SOIL SCIENCE

EDAPHOLOGY PEDOLOGY

PEDOLOGY:Pedology comes from two Greek word ,pedos

means soil ,logy means science.Pedology means itself soil
science.
Pedology is the study of soils in the field under natural
condition.

EDAPHOLOGY:Edaphology is the study of soil in relation to

plant growth .

CLASSIFICATION OF PEDOLOGY:
Pedology is divided into two branches.
 PEDOLOGY

SOIL GENESIS SOIL CLASSIFICATION

 WHAT DOES PEDOLOGIST DO?

Pedologists do the following work:
1.examine, identify, describe the soil in the field
2.characterize the chemical ,physical and mineralogical
properties of the soil.
3.aided by laboratory and field investigation of soil
properties
4.classify the soil according to the similarity of the
property of the soil
5.mapping of the spatial distribution of the soil in the
earth as they exist on the earth surface .

CONCEPTS OF SOIL GENESIS :

CONCEPT 1 :Soil forming processes also referred to as
pedogenic processes and biogeochemical processes,that
are active in soils today have been operating over time and
have varying degree of expression over space.The
geological uniformitarian principle that “the present is the
key to the past is applicable in soils with respect to
downward translocation ,biocycling and transformation of
materials back to the time of appearance of organisms on
the land surface.

CONCEPT 2:Many soil forming processes proceed

simultaneously in a soil ,and the resulting soil properties
reflect the balance of both present and past processes
.Soil forming processes are actually combination of specific
reactions that are characteristic of particular time spans
and conditions.
CONCEPT 3:Distinctive combination of geologic materials
and processes produce distinctive soils.Observable
morphological features in a soil are produced by certain
combinations of pedogenic processes over time.The
degree to which a morphological features is expressed is
dependent on the intensity and duration of the processes .
CONCEPT 4:Five external factors provide the reactants and
energy to drive the pedogenic processes within the
soil.These factors are climate ,organisms ,relief ,parent
material and time.
CONCEPT 5:Present day soils may carry the imprint of a
combination of pedogenic processes and geologic
processes not presently active at that site.Therefore
,knowledge of paleoecology ,glacial geology and
paleoclimatology is important for the recognition and
understanding of soil genesis.
CONCEPT 6: A succession of different soils may have
taken place at a particular spatial location as soil forming
factors changed. The soil surface is lowered by erosion and
dissolution of soil material and elevated by depositions of
soil material .In this respect ,the volume of material
examined as soil on the land surface actually changes in
vertical space over time.
CONCEPT 7: The time scale for soil formation is much
shorter than the geologic time scale and much longer than
the age span of most biological species .The vulnerable
position of soil as the skin of our dynamic earth subjects it
to destruction and burial by spasmodic geologic events.
CONCEPT 8:Complexity of soil genesis is more common
than simplicity.Some processes that influence soil
composition are spasamodic and disrupt soil features
formed by other processes that are rather continuous over
time.
CONCEPT 9:Soils are natural sites for clay mineral
formation on land surfaces .Most primary minerals on
earth crytallize from magma at high temperature and
pressure .When exposed to lower temperatures and
pressures ,meteoric water and organic compounds near
the land surface, primary minerals decompose by
processes known as weathering .Some of the elements
reassemble into new mineral structures of clay size.It is
likely that the clay particles in shale and other sedimentary
rocks are products of mineral alteration in soil prior to
erosion and deposition.
CONCEPT 10:Understanding and knowledge
of soil genesis are useful in soil classification and mapping
,but scientific classification systems can not be based
entirely on inductive concepts of soil genesis. Processes
operating within a soil can seldom be observed or
measured and are subject to change over time, which
renders quantification difficult if not impossible.
CONCEPT 11:Knowledge of processes of soil formation
is basic to understanding the impact of human use and
management.Humans alter both the factors and the
processes of soil formation in their attempts to improve a
soil performance for specific purposes.Knowledge of
pedogenic processes helps ensure compatibility of human
actions and ambient soil conditions.

