Soil formation
Soil is formed through the breakdown of parent rock by the process of weathering i.e. physical and chemical weathering which therefore lead to the decomposition and disintegration of rock into soil (Chen et al., 2000).The weathered material may later be transformed by other soil forming processes to give a wide range of soil types. Soil formed may thereafter combine with organic matter to give an ideal soil type. Soil formation is an outcome of a wide range of conditions (Van Breemen and Buurman 2002)
Factors affecting soil formation
Soils are formed through the interaction of five major factors.
Nature of the parent material/parent rock
Climate
Living organisms
Relief
Time
Nature of the parent material
Parent material is defined as the unconsolidated mineral and organic material from which soils are formed. It is also defined as the initial state of the soil and the rock material which breaks down into rock particles, thus determining the nature of the soil in terms of fertility, mineral composition, depth, texture, structure, colour, permeability/drainage and final soil profile (Jenny 1994). According to Esu (1999) it is the major soil factor which contributes to the differences in the soil
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Relief has a strong influence on the distribution of soils on a landscape and its type influences the rate and type of the soils formed (Coleman et al., 2004).Steep, long slopes mean water will run down faster and possibly wash away the surfaces of the slopes, thus resulting to poor soils on the slopes, and richer deposits at the foot of the slopes (Kononova, 2013). Also, if slopes are exposed to more direct sunlight, this may dry out soil moisture and reduce its fertility. However, there will be an increase in rate of soil formation because the parent rocks will be exposed to further weathering by erosion. Thus, on the gentle slopes, soil tend to be well developed (Jenny
Of course, you can’t forget the abiotic factors! Basically, just telling a bit more about the landscape. First, we have the physical features. The landscape of the slope impacts plant growth, hurts natural ecosystems by erosion, and unfortunately destroys the homes of animals. Although, animals and structures adapt to the slopes. T...
The European settlers who first arrived at the Great Plains found hardy grasslands that held the fine-grained soil in place in spite of the long recurrent droughts and occasional torrential rains. A large number of the travelers settled down in this area and built farms and ranches. These land uses led to soil exposure and great erosion. The cattle ranches were very profitable for the settlers; unfortunately, this led to overgrazing and degradation of the soil. In addition, farmers began to plow the natural grass cover and plant their own crops. Without the original root systems of the grass to anchor the soil, much of it blew away. The wide row crops were very disastrous because between the crops, the land was kept bare; as a result, this area was exposed to the elements. Also, the nutrients in the soil were used up by the plants faster than they could be replaced. The soil had become exhausted.
Soil regions of the Montane Cordillera include mostly Complex soils of mountain areas and Dry-climate soils. There are various types of soils in the Montane Cordillera because of the wide range of temperatures, rainfall, and elevations throughout the ecozone. However, the most common soil is Brunisol soil, which is typically located under the dry pine forests of south-central British Columbia but is not very good for agriculture because it is very acidic.
Mississippi has a variety of different soils .The three general soils are 1) the river flood plain, known as the Delta, 2) a loess region, or bands of soils formed in windblown material that adjoins the Delta, and 3) Coastal Plain. The Mississippi Delta is better for growing row crop, while the loess and Coastal Plain region are better for animal production and forestry. The loess and Coastal Plain regions are divided based on similar soils, geology, climate, water resources, and land use called Major Land Resource Areas. The Mississippi Delta’s soil comes from sediments left by flooding various rivers in the region, rather than being a typical Delta formed by the mouth of a river. In the Delta most of the land is farmed, with three-fourths of the cropland to the north. Controlling surface water and drainage are major soil management issues. In the Delta soils are naturally diverse because of their alluvial origin. Particle sizes within the sediment decrease as distance from the originating stream increase. Another factor in Delta soil formation us surface water movement over time, because soils that formed under standing water have different properties than soils formed under moving water. Soils with large amounts of clay particles have unique features. When the soil is dry, small round aggregates form at the surface that look like shotgun buckshot, which is where the popular name for Delta clay soils “buckshot” came from. Soils with large clay content have very slow water filtration rates; this has led to significant aquaculture and rice production in the region. When floodwaters receded in the Delta, strong winds blew some of the dry sediment left by flooded river to the adjacent uplands to form the loess areas. Because of eas...
