Soils

Dr. Babu N
Soil:
Soil is the material found on the surface of the
earth that is composed of organic and inorganic
material. Soil varies due to its structure and
composition
► The upper layer of earth in which plants
grow,
► a black or dark brown material typically
consisting of
► a mixture of organic remains,
► clay, and
► rock particles.
 4 basic processes in the soil
ADDITIONS

LOSSES

TRANSLOCATIONS
(MOVEMENT WITHIN THE SOIL)

TRANSFORMATIONS
(ONE COMPONENT CHANGES TO ANOTHER)
ADDITIONS

Rain adds WATER.

Dust adds MINERALS (wind or water).
Animal waste add ORGANIC MATTER and
NUTRIENTS.
Humans add FERTILIZER.
 LOSSES
Losses are removal of
components from the soil
profile.

WATER evaporates into the air.

Soil particles WASH AWAY in storms.
ORGANIC MATTER may compose into carbon
dioxide.
NUTRIENTS and MINERALS leach into
groundwater or are taken up by plants.
TRANSFORMATIONS
(ONE COMPONENT CHANGES TO ANOTHER)

Minerals in rock weather to clay

Rocks break in to smaller pieces

Iron in minerals turns to rust

(iron oxides)

Leaves decompose to humus

Dead leaves decompose into HUMUS.

Hard rock WEATHERS into soft clay
Oxygen REACTS with iron, “rusting” the soil
into a reddish color.
 TRANSLOCATIONS
MOVEMENT WITHIN THE SOIL

GRAVITY pull WATER down from top to bottom.

EVAPORATING WATER draws minerals up from
bottom to top
ORGANISMS carry materials every direction.
Additions – rain adds water, dust adds
minerals, as plants die and animals poop
organic mater is added, humans also add
fertilizer
Losses – evaporation, nutrient up take,
leaching of nutrients and elements
Translocations – gravity pull water and
dissolved materials down, OM can move in
many directions due to critters, clay
movement, eluviated horizon
Transformations – decomposition, weathering,
iron rusting (reddening) or dissolving
(graying), clay formation
Four Soil Forming Processes

Additions: Materials added to the soil, such as

decomposing vegetation and organisms (organic
matter--OM), or new mineral materials
deposited by wind or water.

Losses: Through the movement of wind or

water, or uptake by plants, soil particles (sand,
silt, clay, and OM) or chemical compounds can
be eroded, leached, or harvested from the soil,
altering the chemical and physical makeup of
the soil.
Transformations: The chemical
weathering of sand and formation of
clay minerals, transformation of coarse
OM into decay resistant organic
compounds (humus).

Translocations: Movement of soil

constituents (organic or mineral) within
the profile and/or between horizons. Over
time, this process is one of the more
visibly noticeable as alterations in color,
texture, and structure become apparent
Formation of soil
Factors affecting formation of soil
• atmospheric, such as changes in
temperatures and pressure;
• erosion and transportation by wind,
water and glaciers;
• chemical action such as crystal growth,
oxidation, hydration, carbonation and
• leaching by water, especially rainwater,
with time.
Formation of soil takes place by two methods:
2. Physical disintegration of rocks
3. Chemical decomposition of rocks
Physical disintegration

Physical disintegration or mechanical

weathering of rocks occur due to the
following physical processes:

1. Temperature changes:
2. Wedging action of ice:
3. Spreading of roots of plants:
4. Abrasion
Temperature changes:
1. Different minerals of a rock have
different coefficients of thermal
expansion.
2. Unequal expansion and contraction of
these minerals occur due to
temperature changes.
3. When the stresses induced due to
such changes are repeated many
times, the particles get detached from
the rocks and the soil formation takes
 Temperature Changes
► Daily (diurnal) and seasonal temperature changes affect
certain minerals and facilitates the mechanical weathering
of bedrock.
► Warmer temperatures may cause some minerals to expand,
and cooler temperatures cause them to contract.
► This gradual expansion and contraction of mineral grains
weakens the rock causing it to break apart into smaller
fragments or to fracture.
► This process is more common in desert climates because
they experience extreme fluctuations in daily temperature
changes.
► Temperature changes are often not the dominant form of
weathering, but instead temperature changes tend to
accelerate other forms of weathering already occurring.
 Wedging action of ice orFrost Wedging
1. Water in the pores and minute
cracks of rocks gets frozen in very
cold climates.
2. As the volume of ice formed is
more than that of water, expansion
occurs.
3. Rocks get broken into pieces when
large stresses develop in the cracks
due to wedging action of the ice
Frost Wedging
► Water enters and fills cracks in the
rock.
► It will expand when the water freezes
and push the rock apart more.
Frost wedging generally produces angular
blocks and talus material.

