Cour

secode:
Evm 243

Depar
tment
:Env
ironment
almanagement

Topi
c:SOI
L

Names Regno

Chi
akwaMar
ybl
essi
ngChekwube 2022344011

Okoy
eChi
dimmaFav
our 2020344005

Oj
i
akordi
vi
neuzochukwu 2022344034

Emmanuel
chi
der
aGodswi
l
l 2022344018

NwammaduSol
omon 2022344030

Kpechi
Janetchi
nagor
om 2022344035

UGBAJAPROMI
SECHI
NECHEREM 2022344015
I
NTRODUCTI
ONTOSOI
L

Soilisami xt
ureofmineralpar
ti
cles,
organi
cMatt
er,wat er,
airandl
ivi
ngor
ganismsthatf
orms
thetopl ay
eroftheeart
h'scrust,
knownaspedosphere.Itisthefundament
alcomponentoft
he
naturalenvi
ronmentandpl aysacruci
alr
olei
nsust
ainingl i
feonearth.
COMPONENTSOFSOI
L
 Mineralpart
icl
es:soil
ismadeupofvary
ingpropor
ti
onsofmineralpar
ti
clessuchas
sand, si
lt
,andclay.Therel
ati
veamount
softhesepart
icl
esdeter
minethesoilstext
ure,
whichaffectscharact
eri
sti
csli
kewat
er-
hol
dingcapaci
ty,
drai
nageandnut r
ient
avai
labil
it
y.

 Organicmatter
:organi
cmat t
erinsoil
incl
udesdecomposedplantandanimalmater
ial
,
aswell asl
iv
ingorganismsl i
kebacter
ia,f
ungi,
eart
hworms,andinsect
s.Organi
cmat t
er
contr
ibutestosoi
lfert
ili
ty,
struct
ureandnutri
entcycl
i
ng.

 Water:
soil
actsasar eser
voirf
orwater,
stor
ingandrel
easi
ngi
tforpl
antgr
owthand
ot
herecosyst
em functi
ons.Theabil
it
yofsoi
ltor
etai
nanddrai
nwateri
sinf
luencedby
i
tstext
ure,
str
uctureandorganiccont
ent
.

 Air
:soil
contai
nspor
esthatal
l
owf ort
hemov ementofai
r,essent
ial
forr
espir
ationof
soi
lorgani
smsandplant
sroot.Goodsoi
lst
ructur
epromoteaerat
ionandprevenswater
l
ogging.

 Li
vingorgani
sms:Soi
li
sahomet oadversecommuni
tyoforgani
sms,from micr
oscopi
c
bacter
iatosmallmammals.Theseorganismspl
ayvi
tal
rol
esinnutr
ientcycl
ing,
decompositi
on,
andsoil
formati
onprocesses.

Soilsar
ecl assi
fi
edbasedonf actorsl
ikeTexture,str
uctur
e, col
orandcompositi
on,wit
h
dif
ferentty
pesofsoi lsupport
ingspecif
icplantcommuni ti
esandecosy stems.
Understandingsoilpr
operti
esisessenti
alforagricul
ture,
forestry
,constr
ucti
onand
envir
onment almanagementasi tinfl
uenceplantgrowth,waterqualit
y,erosi
oncont
rol
,and
cabinsequest r
ati
on.

Whati
spedol
ogy
???
Pedol
ogyi
sthesci
encet
hatst
udi
est
hef
ormat
ion,
char
act
eri
sti
csandcl
assi
fi
cat
ionofsoi
l
ty
pes.
TYPESOFSOI
L
Therearefourt
ypesofsoilwhichar
eall
dist
incti
nit
sproper
ti
es.I
tisclassi
fi
edbyi
ts
t
ext
ure,propor
ti
onsanddif
ferentformsofor
gani
candmi ner
alcomposi
tion.Thesei
ncl
ude:
 Sandysoi
l
 Si
l
tsoi
l
 Cl
aysoi
l
 Loamysoi
l

