CHAPTER 2 : SOIL FORMATION (SOIL GENESIS)

What is soil?

 It is a natural body covering parts of the earth surface that supports plant growth, that has
properties due to the integrated effect of climate and organisms acting upon the parent
material, as conditioned by relief, over a period of time.

Soil Formation

- Production of unconsolidated material by weathering processes.

Process of soil formation

 Formation of soil takes thousands or tens of thousands of years depending on the environment
on which the parent material is located.
 Soils vary from place to place because the intensity of the factors is different at different
locations.
 A soil profile develops various characteristics over time (soil undergoes pedogenesis and
develops horizons).
 The intensity of the process varies with location because of the Six Soil Forming Factors.

Soil formation factor

1. Parent Material

The origin of soil is parent material. The primary material from which soils are formed can be
rocks/minerals and organic material.

• bedrock,

• organic material,

• an old soil surface, or

• a deposit from water, wind, glaciers, volcanoes, or material moving down a slope.
What is the Origin of Soil?

Three (3) types of Parent Material are:

 Residual Parent Material (From Bedrock): product of underlying rock (product of in situ
weathering)
 Transported Parent Material: the soil has been transported away from its place of origin.
 Accumulated Parent Material: organic deposition

Classification of Parent Materials

1. Formed “in-place” from rock - Residual

2. “Transported by agents”

• Gravity (Colluvium)

• Wind (Loess/ Aeolian)

• Water:

• Rivers (Alluvium)

• Lakes (Lacustrine)

• Oceans (Marine)

3. Accumulated plant debris - Organic

Example of Residual PM (Parent material)

 Sandstone
 Limestone
 Basalt
 Granite
Transported Parent Materials

- Parent material has been carried from elsewhere and deposited

- Agent of transport:

 Water
 Wind
 Glacial ice
 Gravity
 Volcanic deposits

2. Climate

 Temperature – Warmer; Faster soil development- Cooler; Slower soil development

 Precipitation - higher rainfall - greater leaching
 Leaching Index- Precipitation – Evapotranspiration; the amount of effective rainfall that can
cause soil leaching

3. Vegetation/Organism (biotic)

• Animal - soil mixing

• E.g.: earthworms, crawfish, scorpions, gophers

• This mixing can result in the destruction of horizons

• Vegetation - Addition of organic matter (OM).

• Prairie ~ OM added to upper 2 ft. (24 inches) of soil due to fibrous root system of grass plants.
4. Topography or Landscape position

• Affects soil physical, chemical and biological properties including soil depth, type of soil, texture,
vegetation etc.

• The angle and length of the slope affects soil formation because it influences:

 Runoff, drainage, and erosion

 Type and amount of plant growth (biggest factor in determining type and amount of organic
matter)

Catena: A series of different soil profiles that occur down a slope due to differences in their drainage
(depth to water table).

Drainage classes:

 Well-drained
 Moderately well-drained
 Somewhat poorly drained
 Poorly drained

Topography – erosion & deposition

a) Summit and backslope

 Summit (puncak) will have minimum erosion and maximum soil development (greatest
horizonation).
 Backslope will be similar to summit unless slope is steeper (>20%).
b) Shoulder

• Greatest erosion

• Least water infiltration

• Greatest runoff

- Thus, minimal soil development.

c) Footslope

• Deposition of materials from upslope:

• May be near water table

• May have greatest leaching due to water from upslope and rainfall

Effect of topography on soil formation

5. Time

• Vegetation and Climate act on the Parent Material and Topography over Time.

• Soil age is determined by its development and not the actual number of years it has been developing.

• How long it takes for a soil to become old depends on the intensity of the soil forming processes or
intensity of the other 4 soil forming factors

What happens to a soil with time

• Loss of nutrients (bases) = lower pH or soil becomes more acid.

• Increase in concentration of iron or soil becomes redder in color.

• Increase in clay content or old soils have more clay

• Deeper weathering into the parent material

SOIL FORMATION VS SOIL DEVELOPMENT

What is the difference between the two?

• The terms are usually used interchangeably and loosely

• However:

• Soil Formation: the production of the unconsolidated material by weathering processes.

• Soil Development (soil profile): the changes occurring within the loose or unconsolidated material
over time in the development of horizons.

