PREPARED BY: GROUP 1

SOILS
sched: thurs/fri 1:00-3:00 pm
GUINTU, LAWRENCE ANGELO
SUHOD, ALJEMAR
DEQUITO, KEVIN
DUGASAN, JAYREN
 What is Soil?

-Soil is the thin layer of material on the Earth's surface. It is a natural resource
consisting of weathered and organic materials, air and water. As it is the medium in
which plants establish themselves and grow, the most widely recognized function of
soil is its support for food production.
-Soil provides nutrients and water that are absorbed through plant roots and
contribute to the regulation of water and atmospheric gases and therefore play an
important role in climate regulation.
 SOIL COMPOSITION

The basic components of soil are minerals, organic matter, water and air.
The typical soil consists of approximately 45% mineral, 5% organic matter,
20-30% water, and 20-30% air.
What is soil composition and their functions?

Basic Soil Components – Climate, Forests and Woodlands

Soil is composed of a matrix of minerals, organic matter, air, and water. Each
component is important for supporting plant growth, microbial communities,
and chemical decomposition. Image courtesy of Food Agriculture Organization
(FAO). The largest component of soil is the mineral portion, which makes up
approximately 45% to 49% of the volume.
Humus- is dark organic material that forms in
soil when plant and animal matter decays.
When plants drop leaves, twigs, and other
material to the ground, it piles up. This
material is called leaf litter. When animals die,
their remains add to the litter.
Living organisms- present in soil include
(archaea, bacteria, actinomycetes, fungi, algae,
protozoa, and a wide variety of larger soil fauna
including springtails, mites, nematodes,
earthworms, ants, and insects) that spend all or
part of their life underground, even larger
organisms such as burrowing rodents.
 Geological Processes

Erosion involves the movement Weathering is the wearing Deposition is the laying down
of rock fragments through down or breaking of rocks of sediment carried by wind,
gravity, wind, rain, rivers, while they are in place. water, or ice.
oceans and glaciers.

Landforms are features on Relief is the term used for the

the Earth’s surface that differences in height across the
make up the terrain. land’s surface and is affected by the
underlying rocks.
 Land and Soil

Land commonly refers to the planet’s surface not covered

by seas, lakes or rivers. It includes the total land mass
including continents and islands. In more daily use and
legal texts, ‘land’ often refers to a designated piece of land.
It consists of rocks, stones, soil, vegetation, animals,
ponds, buildings, etc.

Land can be covered by different types of vegetation (e.g.

natural or managed grassland, cropland and wetlands) and
artificial surfaces (e.g. roads and buildings).
Soil is one of the essential components of land. It consists of particles of
rock, sand and clay as well as organic material such as plant residues, soil-
dwelling animals and organisms such as bacteria and fungi, along with the
air and water in soil pores. Soil properties (e.g. texture, colour and carbon
content) can vary from one area to another as well as across layers at the
same site. Soil plays a crucial role in nature’s cycles, particularly the water
cycle and the nutrient cycles (carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus).

Topsoil is the layer closest to the surface (usually the densely rooted zone
or plough layer, down to 20-30 cm). It contains the highest amount of
organic carbon and, given this, it is the most productive layer. One
centimetre of topsoil can take from a few hundred to thousands of years to
form. Given this, it is considered a non-renewable resource.

Deeper layers in the crust can contain other natural resources, including
groundwater, minerals and fossil fuels.
How are Soils Formed?
Solid rock particles break down from mineral weathering.
Chemical weathering releases important nutrients from the rock grains.
Seeds are blown or carried onto the soil grains and may grow into plants to
enrich the soil when they die.
Micro-organisms decompose the remains of the plant to form Humus which
further emriches the soil
The cycle continues until soils reaches maximum fertility given the climate it is in
Formation of Soil (clay + mix of dead vegetation)

