The Maltese Islands

The Geology of Maltese Islands

• Geology is the study of rocks.

• Igneous rock - we do not have any igneous rock.

• Metamorphic rock - some patches of limestone (Lower Coralline) have under

extreme pressure taken various

• Sedimentary rock - the Maltese Islands is made up of sedimentary stratified rock

that must have been built up by the deposition of sediments in the sea, and possibly
there was some sort of up-lift caused by folding (African plate pushing against the
Eurasian plate). But it is also true that these islands formed once one land with Sicily,
Europe and North Africa, and through faulting and the lowering of the sea level,
became islands.forms and character, some of it very close to marble.

How did they form?

• The Maltese Islands formed under the Sea of Tethys.

• This began to form around 25 million years ago out of remains of sea creatures,
sand and silt.

• The site which these islands now occupy was once only a sea-bed where millions of
algae and microorganisms accumulated and deposited themselves.

• In time, with the addition of sand and other material, all these cemented
themselves

Geological Time Scale

• Geologic time is the extensive interval of time occupied by the geologic history of
Earth.

• Formal geologic time begins at the start of the Archean Eon (4.0 billion to 2.5 billion
years ago) and continues to the present day.

• Geologic time is, in effect, that segment of Earth history that is represented by and
recorded in the planet's rock strata.
• It subdivides all time into named units - eons, eras, periods, epochs, and ages.and
became hard rock.
8/2/23

Geological Time Scale (for your own knowledge)

• The Maltese islands were formed during the Tertiary Period, at a time between the
Oligocene and the Miocene Epochs.

• Sediments accumulated during the Oligocene and Miocene contain fossils of plants,
animals and other micro-organisms that once lived.
• The Maltese Islands emerged above sea level during the Quaternary and terrestrial
deposits occasionally accumulated.
• The Quaternary Period, comprises of two epochs, the Pleistocene and the
Holocene.
• This period started 3 million years ago and is still going on.

How did they form?

• The Maltese Islands formed under the Sea of Tethys.

• This began to form around 25 million years ago out of remains of sea creatures,
sand and silt.

• The site which these islands now occupy was once only a sea-bed where millions of
algae and microorganisms accumulated and deposited themselves.

• In time, with the addition of sand and other material, all these cemented
themselves and became hard rock.

• With more accumulations, strata of rock were formed, and, each stratum took
millions of years to take shape.

• The different rock layers resulted from different environments and geological times
in which the sediments and fossils were deposited.

• Around 10 million years ago, these rock strata were uplifted

.
• This uplift was due to pressure exerted by the African plate colliding into the
Eurasian plate
Messinian Salinity Crisis

• About 6 million years ago, the Mediterranean Sea was cut off from the rest of the
oceans, and began to dry up.

• with the subsidence of the waters, the land between the Maltese Islands and Sicily
appeared above the surface of the sea, and there was dry land, a one continuous
strip of land, Malta-Sicily-Europe.

• Consequently, animals could move freely from Sicily to Malta,

• The animal bone-remains at Ghar Dalam prove the existence of such historic
animals which came from Europe and possibly from Africa to Malta.

• Transformed the Mediterranean Sea into giant hypersaline lake and resulting in the
deposition of kilometre-thick sequences of salts.

• But about 5 million years ago, in the Miocene Epoch, the level of the Atlantic Ocean
rose higher resulting in a giant flood through, the Strait of Gibraltar.

• The flood, known as the Zanclean flood, is thought to have ended the Messinian
Salinity Crisis.

• Most parts of the Mediterranean Basin were inundated, and only the top high
lands remained above sea level.

• In this way the Maltese Islands were cut off from Sicily.
The 2nd Ice Age

• The level of the sea in the Atlantic was lowered, and so huge amounts of water
gushed out of the Mediterranean, whose level was consequently lowered again.

• Dry land again appeared between the Maltese Islands and Sicily.

