Soil Survey Lab Exerecise-02

Lab Exerecise-02
Objective: To study about the examination of soil profile in Himalayan College.

Theory: The vertical section of the soil from the surface extending in to the parent material is called soil
profile. The various layers, composing the soil, are called horizons. A soil horizon may be defined as a layer
(of varying thickness) approximately parallel to the soil surface. The study of soil profile and its
characteristics determines the agricultural value (orchard, forest & crop) of land and explain its behavior
towards use and management. It is pre-requisite for classifying of soils. The horizons in profile can be
designated as follows:
Materials Required: Field data notebook, Pen or pencil (optional: colored pens or pencils),
Shovel or other digging tool for digging a pit, Trowel or metal spoon for taking small soil
samples (called peds), Plastic tarp or sheet for storing soil removed from the pit, Spray bottle
full of water, Meter stick or tape measure and Camera.
Procedure:
1. Identify a location within your field site where you can dig a soil pit. Look for less
compacted and disturbed areas of soil away from concrete, pavement or roads. The
presence of grasses, trees and other types of vegetation are usually a good indicator that
you can dig a successful pit. Look for and avoid safety risks like broken glass or other
sharp objects that may be obscured by grass.
2. In your field notebook, describe characteristics of the site that could influence the soil
profile. This includes features like:
 Vegetation types, percent of coverage and heights.
 Land use (urban, agricultural, recreation, wilderness, etc.).
 Buildings or other artificial features (fences, roads, benches, power poles, etc.).
 Surrounding landforms and water bodies.
 Approximate slope of the site and exposure to sun and shade.
1. Using your shovel, dig a pit that is at least 1 meter (3 feet) deep. The pit should be
wide enough that you can easily observe the different layers (horizons) of soil all the way
to the bottom of the pit. Usually this means digging a pit that is as wide as it is deep.
2. As you remove soil from the pit with the shovel, place the soil on your plastic tarp
in piles that correspond with the soil layers and depth. When you are finished with your
soil profile you will replace the piles into the pit so that the deepest horizons are returned
to the bottom of the pit and the surface horizons are used to cap the top of the pit.
3. Starting at the top of the profile and working your way down to the bottom of the
profile, determine the types of soil horizons (O, A, E, B, C, R) present and the depths at
which horizons are located. Discuss the types and depths of horizons as a group until
consensus is reached. Take depth measurements at the top and bottom of each horizon
using a meter stick or tape, starting with 0 cm at the top of the profile.
4. Make a sketch of the profile horizons types and depths in your field notebook.
Take a photograph of the profile that clearly shows the horizons. Take another
photograph(s) of the landscape surrounding your soil pit.
5. Examine each horizon for moisture, color, smell, texture, and structure (see notes
on each on the following pages). In order to determine these characteristics you can
examine both the exposed profile in the pit and the soil you collected from horizons and
stored on the plastic tarp. Describe these characteristics for each horizon in your
notebook.
6. Refill your soil pit and pick up any equipment you have used. As much as
possible, return the site to the condition it was in before you dug the pit.
Observation: Soil profile is studied through study of hexagonal column of soil taken as sample.
 A soil horizon is a layer generally parallel to the soil surface, whose physical
characteristics differ from the layers above and beneath.
 Horizons are defined in most cases by obvious physical features, chiefly colour and
texture.
 The uppermost horizon is generally dark in colour as it is rich in humus and minerals.
The humus makes the soil fertile and provides nutrients to growing plants. This layer is
generally soft, porous, and can retain more water. It is called the topsoil or the A-horizon.
 The next layer has a lesser amount of humus but more of minerals. This layer is generally
harder and more compact and is called the B-horizon or the middle layer.
 The third layer is the C-horizon, which is made up of small lumps of rocks with cracks.
 A soil horizon makes up a distinct layer of soil. The horizon runs roughly parallel to the
soil surface and has different properties and characteristics than the adjacent layers above
and below. The soil profile is a vertical section of the soil that depicts all of its horizons.
The soil profile extends from the soil surface to the parent rock material.
 The regolith includes all of the weathered material within the profile. The regolith has
