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Soil Formation

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DOI: 10.1007/978-0-585-31788-5 · Source: OAI

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SOIL FORMATION
SECOND EDITION
 Soil Formation
Second Edition
by

Nico van Breemen

and
Peter Buurman
Laboratory of Soil Science and Geology

KLUWER ACADEMIC PUBLISHERS

NEW YORK, BOSTON, DORDRECHT, LONDON, MOSCOW
eBook ISBN: 0-306-48163-4
Print ISBN: 1-4020-0718-3

©2003 Kluwer Academic Publishers

New York, Boston, Dordrecht, London, Moscow

Print ©2002 Kluwer Academic Publishers

Dordrecht

All rights reserved

No part of this eBook may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic,
mechanical, recording, or otherwise, without written consent from the Publisher

Created in the United States of America

Visit Kluwer Online at: http://kluweronline.com

and Kluwer's eBookstore at: http://ebooks.kluweronline.com
CONTENTS
page
Part A. INTRODUCTION 1

Preface 3

1. Why soil genesis?

1.1 What is soil genesis. 7
1.2 Why study soil genesis? 8
1.3 How to study soil genesis? 9
1.4 Answers 11
1.5 References 12

Part B. BASIC PROCESSES 13

2. Soil physical processes 15

2.1 Movement of water 15
2.2 Movement of solutes 18
2.3 Temperature effects 20
2.4 Shrinkage and swelling of soil aggregates and clays 20
2.5 Problems 27
2.6 Answers 35
2.7 References 39

3. Soil chemical processes 41

3.1 Chemical weathering and formation of secondary minerals 41
3.2 Soil minerals and their physico-chemical properties 51
3.3 Redox processes 62
3.4 Problems 67
3.5 Answers 71
3.6 References 79

4. Biological processes in soils 83

4.1 Input of plant litter into soils 83
4.2 Decomposition of plant litter and formation of soil organic matter 85
4.3 Kinetics of decomposition and of humus formation 87
4.4 Environmental factors influencing decomposition and humification 91
4.5 Formation of humus 95
4.6 Effects of soil fauna on soil properties 98
4.7 Nutrient cycling 102
4.8 Problems 106
4.9 Answers 110
4.10 References 118
ii
Part C. SOIL PROFILE DEVELOPMENT 121

5. Studying soil profiles 123

5.1 Introduction 123
5.2 The historic approach to characterise and quantify effects of soil
formation 125
5.3 The ‘here-and-now’ approach 129
5.4 Problems 130
5.5 Answers 133
5.6 References 139

6. Organic surface horizons 141

6.1 Introduction 141
6.2 Humose mineral horizons 143
6.3 Mean residence time of organic matter in topsoils 145
6.4 Problems 149
6.5 Answers 152
6.6 References 156

7. Hydromorphic soils 159

7.1 Introduction 159
7.2 Gley soils 160
7.3 Ferrolysis 164
7.4 Acid sulphate soils 169
7.5 Problems 177
7.6 Answers 182
7.7 References 189

8. Textural differentiation 193

8.1 Introduction 193
8.2 Processes of textural differentiation and their characteristics 193
8.3 Intensity and expression of textural differentiation by
clay illuviation 199
8.4 Clay minerals in soils with clay eluviation and illuviation 203
8.5 Texture-based diagnostic horizons in soil classification 203
8.6 Problems 205
8.7 Answers 207
8.8 References 212

9. Formation of calcic, gypsiferous, and saline soils 215

9.1 Introduction 215
9.2 Calcium carbonate and gypsum 217
9.3 Soluble salts 223
9.4 Clay minerals specific to arid soils 231
9.5 Problems 234
9.6 Answers 238
9.7 References 243
 iii
10. Formation of vertisols 245
10.1 Introduction 245
10.2 Formation of smectite clays 245
10.3 Physical deformation 246
10.4 Problems 251
10.5 Answers 253
10.6 References 255

11. Podzolisation 257

11.1 Introduction 257
11.2 Conditions favouring podzolisation 258
11.3 Transport and precipitation of organic and mineral compounds 259
11.4 The podzolisation process in stages 263
11.5 Influence of parent materials, nutrients and hydrology on the
podzol profile 266
11.6 Mineral transformation in podzols 270
11.7 Recognising podzolisation 271
11.8 Problems 274
11.9 Answers 277
11.10 References 282

12. Formation of andisols 285

12.1 Introduction 285
12.2 Weathering and mineralogy 285
12.3 Organic matter 291
12.4 Physico-chemical properties 291
12.5 Summary of properties and morphology 294
12.6 Problems 297
12.7 Answers 299
12.8 References 303