 Sandysoi
l:Thesetypeofsoi
lconsistsofsmallpar
ticl
esofweatheredrocksi.
e,i
tis
for
medbyt hebreakdownoffragment ati
onofr
ocksl i
kegrani
te,l
imestone,
andguartz
(Si
O²)[Li
mestone-sedi
metar
yr ock,grani
te-
aci
digneousrock,quart
z].
Thesandyisapoort ypeofsoilforgr
owingplantsbecauseithasver
ylownutr
ient
andpoorwaterholdingcapacit
y,whi
chmakesi thardf ort
heplant
'sroott
oabsor
bwat er
,
butt
hesandysoilisv er
ygoodf ordr
ainagesystem becauseofit
scoarse(composedof
l
argepart
icl
esandl argetext
ure-
shape)

 Silt
ysoil:Thistypeofsoilhasmuchsmal lerparti
clescompar edtosandysoilandi s
madeupofr ocksandot hermi ner
alparti
cles,
whi charesmallerthansandandl arger
thanclay.Itissil
tsoil
'ssmoot handf i
nequal i
tythatholdswat erbettert
hansand.Si l
t
soilisfoundmai nlyneartheriver,
lacksandot herwaterbodieswhi chmakesi teasil
y
transportedbymov i
ngcur r
ents.Thissoili
smor ef er
ti
lecompar edt osandyandcl aysoi
l
becausei tpromot eswaterretenti
onandai rcir
culati
on,ther
efore,iti
salsousedf or
agricul
turalpracti
cestoimpr ovesoilfer
ti
li
ty.

 Claysoi
l:
claysoi
listhesmall
estparti
cleamongtheot
hertwotypesofsoi
l.These
part
icl
esareti
ghtl
ypackedtogetherwitheachot
herwi
thveryl
i
ttl
eornoairspacewhi
ch
makesitlow/i
nadequatei
nairci
rculat
ion.
Thissoi
lhasv erygoodwat erstoragequal
i
tyandmakesi
thardformoist
ureandair
topenetratei
ntoit
.Itisveryst
ickytot ouchwhenwetbutsmoot
hwhendr y.Cl
aysoil
isthe
densestandheaviesttypeofsoil,
whi chdoesnotdrai
nwell
orpr
ovidespaceforpl
antroot
s
tofl
ourish.

 Loamysoil:
loamyisthef our
thtypeofsoi
l,
itisthecombinat
ionofsand,si
lt
,andcl
ay
suchthatt
hebenefi
cialpropert
iesofeachareincl
uded.Fori
nstance,
ithastheabi
6to
ret
ainmoistur
eandnutrient,
Hence,iti
smoresui t
abl
eforfar
ming.
Loamysoili
salsorefer
redtoasagricul
tural
soi
lasitincl
udesanequili
bri
um ofal
l
thr
eetypesofsoi
lmat er
ial
,bei
ngsandy,clay,
andsil
t,andital
sohappenstohav ehumus.
Apartf
rom t
hese,i
talsohashighercal
cium andPHlev el
bec6ofit
'
sinorgani
corigi
n.
CLASSI
FICATI
ONOFSOI
L
 Coar
se-gr
ainedsoi
le.
gsands&gr
avel
s
 Fi
ne-gr
ainedsoi
le.
gsi
l
t&gr
avel
s
 Hi
ghl
yor
gani
csoi
l
se.
giti
sref
err
edt
oaspeat

 COARSE-GRAINEDSOI L:
Itisdi
stingui
shedsandfr
om gr
avel
bygr
ainsi
ze,
classi
fyi
ng
someas"wel
lgraded"andtherestas"poor-gr
aded"
I
thaslargepar
ticlescomparedtof
inegrai
nedsoi
l
s.Thesepart
icl
escanrangeinsi
ze
fr
om sand,whichhaspar ti
clesi
nthesi
zerange0.
075to4.
75mi l
l
imetert
ogravel,
which
hasevenlar
gerpart
icles.

 FINE-GRAINEDSOIL:Iti
sdisti
nguishedbythesoil
sat t
erber
gli
mit
sandt
hust
hesoi
l
ar
eseparat
edint
o"highplast
ici
ty"and"lowplast
ici
ty"soi
ls.
It
'
ssoilparti
clessi
zeislessthan0.
075mm.it
'
ssoiltexturemayberat
edfr
om fi
neto
coarse.Afi
net ext
ur ei
ndi
cateahighpropor
ti
onoffi
nerparti
clessuchassi
l
tandcl
ay.E.
g
si
ltandgravel.