PEDON:A pedon is the smallest volume that can be called

a soil.A pedon has 3 dimensions .It is lower limit in the
vague and somewhat arbitrary mid between soil and not
soil.The lateral dimentions are large enough that permit
the study of the nature of any horizon.
4 horizons may be variable in thickness or even
discontinuous .Its area ranges from 1 to 10 m2 .Depending
on the variability in the horizons where horizons are
intermitened or cyclic or recur linear intervals of 2 to 7
meters, the pedon includes one half of the cycles.Thus
pedon includes the range of horizon variability that occurs
within these small areas where the cycle is less than two
meters or where all horizons are continuous and of
uniform thickness. The pedon has an area of 1 square
meter.The shape of the pedon is roughly hexagonal .One
lateral dimension should not differ appreciatly from any
others.
POLYPEDON:More than one pedon is called polypedon.
SOIL SEQUUM:Soils are bodies that exhibit 3 dimensional
sequences of characteristics .First ,there is the familiar
vertical sequum of properties from the soil surface where
the material can no longer be considered as influenced by
pedogenic processes and geologic materials.The lateral
sequum is the succession of contiguous soil bodies in
horizontal direction from the soil body in portion.
SOIL CONTROL SECTION :A soil control section is a portion
of a soil profile delimited in terms of specified depths of
that range of centimeters .In soil survey works the layer of
soil and parent material at a depth of 25 to 100 is
considered to be the control section of the soil with no te
xtural B horizon.
SOIL PROFILE:The vertical section of the earth crust that
includes all the horizon is called soil profile.
AC PROFILE:A young soil usually has a profile with an A
horizon and C horizon .This type of profile is called AC
profile.
LAYER:A layer that is parallel to the soil surface and has no
distinct characteristic.

HORIZON:A layer that is parallel to the soil surface and

produced by pedogenic processes whose physical,
chemical and biological characteristics differ from the
layers above and beneath is called soil horizon.
 Fig:Soil Profile
SOLUM: Solum is a latin word which means soil or land. It
consists of the surface and subsoil layers that have
undergone the same soil forming conditions .It is relatively
unweathered parent material.
REGOLITH:The rock exposed at the earth surface has
crumbled and decayed to produce a layer of
unconsolidated debris overlying the hard ,unweathered
rock is called regolith.

Interior of the Earth

The interior of the earth mainly consist of 3 part : crust , core &
mantle .

Crust
It is the outermost solid part of the earth, normally about 8-40
kms thick. It is brittle in nature. Nearly me and 0.5% of earth’s
mass are made of the crust. The thickness of the crust under
the oceanic and continental areas are different. Oceanic crust is
thinner (about 5kms) as compared to the continental crust
(about 30kms). Major constituent elements of crust are silica
(Si) and aluminium (Al) and thus, it is often termed as SIAL
(Sometimes SIAL is used to refer lithosphere, which is the
region comprising the crust and uppermost solid mantle, also).
The mean density of the materials in the crust is 3g/cm3. The
discontinuity between the hydrosphere and crust is termed as
the Conrad Discontinuity .

Mantle
The portion of the interior beyond the crust is called as the
mantle. The mantle is about 2900kms in thickness. Nearly 84%
of the earth’s volume and 67% of the earth’s mass is occupied
by the mantle. The major constituent elements of the mantle
are silicon and magnesium and hence it is also termed as SIMA.
The density of the layer is higher than the crust and varies from
3.3 – 5.4g/cm3. The uppermost solid part of the mantle and the
entire crust constitute the lithosphere. The asthenosphere (in
between 80-200km) is a highly viscous, mechanically weak and
ductile, deforming region of the upper mantle which lies just
below the lithosphere. The asthenosphere is the main source of
magma and it is the layer over which the lithospheric plates/
continental plates move (plate tectonics)
Core
● It is the innermost layer surrounding the earth’s centre. It is
composed mainly of iron (Fe) and nickel (Ni) and hence it is also
called as NIFE. The core constitutes nearly 15% of earth’s
volume and 32.5% of earth’s mass. The core is the densest layer
of the earth with its density ranges between 9.5-14.5g/cm3.
The core consists of two sub-layers: the inner core and the
outer core. The inner core is in solid state and the outer core is
in the liquid state (or semi-liquid). Barysphere is sometimes
used to refer the core of the earth or sometimes the whole
interior