• After thousands of years, with the re-thawing of the ice in the Atlantic, the sea-
level rose again, and the Mediterranean was again flooded. The Maltese lands
became islands once more.

Geomorphology of Malta

• After the last Ice Age which ended about 10,000 years ago, the changing processes
have been rather slow, and the Maltese lands have remained islands as we know
them today.

• However, there have been other factors which contributed to the configuration of
the Maltese Islands by erosive action and deposition.

• Wave action, torrential rains and river currents, the change of daily and seasonal
temperatures, and earthquakes causing faults

Maltese Faults

• Malta is crossed by two main fault svstems.

• The older of the two, the Victoria Lines Fault (Great Fault), trends South West to
North East, while the Maghlaq Fault system trends approximately North West to
South East along the southern coast of the island.
Rocks of the Maltese Islands

• Sedimentary rock is that rock which has been formed through millions of years of
deposition and accumulation of material
derived:

1) Either from the sea, i.e. which originated in the sea by deposition and
accumulation of algae and dead sea organisms

2) Or from land, i.e. which originated from the surface of the land, and then
carried to the sea by the action of rain, wind and other agents.

• The Maltese Islands are made up of five main types of rock, which are the following
from oldest to youngest:

• Lower Coralline Limestone (hardest)

• Globigerina Limestone (soft and hard)
• Blue Clay (softest)
• Greensand
• Upper Coralline Limestone (hard)
• These layers are always found in the same sequence.

• This does not mean that all layers can be found everywhere.

14/2/23

Lower Coralline Limestone

• This is the oldest exposed rock formation on the Maltese Islands.

• It is a hard, pale grey limestone and contains beds with fossils such as corals and
marine calcareous algae.
• It can be up to 140 m thick, forms sheer cliffs particularly on the southwest coasts
of the islands.

Ta’ Ċenċ Cliffs

• The rocks comprising this formation are all indicative of having been laid down in a
shallow sea.
• Outcrops of this limestone are mainly restricted to coastal sections along the
western coasts of Malta and Gozo.
• Example Xlendi in Gozo and Dingli in Malta.
• When found inland, this formation forms barren grey limestone platform plateau
on which karstland (chemical weathering) develops.
• This type of karst can be seen along the Bugibba-Bahar ic-
Caghaq coast.
• Lower Coralline Limestone is a very hard rock and because of this it is difficult to
quarry. However, when it is quarried it is used as flagstones for pavements and for
spall which is then used for street tarmac, concrete and bricks.

Flagstone tiles

Globigerina Limestone (tal-franka)

• The second oldest rock, outcropping approximately 70% of the area of the islands.

• This rock consists of yellow to pale-grey limestones.

• It is named after Globigerina, a microscopic planktonic foraminifera, which is

abundant in this formation.

• Varies in thickness from some 20 to c. 227 m. The greatest thickness is in the south
of Malta near Mqabba and Marsaxlokk, and it gets thinner towards the northern side
of Malta and the west side of Gozo.

• This rock outcrops over large areas in Western Gozo and in central and southern
Malta.

• Drawing an imaginary line from St Paul's Bay south to Ghar Lapsi, one would find
that to the east of that line practically the whole surface is covered with Globigerina
Limestone, except for a few sporadic small areas of Lower Coralline Limestone. The
majority of the population live on areas where Globigerina Limestone is found.
• This rock is much harder than the Blue Clay, but softer than the Lower Coralline
Limestone.

• When it is found on the surface, it provides large and fairly smooth plains.

• This formation mainly comprises of fine grained limestones full of planktonic fossils
which shows that it was originally deposited in deeper water between 40 and 150 m
below the action of waves.

• The Globigerina Limestone is divided into three members

(Upper, Middle, Lower).

You need to know that it is used for building and that it has phosphatic beds.

• These members are separated by two main phosphatic

conglomerate beds which do not exceed one metre in thickness.

• The rubble nature of these prominent beds shows evidence of phases of erosion by
the incorporation of many pebbles and cobbles of brown coloured limestone.