 HIGHLYORGANI CSOILS:soi
lrichi
norgani
cmat t
erandundecomposedpl
antmateri
al
arehi
stosols.Theyoccurpar
ticul
arl
yinar
easwheredecomposit
ionofor
gani
cmat t
eris
hamperedbycol dtemperat
uresorwherethedecomposi
ti
onishamperedbycont
inuous
wetcondit
ion.
Peati
sanorganicsoilwit
horganiccont
entofgreat
ert
han35%.Toageotechni
cal
engi
neeral
lsoi
lwit
hanor ganiccont
entofgreat
erthan20%areknownasorgani
csoil
whil
e
peati
sanorgani
csoilwit
hor gani
ccontentofmorethan75%e.gmarshes,
bogs,
&swamps.

SOI
LFORMATI
ON
Soilfor mati
oni sacompl exprocessinfluencedbyv ar
iousfactorssuchascl i
mate,parent
mat erial,
organisms, t
opography,andt i
me.Essentiall
y,i
tbeginswi t
ht heweat her
ingof
rocksandmi neral
s,whichbreaksthem downi ntosmal l
erparti
cles.Ov erti
me, or
ganic
mat terfrom plantandanimal remains,aswel lasmicroorgani
sms, mixwi ththeseparti
cles,
formi ngsoil.Addit
ionall
y,f
actorsli
kewat ermov ement,temperaturefluctuati
ons,andthe
acti
v iti
esofor ganismscontri
butetot hedev el
opmentofdi sti
nctsoilprofi
lesand
charact eri
sti
cs.
1.Weat
her
ing:
-Weather
ingref
erst
othephysical,chemical
,andbiol
ogi
cal
processesthatbr
eakdownrock
andmineral
sint
osmall
erpar
ticles.Thisprocesscanbemechanical(
physi
cal
)orchemi
cal
i
nnature.
 -Mechanicalweather
inginvolvest
hephysicalbr
eakdownofrocksintosmallerpi
eces
thr
oughact i
onsli
kefreeze-t
hawcy cl
es,r
ootgrowth,andabr
asion.Chemicalweather
ing,
on
theotherhand,i
nvolv
esr eact
ionsthatal
tert
hemi ner
alcomposit
ionofrocks,suchas
oxidat
ionorhydrol
ysis.

2.Or
gani
cMat
terAccumul
ati
on:
-Organi
cmat t
erderi
vedfrom pl
antmater
ial
,ani
mal r
esi
dues,andmicr
oorgani
sms
accumulat
esonthesoilsurf
aceoverti
me.Thisorgani
cmattercont
ri
butestosoi
lfer
ti
li
ty,
str
uctur
e,andmicrobi
alacti
vi
ty.
-Decomposit
ionoforganicmat
eri
alsbysoil
organi
smsrel
easesnut
ri
entsthatar
eessenti
al
forpl
antgr
owt h.Theaccumul
ati
onoforgani
cmat t
eri
savit
alcomponentofsoil
for
mation
anddevel
opment .

3.Soi
lHor
izonsFor
mat
ion:
-Overt
ime, di
sti
nctsoilhor
izons,
orlayer
s,devel
opwithinasoi
lpr
ofi
le.Thesehor
izonsar
e
char
acter
izedbydiffer
encesincolor
, t
ext
ure,st
ruct
ure,andcomposi
ti
on.
-Thesoil
horizons,f
rom t
optobott
om, ty
pical
l
yincl
udet heOhorizon(or
ganiclayer
),A
hori
zon(t
opsoil)
,Bhori
zon(subsoi
l)
,andChor i
zon(parentmateri
al)
.Thepresenceofthese
hori
zonsref
lectsthepr
ocessesofsoil
formati
onandt heint
eract
ionsofsoi
l-
formingfact
ors.

4.Soi
lMi
xi
ngandTr
anspor
t:
-Soil
mixi
ngpr
ocesses,
suchasbiot
urbati
onbyearthwor
msorburrowi
nganimal
s,andsoi
l
erosi
onbywi
ndorwater,pl
ayar
oleinredi
str
ibut
ingsoi
lmat
eri
alsandorgani
cmatter
.
-Tr
ansportpr
ocessescanl
eadtothef
ormati
onofsoi
ll
ayersorpat
ter
ns,i
nfl
uenci
ngt
he
di
str
ibut
ionofnut
rient
s,mi
ner
als,
andorgani
cmatt
erwit
hinthesoi
lpr
ofi
l
e.