Talus is a term used to describe weathered

rock fragments deposited at the base of a hill
slope or mountain.
 Spreading of Plant Roots
► The most common form of biological weathering is
when plant roots penetrate into cracks and crevices
of rocks and cause the rock to split or break into
smaller particles through mechanical weathering.
► Although, this process is gradual, it can be fairly
effective at breaking apart rocks that may already have
a pre-existing weaknesses such as fractures, faults, or
joints.

This is an example of a tree

that is growing between a
crevasse in a rock. The tree
is splitting the rock along
parallel planes of alignment
that are already weakened
by foliation processes, a
form19 of mechanical

weathering.
Mechanisms
► Hydrogen ions (H+) are known to be
released at the roots of plants during their
growth and metabolism.
► These ions are capable of replacing K+, Ca++
and Mg++ ions from the minerals and rocks
surrounding the root system and make
them available for use in plant growth.
► The original minerals and rocks around the
root system start undergoing decomposition
and disintegration.
 Abrasion
► Abrasion occurs when rocks
collide against each other Abrasion processes in creek beds
produce rounded boulders and cobbles.
while they are transported by Over time, abrasion processes will
water, glacial ice, wind, or eventually break these rocks into
progressively smaller particle sizes, such
gravitational force. as gravel, sand, silt, and clay.

► The constant collision or

gravitational falling of the rocks
causes them to slowly break
apart into progressively
smaller particles.
► Flowing water is the primary
medium of abrasion and it
produces the ‘rounded’ shape Photo Source: SCGS

of fluvial sediments. 21
► During abrasion, rocks may also weather
the bedrock surface they are coming into
contact with as well as breaking into
smaller particles and eventually individual
grains.
► In addition to the transported rocks being
weathered by abrasion, the bedrock
surface is also experiencing the effects of
collision and mechanical weathering. This
smoothes the surface of the bedrock and
can also cause it to break apart.
Chemical disintegration

1. When chemical decomposition or

chemical weathering of rocks takes
place, original rock mineral are
transformed into new minerals by
chemical reactions.
2. The soils formed do not have the
properties of the parent rock.
3. The following chemical processes
generally occur in nature.
 Hydration
► Hydration is a process where mineral structure in
the rock forms a weak bond with H20 which
causes the mineral grains to expand, creating
stress which causes the disintegration of the rock.
► Hydration often produces a new mineral
compound that is larger than the original
compound.
► The increased size expanse the rock and can
lead to decay.
► Hydration can also lead to color changes in the
weathered rock surface.
► Once hydration begins, it accelerates other
weathering processes and may also be
accompanied by hydrolysis and oxidation.
► An example of hydrolosis: Anhydrite
(CaSO4) can absorb two water molecules to
become gypsum (CaSO4·2H2O).
► Hydration in granite: transforms feldspar
minerals to clay and accelerates the
physical weathering of buried or exposed
rocks.
 Solution:
1. Some of the rocks minerals
form a solution with water
when they get dissolved in
water.
2. Chemical reaction takes place
in the solution and the
formation of soil takes place.
 Carbonation
dissolution of calcium carbonate in acidic soil (pH) and
groundwater is known as Carbonation
► CaCO3 + H2CO3 ——> Ca+2 + 2HCO3-
► This process simultaneously weakens the rock and
removes the chemically weathered materials.
► Carbonation primarily occurs in wet, moist climates and
effects rocks both on and beneath the surface.
► Carbonation occurs with limestone or dolomite rocks and
usually produces very fine, clayey particles.
► similar reaction as hydrolosis but the dissolution is
congruent, that is, the products are ionic, there is no
residue
► bicarbonate represents the largest constituent of the
27