• The colour of these layers is attributed to the high concentration of francolite (a

phosphatic mineral) in the cements.

• Because of its softness, it can be quarried easily and it has been used for most of
the buildings.
(Although now concrete and bricks are taking its place due to GLS becoming
expensive and rare).

• The soil from Globigerina Limestone is fertile, and the areas where it is found are
agricultural.
• The thin fine sandy/silt loam soils developed on this formation are intensively
cultivated and terraced.

Blue Clay

• Immediately beneath the Greensands there is the layer of Blue Clay, called blue
because of the bluish shade it takes when it is exposed to the weather.

Ġnejna Bay

• It is very soft and erodes very quickly (especially when wet).

• As it outgrows on a hillside, it slides down, covering the layers beneath

it.

• The thickness of the formation ranges from 50 to 70 m (at Fomm ir-Rih Bay)

• Composed of very fine-grained sediments, with a large proportion of them of

foraminiferal origin.

• This suggests that this formation was deposited in a similar deep-sea depositional
setting to the Globigerina Limestone and it can be regarded as a continuation of the
Upper Globigerina Limestone member sedimentation in which clay material of
terrigenous origin became progressively incorporated.
• Unlike limestone, Blue Clay is land-derived sedimentary rock.

• This clay content can only have come from a land source, part of the clay fraction is
said to originate from volcanic ash of an active volcano nearby.

• Blue Clay is the softest tock formation of the Maltese Islands and produces most of
the fertile and water retentive (does not allow water to pass) soils.

• Many Blue Clay hillslopes are turned into terraced fields with rubble walls to hold
the soil in place.

• Blue Clay is impermeable.

• The water that seeps down through the Upper Coralline

Limestone and Greensands above it, collects there and remains
there.

• In this way underground reservoirs are formed, giving rise also to springs and other
water outlets.

• Malta has no natural year-round rivers or lakes so this underground water is

essential.

• However, desalination plants bridge the gap between natural freshwater supplies
and the needs of the population. Potable water is a blend of desalinated seawater
and groundwater sources.

• Blue Clay supplies material for the making of pottery.

• Soil formed from Blue Clay is very fertile, because it remains moist and can better
resist the heat of the sun.

Greensand

• The outcrops of this formation, when they are present, are very thin and only in
Gozo do they exceed 11 m (Gelmus Hill).

• Soft, very grainy and porous rock almost entirely made up of the broken shells of
marine organisms.

• Freshly exposed outcrops have a characteristic greenish colour influenced by the

presence of glauconite (a complex, silicate based mineral).
• Weathered exposures have an orange-brown colour formed by the oxidation
products of this mineral.

• Highly porous, so it holds vast reservoirs of water in it. The rainwater seeping down
through the Upper Coralline Limestone, accumulates here, since the Blue Clay
beneath it is impermeable.

• When exposed on hillsides, large boulders get detached, roll down and come to
rest on the ground below or in the sea.

• This rock pulverizes easily into sand.

Blue clay does not allow water to pass but greensand does and so it sits on top of the
blue clay layer.

Upper Coralline Limestone

• Situated at the top of the stratigraphic sequence of the Maltese Islands.

• It is a hard, pale grey limestone, similar to the Lower Coralline Limestone

Formation.

• This limestone forms sheer cliffs of varying height and includes a similar content of
fossils such as corals and coralline alga.

• It can be up to c. 170 m thick. (160 m in the Bingemma area, Malta).

Coming is entirely upper coralline limestone.

• Generally found on hill-tops and plateau (Rabat-Dingli Uplands and the Xaghra-
Nadur highlands).

• Upper Coralline Limestone is the only formation exposed on Comino.

