r
r
elat
ionshi
ps,
avai
l
abi
l
ityofnut
ri
ent
s,act
ionofmi
croor
gani
smsandr
ootgr
owt
h.
E.
g.ahi
ghl
ypl
ast
iccl
ay(
60% cl
ay)i
sgoodf
orcr
oppr
oducti
fithasawel
l
-
dev
elopedgr
anul
arst
ruct
urewhi
chf
aci
l
itat
esaer
ati
onandwat
ermov
ement
.
Si
mil
arl
yasoi
lthoughhasaheav
ytext
ure,canhav
east
rongl
ydev
eloped
st
ruct
ure,t
husmaki
ngi
tnotv
erysat
isf
act
oryf
oraquacul
tur
easar
esul
toft
his
soi
lal
l
owi
nghi
ghseepagel
osses.

Soi
lst
ruct
uralcl
asses

Soi
lst
ruct
ureuni
ts(
peds)i
sdef
inedi
nter
msofgr
ade(
str
engt
hofcohesi
on)
,
cl
ass(
size)andt
ype(
shape)ofaggr
egat
es.

Gr
ade-i
sthedegr
eeofaggr
egat
ionandexpr
essest
hedi
ff
erent
ialbet
ween
cohesi
onwi
thi
naggr
egat
esandadhesi
onbet
weenaggr
egat
es.Thesepr
oper
ti
es
v
arywi
tht
hemoi
stur
econt
entoft
hesoi
landi
tshoul
dbedet
ermi
nedwhent
he
moi
stur
econt
enti
snor
mal-notwhenunusual
l
ydr
yorunusual
l
ywet
.Thef
our
maj
orgr
adesofst
ruct
urer
atedf
rom 0t
o3ar
eli
stedbel
ow.

St
ruct
urel
ess

0- Noobser
vabl
eaggr
egat
ion.Soi
l
shav
enonot
iceabl
epeds.I
tmi
ght
beanunconsol
i
dat
edmasssuchasnon-
coher
entsandandi
s
cal
l
edsi
ngl
egr
ain,ori
tmi
ghtbeacohesi
vemass,suchcoul
d
occuri
nsomel
oamsorcl
ayeysoi
l
s,andi
scal
l
edmassi
ve.

St
ruct
ured
 1-Weak: Her
e,pedsar
ebar
elydi
sti
ngui
shabl
einpar hemoi
toft st
soi
l
;onl
yaf
ewdi
sti
nctpedscanbesepar
atedf
rom t
hesoi
l
mass.

2-Moder
ate:Pedsar
evi
sibl
einpl
ace;manycanbehandl
edwi
thoutt
hei
r
br
eaki
ng

3-St
rong: Dur
abl
eaggr
egat
est
hatar
equi
teev
identi
nundi
stur
bedsoi
l
t
hatadher
eweakl
ytooneanot
her
.Mostoft
hesoi
lmassi
s
v
isi
bleaspeds,mostoft
hesoi
lmassi
svi
sibl
easpeds,
mostofwhi
ch can be handl
ed wi
th ease wi
thoutt
hei
r
br
eaki
ng.