CHEMI
CALPROPERTI
ESOFSOI
L
1.*pHLev el
:ThepHofsoilisameasur ementofitsacidityoralkali
nit
y, whi
chimpact snutri
ent
avail
abi
l
ityforpl
ants.Mostplant
sprefersli
ghtl
yacidi
ct oneutral soi
ls(pH6.0-7.0),butspeci
fi
c
pl
antsmayr equi
remor eaci
dicoralkal
inecondit
ions.SoilpHaf fectsthesolubil
i
t yand
avail
abi
l
ityofessenti
alnut
ri
entsli
kenitrogen,
phosphor us,andpot assium
-Soi
lpHinfl
uencesnutr
ientavail
abil
i
tyandmicrobi
alact
ivi
ty.Aci
dicsoi
l
s(pH<7)canl
i
mitt
he
avai
l
abil
i
tyofessenti
alnutr
ientsli
kephosphor
us,whil
ealkal
inesoil
s(pH>7)canl
eadt
o
micr
onutr
ientdef
ici
enci
es.
-Tomodifysoi
lpH,
agri
cul
tur
all
imecanbeappl
iedt
orai
sepHi
naci
dicsoi
l
s,whi
l
eel
ement
al
sul
furcanbeusedt
olowerpHinal
kal
inesoi
l
s.
2.CationExchangeCapacity(CEC):CECisameasur eofthesoil'
sabili
tytoholdandexchange
posi
tivel
ychargedions(cati
ons)li
kecalcium,magnesi
um, potassium,andotheressenti
al
nutr
ientswit
hplantroots.Soi
lswithhigherCECcanretai
nmor enut r
ients,
reducingl
eachi
ng
andpromot i
ngplantgrowth.Claysoil
stypical
l
yhavehigherCECt hansandysoi l
s.
-CECplay
sav it
alroleinsoil
fert
il
it
yandnutr
ientr
etent
ion.Soi
l
swi
thhi
gherCECcanst
ore
morenutr
ient
s,reducingtheri
skofleachi
ng.
-Organicmatterandcl
ayminer
alscont
ribut
esi
gni
fi
cantl
ytoCEC.I
ncr
easingorgani
cmat
ter
contentthr
oughcomposti
ngorcovercroppi
ngcanboostCECandsoi
lfer
til
i
ty.

3.OrganicMat terContent:Soilor
ganicmat t
erconsistsofdecomposedpl antandanimal
resi
dues,impact i
ngsoilferti
l
ityandstructur
e.Itpr
ov i
desessenti
alnutri
entsforpl
antgrowt
h,
i
mpr oveswat erretent
ion,enhancesmi crobi
alacti
vi
ty,andhelpspreventerosi
on.Organi
c
mattercontentisakeyf actorinsoilquali
tyandhealth.
-Soi
lorgani
cmattercompri
seshumus,pl
antresi
dues,
andmi
crobi
albi
omass.I
tiscr
uci
alf
or
soi
lst
ructur
e,nut
ri
entcycl
i
ng,andwaterr
etenti
on.
-Organicmatt
erdecomposi
ti
onrel
easesnut
rient
sforpl
antupt
akeandcont
ri
but
est
osoi
l
aggregati
on,
aerat
ion,
andmoist
ureholdi
ngcapacit
y.

4.Nutr
ientLevels: Soi
lscontai
nessent i
alnut r
ient
sl i
kenitr
ogen(N) ,
phosphorus(P)
,pot assi
um
(K)
,andmi cronutrient
sthatarecrucialforplantgrowth.Theav ai
l
abili
tyofthesenut
rientsinsoil
var
iesbasedonf actorsl
ikesoilty
pe, pH,organicmat tercont
ent,andmicrobial
acti
vi
t y
.Nut r
ient
l
evelsi
nfluencepl anthealt
h,yi
eld,andov erall
soilfert
il
it
y.
-Macr
onutr
ientsl
ikeni
tr
ogen(N),phosphor
us(P)
,andpot assi
um (
K)areessent
ialforpl
ant
gr
owthanddev el
opment.Mi
cronutr
ient
ssuchaszinc,
iron,andmanganesearealsocruci
ali
n
smal
lquant
iti
es.
-Soil
test
inghel
psassessnutri
entl
evel
sandgui
desf
ert
il
izerappl
i
cat
iont
omeetpl
ant
requi
rementswi
thoutover
loadi
ngthesoi
l.