• The soil formed from the Upper Coralline Limestone has a reddish colour, and so it
is called 'terra rossa". In itself, this soil is very fertile.
15/2/23

Name of Description Where it can be found Landscape Human Use

Rock
(youngest to
oldest)
Upper Surface layer is very Found in hill-tops and Forms a typical Used to
Coralline hard but lower layers plateaus, mainly in the Karst scenery make spalls
Limestone are soft, porous and western region of which is rugged for road
jointed (contains Malta. and pointed. surfacing
cracks) Greeks are filled and
with Terra Rosa concrete.
soil and species
of plants live
here.
Greensand It is orange in colour, Lies beneath the UCL. Large boulders
NO
usually less than 1m Rama l-Hamra Bay is orange in economic
thick. It is mainly mainly composed of colour, are use,
composed of sand this type of rock. detached andhoweve, it
and fossil debris fall on forms a
mainly sea-urchins. It underlying clay
natural
is very soft and slopes. reservoir for
erodes quickly. the surface
water
percolating
from the
surfac,
joints and
fissures of
the UCL.
Blue Clay Soft and erodes It is found exposed in It usually forms Supplies
quickly. When wet it Ghajn Tuffieha, 45degree material for
becomes a dark blue Gnejna and Fomm ir- slopes. It slides making
grey in colour. It is Rih. down covering pottery. It’s
porous but the layers also forms
impermeable. beneath it. the base to
the
overlying
aquifer.
Globigerina Harder than Blue Clay This layer is the most Forms large and Building
Limestone but softer than LCL. It abundant and is found fairly smooth stone,
is found above the on the surface of plains. sculpture
LCL western Gozo and in and for
 central ans southern decorative
Malta. work in
stone.
Lower This is a very hard It is found mainly in Forms very Used for
Coralline limestone known as SW coastline and also steep cliffs such spalls for
Limestone Zonqor in Maltese at Bahar ic-Caghaq. as Ta’ Cenc and concrete
Dingli Cliffs. mixtures,
Karst Landscape sand and
also forms gravel for
when it is found the building
inland. industry. It
is also
polished to
form what is
known as
Maltese
Marble. It
was also
used for
kerbstones,
stairs and
monuments
.
Soils (VERY IMPORTANT TOPIC)

Soils and Landscape

• Soil is the mixture of rock debris and organic matter which develops at the earth's
surface.

• Soil is a natural mixture of:

(1) The fragmentation of the bedrock.

When rock is exposed to the atmosphere, its surface corrodes, and the loose broken
debris which is collected forms a cover called regolith.

(2) Organic remains of decayed vegetation and minute animals.

These remains form the humus, which is ordinarily black, and so the upper layer of
the soil looks darker than the sub-soil. The humus plays a very important part in
maintaining the fertility of the soil.
 (3) Inorganic matter from surface accumulation

This consists of various sizes and shapes of rock and mineral. (of increasing size are:
clay, silt, sand, gravel and stones).

The elements and compounds of this inorganic material may be: silicon, aluminium,
iron, oxygen, calcium, magnesium, sodium and potassium

(4) air

+ enriched with carbon dioxide, but deficient in oxygen owing to the respiration of
plants.

(5) water

+ enriched with dissolved substances washed from the soil and vegetation. But this
water inside the soil is less free to move.

Air and water compete for spaces in the void between solid particles.
They gain or lose according to the amount of rainfall, drainage and evaporation.

• Although there are all these components in the soil, the mixture is not haphazard.

• The elements take a long time to settle, but when they do settle, they organize
themselves into layers called horizons, more or less parallel to the ground surface.

• Each layer has a different colour, composition and structure.

• The layers (horizons) formed make up the soil profile.

• The soil profile is the vertical section of the soil showing all the soil's horizons.
• The soil profile is the vertical section of the soil showing all the soil's horizons.

• Most profile have four main layers called Horizon 0, A, B and C.

• Horizon O is the organic layer where thick litter accumulates especially in autumn after leaf fall.

• A thick layer of mull (slightly acid humus) with many soil organisms.

• Horizon A is the topsoil made of fine dark material. It is a fertile layer where one finds most living
organisms and organic material.
17/2/23

Soil Profile

- The soil profile is the vertical section of the soil showing all the soil's horizons.
- Most profiles have four main layers called Horizon 0, A, B and C.