13. Ferralitisation 307

13.1 Introduction 307
13.2 Desilication 307
13.3 Formation and profile of a ferralitic soil with (petro)plinthite 309
13.4 Plinthite and iron pans 312
13.5 Mineralogical profiles 315
13.6 Charge, CEC, and base saturation 318
13.7 The rate of ferralitization 319
13.8 Transitions to other processes and soils 320
13.9 Problems 320
13.10 Answers 324
13.11 References 328
iv
14. Dense and cemented horizons: fragipan and duripan, and tepetate 329
14.1 Introduction 329
14.2 The fragipan 329
14.3 The duripan 334
14.4 The tepetate 336
14.5 Problems 337
14.6 Answers 338
14.7 References 340

15. Analysing genetically complex situations 345

15.1 Introduction 345
15.2 Unravelling soil genesis in complex situations 346
15.3 Problems 347
15.4 Answers 358
15.5 References 363

Appendix 1 FAO horizon codes 365

Appendix 2 Formulas and atomic weights 367
Appendix 3 Typical Analyses Used in the Study of Pedogenesis 369

Glossary 375

Index 393
 v

PLATES

Plate A. Weathered pyroxene pseudomorph 2

Plate B. Weathered pyroxene with 2:1 clays and iron 6
Plate C. Weathered pyroxene with iron oxide network 14
Plate D. Stone cover due to frost heaving 40
Plate E. Frost polygons 40
Plate F. Gibbsite coatings in an andosol 81
Plate G. Very deep stoneline, Brazil 82
Plate H. Decaying termitaria, Brazil 82
Plate I. Animal burrow (pedotubule) through jarosite 122
Plate J. Finely aggregated Oxisol-B, Brazil 140
Plate K. Two generations of animals burrows, Oxisol, Brazil 158
Plate L. Extremely developed Planosol, France 158
Plate M. Accumulation of Fe and Mn oxides along a root in gley 190
Plate N. Removal of iron oxides along a pore 191
Plate O. Accumulation of iron oxides along a lore 191
Plate P. Thin iron pan (placic horizon) in sandy deposits 192
Plate Q. Massive calcite cement, river terrace in Spain 214
Plate R. Calcite pendant at the bottom of a pebble, France 244
Plate S. Pressure faces (striasepic fabric) in a vertisol 256
Plate T. Massive monomorphic coatings in a podzol, New Zealand 284
Plate U. Allophane coatings in an andosol 305
Plate V. Allophane in a plagioclase; allophanic andosol from Costa Rica 306
Plate W. Podzol with densipan in marine sands, New Zealand 342
Plate X. Detail of densipan in New Zealand podzol on marine sands 342
Plate Y. Scanning electron micrograph of densipan, New Zealand podzol 343
Plate Z. Opal pendant at the bottom of a pebble, France 344
vi

The cover
This is a typical example of an intrazonal podzol in poor quartz sands. The parent
material is Miocene (upper Tertiary) marine sand from the southern Netherlands.
The present vegetation is a sparse oak-birch forest. The sand is very poor in iron,
which favoured formation of a deep E horizon. The top of the B-horizon has 2.5%
C and less than 0.2% free Al+Fe. Its is 2.9. The sesquioxide maximum
(0.35%) is in the lower B-horizon. The tonguing character of the E-horizon is
probably due to a combination of (Late Glacial) frost polygons and roots. Thin
humus bands in the subsoil accentuate pore discontinuities caused by tectonics. The
tape measure is 1 m long. Note also humus bands (with DOC chemical signature)
in the E horizon.
Photograph P. Buurman.
 PART A

INTRODUCTION
 2

Plate A. Weathered pyroxene (pseudomorph) in volcanic material from Guadeloupe.

The fringe (arrow) consists of 2:1 clay minerals due to hydrothermal alteration. The
inside consists of pedogenic goethite (G). White spots in matrix are gibbsite. Crossed
polarisers. Scale is Photograph A.G. Jongmans
 3
PREFACE

Soils form a unique and irreplaceable essential resource for all terrestrial organisms,
including man. Soils form not only the very thin outer skin of the earth's crust that is
exploited by plant roots for anchorage and supply of water and nutrients. Soils are
complex natural bodies formed under the influence of plants, microorganisms and soil
animals, water and air from their parent material, i.e. solid rock or unconsolidated
sediments. Physically, chemically and mineralogically they usually differ strongly from
the parent material, and normally are far more suitable as a rooting medium for plants.
In addition to serving as a substrate for plant growth, including crops and pasture, soils
play a dominant role in the biogeochemical cycling of water, carbon, nitrogen and other
elements, influencing the chemical composition and turnover rates of substances in the
atmosphere and the hydrosphere.

Soils take decades to millennia to form. We tread on them and do not usually see their
interior, so we tend to take them for granted. But improper and abusive agricultural
management, careless land clearing and reclamation, man-induced erosion, salinization
and acidification, desertification, air- and water pollution, and appropriation of land for
housing, industry and transportation now destroy soils more rapidly than they can be
formed.