Understandi
ngt hechemical pr
opert
iesofsoili
sessent
ialf
oropti
mizingagricul
turalpr
actices,
managingsoi l
ferti
li
ty,
andpr omoti
ngsustainabl
elanduse.Byassessingandadj ust
ingthese
propert
ies,f
armersandl andmanager scanenhancecropproduct
ivi
ty,prot
ecttheenv i
ronment,
andmai ntai
nhealthysoilecosyst
ems.
Byunderst
andingandmanagi ngthesechemicalproperti
es, f
armersandgar dener
scan
opt
imizesoilheal
th,impr
ovecropyiel
ds,andpromot esust ai
nabl
eagricul
turepracti
ces.Regul
ar
soi
ltest
ingandpr opermanagementpracti
ceshelpmai ntainsoil
fert
il
it
y,producti
vi
ty,and
env
ironmentalsustai
nabi
li
tyforl
ong-t
ermlandstewar dship.
PHYSI
CALPROPERTI
ESOFSOI
L
*
1.Soi
lText
ure:
-Soi
ltext
urerefer
stothecomposit
ionofdif
fer
ent
-si
zedmi
ner
alpar
ti
clesi
nthesoi
l
.Thet
hree
maintext
ureclassesar
esand,si
l
t,andclay
.
-Sandysoi
l
shavelargepar
ti
cles,pr
ovi
dinggoodaerat
ionanddr ai
nagebutarel
esscapabl
eof
hol
dingont
owaterandnutr
ients.Cl
aysoil
s,wi
tht
inyparti
cles,
havehighwaterr
etent
ionbut
canbepoorl
yaer
ated.
-Loam soi
l
s, whi
chhaveabal
ancedmixofsand,si
l
t,andclay,ar
econsi
der
edi
deal
forpl
ant
growt
hast heyoff
ergooddr
ainage,
aer
ati
on,andnutr
ientr
etenti
on.
-Thetext
ureofsoil
affectsit
sabili
tytoret
ainwaterandnut
rient
s.Sandysoil
s,wi
thl
arger
part
icl
es,
drai
nquicklybutmayr equir
emor efr
equentwater
ing.Claysoi
l
s,composedoffi
ne
part
icl
es,
holdontowat erandnutri
entsbutcanbecomecompact edeasil
y.
-Loam soilsstri
keabalance,of
feri
nggooddrai
nageandnut
rientr
etent
ion.Under
standi
ngsoi
l
text
ur ei
scrucialforsel
ect
ingsuit
ablepl
ant
sandimplement
ingproperi
rri
gati
onand
fert
il
izat
ionpracti
ces

2.Soi
lSt
ruct
ure:
-Soi
lstr
uct
urerefer
stohowparticl
esar
egroupedtogetheri
naggr
egates.Wel
l
-st
ruct
uredsoil
hasgoodaggregati
on,
creat
ingspacesf
orairandwatermovement,r
ootgrowt
h,andmicrobi
al
act
ivi
ty.
-Diff
erentfact
ors,suchasorgani
cmat t
ercontent
,microbi
alact
ivi
ty,
claycontent
,androot
penetrati
on,i
nfl
uencesoilst
ruct
ure.Compacti
onfrom heavymachineryorfoottr
aff
iccan
deteri
oratesoi
lstr
ucture.
-Soil
str
ucturedirect
lyimpact
swaterinf
il
tr
ation,
r ootpenet
rati
on,andnutr
ientavai
l
abi
li
ty.Wel
l
-
str
uctur
edsoilsform aggr
egatedpar
ti
clesthatcreateahealthyenvi
ronmentforsoi
lor
ganisms
androotdevelopment.
-Soilst
ruct
urecanbei mprovedbyincor
porati
ngorgani
cmatt
er,r
educi
ngcompacti
on,
and
pract
ici
ngmi ni
mal t
il
lage.Heal
thysoi
lstr
uctur
epromotespl
antgrowt
handresi
l
iencet
o
envir
onmentalstr
esses.