Horizon O

- Horizon O is the organic layer where thick litter accumulates such as loose
leaves. The leaf litter decomposes and becomes humus. A thick layer of mull
nutrient rich laver forms with many soil organisms. It is in various stages of
decomposition which gives the horizon a dark colour.
- Divides into L, F, H (L = leaf litter, starts to disintegrat F = fermentation, H =
humus)

Horizon A

- Horizon A is the topsoil made of line dark material. Some staining results
from the down-washed humus. Here biological activity and humus content
are at their maximum. The humus gets mixed with the minerals by the action
of earthworms and burrowing animals. Its a fertile layer where one finds most
living organisms and organic material.

Eluviation Layer

- Eluviation - is the washing out of material due to rainfall (leaching), i.e. the
removal of organic and mineral matter from the A Horizon.
- Mineral matter mixed with some humus.

Horizon B

- Horizon B - subsoil, the zone of accumulation of fine materials and mineral

precipitates. Clays and other materials removed from the A horizon are
redeposited.
- Illuviation is the process of the redeposition of organic and mineral matter in
the B horizon. Very rich in clay and minerals like iron or aluminium. As they
get oxidized, its colour is usually reddish or brown.
- Plant roots might reach this layer but the chances are not very high . The
majority of plant roots only reach the top soil and do not go into the sub soil.

(Horizons 0, A and B are the most important layers to know.

• Horizon C - consists mainly of recently weathered parent material resting on the
bedrock. The transition laver between soil and parent material. Plant roots do not
reach this laver.

• Horizon R/D - is the parent material. It consists of a mass of bedrock. Depending on

the location, sometimes the bedrock is just a few centimetres below the surface and
sometimes several metres

Soil Horizons Diagram ^

Key items that determine the quality of the soil:
The quality of the soil depends on:
- Mineral (inorganic) matter - minerals affect the quality of the soil and the
plants which are able to grow on such soils. Soil minerals are essential
nutrients for plant growth and the maintenance of the fertility of a soil.

Two main sources of nutrients are • the weathering of minerals in the soil, and the
release ot nutrients on the decomposition of organic matter and humus by soil
organisms. They can also be obtained through rainwater and the artificial application
of fertiliser.

- Texture - the degree of coarseness or fineness of the mineral matter in the

soll. It is determined by the proportion of sand, silt and clay particles, Particles
larger than sand are grouped together and described as stones.

A sandy soil feels gritty and lacks cohesion; a silty soll has a smoother, soaplike feel
as well as having some cohesion, and a clay soil is sticky and plastic when wet, and
being very cohesive, may be rolled
into various shapes
One method of measuring texture involves the use of sieves with different mesh
sizes. The size of the particles detine the soil type
o Coarse sand - 2.0 and 0.6 mm
o Mocium sand e .6 and emm
o Fine sand - 0,2 and 0.06 mm
o Silt - 0.06 and 0.002 mm
o Clay - less than 0.002 mm

o Texture is important as it controls the size and spacing of soil pores, it directly
affects the soil water content, water flow and extent of aeration.
o Clay soils tend to hold more water and are less well drained and aerated than
sandy soils.

o Texture also controls the availability and retention of nutrients within the soil.
Nutrients stick (adsorbed onto) to clay particles and are less easily leached by
infiltration or throughfiow than in sandy soils.
o Plant roots can penetrate coarser soils more easily than finer soils, and
'lighter' sandy soils are easier to plough for arable farming than
o 'heavier' clays.

o The ideal soil for agriculture is a loam soil. This has sufficient clay (20%) to
hold moisture and retain nutrients: sutticient sand 40% to prevent water-
logging, to be well aerated and to be light enough to work; and sufficient silt
(40%) to act as an adhesive, holding the sand and clay together. A loam is least
likely to be susceptible to erosion.