two components: the solum and the saprolite. The solum includes the upper horizons with
the most weathered portion of the profile. The saprolite is the least weathered portion that
lies directly above the solid, consolidated bedrock but beneath the regolith.
Soil Horizons: They develop through interactions among climate, living organisms, and the land
surface, over time. Horizons usually develop either by selective removal or accumulation of
certain ions, colloids, and chemical compounds. This removal or accumulation is normally
produced by water seeping through the soil profile from the surface to deeper layers. Horizons
often have different soil textures and colors.
There are two types of soil horizons: organic and mineral.
Organic horizons, marked with the capital letter O, lie over mineral horizons and are formed
from plant and animal matter. The upper Oi horizon containsdecomposing organic matter that
you can easily recognize by eyes, such as leaves or twigs. The lower Organic horizon contains
humus, which has broken down beyond recognition.
Mineral horizons: There are four main mineral horizons: A, E, B, C
O Horizon
 Layers dominated by organic material.
 Some O layers consist of undecomposed or partially decomposed litter (such as leaves,
needles, twigs, moss, and lichens).
 They may be on top of either mineral or organic soils.
A Horizon or Surface soil
 It is the part of top soil.
 In this layer, organic matter is mixed with mineral matter.
 It is the layer of mineral soil with the most organic matter accumulation and soil life.
 Nutrients like iron, aluminium, clay, and organic matter are sometimes dissolved and
carried out in this layer.
 This layer is depleted of (eluviated of) iron, clay, aluminum, organic compounds,and
other soluble constituents.
 When depletion is pronounced, a lighter colored “E” subsurface soil horizon isapparent at
the base of the “A” horizon.
E horizon
 “E” stands for eluviated layer.
 It is a light-colored eluviated layer that is eroded of its nutrients.
 It is the horizon that has been significantly leached of clay, iron, and aluminumoxides,
which leaves a concentration of resistant minerals, such as quartz, inthe sand and silt
sizes.
 These are present only in older, well-developed soils, and generally occurbetween the A
and B horizons.
B Horizon or Subsoil
 It is a subsurface layer reflecting chemical or physical alteration of the parent material.
 This layer accumulates all the leached minerals from the A and E horizon.
 Thus iron, clay, aluminum, and organic compounds accumulate in this horizon
[illuviation (opposite of eluviation)].
C Horizon or Parent rock
 Weathered parent material accumulates in this layer, i.e. the parent materialin
sedimentary deposits.
 It is a layer of large unbroken rocks.
 This layer may accumulate more soluble compounds (inorganic material).
R Horizon or Bedrock
 This layer denotes the layer of partially weathered bedrock at the base of the soil profile.
 Unlike the above layers, R horizons largely comprise continuous masses of hard rock.
 Soils formed in situ will exhibit strong similarities to this bedrock layer.
 These areas of bedrock are under 50 feet of the other profiles.
Significance
The study of the soil profile is significant in agriculture sciences because the land use pattern can
be determined. Land capability classification is based on the study of soil profile & horizon.
Soil Individual or Polypedon: The Soil Survey Staff (1960) defined the soil individual or
polypedon (Pedon, Ground) as a natural unit of soil that differs from its adjoining unit on the
landscape in one or more properties. The term pedon has been proposed for small basic soil
entities that are part of the continuum mantling the land.
 A pedon is the smallest volume that can be called "a soil". The set of pedons must fit
within the range of one series and occur in a contiguous group to form a polypedon.
 A polypedon is therefore, defined as a contiguous similar pedons bounded on all sides by
"not soil or by pedons of unlike characters. It is a real physical soils body which has a
minimum area of more than 1 sq. km and an unspecified maximum area.
Precautions:
 Expose the profile at such a place that it is representative of the whole area.
 Do not expose it at elevated or depressed locations in field or in a direction directly
facing the sun.
 Dig the profile at such a place that maximum visibility is obtained.
 Remove the plant cover if any before digging the pit in a manner so that
the soil surface is not disturbed.
 Dig the profile pit in such a way that one side of it has steps for movement of the
personnel.

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Lab Exerecise-02

Objective: To study about the examination of soil profile in Himalayan College.

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