Soil Horizonisation

Wednesday, 28 January, 2009 10:59 AM

Soil profile: side view of the soil from the surface down; a two dimensional entity. Soil pedon: a three dimensional equivalent of the soil profile. A pedon extends downward through all genetic horizons; and if the genetic horizons are thin, into the upper part of the underlying parent material. Lower limit of a pedon is 2m or bedrock, whichever is shallower. A pedon is a theoretical construct and does not exist in nature.

Solum: a grouping of O, A, E and B horizons.

Soil horizon: A layer of soil or soil material approximately parallel to the land surface and differing from adjacent, genetically related layers in physical, chemical and biological properties or characteristics. There are five master horizons (only O, A, E, B and C re considered soil):

Soil Classification Page 1

O Horizon
Include all organic materials and decomposing debris lying on the mineral soil surface and are usually located at the top of the soil profile, as the uppermost master horizon, if present at all (absent in the case of plowed soil). Function: Provide buffer between atmosphere and mineral soil. Insulate the underlying soil from extremes of temperat re and moisture. Provides mechanical protection from raindrop impact, r off and other erosional processes. Facilitate infiltration.

Genesis and evolution: Forms as organic debris falls to the surface and accum lates. Raw organic debris, also known as litter, predominantly plant fiber (fibric material) and forms the uppermost Oi horizon. Influx of dead organic debris is continuous through th ar and is maximum prior to a dry or cold season. The O horizon is a producer of humus (well decomposed, relatively stable part of the organic matter in the soil containing primarily derivatives of lignins, proteins and cellulose). The main process whereby raw litter is changed, fragmented and decomposed into humus is known humification. Decomposition of dead organic material by earthworms, arthropods, microorganisms and fungi reduces thickness of O horizon and has seasonal biorhythms. De omposition is high in warm wet weather (thin O horizon) and low in cool, dry weather (thick O horizon). Partial decomposition (hemic) layer of litter, in which basic structure of leaves, twigs, etc. are still recognisable results in a middle Oe horizon. Full decomposition (sapric) of litter converts raw organic debris into structurally dissimilar humus gives rise to the lower Oa horizon . Humus is gradually incorporated into the topsoil via a tion of soil macrofauna and percolating water. O horizon is lost easily via deforestation and burning t is easily recovered in the mid-latitude regions. There are two types of humus: Type Texture Mull humus Mor Humus Crumb-like, well mixed with Well stratified layers of varying decomposition degrees; topsoil and diffuse sharp boundary with A horizon. boundary with A horizon.
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boundary with A horizon. pH Active decomposer More than 5.0 Bacteria (microscale) and earthworm (macroscale) Less than 4.5 Fungi, collembola and mites Slow as high concentration of phenolic substance coats plant cellulose and retards further decompostion. Phenolic substance is also unpalatable to earthworms. Acidic coniferous leaf, cone and root litter

Decomposition Fast rate Input Calcium-rich, base-rich broadleaf plant litter

Intermediate between mull and mor humus is known as moder humus.

A Horizon (topsoil)
Dark, uppermost, mineral soil horizon with accumulatio of humified organic matter. Darkness of the topsoil is an indicator of humus content. The darker the soil, the high its humus content. Characteristics: Mineral particles in the A horizon have dark brown or lack coating of humus and organic matter in advanced stages of decay. Mixing of humus and organic materials via bioturbation (mixing of soil and sediment by organism) and downward percolation of rainwater bringing humic cutan from the O horizon. Darkening of the mineral material by additions of organic matter and humus is known as melanisation. Organic matter content is dependent upon additions and losses: Addition - leaf fall, death and decay of roots and animals. Losses - translocation of organic matter into deeper horizons, erosion, oxidation of organic matter to carbon dioxide. Function: The most nutrient-rich mineral soil horizon - often exploited for the purpose of agriculture. Ecological niche for the richest biodiversity of life any layer of mineral soil. Controls on A Horizon: Factors Climate Details In cold and wet climate, topsoil is dark since oxidation is slow. In moist tropical climate, topsoil layer is thin as hu s is rapidly used up and oxidised under high temperature, excess moisture and intense biological activity. In grassland biome, topsoil is dark and thick due to o ng addition of organic matter by plant root. Topsoil is thinner in forest where rapid uptake of organic content counteracts the input of forest litter. A horizon is darker and/or thicker where large presenc of coarse fragments in the soil limits the volume of soil in which organic ma ter can be distributed. A horizon that is plowed is designated Ap since there is a sharp lower boundary occurring at the base of the plow zone. Where A horizon is thin, Ap horizon has incorporated s e parts of the lower horizons within it.

Biome

Soil texture Plowing

E horizon
Light coloured mineral horizons that show evidence of oss of organic matter, clay, oxides, iron and/or aluminium, usually due to downward translocation of th se substances by infiltrating water also known as eluviation.
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as eluviation. Eluviation implies that grains coated with cutans have been stripped clean and that many of the dark, weatherable minerals, e.g. biotite, pyroxene, amphibole have decomposed. Characteristics: Light coloured Dominated by uncoated, sand- and silt-sized quartz and feldspar grain. Genesis and evolution: Vertically or laterally moving water strips sand and silt grains of cutans and weathers many of the dark minerals. E horizons form primarily in humid climate on free draining sites or where water perches and moves laterally above and aquitard or aquiclude. With time, E horizons can grow downward at the expense of B horizon. Controls on A Horizon: Factors Climate/Biome Details In grassland, E horizons are often absent since A hori n is exceptionally thick and elluviation is poor from moisture deficit. In forest soil in humid climate, E horizon is thick where translocation is frequent and intense. In some soils with minimal bioturbation, such as acidic sandy Spodosol, E horizon immediately underlies O horizon since organic composition is slow and organic material easily washes into the soil bypassing the E horizon. E horizon grows downward at the expense of B with time ch that the degraded B horizon has the outward appearance of an E but contains fragments of B materials within.

Bioperturbation

Time

B horizon
Horizon of subsoil material characterised by one or more of the following: Illuviation , or translocation of materials (clay, iron, aluminium, carbonate, from the upper horizon to form cutans that are plastered around the ped face. In the case of weak B horizon, by slight reddening ass te dwith weathering and the accumulation of residual weathering products such as oxides. Development of soil structure and the concomitant loss of rock structure In the case of carbonate-rich parent material, which lower limit is taken as th depth of carbonate leaching. Genesis and evolution: Illuvial substances or weathering by-products are carried downward to the horizon by percol ing water, and become deposited as water soaks into the peds. Illuvial substances get plastered onto the ped face as utans. Illuvial materials are also deposited due to desiccation, adsorption, filtering and precipitation. With time, illuvial coating can thicken and is often c as evidence of increased soil development. B horizon takes longer to form and to be destroyed by eroded compared to A and E horizons. virtue of its location in the soil are less likely

C horizon
The parent material from which the mineral soil horizons above are derived. Slightly affected by pedogenic processes and still retain some of the origi l rock structure.
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Slight effect of pedogenic processes include: Thin patchy illuvial deposits such as argillans and ot er secondary minerals, along joints and major ped surface. Oxidation Leaching of carbonate Gleying Jointing Mechanical break-up of structure by deep-rooting plants

D horizon
Part of the traditional C horizon that is pedogenically unaltered but is not hard bedrock. Geogenic and non-pedogenic horizon of fresh sediment, excluding consoli ted bedrock, characterized by original and sedimentary fabric, lack of tension joints, and lack of alteration features of bio-oxidation rind.

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