Soils

Soil: some definitions

Soil can be defined as the solid material on the Earth’s surface
that results from the interaction of weathering and biological activity on
the parent material or underlying hard rock.
The basic unit of study: Soil Profiles
A soil profile is a vertical cross-
TOPSOIL, section of a soil. It is divided into a
upper or A number of distinct layers, referred to
horizon as horizons.
The horizons are normally
SUBSOIL,
designated by symbols and letters.
middle or B
horizon The presence or absence of
particular horizons allows pedologists
(soil scientists) to classify the soil.
In addition, the organic or O horizon
PARENT
can form above the mineral soil-
MATERIAL,
lower or C commonly in forested areas,
horizon resulting from the dead plant and
animal remains.
This diagram shows simplified
soil horizons
 Soil Horizons

Fresh vegetation The horizons may be further

subdivided.
For example, in this soil profile
Dead vegetation-Litter (L) the A horizon has been divided
into 4 further pedological
horizons:
Fermenting litter (F)

A horizon
• (L) leaf litter

• (F) fermenting leaf litter

Humus (H)
• (H) humus
• (E) eluvial
Eluvial horizon (E)
These lie above the (B) or illuvial
horizon.
Illuvial horizon (B)
 Soil Forming Factors
Soils develop as a result of the interplay of 5 factors; Parent material,
climate, organisms, relief and time.
Parent material

Time
SOIL Climate
FORMING
FACTORS

Relief (landforms and Organisms:

topography) vegetation, fauna an
d soil biota
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Parent Material
This is the material from which the soil has
developed and can vary from solid rock to
deposits like alluvium and boulder clay. It
has been defined as ‘the initial state of the
soil system’.
Jenny H (1941) Factors of soil formation. McGraw-Hill Book Co Inc pp281.

The parent material can influence the soil in

a number of ways:
• colour
• texture
• structure
• mineral composition
• permeability/drainage
This soil has developed on Old Red Sandstone
and so has derived its distinctive colour from its
parent material.
Climate
This is probably the most important
factor (soils produced from the same
parent material under different climates
contrast). Climate governs the rate and
type of soil formation and is also the
main determinant of vegetation
distribution.
Soil climate has two major components;
moisture (precipitation) and temperature,
influencing evaporation. When
precipitation exceeds evaporation,
leaching of the soil will occur.
Organisms : vegetation, fauna
and soil microbes
Organisms influencing soil development range
form microscopic bacteria to large animals
including man. Micro organisms such as bacteria
and fungi assist in the decomposition of plant litter.
This litter is mixed into the soil by macro organisms
(soil animals) such as worms and beetles.
Soil horizons are less distinct when there is much
soil organism activity.
Higher plants influence
the soil in many ways.
The nature of the soil
humus is determined
by the vegetation cover
and resultant litter
inputs. Roots contribute
dead roots to the soil,
bind soil particles
together and can
redistribute and
compress soil.
 Soil Forming Factors
Soils are complex and dynamic systems, in which many processes are
taking place.
Decomposition
Weathering and Humification

Capillary SOIL Leaching

action PROCESSES

Translocation

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 Weathering

This refers to the

breakdown and
decomposition of rocks
and minerals by factors
including air, water, sun
and frost.

Physical weathering involves continual breakdown or

rocks into smaller and smaller particles.

Chemical weathering involves alteration of the chemical

composition of rock minerals.
Decomposition and Humification
Decomposition is the breakdown of plant derived material into its simpler
organic constituents. This is accomplished by enzymes, earthworms,
mites and other organisms.
Humification is the breakdown of plant remains-
leading to the formation of different types of humus. It
is probably the most important
biological process taking place in soils.
 Capillary action

Where evaporation exceeds

precipitation, moisture moves upwards
within the soil profile by capillary
action. It is therefore in the reverse
direction to leaching.
 Leaching
Wherever rainfall exceeds evaporation and there is free
downward movement of water through the soil pore system,
soluble minerals are leached or removed from the soil profile.
Continual leaching tends to
impoverish the upper mineral
horizons by removal of basic cations
(cations are ions having a a positive
electrical charge e.g. Ca2+).

Leaching is most active in sandy

soils with high porosity and is least
A soil with small soil peds or crumbs and in fine-textured soils such as clays
high porosity leading to free drainage and
active leaching
which have restricted pore spaces.
 Soil colour
Generally soil colour is determined by the amount of organic
matter and the state of the iron. Soil colour is also related to
soil drainage, with free draining, well AERATED soils (with
pore space dominated by oxygen) having rich brown colours.

In contrast, poorly draining soils, often referred to as gleys,

develop under ANAEROBIC conditions (the pore space
dominated by water) and have grey or blue-grey colours.
Soils with periodic waterlogging are imperfectly drained and
are often highly mottled with blotches of contrasting colour.
MOTTLES are often rusty in colour and are due to iron
concentration.
 Soil texture
Soil texture is a term used to describe the distribution of the
different sizes of mineral particles in a soil.
Textures range from clay,
sand, and silt at the
extremes, to a loam
which has all three sized
fractions present. The
main influence of texture
is on permeability which
generally decreases with
decreasing particle size.

Soil clod on right (above) is dense with a poor texture and

leads to a poor structure if badly managed. Due to continual
compaction it is blue-grey in colour due to low oxygen
conditions. It is a poor environment for root development. Soil
Soil high in silt and clay clod on left has been well managed and is relatively loose with
with compact subsoil
lacking in pore spaces ample pore space for good, healthy root development.
 1

What factors might contribute to the visible

differences between these two soils?
 2

What type of humus is most likely to

develop in this environment?
 3

How do soil biota such as the earthworm

above assist in the formation of soils?
4

What indicates that

the lower part of this
soil is poorly drained
and lacks aeration?
6

What is a vertical
cross section through
a soil called?

What name is given to

the layers in a soil
cross section?
 8

Why is leaching of the soil likely to be

occurring in this part of north west Scotland?