Fig:Lithosphere

Elements Abundance(ppm)
Earth Soil (sediment)
Crust
Oxygen (O) 4,66,000 4,66,000
Silicon (Si) 2,77,00 2,72,000
Aluminium (Al) 81,000 81,000
Iron (Fe) 50,000 47,300
Calcium (Ca) 36,000 22,300
Sodium (Na) 28,000 9,700
Potassium (K) 26,000 27,000
Magnesium 21,000 14,800
(Mg)
Titanium (Ti) 4,400 4,300
Phosphorus (P) 1,200 740
Manganese 1,000 620
(Mn)
Fluorine (F) 8,000 510
Sulphur (S) 520 2,600
Chlorine (Cl) 480 200
Barium (Ba) 430 460
Carbon (C) 320 15,300
Rubidium (Rb) 310 300
Zirconium (Zr) 220 120
Chromium (Cr) 200 500
Strontium (Sr) 150 170
Vanadium (V) 150 120
Nickel (Ni) 100 24
Zinc (Zn) 80 200-1,000
Copper (Cu) 70 192
Lithium (Li) 56 46
Tin (Sn) 40 40
Cobalt (Co) 40 8
Yttrium (Y) 28 28
Niobium (Nb) 20 20
Lanthanum (La) 18 18
Lead (Pb) 16 20
Helium (He) 15 50
Thorium (Th) 12 10
Beryllium (Be) 6 3.6
Germanium (Ge) 7 7
Borom (B) 10 310
Scandium (Sc) 5 6.5
Arsenic (As) 5 ~5
\Hafnium (Hf) 4.5 4.5
Uranium (U) 4 1.2
Caesium (Cs) 3.2 12
Molybdenum 2.5 0.2
(Mo)
Tantalum (Ta) 2.1 2.1
Tungsten (W) 1.5 1.5
Antimony (Sb) 1 3
Mercury (Hg) 0.5 0.3
Thallium (Tl) 0.3 2
Promethium 0.3 2
(Pm)
Iodine (I) 0.3 0.3
Cadmium (Cd) 0.2 0.3
Indium (In) 0.1 0.1
Selenium (Se) 0.09 0.6
Silver ( Ag) 0.02 0.05
Platinum (Pt) 0.005 0.005
Gold ( Au) 0.001 0.001
Iridium (Ir) 0.001 0.001
Rhodium (Rh) 0.001 0.001
 Earth sphere
There are pedosphere,lithosphere,biosphere,atmosphere &
hydrosphere.

Pedosphere

The pedosphere (from Greek pedon "soil" or "earth" and

sphaira "sphere") is the outermost layer ofthe Earth that is
composed of soil and subject to soilformation processes. It
exists at the interfacethe lithosphere, atmosphere,
hydrosphere and biosphere. The pedosphere is the skin of the
Earth and onlydevelops when there is a dynamic interaction
betweenthe atmosphere , biosphere , lithosphere and
thehydrosphere .The pedosphere is the foundation ofterrestrial
life on Earth.The pedosphere lies below thevegetative cover of
the biosphere and above thhydrosphere and lithosphere. The
soil forming process(pedogenesis) can begin without the aid of
biologybiologic reaction
Fig:Relation between Pedosphere and other earth sphere

Lithosphere
It is the solid surface (continents,ocean basins, plains,plateus &
mountain valleys etc.)and the interialof the earth that
composed of rocks and minerals andcomprises of 93.06 percent
of the earth mass.It iscovered by gaseous and watery envelop
,called atmosphere
 Fig:Lithosphere

Biosphere
The biosphere is made up of the parts of Earth wherelife exists.
The biosphere extends from thedeepest root systems of trees,
to the darkenvironment of ocean trenches, to lush rain
forestsand high mountaintops. Scientists describe the Earth in
terms of spheres. Thesolid surface layer of the Earth is the
lithosphere. The atmosphere is the layer of air that stretches
abovethe lithosphere. The Earth’s water—on the surface, inthe
ground, and in the air—makes upthe hydrosphere. Since life
exists on the ground, in the air, and in thewater, the biosphere
overlaps all these spheres. Although the biosphere measures
about 20 kilometers(12 miles) from top to bottom, almost all
lifeexistsbetween about 500 meters (1,640 feet) below
theocean’s surface to about 6 kilometers (3.75 miles)above sea

level.

Fig:biosphere

Atmosphere
The envelop of air thats covers both the lithosphereand
hydrosphere is called the atmosphere.It containswater
molecules and dust which may act nuclei for thecondenation of
water vaper to form cloud or fog
.It iscomposed of following components:
Components Percentage

Nitrogen 78.08%
Oxygen 20.94%
 Argon 0.934%
Carbon dioxide 0.033%
In addition,inert gases such as Neon,Helium,Krypton& Xenon
are pesent.The water vapours present in theair vary in amounts
at different places and times.Theair becomes less and less
dense with heigth until itsget too thin to support life.

