Soils- differ around the world but they are basically composed of weathered, rock,

air, water, decomposed organic material and various organisms, all working
together in a complex ecosystem capable of supporting the growth of land plants;
Not all soils have all these components.

SOIL- is a very complex and dynamic system of many interacting factors and
components that affected by plants. Soil consists of:

1. A solid fraction: that is rock, rock fragments and minerals

2. An Organic fraction; the decayed and decaying residues of plants, microbes
and soil animals.
3. A liquid fraction, including water and dissolved minerals.
4. A soil atmosphere or soil air.

Pore Spaces the voids found between the solids.

Pore spaces vary in size and continuity and are an important physical property of
soils

KINDS OF ROCKS

Parent rocks contain the nutrients that will be found in parent material and
later in the solid. Rocks are made up of consolidated material, unconsolidated
material, or both.

1. IGNEOUS ROCKS (lime, lava,magma) are formed from the hardening of

various kinds of molten rock material and are composed of minerals such as
quarts and feldspar.
2. SEDIMENTARY ROCKS are generally unconsolidated and composed of rock
fragments that have been transported and deposited by wind, water or
glaciers ex. Limestone, sandstone and shale are example.
3. METAMORPHIC ROCKS- form from igneous or sedimentary rocks that have
been subjected to sufficiently high pressures and temperatures to change
their structure and composition, slate, gneiss, schist, and marble are example
of this kind of rocks.

FACTORS INVOLVED IN SOIL FORMATION

SOIL is derived from rocks, minerals and decaying organic matter.

The major processes in soil formation are:

1. Accumulation
2. Transformation ;Of the parent material.

Parent Material accumulates from the breakdown of rocks by weather, this

process must occur before soil can begin to form. The parent material accumulates
as an unconsolidated mass that later differentiates into characteristic layers called
horizons.

Horizon = is a distinct layer of soil having physical and/or chemical differences

resulting from soil-forms processes as seen in a vertical cross section.

THE FACTORS RESPONSIBLE FOR SOIL FOMRATION ARE

1. Parent Material
2. Climate
3. Biology
4. Topography
5. Time

Parent Material

The formation and accumulation of material by chemical and physical

weathering of parent rocks is the first step in the development of soil.

Physical weathering is the physical breakdown of large pieces of rock into smaller
and smaller pieces. Changes in temperature greatly affect the rates of physical
weathering.