Soil Structure

o The quality of the soil depends on:

o Soil structure is the property of the soil which makes it form individual
particles or aggregates.
o in most soils, clay and organic particles combine to form plates, blocks, prisms
or granules.
o Soil structure also determines the amount of pore-spaces it may have, as also
its bulky density.
o Pore.spaces altect the amount of water
o and airallowpaintothp soil, consequently, they aftect also the growth of
plants.
o Soils with a large amount of coarse sand, gravel and stone cannot hold much
nutrients, gases and water.
o Sandy soils have the weakest structures as they lack the clays, organic content
and secretions of organisms needed to cause the individual particles to
aggregate.
o (Do not need to know specific structures)
Organic Matter

This includes humus which is derived mainly from decaying plants and animals, or
from the secretions of living organisms. rallen leaves and decaying grasses and roots
are the main source ot organic matter. Soil organisms (bacteria and fungi) break
down the organic matter and, depending on the nature of the soil forming processes,
help develop up to three distinct organic layers at the surface of the soil profile.

1. Lor leaf litter layer: plant remains are still visible

2. For fermentation (decomposition) layer: decay is most rapid, although some plant
remains are still visible.
3. Hor humus layer: primarily organic in nature where, following decomposition, all
recognisable plant and animal remains have been broken down into a black, slimy,
amorphous organic material.

Water supply (moisture)

Soil moisture is important because it affects the upward or downward movement of

water and nutrients. it helps in the development of horizons, it supplies water for
living plants and organisms, it provides a solvent for plant nutrients, it influences soil
temperature and it determines the incidence of erosion. Drainage depends upon the
balance between water retention capacity and the infiltration rate.

This is controlled by porosity and permeability which in turn is controlled by the soil's
texture and structure.

As shown texture and structure affect the size and distribution of pre spaces. Clay
have numerous small pores which can retain water for long periods, giving it a high
water retention capacity, but which also restricts infiltration rates. Sands have fewer
but much larger pores which permit water to pass through more quickly, but have a
low water retention capacity.

A loam soil provides a more balanced supply of water and air in their pores.
Porosity refers to the amount of pores, or open space, between soil particles. Pore
spaces may be formed due to the movement of roots, worms, and insects.
Permeability of a soil is the capacity of the soil to allow water to pass through it.

Air - air fills the pore spaces left unoccupied by soil

lain a wet sol, most of the pore space is tilled with water.
moisture. It is oxygen in the air that is essential for plant growth and living
organisms. Compared with atmospheric air, air in the soil contains more CO,
released by plants and soil biota, and more water vapour; but less oxygen as this is
consumed by bacteria.

Soil organisms (biota) - Soil organisms include bacteria, fungi and earthworms. They
are more active and plentiful in warmer, well-drained and aerated soils than they are
in colder, more acidic and less well-drained and aerated soils. Organisms are
responsible for three important soil processes.

Decomposition - detritivores, such as earthworms, ants, termites, mites, woodlice

and slugs begin this process by burying leaf litter (detritus), which accelerates its
decay, and eating some of it. Their faces increase the surface area of detritus upon
which fungi and bacteria can act. Fungi and bacteria secrete enzymes which break
down the organic compounds in the detritus. This releases nutrient ions essential for
plant growth into the soil.

Fixation - by this process, bacteria can transform nitrogen in the air into nitrate,
which is an essential nutrient for plant growth.

Development of structure - fungi help to bind individual soil particles together to

give a crumb structure, while burrowing animals create passageways that help the
circulation of air and water and facilitate root penetration.

21/2/23

Soil – Recap

- The components of soil - water, air, mineral, organic compounds and living
organisms.
- The resultant interrelationships of these components produce a series of
properties important for soil fertility:

• Mineral (inorganic matter)

• Texture
• Structure
• Organic matter (including humus) (nutrients – natural fertilisers such as manure)
• Moisture (water)
• Air
• Organisms (biota)

Maltese Soils

• Soil formation is an extremely slow process. (30 cm of soil approx.