To appreciate the value of soils and their vulnerability to destruction we should know
what soil formation IS, how it proceeds, and at what rate. This book deals with the
extremely complex sets of linked physical, chemical and biological processes involved
in soil formation. The physical nature of soils is determined by the spatial arrangement
of innumerable particles and interstitial spaces. These form a continuous structure that
stores and transports gas, water and solutes, and that spans nine orders of scale, form
nanometre to metre.

Chemically, soils are made up of a number of crystalline and amorphous mineral phases,
plus organic matter. The soil organic matter ranges from recently formed, largely intact,
plant litter and their increasingly transformed decomposition products to the amorphous
organic, variably organised stuff called humus. The physical chemistry of soil is
determined by a large, variably charged interface between the many solid phases and
the soil solution. This interface continuously exchanges ions supplied or withdrawn via
flowing water and soil organisms. Soil biology is structured as intricate meshes of plant
roots and numerous decomposers. Plant roots and associated mycorrhizal fungi are
active sinks of water and nutrients and sources of energy-rich organic substances, driven
by solar energy. The decomposer food web that cleans up all plant and animal waste,
is made up of innumerable, largely unknown species of microorganisms and a myriad
of soil animals, forming one of the most biologically diverse but poorly known sub-
ecosystems on earth.
4
These complex entities we call soils slowly evolve from a largely inert geological
substrate. Initially, system complexity and pools of plant available nutrients tend to
increase during primary vegetation succession over centuries to millennia. More slowly,
soils tend to loose all primary weatherable minerals and most of their plant-available
nutrients.

Most texts dealing with soil processes disregard such slow effects of soil genesis, and
focus on the recurrent soil physical, soil chemical or soil biological processes: the
movement of water and solutes, ion exchange, and the fates of plant nutrients that are
passed along the autotrophic-heterotrophic cycle. By considering subsystems of the
whole soil at a given stage of soil development, such processes can be studied in
sufficient detail for quantitative simulation modelling. The study of soil genesis is based
on a good understanding of these subsystems, and quantitative models of subsystems are
useful to gain insight in complex soil forming processes. Typical examples are the many
models that describe soil hydrology, ion exchange chromatography and the dynamics
of soil organic matter. The utility of such models to test hypotheses about the
combination of chemical, physical and biological processes that encompass soil
formation, however, is very limited.

We have chosen to treat the subject of soil genesis by a semi-quantitative description

of the processes responsible for the formation of major genetic soil horizons, that are
recognised by the world-wide soil classification systems of FAO-UNESCO and USDA
(Soil Taxonomy). In this way we could deal with all major combinations of processes
that underlie soil formation. These “combination sets” of processes are described in
nine chapters of part C, which forms the bulk of this book. Part C starts with a
methodological chapter on how to quantify chemical and physical changes in soil
profiles, and concludes with a chapter that shows examples of complex, often polycyclic
soils that have been subjected to different climates. The most important individual
physical, chemical and biological processes that, in various combinations, are involved
in soil genesis are treated in Part B. The introductory chapter sets the stage by
discussing the what’s, why’s and how’s of soil genesis and its study.

This book was written as an advanced course for students majoring in soil science or
related fields, who have followed introductory soil courses and are familiar with the
fundamentals of pedology, soil chemistry and soil physics. Because it is an advanced
course, the text also presents new, and sometimes controversial, ideas on certain soil
forming processes. The text is suitable for self-study. Each chapter contains questions
and problems. Questions are meant to help students to better understand the subject
matter. Problems at the end of each chapter illustrate and integrate the material, largely
by presenting data from real soils, taken from the literature. Answers to all questions
and problems can be found at the end of each chapter. A glossary of specialist terms and
an index complete the book. In addition to serving as a textbook, we hope that
colleagues and readers from other disciplines interested in soils will find the text
valuable as a review and a reference source of the subject.
 5
Acknowledgements
The present text grew out of a teaching manual written by N van Breemen and R
Brinkman in the 1980's. A.G (Toine) Jongmans chose and prepared most of the
micromorphological illustrations. We thank them for their contributions, but feel
responsible for any remaining errors and ambiguities.
In this revised edition, we have tried to remove the printing errors that marred the first
printing. Especially Chapter 11 has undergone considerable revision to accommodate
new ideas.
We have chosen to start each chapter on an odd page. This created space to add a
number of field and micromorphological pictures that illustrate the various processes.
We thank Dr A.G. Jongmans for the high-quality micromorphological pictures.
6

Plate B. Weathered pyroxene with 2:1 clay minerals and iron. Top: in normal light;
bottom: crossed polarisers. Remnants of pyroxene (P) are surrounded by empty
zones. Former cracks are now filled with highly birefringent 2:1 clay minerals (C;
white in normal light; white under crossed polarisers) and iron (Fe; dark in both
photographs). Scale is Origin: Guadeloupe. Photographs A.G. Jongmans.

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