• Physical weathering
• Mechanical weathering
• Any process that breaks down rock into smaller pieces without changing chemistry of rock
• Wind and water
• Chemical Weathering
Result of chemical interactions between water and atmospheric gases and the bedrock of the region
Oxidation: reaction with 02
Hydrolysis: rn with H20
Acid action: Rn with acids (H2CO3, H2C04, H2S03)
Dissoultion: chemical weathering from acid rain
• Biological weathering
• Takes place as a result of activities of living organisms
• Can be combined with chemical processes
• Chemosynthesis of bacteria
Roots of trees creating fissures in rocks exposing them to further mechanical
and chemical weathering.
2 types of creation Soil
• Infiltration
• Downward movement of water through the
soil

• Leaching
• Dissolving of minerals and organic matter in
upper layers carrying them to lower layers
Soil formation
6 Major Component of Soil
Eroded Rock Mineral Nutrients
-it is a physical erosion often form clastic -those elements on the earth and in foods
sediments. Clastic sediments are that our bodies need to develop and function
composed of fragments of older rocks normally. Those essential for health include
that have been transported from their calcium, phosphorus, potassium, sodium,
place of origin. Landslides and other chloride, magnesium, iron, zinc, iodine,
forms of mass wasting are associated with chromium, copper, fluoride, molybdenum,
physical weathering. manganese, and selenium.
Decaying organic matter Water
-is a process, which includes -the clear liquid that has no
mostly physical breakdown and color, taste, or smell, that falls
biochemical transformation of from clouds as rain, that forms
complex organic molecules into streams, lakes, and seas, and that
simpler organic and inorganic is used for drinking, washing, etc.
molecules.
 Air Living Organism
-is composed of cells. The cells divide
-the mixture of invisible odorless
and the body of the organisms show
tasteless gases (such as nitrogen and
growth due to the increase in the number
oxygen) that surrounds the earth. of cells. A tree is a living organism and
also the equivalent mix of gases on shows the process of growth. Road, pen,
another planet. and water are non-living organisms
which do not show the process of
growth.
There are five major classes of structure seen in soils
Platy
-structure indicates compaction and possible problems with water movement and
root growth. Subangular blocky structure in the subsoil allows for sufficient pore
space for movement of water and air. Soil microbes (bacteria and fungi) produce
sticky substances that hold soil particles together.

Prismatic
-are soil particles which have formed into vertical columns or pillars
separated by miniature, but definite, vertical cracks. Water circulates with
greater difficulty and drainage is poor.

Columnar
-It consist mainly of bridge piers and include center columns of subways,
underground shopping malls, etc. Bridge piers are characterized by their
imposing size. They may reach 7−8 m in diameter (4−5 m in width for square
columns).
 Granular
-structure is a mathematical structure of the collection of granules, in
which the inner structure of each granule is visible (a granule is a white
box) and the interactions among granules are detected by the visible
structures [19], [20], [21], [33].

Blocky
-are common in subsoil but also occur in surface soils that have a high clay
content. The strongest blocky structure is formed as a result of swelling and
shrinking of the clay minerals which produce cracks
SOIL TEXTURES-3 MAJOR DIVISIONS

• Clay
Smallest, very fine Sand
Less than o.002mm in diameter 0.05-2.0 mm in diameter
Easily stick to each other Coarsest particle
Little room between particles to stoße water Too large to stick together
Extremely compact, feels sticky Creates soil with large pores
• Silt Water filter through
0.002-0.05 mm in diameter (Gravel)
Feels smooth 2.0 mm and larger
Holds water well Does not hold water well
Resists filtrationl
 Sandy Soil

Sandy Soil is light, warm, dry and tends to be acidic and low in nutrients. Sandy soils are often
known as light soils due to their high proportion of sand and little clay (clay weighs more than sand).

These soils have quick water drainage and are easy to work with. They are quicker to warm up in
spring than clay soils but tend to dry out in summer and suffer from low nutrients that are washed
away by rain.

