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Soil
Guiding Question: What is soil?
12.1 RESOURCES
Scientific Method Lab, Testing Soil
Properties Lesson 12.1 Worksheets
Lesson 12.1 Assessment Chapter 12
Overview Presentation
GUIDING QUESTION
Factor
Effects
Climate
Organisms
Landforms
Hills and valleys affect exposure to sun, wind, and water. Steeper
slopes promote runoff and erosion; they also slow leaching,
accumulation of organic matter, and formation of soil layers.
Parent
material
Time
352 Lesson 1
Adapted from Jenny, H. 1941. Factors of soil formation: A system of quantitative pedology. New York:
McGraw-Hill, Inc. Reprinted 1994 by Dover Publications, Mineola, New York.
Soil Formation
Soil is a complex substance that forms through weathering,
deposition, and decomposition.
We often overlook the complexity of soil. Though soil is mostly broken
rocks, water, and air, soil also contains a great deal of life (Figure 2). Soil
consists of roughly 45 percent mineral matter and 5 percent organic (living or once-living) matter. Water and air in the spaces, or pores, between
soil particles make up the other 50 percent. The mineral matter in soil is
made up of tiny particles of rock. The organic matter includes decomposing organisms as well as living microorganisms. You might be surprised
to find that one teaspoon of soil can contain millions of bacteria and
thousands of fungi, algae, and protists! Soil also provides a habitat for
larger animals, including hundreds of thousands of invertebrate species,
amphibians, reptiles, and burrowing mammals.
As you recall, the formation of soil
plays a key role in primary succession, which begins when the parent material in an area is exposed.
Parent material is the base geological
Litter
material in a particular location. It
layer
can be lava or volcanic ash; rock or
Snail
sediment deposited by glaciers; sand
dunes; sediments deposited by rivers,
in lakes, or in the ocean; or bedrock.
Bedrock is the continuous mass of
solid rock that makes up Earths crust.
Sowbug
After parent material is exposed to
the air, the processes that form most
soils are weathering, deposition, and
the decomposition of organic matter.
Reading
Checkpoint
Topsoil
ANSWERS
Slug
Cicada
nymph
Mole
Soil
fungi
Earthworm
Beetle grub
Mite
Protists
Subsoil
Bacteria
Anything that touches a rock can cause physical weathering, which is the natural breakup of rock without a chemical
change. Wind and rain are two main causes of physical weathering. Daily
and seasonal temperatures also contribute to physical weathering, since
parent material and rocks weaken as they repeatedly expand with heat
and contract with cold. For this reason, areas with extreme temperature
fluctuations undergo rapid physical weathering. Water that freezes and
expands in cracks in rocks also causes physical weathering. Living things,
such as a tree whose roots break up rocks as they grow, also add to physical weathering.
Physical Weathering
Chemical Weathering
frequently plays a part in soil formation. Erosion may help form soil in
one area by depositing material eroded from another. Deposition, as you
recall, is the drop-off of eroded material at a new location. You will read
more about soil erosion and deposition later in this chapter.
354 Lesson 1
Soil Horizons
A soil profile consists of layers known as
horizons.
O Horizon
Litter layer
A Horizon
Topsoil
E Horizon
Leaching Layer
B Horizon
Subsoil
C Horizon
Weathered
parent material
R Horizon
Parent material
profile, the particle size increases and the concentration of organic matter
decreases. Minerals are generally transported downward as a result of
leaching, the process whereby solid particles suspended or dissolved in
liquid are transported to another location. Soil that undergoes leaching is
a bit like the coffee grounds in a filter. When it rains, water filters through
the soil, dissolves some soil components, and carries them downward
into the lower horizons. Minerals commonly leached from the E horizon
include iron, aluminum, and silicate clay. In some soils, minerals may be
leached so rapidly that plants are deprived of nutrients. Substances that
leach from soils may be carried into groundwater, and some can pose
threats to human health.
Reading
Checkpoint
ANSWERS
Classifying Soil
safety6 gloves,
7 8
1 While
2 3wearing
4 5
The six horizons presented on the previous page make up a common soil
profile, but soils display great variety. The characteristics of a regions soil
can have as much influence on the regions ecosystems as do the climate,
latitude, and elevation. U.S. soil scientists classify soils into 12 major
groups, based largely on the processes that form the soils. Scientists
further classify soils using properties such as color, texture, structure,
and pH.
Color The color of a soil reveals details about its composition and fertility. Dark soils are usually rich in humus and therefore nutrients, whereas
pale soils often have less humus and nutrients. Long before scientific tests
of soil content were developed, farmers and ranchers often used the color
of topsoil as an indicator of a soils fertility.
Texture Soil texture is based on particle size (Figure 5). Clay consists
20
70
ANSWERS
30
Clay
60
Sandy
clay
30
Clay loam
Sandy
clay loam
20
Loam
Sandy loam
10
Loamy
0 Sand sand
100
356 Lesson 1
90
80
Silty
clay loam
Clay
(less than 0.002 mm
diameter)
lt
Silty 50
clay
50
40
40
si
nt
rce
Pe
Sand
(0.05 2 mm
diameter)
10
80
lay
Pe
rce
nt
c
Soil Characteristics
Go Outside
60
70
80
Silt loam
Silt
70
60 50 40
Percent sand
30
20
10
90
0
Silt
(0.002 0.05 mm
diameter)
100
You can see it in the clumpiness of soil. Clumpy soil may have a great
deal of humus, indicating that the soil is rich in nutrients and able to hold
water. However, soil clumps that become too large or densely compacted,
from heavy equipment (Figure 6) or grazing cattle, for example, can prevent plant roots from growing.
Different plants require different pH levels, and plants die in soils that are
too acidic or alkaline for them. Soil pH varies naturally, but acid precipitation and the subsequent leaching of minerals from the soil can also affect
the pH of soil. Few plants can grow in extremely acidic or alkaline soil.
ANSWERS
1
1. Explain Describe three major processes that contribute to the formation of most soils.
2. Review What is a soil profile? Describe the A, B,
and C horizons.
3. Classify What do each of the four characteristics of
soil indicate about its ability to support plant life?
4.