The rock coquina is originally a sedimentary rock. Sedimentary rocks are made up of sediments. The sediments are formed by the mechanical or chemical activities of the natural activities like running water, blowing wind, glaciers etc. this which causes disintegration and decomposition of the pre-existing rocks. The products of decay are transported to some depositional sites by the natural agencies, where they get deposited and with subsequent compaction form sedimentary rocks (Hefferan, O’Brien, 2010). . The sedimentary rocks usually accumulate under a great variety of conditions. This shows the variation in rock, chemical structure as well as in texture. Weathering is the most important process that operates in the formation of sedimentary rocks. Weathering takes place by three methods as: mechanical disintegration, rock decomposition, and biological weathering. Mechanical disintegration is due to frost action, thermal expansion and contraction, aided with gravitational forces. Due to mechanical disintegration, the reduction of size and desegregation of rocks takes place. Chemical weathering is the use of the chemical elements of the atmosphere such as moisture, carbon dioxide, and oxygen (Hefferan, O’Brien, 2010). . This depends on the composition of the rock and the size of the particles that make up them. Biological weathering is a form of weathering caused by growth of roots and burrowing of animals. The environment of a sedimentary rock can show the deposition the quality and quantity of the deposition is affected. Sedi¬mentary rocks differ from environment to environment. These environments include the continental environments such as estuarine, lacustrine (fresh and salt water), deltaic, glacial. Anothe...
Desert pavements are common landforms in arid regions. They consist of flat or sloping surfaces where stones are closely packed angular or rounded, and generally exhibit low relief (Mabbutt, 1977). Pavements tend to form on both alluvial fan toposequences and on weathering volcanic flow fields in arid regions. Soils are often found under desert pavements and they play an important role in the evolution of pavements (McFadden et. al., 1987). In the past there have been several theories as to the formation pavements and soil development beneath them. Deflation, or the erosion of finer grained particles from a surface, stone concentration by wash erosion and upward displacement of stone due to shrink and swell clay characteristics were at one time believed to be the main factors in the formation of desert pavements (Mabbutt, 1977). However, more recent research has shown that desert pavements are born and maintained at the surface, and that the soil below them is mainly eolian in origin. Slow accretion of eolian dust below the pavement is a process that eventually develops cumulate horizons. Eolian dust in environments where pavements often develop is rich in carbonate salts and clays due to the fact it often originates from nearby playa lake evaporate basins (McFadden et. al., 1987). Soils that form below the pavements over time develop calcic horizons and clay rich structure due to the influx of these eolian fines through the pavement surface. In turn the development of mature or plugged calcic horizons effects the form of the pavement surface because it alters the water drainage infiltration rate and causes pavements to decline.
The rich dark soil of Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Kansas, and Colorado—an area also known as the Great Plains—formed from thousands of years of soil forming factors in action (Surviving the Dust Bowl). From the beginning of human populations living in the area, the soils, for the most part, remained untouched and unscathed by the plow. Thick prairie grasses covered the area and held the soils in the ground even during the periodic times of drought. This area of land was suitable for grazing practices and it was in this area that the large cattle ranches flourished. Little did the newly arrived farmers realize that this seemingly plentiful land followed a pattern of several years of rain followed by several years of drought and high winds.
Gloria Reuben once stated, “Mother Nature's mercy and forgiveness have run dry, as we ceaselessly abuse her and take her for granted in order for us to continue our addiction to using fossil fuels.” Reuben is suggesting that the addiction to burning fossil fuels abuses nature consistently and humans take our natural resources for granted. The world has a heavy dependency upon fossil fuels such as oil, methane, coal, gas and petroleum. As population and industry grows and reliance on these non-renewable energy sources multiplies, how are fossil fuels negatively impacting Earth? The adverse effects of fossil fuels is staggering. Fossil fuels are responsible for human fatalities, gargantuan environmental risks and environmental hazards. Stepping toward renewable energy resources and cutting fossil fuel emissions creates a greener, cleaner and safer planet for all.
(Ant)arctic (high-latitude) and alpine (mountain) areas are affected by relatively similar climates, as latitude and altitude produce similar meteorologic effects. In these geographic regions where temperature is at such a pronounced extreme, climate would seem to be the leading factor of soil development. It is my goal in this research paper to answer the following question: How do the soils of arctic and alpine areas differ? This idea, taken largely from an abstract by Birkeland (1975), will be explored through the comparison of the soils of these two geographic regions, and an analysis of the soil development factors in those environments.
Porosity is the amount of air space in a soil. There are two types of
Soil degradation is a serious global environmental problem and may be exacerbated by climate change. It encompasses physical, chemical and biological deterioration.
Eutrophication comes from the Greek word "eutrophos" meaning well-nourished. In other words, this natural process found in water occurs as a result of additional rich nutrients forming a flourish in plant production.
Soil is the most important non-renewable resource on any farm. Healthy soil is key to a good
As a result of this process, the mine sites "do not develop normal soil structure or support the establishment of a plant cover". Many mine sites have...
When studying plant nutrition, it is important to analyze the sources of the nutrition. Plants absorb their nutrients using their roots in the soil, however soil is not a uniform nutritive source. The plant’s wellbeing depends greatly on the quality, composition, and thickness of the soil. To help categorize such a broad topic, scientists have implemented a naming scheme for the different levels of soil. The first layer is closest to ...