Soil

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 Soil

Soil is what covers most of the land on Earth, making it the skin of our
planet. It is the reason why plants and trees are strong and not easily
picked. Soil also serves as a home for insects, worms, and other
burrowing animals. It is composed of water, air, different minerals such
as rock, sand, clay, and silt, and organic matter from dead plants and
animals.

HOW IS SOIL FORMED?

▪ Soil is formed over long periods of time.
▪ It can take up to 1000 years to form just an inch of soil.
▪ Soil is made up of four things: rock fragments, dead and living things,
water, and air.
▪ The parent material, which is generally a huge rock, breaks down into
smaller pieces with the help of rains and winds. KIDSKONNECT.COM
Soil
FORMATION PROCESSES
▪ Rocks can be broken down in two ways: physical or chemical
weathering.
▪ Physical weathering happens when the rock is weakened and
disintegrated by physical factors, such as temperature changes,
friction, freezing, or heating.
▪ Chemical weathering happens when the rock is weakened and
disintegrated under chemical reactions that alter the rock’s
mineral.
▪ Chemical weathering processes can either form or destroy
minerals through oxidation, hydrolysis, and carbonation.

▪ Oxidation happens
when rock minerals
react with oxygen.
▪ Carbonation happens
when rock minerals
react with carbonic acid,
a chemical formed when
water combines with
carbon dioxide.

▪ Hydrolysis is a chemical reaction caused by water.

▪ Water makes rocks become less resistant to weathering
because it changes their chemical composition and size of
minerals present.
▪ Agents work their way to break down the parent rock to tiny
particles of soil.
▪ Examples of agents are wind, water, plants, animals, and the
sun’s heat.
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Soil
▪ The weathered fragments are further broken down into smaller pieces
to form sand and silt and then even further into finer particles.
▪ The organic matter decays and mixes with the rock fragments,
minerals, and water to form soil.
▪ This process is continuously happening at a slow pace and the fine
particles form the top layer of the soil.

FACTORS FOR SOIL FORMATION

▪ Living organisms, such as

plant, fungi, animals, and
bacteria, help the formation of
soil.
▪ The topography of the area is
the slope of the surface of land
where the soil forms.

▪ The climate is a huge factor in soil

formation.
▪ The type of rock being disintegrated to
form the soil plays a huge role in its
formation.

CLAY SOIL

▪ This type is made up of 25% clay.

▪ The particles present in clay are very fine
and bind very well.
▪ This type of soil holds a high amount of
water.
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Soil
▪ It remains wet and cold in winter which makes it very sticky and dry
in summer, which is very hard like a rock.
▪ It has very little air spaces so it doesn’t drain water very well.
▪ Clay is generally formed in places where the parent rock has
contact with water or steam.

SANDY SOIL
▪ This type is light, warm, and
dry.
▪ Sand drains water very easily
and is relatively easy to work
with.
▪ It has the largest, yet fine and
hard particles with a very gritty
texture.
▪ It is poor at holding water and easily warms up in summer.
▪ It is very low in nutrients because these nutrients are usually
washed away.
▪ Particles are formed from weathering of shale, limestone, granite,
and quartz.

SILT SOIL
▪ This soil is light and keeps moisture with a high fertility rate,
meaning plants can be cultivated using this soil.
▪ It is composed of medium sized particles, which are finer.
▪ This soil can be easily compacted and is prone to being washed
away by rain.
▪ It is formed when fine sediments, such as dust, organic matter,
and debris, are carried by water and then deposited.
▪ When this soil is deposited and cemented with time, it forms what
we call siltstone. KIDSKONNECT.COM
Soil
LOAMY SOIL
▪ It is a mixture of sand, clay,
and silt particles.
▪ It has high water retention,
calcium, and aeration.
▪ This is the ideal soil for most
crops and vegetables.
▪ It is soft and very easy to
cultivate.
▪ This is considered to be a
gardener’s best friend.

PEATY SOIL

▪ It is very dark in color.

▪ This soil is very high in organic
matter and retains a huge amount
of water.
▪ It is rarely found naturally in
gardens but it is usually used in
gardens as a soil base for planting.
▪ It has an acidic nature and this
causes decomposition to
discontinue.

CHALKY SOIL

▪ Chalky soil can either act as a light or heavy soil.

▪ It is always alkaline, with a pH of 7.5, due to the presence of
calcium carbonate or lime.
▪ It is often stony in texture with a limestone bedrock.
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Soil
▪ It is free draining due to its texture.
▪ Due to its alkalinity, this type of soil does not support the growth of
acidic plants.
▪ This soil is not the best soil to use because it lacks iron and
manganese.

SOIL PROFILE
▪ Soil has different layers which are
arranged and these layers are called
horizons.
▪ The sequence of these horizons is
called a soil profile.
▪ The horizons are observed by their
color and particle size.
▪ The layers of the soil have different
features and these features determine
the use of that particular soil.
▪ A mature soil has three complete
layers: the topsoil, subsoil, and the
parent rock.
▪ An immature soil only has 2 layers.

SOIL HORIZONS
▪ Horizon O, or the organic horizon, is composed of mainly organic
matter and is a thick layer of plant remains (leaves and twigs).
▪ Horizon A, or the topsoil, is roughly 5 to 10 inches thick and is
composed of organic matter and minerals.
▪ Topsoil is where plants and organisms live and this is where seeds
germinate.
▪ Horizon E, or the eluviation (leaching) layer, is mainly composed
of sand and silts. KIDSKONNECT.COM
Soil
▪ Horizon B, also called the subsoil, is very rich in minerals because
it accumulates the minerals that moved down from the A and E
horizons.
▪ Horizon B is made primarily of clay, iron, and organic matter.
▪ Horizon C, or the regolith, is the surface where the soil or the
upper layers developed from and it is mostly composed of huge
rocks.
▪ Plant roots do not penetrate into horizon C and very little organic
material is found in this layer.
▪ The last horizon, horizon R, is also called the bedrock.
▪ Horizon R is an unweathered large mass of rock composed of
granite, basalt, quartzite, limestone, or sandstone.

SOIL HORIZONS
▪ Soil is the only foundation where plants can grow.
▪ They provide a good filtration system for surface water and it is the
reason why underground water (aquifers) is considered to be pure
and clean.
▪ It is home to many organisms and they create a habitable
environment for plant growth.
▪ It is good for maintaining the balance of atmospheric gases by
regulating the amount of carbon dioxide present on the
atmosphere.
▪ A pedologist is a scientist who studies soil.

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Name: ______________

Four Factors
What are four important factors in soil formation and
development? The first and last letters of each are given as
clues. After decoding them, explain how they are important
to soil formation and development.

SOIL
needs the following
factors in its
formation and
development.

P T R K

____________________________________
____________________________________

T E

____________________________________
____________________________________

C E

____________________________________
____________________________________

O S

____________________________________
____________________________________
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ANSWER KEY

Four Factors
What are four important factors in soil formation and
development? The first and last letters of each are given as
clues. After decoding them, explain how they are important
to soil formation and development.

SOIL
needs the following
factors in its
formation and
development.

P A R E N T R O C K

____________________________________
____________________________________

T I M E

____________________________________
____________________________________

C L I M A T E

____________________________________
____________________________________

O R G A N I S M S

____________________________________
____________________________________
KIDSKONNECT.COM
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