3.Soi
lPor
osi
ty:
-Soil
porosi
tyr
efer
stothepor
espacesbet
weensoil
par
ti
cles.Adequat
epor
osi
tyi
sessent
ial
forai
randwatermovementwi
thi
nthesoi
lprof
il
e.
-Macroporesal
lowfordr
ainageandaerat
ion,whi
lemicr
oporeshol
dontowat
erav ai
l
abl
efor
pl
antroots.Soi
lcompact
ioncanreduceporosi
ty,
li
mit
ingrootgr
owth,
wateri
nfi
l
trati
on,
and
nut
ri
entmov ement.
-Soil
porosit
yconsi
stsofmacro-andmicr
opor
es,essenti
alf
orairandwatermov
ementwithi
n
thesoil
.Adequat
eporosi
tysupport
srootr
espi
rat
ion,nut
ri
entexchange,
andmicr
obi
alact
ivi
ty.
-Factor
sli
kecompaction,excessi
vetil
l
age, andhighclaycont entcandecreasesoil
porosi
ty,
l
eadingtowater
loggi
ngandr ootasphyxiat
ion.Mai ntai
ningproperporosit
ylevel
sthroughsoi
l
amendmentsandconser v
ationpract
icesiscr uci
alforsustai
nableagricul
tur
e.
4.Soi
lBul
kDensi
ty:
-Soilbul
kdensit
ymeasurest
hemassofsoil
perunitvol
ume.Compactedsoi
l
sorthosewit
h
highclaycont
enttendt
ohavehi
gherbul
kdensi
ty,
result
ingi
nreducedpor
espacesandl
i
mited
rootpenetr
ati
on.
-Alowerbul
kdensi
tyi
ndi
cat
esbet
tersoilst
ructure,aer
ati
on,andr
ootdevel
opment.Pract
ices
suchasaddi
ngorgani
cmatt
erorr
educingsoildistur
bancecanhel
plowerbulkdensi
ty.
-Soilbul
kdensi
tyr
efl
ect
ssoi
lcompacti
onandporespaceavai
labi
li
ty.Highbul
kdensi
ty
rest
ri
ctsrootgr
owthandwat
eri
nfi
l
trat
ion,
negat
ivel
yimpact
ingplantproduct
ivi
ty.
-Monitori
ngsoil
bulkdensit
yhelpsassesssoilheal
thandcompacti
onl
evel
s.I
mpl
ementi
ng
pract
icesli
kecovercr
opping,rot
ati
onalgr
azing,andorgani
camendment
scanhel
pal
lev
iatesoi
l
compactionandimprovesoilstr
uct
ure.

5.Soi
lMoi
stur
eCont
ent
:
-Soilmoistur
econt
enti
scruci
alforpl
antgrowt
h,asitaf
fect
snutr
ientavai
labi
li
tyandroot
uptake.Theamountofwat
erinthesoilpr
ofi
lei
nfl
uencessoi
lst
ructur
e,microbi
alact
ivi
ty,
and
pl
anthealth.
-Moni
tori
ngandmanagi ngsoi
lmoist
urelevel
sthroughi
rri
gati
on,mul
chi
ng,anddr
ainage
pr
acti
cesareessent
ial
foropti
mizi
ngplantgrowthandprevent
ingwat
erstr
ess.
-Soi
lmoist
urecontentinf
luencespl
antwateruptake,nut
ri
enttr
anspor
t,andmicr
obi
alacti
vi
ty.
Adequat
emoistur
el evel
ssustainpl
antgr
owt h,
whi l
ewaterl
oggedordrysoi
lscanst
resspl
ants
andli
mitpr
oducti
vi
ty .
-Moni
tori
ngsoilmoistur
ethroughobservati
on,soil
test
s,ormoi
stur
emet er
si si
mportantf
or
ef
fi
ci
entirr
igat
ionscheduli
ng.Propersoi
lmoi st
uremanagementenhancesplantheal
thand
pr
oducti
vi
tywhileconservi
ngwat err
esources.

