THE FORMING OF SOIL 5 FACTORS FORMING SOIL a. Parent material > primary material for form of soil.

Soil parent material could be bedrock , organic material, an soil surface, or a deposit from water, wind, glaciers, volcanoes, or material moving down a slope.

b. Climate > weathering forces such as heat, rain, ice, snow, wind, sunshine and other environment forces, break down parent material and affect how fast or slow soil formation processes go.

c. Organisms > all plants and animals living in or on the soil ( including microorganisms and humans ). The amount of water and nutrients, plants need affects the way soil forms. The way humans use soils affects soil formation. Also animals living in the soil affect decomposition of waste material and how soil materials will be moved around in the soil profile. On the soil surface remains of dead plants and animals are worked by microorganisms and eventually become organic matter that is incorporated into the soil and enriches the soil.

d. Topography > the location of a soil on a landscape can affect how the climatic processes impact it. Soils at the bottom of a hill will get more water than soils on the slopes, and soils on the directly face the sun will be drier than soils on slopes that do not. Also, mineral accumulations, plants nutrients, type of vegetation, vegetation growth, erosion, and water drainage are dependent on topographic relief.

e. Time > All of the above factors assert themselves over time, often hundreds or thousands of years. Soil profiles continually change from weakly developed to well developed over time.

HOW DOES SOIL FORM ? ~~ Soils can often form from the bedrock that it overlies. ~~ Over thousands of years, the bedrock begins to break down a few feet below the surface and soft, breakable rock called saprolite forms. ~~ Plants and tree roots are able to grow through this material and break it up further. ~~ Over time, organic matter accumulates on the surface and leaches through the newly formed soil. ~~This is when horizons (or layers of soil) form from accumulated minerals or leached out areas. ~~The A horizon (top laye) is usually the richest in organic matter and dark in colour, whereas the lower horizons usually resemble a lighter color that resembles the parent bedrock.

THE IMPORTANT OF SOIL

~ vital part of the natural environment ~it influences the distribution of plant species and provides a habitat for a wide range of organisms. ~control the flow of water and chemical substances between the atmosphere and the earth, and act as both a source and store for gases in the atmosphere. ~Record the human activities both at present and in the past. ~soil may look still and lifeless, but this impression couldnt be further from the truth. ~ responding to changes in environmental factors