1,000 - 10,000 years)
• Maltese soils are relatively young and relate directly to the rock formations of the
islands.
• Lang's (1960) comprehensive study has laid the foundation for the understanding
of Maltese soils and their development.
• This study identified three main types of soil: Carbonate Raw, Xerorendzinas and
Terra Soils.
• Additional information was developed through the Maltese Soil Information
System (MALSIS) database which classified the local soil characteristics according to
the World Reference Base for Soil Resources (7 soil reference groups).
• Maltese soils have been studied as part of the MALSIS project, a Malta-EU co-
funded programme with the objective of setting up a modern Maltese soil
information system that includes a soils geodatabase.
• MALSIS consists of a national grid-based soil inventory at 1km
intervals.
• A total of 280 sites were assessed between June 2002 and August 2003 in Malta,
Gozo and Comino.
Sites were assessed in terms of agricultural land use, height of terrace, cropping
pattern, irrigation, slope and soil chemical and physical properties.
• Different soil types were often observed to occur within a single field or within a
distance of a few metres.

Carbonate Raw Soils

• A grey soil with a calcium carbonate content of 80-90% derived from fragmented
Globigerina limestone and Blue Clay, sometimes mixed with detritus from the yellow
Greensand. It is a young soil containing little humus, and is formed as a result of dry
conditions.
• Its whitish colour is due mostly to the presence of a high percentage of calcium
carbonate. It holds much water, and is therefor heavy and difficult to work in wet
weather.
• It is rich in plant food, and with the addition of lime and manure it becomes
suitable for agricultural purposes, particularly in Summer for the cultivation of vines
and vegetables.
• It is mostly found on the western side of Malta, and in the central part and on the
north-eastern side of Gozo.
• Immature group of soils resembling very closely its parent material.
• The soil formation further subdivided into subtypes (series) named after the
localities where the first examples were noted.

(Do not need to know)

Of the four carbonate raw series soils:

 - Two are formed from blue clay parent material
- One from weathered upper coralline limestone
- One from dune sand

Terra Rossa Soils

• A red clayey soil derived from both types of coralline limestone (mainly upper
coralline limestone) when the climate favoured leaching. It is reddish due to the high
iron oxide content and has a calcium carbonate content of 2-15%. It has a low humus
content, but it is however higher than in other soils.
• Represents the mature weathered state of limestone. Usually shallow, stony and
strikingly red especially when wet.
• It is found in the southern, southeastern (mostly in Zurrieg and Zabbar areas),
northern and western sides of Malta, all Comino, and round the coast in Gozo.
• Present an A/B/C profile.
• Tera rossa soils are well develope. (old group of soils) with little organic content
(although mor than the other soils) and the notable presence of ferric hydroxide.

Xerorendzinas

• Ash-Grey Soil with a calcium carbonate content of 58-80% and derived from
Globigerina Limestone.
• Mixture of Globigerina, Greensands and organic matter.
• It is highly rich in stone and chalk content and very low in humus.
• It is found mostly in the central part of Malta, from north to south, and also in
patches on the eastern and south-eastern sides. In Gozo, it is found mostly on the
western and southern sides of the island.
• Divided into three series: San Biaġio, Alcol, Tal-Barrani

• The depth of the soil and soil material is very variable. On the ridges, plateaux and
plains (erosion surfaces), the soils are very shallow ranging in depth from less than 20
cm to about 60 cm.
• Deeper soils occur only in isolated pockets. In the erosional and structural valleys,
the soils are deeper (150 cm), but patches of shallow soils are very common,
especially near the valley slopes.
Soil Erosion (very very important)

Soil Accumulation

The soil increases in volume by three main factors:

• Physical weathering of the bedrock - the rate of weathering depends on the

hardness of the rock and on climatic conditions. If the rock is hard, the fragmentation
is slow, and the soil is thin.

• Chemical weathering, affected by high temperature and humidity - in tropical

regions, the soil tends to be deep, while in the polar regions it tends to be shallow.