The addition of organic matter can help give plants an additional boost of nutrients by improving
the nutrient and water holding capacity of the soil.
 Slit Soil

Silt Soil is a light and moisture retentive soil type with a high fertility rating.
As silt soils compromise of medium sized particles they are well drained and hold
moisture well.
As the particles are fine, they can be easily compacted and are prone to washing
away with rain.
By adding organic matter, the silt particles can be bound into more stable clumps.
 Clay Soil

Clay Soil is a heavy soil type that benefits from high nutrients. Clay soils remain wet and cold in
winter and dry out in summer.
These soils are made of over 25 percent clay, and because of the spaces found between clay
particles, clay soils hold a high amount of water.
Because these soils drain slowly and take longer to warm up in summer, combined with drying out
and cracking in summer, they can often test gardeners.
 Loamy

• Soil composed of roughly the same amount of all three textures (clay,
silt, sand) and organic matter
• Loose and rich
• When you squeeze it, forms a ball that crumbles when poked
• Good at absorbing and storing
water
• Best for plant growth
ALCALINITY AND ACIDITY OF SOIL
What is pH?
A measure of how acidic or basic a substance or solution is. pH is measured on a scale of 0 to 14. On this
scale, a pH value of 7 is neutral, which means it is neither acidic nor basic.

-Most soils pH- 4-8 (neutral to slightly acidic)

-pH affects solubility of nutrients
-Determines nutrient availability for absorption by roots of plants
-If soil in a region is too acidic or basic, certain soil nutrients in that
region will not be able to be taken up by plants
-pH too acidic=BIG problems
• Ions of heavy metals mercury (Hg) or aluminum (Al) can leach into
the groundwater
•These ions will then travel to streams and rivers=negative impact
to plants and aquatic life
Ex. Aluminum ions can damage fish gills-suffocation of fish
Soil Types- Based on Water Content
Pedocal

Dry, semi arid climate

• Little organic matter
• No mineral leaching
• High limestone content
• praries
Pedalfer
• Enriched with aluminum and iron
• Greater organic matter and leaching
• Found in areas with high temp. and
lots of forest cover
Laterite
• Soggiest type
• Tropical and subtropical climate zones
• High organic matter
Laterite
• Low nutrients (lots of rain)
• Aluminum hydroxide-red soil
 Soil Porosity
• Measure of the volume of pores or air spaces per volume of soil and
average distance between those spaces
-Fine particles help retain water (precipitation goes into pores)
-Large particles help create air spaces for filtration
• Pores b/t organic solid particles and inorganic solid particles in
upper and lower layers
• Contain varying amounts of air (N and O) and water
• Porous soil
-Many pores
-Can hold more water
-Non porous soil
-Not a lot of spaces
• Cannot hold much water
 Soil Permeability
-Rate at which water and air move through the soil
-Sand
• High permeability
• Water moves through quickly
•Filters water
-Clay
• Low permeability
. Water moves through slowly
• Retain water
 Soil erosion is a gradual process that occurs when the impact of water or
wind detaches and removes soil particles, causing the soil to deteriorate.
Soil deterioration and low water quality due to erosion and surface runoff
have become severe problems worldwide.

What are examples of soil erosion?

Rain Drop or Splash Erosion-represents the first stage in the erosion process. Splash
erosion results from the bombardment of the soil surface by rain drops. Rain drops
behave as little bombs when falling on exposed or bare soil, displacing soil particles and
destroying soil structure.

Sheet Erosion- occurs as a shallow 'sheet' of water flowing over the ground surface,
resulting in the removal of a uniform layer of soil from the soil surface. Sheet erosion
occurs when rainfall intensity is greater than infiltration (sometimes due to crusting).
Rarely seen but accounts for large volumes of soil loss.
Rill Erosion- is removal of soil by concentrated water flow,
and it occurs when the water forms small channels in the soil
as it flows off site.

Gully Erosion- is the removal of soil along drainage lines by

surface water runoff. Unless steps are taken to stabilise the
disturbance, gullies will continue to move by headward
erosion or by slumping of the side walls.

Stream Bank Erosion-causes sediment to wash into the

stream. That sediment significantly impacts stream life,
including a loss of wildlife habitat, higher levels of nutrients,
and clouding of the water. As banks collapse or slough off
into a stream, the bushes, shrubs, and grasses also drop off
into the stream.