In general, the process of soil formation and development consists of 3 sequential stages, which tend to
blend into one another:

1. Weathering of the parent material – forming

2. Formation of clay and accumulation of organic matter - development

3. Translocation of matter and differentiation of horizons – development

Factors that retard (slow down) soil profile development

 low rainfall
 high lime content
 high clay content
 steep slopes
 cold temperature
 severe erosion
 low humidity
 high quartz
 toxic substances
 high water table
 constant deposition
 mixing by biotic
 (human/animals)

Pedogenesis

 The process by which soils develop is referred as Pedogenesis.

 It is the development of a soil profile.
 It involves a gradual and progressive series of processes.

SOIL DEVELOPMENT PROCESS

ADDITIONS

- Addition of outside materials.

- Examples:

 Input of organic matter from fallen plant leaves

 Addition of dust particles from wind

TRANSLOCATIONS

 Movement of inorganic and organic materials laterally (horizontally) within a horizon or

vertically from one horizon up or down to another.
 Translocation agents are movement of water downwards by gravity or rising up by capillary
action.
TRANSFORMATIONS

- Changes from one form to another.

- Examples:

 Organic matter to humus - Decomposition of organic residues to produce organic acids, humus
and other products
 Primary minerals to clay – Quartz to silicate clay (kaolinite)

LOSSES

- Loss of materials from the soil profile.

- Examples:

 Losses through leaching and to groundwater (losses of water, salts or silica broken from parent
materials or organic acids from microorganisms)
 Losses of humus, clay and silt through erosion
 Losses through microbial decomposition
 Losses through over grazing by animals

WEATHERING

Rocks Weather to form Soil

• Weathering is the process by which all rocks at the earth's surface get broken down.

• Weathering occurs by both chemical (decomposition) and physical processes (disintegration).

Rock Weathering

• Rock weathering takes place in-situ (in place).

• It differs from erosion which involves removal of material away from a site.

• Two types of weathering:

 Physical
 Chemical
PHYSICAL WEATHERING

• Rocks get broken into pieces, but its chemical composition remains unchanged.

• Processes of physical weathering:

1. Freeze/thaw weathering - occurs when temperature freezes at night and rises during the day. Water
expands when frozen which forces rocks open.

2. Biological weathering – when roots of plants grow into cracks and force cracks open.

3. Exfoliation/unloading – when rock at earth’s surface is worn away

CHEMICAL WEATHERING

• Rocks get broken down by chemical change.

• Water always plays a part.

• Example:

 CO2 in rainwater forming carbonic acid and dissolves limestone rock and carried away in
solution as calcium hydrogen carbonate

• Common chemical weathering processes are hydrolysis, dissolution, and oxidation.

• Chemical weathering tends to weaken rock, thereby making it easier to break.

SOIL PROFILE

The soil profile

 Soil profile is vertical section through soil extending to unweathered parent material and
showing all the layers (horizons).
 The layers of soil profile are called horizons

SOIL HORIZON:

O horizon

 An organic layer consisting wholly or partially decomposed plant and animal debris.
 Horizon occurs in only undisturbed soils.
 E.g.: forest -O horizon is made up of fallen leaves, branches and other debris.

A horizon

 Is surface mineral layer where organic matter accumulates – darker color

 O Horizon with time loses clay, iron and other materials through leaching.
 Sand does not leach in this horizon.
 A horizon is good for growth of plant roots, microorganisms, and other life forms.
 Granular soil structure.

E horizon

 This is the horizon where clay, chemicals, and organic matter are greatly leached.
 This layer is very light color (gray/white), and most soils do not have it.
 It occurs under forest vegetation in sandy soils in high rainfall areas.
 Has platy structure
B horizon

 This is the horizon where clay, chemicals, and organic matter leach from A and E horizons
accumulated.
 This layer is lower in organic matter content than A horizon but has more clay.
 A and B horizons together are called the solum.
 Usually has a blocky structure.

C horizon

 This horizon does not have the properties of A and B horizons.

 This layer has little effect of soil-forming processes.
 It is usually the parent material of the soil.
 It may also include very soft, weathered bedrock that roots can penetrate.

R horizon

 This horizon is the underlying hard bedrock, e.g. sandstone, limestone, or granite.
 The layer may be cracked or fractured, allowing some root penetration.
 The horizon is only identified if it is close to the surface to intrude into soil.