Wet regions accelerate the erosion of soil while dry regions slow down the process.

•Surface Accumulation – the addition of organic and inorganic material on the

surface

Soil Erosion
• Soil erosion is a gradual process of movement and transport of the upper layer of
soil (topsoil) by different agents. It is the removal of the soil at greater rate than its
replacement by natural agents.

• These agents are mainly rainwater and wind, which act on the top layer of the soil,
and consequently affect its fertility.

•Human Actions – soil mismanagement and vegetation clearance.

• Natural

Types of Natural Erosion:

• Rainsplash - soil particles are knocked into the air by raindrop impact. (dislodged)

• Sheetwash - a thin mobile sheet of water flows over the surface of a hillslope and
may transport the surface sediment and soil particles.

• Gullying - water is channelled across unprotected land and washes away the soil
along the drainage lines. Causes the significant deep cutting action into soil. Soil is
easily carried by the flowing water after being dislodged from the ground. Gullies
reduce the productivity of farmland where they incise into the land and produce
sediment that may clog downstream water bodies.

•Loss of topsoil - occurs when the amount of topsoil in the soil horizon decreases.
Soil can lose certain physical, chemical or biological qualities that underpin the web
of life within it. Enough topsoil damage can create completely barren soil.

• Leaching of nutrients - drainage of soil water can lead to the loss of nutrients when
those nutrients are dissolves in the soil solution and move beyond the root zone.

• Salinization .- Salinization occurs when salts build up in the soil to levels that inhibit
plant growth. This happens because an irrigated area loses large amounts of soil
water through evapotranspiration. Salts contained in the irrigation water remain in
the soil and increase to high concentrations. It can be caused through inappropriate
irrigation practices using salt-rich irrigation water and/or not having sufficient
drainage.

• Waterlogging - Refers to the saturation of soil with water. This prevents air from
entering the soil. Lack of oxygen in the soil reduces the amount of organisms living in
it and root growth. Occurs when irrigation with large volumes of water causes a rise
in the water table, bringing the zone of saturation close to the surface. The zone of
saturation enters into the root zone of plants. Most food crops cannot grow in
perpetually saturated soils.

Types of Erosion by Human Impact:

• Human activities have increased the rate at which soil erosion is occurring globally.
Human Activities such as:

• Deforestation - the purposeful clearing of forested land. Removes the canopy that
protects soils from direct rainfall.

• Land Development - construction activities, accelerate the erosion process as land

surfaces are disturbed and exposed to the impact of rainfall and runoff.

• Overgrazing - uprooting of grass that dislodges soil; removal of leaf cover that
protects soil.

• Over-cultivation - cause the soil to lose its structure and cohesion and it becomes
more easily eroded. Removal of nutrients makes soil unsuitable for plant growth.
Land becomes desert-like and unable to support life - desertification.
• Agriculture on marginal land - marginal land are soils with low inherent fertility
and topography unsuited to modern farm machinery.

Soil Erosion by Desertification:

• A process of land degradation in arid, semi-arid and sub-humid areas due to various
factors including climatic variations and human activities.

• Desertification is a process by which fertile land becomes desert, typically as a

result of drought, deforestation or inappropriate agriculture.

• Overgrazing, overuse of groundwater, urbanization, deforestation, and tillage

practices in agriculture that make soils more vulnerable to wind.

Soil Erotion by Climate Change

• Our global climate will change.

• The Earth will become warmer, especially in mid- and high-attitudes. Most areas
will have more precipitation, although higher temperatures will often bring more
summer drought stress. Extreme events - heavy rainfalls and high winds - will be
more frequent.
• More frequent and more intense rainfall events, which are predicted for
midlatitude summers, will enhance soil loss by

• Soil is an important - and often neglected - element of the climate system. It is the
second largest carbon store, or 'sink', after the oceans.

• Depending on the region, climate change might result in more carbon being stored
in plants and soil due to vegetation growth, or more carbon being released into the
atmosphere.gullying of unprotected surfaces.