6.Soi
lCol
or*
:
-Soil
colorcanpr ovi
deinsi
ght
sintosoi
lcomposit
ion,
organicmattercont
ent,anddrai
nage
condit
ions.Darkersoi
lsoft
enindi
cat
ehigheror
ganicmattercont
ent,whil
ereddishcol
orsmay
suggestironoxides.
-Moni
tor
ingsoi
lcol
orchangesov
ert
imecanhel
passesssoi
l
-Soil
colorprovi
descluesaboutsoil
compositi
on,organi
cmat t
ercontent
,anddr
ainage
condit
ions.Dar
kersoil
softeni
ndicatehi
gherorgani
ccontentandfert
il
it
y,whi
lel
i
ght-col
ored
soi
lsmayl acknutr
ient
s.
-Changesinsoil
col
orcansignal
shi
ft
sinsoi
lheal
thorcondi
ti
ons,
suchaswat
erl
oggi
ng,
erosi
on,ornut
ri
entdef
ici
enci
es.
RELATI
VEI
NFLUENCEOFSOI
L
Soil
sar ef
or medthr
ought hei
nteracti
onoffi
v emajorfactor
s.Therel
ati
vei
nfl
uenceofeach
factor
sv ar
iesfrom pl
acetoplace,butthecombinati
onofal lf
ivefact
orsnor
mal
lydeter
minethe
kindofsoildevelopi
nginanygivenplace.Thesefact
orsare:
 Ti
me
 Cl
i
mat
e
 Par
entmat
eri
al
 Topogr
aphyandr
eli
ef
 Or
gani
sms

 Time:Timeforall
thesefactor
stointer
actwitht
hesoilisalsoafactor.The
for
mationofsoili
sacont i
nuousprocessandgenerall
ytakesseveralthousand
year
sforsigni
fi
cantchangest ot
akeplace.Thedegreeofagili
tydependson
thei
ntensi
tyoftheotherfoursoi
lfor
mat i
onfact
ors.
 Cli
mat e:i
tisoneofthemostimportantfact
oraff
ecti
ngformati
onofsoi
l.
Cli
mat ecomponentsli
ketemperat
ureandr ai
nfal
l,
preci
pit
ati
onaret
hemaj or
contri
buti
ngfactori
nfl
uenci
ngtheeffectofIt
smake.Thesecomponentsaffect
theamountofv eget
ati
onandforestcoveraswellashumanandanimalactivi
ty
i
nt hearea.
Thecli
mateofanareaalsoaf
fectt
hechemi
cal
processwhi
chaf
fect
sthe
soi
lfor
mat i
onprocessandspeed
 Composi t
ionofpar entmat er
ial
:itref
erstot hedatedmineralmat eri
alsor
organicmat er
ial
from whi chthesoilisf
ormed.Soi lswi
llcarryt
hephy si caland
chemi calcharacteri
sticsofit
spar entmaterialsuchascolour,t
ext ur
e,st r
ucture,
mineral compositionandsoon.Forexampl e,i
fsoilsar
ef ormedf rom anar ea
withlarger ocksofredsandst one,thesoilwillal
soberedi ncolourandhav ethe
samef eedast hepar entmateri
al.Therateofsoi lf
ormati
oni salsoinfluenced
bythepar entmaterial.
 Topogr aphy:
Theshapeoft hel
andsurface,it'
sslopeandposi t
ionont he
l
andscape, greatl
yinf
luencethekindofsoilsformed.Thesoi lf
ormat i
onisal
so
affectedbysurfacerunoffordepthofwat ertable.Soi
lthatdevelopedon
hi
gherel evat
ionsandsloppyareasaregener all
yexcessivel
ydrainedorwell
drained,sl
eepandpot enti
all
yenrolet
hesur faceslopes.
 Organi
sms: All
livi
ngor gani
smsi ncl
udingbact eri
a,fungi ,
vegetat i
on,humanand
animalacti
vi
tyinfl
uencet heprocessofsoi lfor
mat i
on.Somet ypeofmi cro
organi
smspr omot etheconditionandchangechemi str yofthesoi lwhichin
turni
nfl
uencest hetypeofsoi l
f ormingpr ocessesthatt akesplace.Mi cro
animal
sdecomposeor gani
cmat eri
alandr eturnthepr oductofdecomposi t
ion
tothesoil
.Man'sactiviti
esli
kecul ti
vation,pl
owl ayer,useoff ertil
izer
,ir
rigati
on
anddrainagepracti
ceal sogreatlyaffectthechemi calandphy sicalproperti
es
ofsoil
andi t
'sformationprocess.