Hydrosphere
A hydrosphere is the total amount of water on a planet. The
hydrosphere includes water that is on the surface ofthe planet,
underground, and in the air. A planet'shydrosphere can be
liquid, vapor, or ice. On Earth, liquid water exists on the surface
in the formof oceans, lakes and rivers. It also exists
beloground—as groundwater, in wells and aquifers.
Watervapor is most visible as clouds and fog. The frozen part of
Earth's hydrosphere is made ofice: glaciers, ice caps and
icebergs. The frozen part of thehydrosphere has its own name,
the cryosphere. Water moves through the hydrosphere in a
cycle. Watercollects in clouds, then falls to Earth in the for of
rain or snow. This water collects in rivers, lakes andoceans.
Then it evaporates into the atmosphere to starthe cycle all over
again. This is called the water cycle
 Fig:Water cycle

Geographycally distributed elements are divided by 5

groups.Those are:
1. Lithophile element,
2. Chalcophile element,
3. Siderophile element,
4. Atmophile element,
5. Biophile element,
1.Lithophiles are micro-organisms that can live within the pore
interstices of sedimentary and even fractured igneous rocks to
depths of several kilometers.
Some are known to live on surface rocks, and make use
of photosynthesis for energy.

2.Chalcophile : The chalcophile elements

include: Ag, As, Bi, Cd, Cu, Ga, Ge, Hg, In, Pb, S, Sb, Se, Sn, Te, Tl
and Zn.Chalcophile elements are those that remain on or close
to the surface because they combine readily with sulfur and
some other chalcogen other than oxygen, forming compounds
which do not sink into the core.
Chalcophile elements are those metals and heavier nonmetals
that have a low affinity for oxygen and prefer to bond with
sulfur as highly insoluble sulfides. Chalcophile derives from
Greek ( meaning "ore" (it also meant "bronze" or "copper", but
in this case "ore" is the relevant meaning), and is taken to mean
"chalcogen-loving" by various sources]
Because these sulfides are much denser than the silicate
minerals formed by lithophile elements, chalcophile elements
separated below the lithophiles at the time of the first
crystallization of the Earth's crust. This has led to their
depletion in the Earth's crust relative to their solar abundances,
though because the minerals they form are nonmetallic, this
depletion has not reached the levels found with siderophile
elements.
3.Siderophile:Those elements Earth's inner core composition.
Abundance (atom fraction) of the chemical elements in Earth's
upper continental crust as a function of atomic number. The
rarest elements in the crust (shown in yellow) are not the
heaviest, but are rather the siderophile (iron-loving) elements
in the Goldschmidt classification of elements. These have been
depleted by being relocated deeper into the Earth's core. Their
abundance in meteoroid materials is relatively higher.
Additionally, tellurium and selenium have been depleted from
the crust due to formation of volatile hydrides.
Siderophile (from sideron, "iron", and philia, "love") elements
are the transition metals which tend to sink into the core
because they dissolve readily in iron either as solid solutions or
in the molten state, although some sources include elements
which are not transition metals in their list of siderophiles, such
as germanium. Other sources may also differ in their list based
on the temperature being discussed -
niobium, vanadium, chromium, and manganese may be
considered siderophiles or not, depending on the assumed
temperature and pressure. Also confusing the issue is that
some elements, such as the aforementioned manganese, as
well as molybdenum, form strong bonds with oxygen, but in the
free state can mix so easily with iron that they do not
concentrate in the siliceous crust, as do true lithophile
elements. Iron, meanwhile, is simply everywhere.
4.Atmophile elements
The atmophile elements are H, C, N and the noble gases.
Atmophile elements (also called "volatile elements") are
defined as those that remain mostly on or above the surface
because they are, or occur in, liquids and/or gases at
temperatures and pressures found on the surface. The noble
gases do not form stable compounds and occur as monatomic
gases, while nitrogen, although it does not have a stable
configuration for its individual atoms, forms a diatomic
molecule so strong that all oxides of nitrogen are
thermodynamically unstable with respect to nitrogen and
oxygen. Consequently, with the development of free oxygen
through photosynthesis, ammonia was oxidised to molecular
nitrogen which has come to form four-fifths of the Earth's
atmosphere. Carbon is also classed as an atmophile because it
forms very strong multiple bonds with oxygen in carbon
monoxide (slowly oxidised in the atmosphere) and carbon
dioxide. The latter is the fourth-largest constituent of the
Earth's atmosphere, while carbon monoxide occurs naturally
in volcanoes and has a residence time in the atmosphere of a
few months.
5.Biophile:Applied to those elements required by, or found in,
living plants and animals, including C, H, O, N, P, S, Cl, I, Br, Ca,
Mg, K, Na, V, Fe, Mn, and Cu