Lecture Topic: Soils

Lecture Topic: Soils
Tables 16.1**, 16.2**

Figures 16.4 (chemical weathering part, but not emphasis on climate), 16.5, 16.10**,
16.11**
Key Terms chemical stability, kaolinite, soil, soil profile
Soil the unconsolidated mineral or organic material on the immediate surface of the
earth that serves as a natural medium for the growth of land plants.
Sediment fragmental material transported and deposited by wind, water, or ice, and that
forms in layers in unconsolidated form.
The presence of organic matter makes the mantle of residue that sits in place on top of
weathered bedrock (a soil). Living organisms are crucial to the formation of soil.
A soil profile is the vertical sequence of natural layers called horizons in a soil. It extends
from the surface downward to unweathered material. Most soils have three major
horizons:
Surface horizon (O, A, and E)
Subsoil (B)
Regolith (C)
The overall weathering reaction can be simplified to granite wathering to form soil. In
other words, it is simply feldspar weathering to form clay and dissolved chemicals in soil
water. The natural acid reacting with feldspar is derived from carbon dioxide dissolving
in water.
During soil development, you can think of materials as either transforming or
translocating within the profile.
The downward movement of fine clay particles carried by infiltrating water is
translocation
The weathering of feldspar to form kaolinite is a transformation
Soil is made up of mineral solids, organic matter, living organisms, and pore spaces.
Soils and their horizons differ from one another, depending on how they are formed.
Five factors influence how soils form:
Parent material the material on which soils form
o Most soils weather directly from the underlying bedrock. These residual
soils reflect the general chemical composition as the original rocks
o Other soils form on materials that have moved in from elsewhere. For
instance, sediments left behind following the retreat of continental glaciers
form the parent material for soils in the upper Midwest.
Stability the tendency of a chemical substance to remain in a given chemical
form rather than react spontaneously to become a different chemical substance.
There are solid and dissolved products of weathering. The solid products are clay
minerals. Clays are hydrated sheet silicates that are the most common minerals in
soil. Kaolinite is a clay.
The dissolved products are bicarbonate, cations like potassium, and dissolved
silica. All the aluminum that was in the feldspar remains in the clay mineral
Clay minerals are very insoluble (very stable)
The mafic silicate minerals are very unstable in the weathering environment. Upon
exposure to oxygen in the air, iron in the mineral oxidizes, and then precipitates as
an insoluble oxide mineral such as hematite. Iron oxide minerals are very
insoluble.
Soil forms in place on top of bedrock. It is not transported in and deposited like
sediments on a floodplain or in an ocean basin.
o (1) Bedrock begins to disintegrate
o (2) Organic materials facilitate disintegration
o (3) Horizons form
o (4) Developed soil supports thick vegetation
Climate different values of temperature and amount of rainfall cause different
patterns of weathering. The amount, intensity, timing, and kind of precipitation
influence soil formation.
Topography slope and aspect influence soil formation. Steep soils may be eroded
and lose their topsoil as they form. Thus, they may be thinner than the more
nearly level soils that receive eroded materials from areas upslope.
Biological factors plants, animals, and microorganisms influence soil formation.
Animals and microorganisms mix soils and form burrows and pores.
o Most plant roots open channels in the soils. Grass roots are fibrous near
the soil surface and easily decompose, adding organic matter.
Time soil-forming processes are continuous. The length of time they are carried
out determines the nature of the soil. Tectonic stability of a location can
determine the amount of time for soils to form.
Soils are named and classified on the basis of physical and chemical properties like color,
texture, and structure. Areas with similar soils are grouped as soil series because their
similar origins and properties cause the soils to behave similarly for land-use purposes.
Typical soil development for the eastern United States: inceptisols
The soil profile that develops in an arid climate is typically thinner, has less organic
matter (humus), and has soluble minerals like calcite (Aridisols)
It takes hundreds to thousands of years for a soil to develop

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Tables 16.1, 16.2

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