Soils

Soils

1. Weathering

   • Breacking of rocks by a phisycal or chemical process.

2. Erosion

   • Smaller rocks carried away by wind or water.

3. Depending on the size of the rocks

   • Clay
     • <0,002mm
   • Silt
     • <0,05mm
   • Sand
     • <2,0mm

4. Soil Chart

   • Best type of soil
     • Loam
   • Clayey soil
     • It retains more water
     • Plant roots will find it difficult growing through it.
   • Sandy soil
     • Worse that Clayey at holding water.
     • Easy for roots to grow in

5. Soil Profile

   • Soil Layers
     • Horizons
   • O Horizon
     • "Organic"
       • Most of the detritus is pleaced here
     • A Horizon
       • "Biomantle"
         • Most of the Organic matter is pleaced here
       • B Horizon
         • "Subsurface"
           • The farthest plant roots go for soil
         • R Horizon
           • Rock layer
       • Eve Horizon
         • The eve horizon develops when there's a lot of soil leaching

6. Soil orders

   • Entisol
     • No development of it's horizons
     • Most common type of soil on Earth
   • Inceptisol
     • More horizon development
   • Aridisol
     • Desert soil (not in sand deserts)
     • Mostly with sand, silt and gravel
   • Gelisol
     • Has Permafrost
     • Little development
     • At high latitudes in the Arctic
   • Spodosol
     • Closer to Ecuator
       • Coniferous and Boreal Forests
     • Low fertility
     • Acidic
   • Alfisol
     • Rich in Fe and Ai
     • Broadleaf, Decideous and Mediterranean
   • Ultisol
     • Iron makes them RED
     • Subtopical and Humid places
   • Mollisol
     • Best for Agriculture
     • Grassland soils
   • Oxisol
     • Low fertility
     • Hard to find
     • Very developed horizons
     • Rainforest soils
     • Reddish colour
   • Andisol
     • Volcanic soil
     • Rich in nutrients
   • Histosol
     • Wetland soils
     • Usually contains peat and other oorganic matter
       • It can change into an impermeable soil if to much organic matter builds up.
     • Highly Acidic
     • Unstable and Dangerous to build structures on.
     • Canadá and River Deltas
   • Vertisol
     • High Clay Content
     • Dry out regularly
   • Depending on the latitude

7. Most of the new soils are close to the poles due to the Ice age and the ice that had formed on the soil

8. Factors that influence in soil Formation

   • CLORPT
     • CL= Climate
     • O= Organisms
     • R= relief
     • P= Parent Material
     • T= Time

9. Soil Distribution

   • Sporadic and Patchy

10. Take care of the soil

    • Forests and plants protect the soil
      • Don't Cut down Forests for buildings, factories or cultivation.
      • Don't Overcultivate the Land (It will make soil unfertile).

11. Formed by