Soil
Formation of
Soil
• Combination of sediments
and organic material
• 4 main components
– Organic material
– Sediment
– Water
– Air
• Combinations of these
form different types of soil
5 Factors that
affect properties • Parent Material: type of
rock that was broken down
of soil
• Climate: temperature and
precipitation
• Topography: how steep
the land is
• Organism: plants and
animals that put in and
take out nutrients
• Time: 500 yrs. for every
inch of soil, different
climates=shorter/longer
Soil Horizons
• Horizons are Layers
• O = Organic Horizon
– 0-2”
– living organisms
– Mostly made of humus
– “plant litter”
– Dark in color
Soil Horizons
• A Horizon
– 2-10”
– Top Soil
– Humus/mineral mixture
– Plant roots grow
– Very dark-colored
Soil Horizons
• B Horizon
– 10-30”
– “Sub Soil”
– Lots of nutrients
– Water leaching brings clay,
salt, mineral deposits
– Less organic matter
– Lighter in color
Soil Horizons
• C Horizon
– 30-48”
– Weathered parent material
and bedrock
– Almost no organic matter
– No plant roots
Soil
Degradation
• Topsoil removed by
plowing
• Vegetation is removed
• Compacting soil
• Drying of soil
• Nutrients depleted
Reclamation
• Reclaiming of land
destroyed by
mining/farming
• Layer of topsoil, add fast
growing plants
• Landscape matching
surrounding areas