dissolved load of most rivers Limestone weathered by

carbonation processes
 Carbonation:
1. It is a type of chemical
decomposition in which carbon
dioxide in the atmosphere
combines with water to form
carbonic acid.
2. The carbonic acid reacts
chemically with rocks and causes
their decomposition
Water as a chemical weathering agent.
Discussion of the polar water
molecule.
This polarity is important.
It is one of the reasons that water is
the most important weathering
agent.
As it shows here, ions are attracted
to the polar water molecules,
causing the breakup of the
minerals.
The reaction of water with
substances is called hydrolysis.
 Chemical Weathering: Hydrolysis
► Hydrolysis is a chemical reaction between H+ and OH- ions in
water and the minerals in the rock. The H+ ions in the water react
with the minerals to produce weak acids. Replace K, Ca & K
► The reaction creates new compounds which tend to be softer and
weaker than the original parent rock material.
► Hydrolysis can also cause certain minerals to expand, which also
facilitates mechanical weathering processes.
► Hydrolysis commonly affects igneous rocks because they are
composed of silicate minerals, such as quartz and feldspar, which
readily combine with water.
► Hydrolysis may also be accompanied by hydration and oxidation
weathering processes.
► The hydrolysis of feldspars produces kaolinite, which is a clay.
e.g. K-feldspar ——> kaolinte
2KAlSi3O8 + 2H2CO3 + 9H2O ——> Al2Si2O5(OH)4 + 4H4SiO4 + 2K+ + 2HCO3-
 Chemical Weathering: Oxidation
• process by which an element loses an electron to dissolved
oxygen
• iron is the most commonly oxidized mineral element Fe+2
(ferrous iron) ——> Fe+3 (ferric iron) or 2FeO + O2 ——> Fe2O3
► Oxidation occurs when oxygen and water react with iron-rich
minerals and weaken the structure of the mineral.
► During oxidation the minerals in the rock will change colors, taking
on a ‘rusty’, reddish-orange appearance.
► Similar to other chemical weathering processes, oxidation
accelerates rock decay, rendering it more vulnerable to other forms
of weathering.

The reddish-orange color of this

sandstone is a result of oxidation
processes weathering the rock.
 Soil Types:
Soil can come in many different soil
types and identifying the type of soil

Soil can be categorised into sand, clay, silt,

peat, chalk and loam types of soil based
on the dominating size of the particles within a
soil.
1. Alluvial soil [43%]
2. Red soil [18.5%]
3. Black / regur soil [15%]
4. Arid / desert soil
5. Laterite soil
6. Saline soil
7. Peaty / marshy soil
8. Forest soil
9. Sub-mountain soil
Alluvial soil:
∙ Mostly available soil in India (about 43%) which
covers an area of 143 sq.km.
∙ Widespread in northern plains and river valleys.
∙ In peninsular-India, they are mostly found in
deltas and estuaries.
∙ Humus, lime and organic matters are present.
∙ Highly fertile.
∙ Indus-Ganga-Brahmaputhra plain, Narmada-Tapi
plain etc are examples.
∙ They are depositional soil – transported and
deposited by rivers, streams etc.
∙ Sand content decreases from west to east of
the country.
∙ New alluvium is termed as Khadar and old
alluvium is termed as Bhangar.
∙ Colour: Light Grey to Ash Grey.
∙ Texture: Sandy to silty loam or clay.
∙ Rich in: potash
∙ Poor in: phosphorous.
∙ Wheat, rice, maize, sugarcane, pulses,
oilseed etc are cultivated mainly.
Red soil:
∙ Seen mainly in low rainfall area.
∙ Also known as Omnibus group.
∙ Porous, friable structure.
∙ Absence of lime, kankar (impure calcium carbonate).
∙ Deficient in: lime, phosphate, manganese, nitrogen,
humus and potash.
∙ Colour: Red because of Ferric oxide. The lower layer
is reddish yellow or yellow.
∙ Texture: Sandy to clay and loamy.
∙ Wheat, cotton, pulses, tobacco, oilseeds, potato etc
are cultivated.
Black soil / regur soil:
∙ Regur means cotton – best soil for cotton cultivation.
∙ Most of the Deccan is occupied by Black soil.
∙ Mature soil.
∙ High water retaining capacity.
∙ Swells and will become sticky when wet and shrink when
dried.
∙ Self-ploughing is a characteristic of the black soil as it
develops wide cracks when dried.
∙ Rich in: Iron, lime, calcium, potassium, aluminum and
magnesium.
∙ Deficient in: Nitrogen, Phosphorous and organic matter.
∙ Colour: Deep black to light black.
∙ Texture: Clayey.
Laterite soil:
∙ Name from Latin word ‘Later’ which means Brick.
∙ Become so soft when wet and so hard when dried.
∙ In the areas of high temperature and high rainfall.
∙ Formed as a result of high leaching.
∙ Lime and silica will be leached away from the soil.
∙ Organic matters of the soil will be removed fast by the
bacteria as it is high temperature and humus will be taken
quickly by the trees and other plants. Thus, humus content is
low.
∙ Rich in: Iron and Aluminum
∙ Deficient in: Nitrogen, Potash, Potassium, Lime, Humus
∙ Colour: Red colour due to iron oxide.
∙ Rice, Ragi, Sugarcane and Cashew nuts are cultivated
Desert / arid soil:
∙Seen under Arid and Semi-Arid conditions.
∙ Deposited mainly by wind activities.
∙ High salt content.
∙ Lack of moisture and Humus.
∙ Kankar or Impure Calcium carbonate content
is high which restricts the infiltration of water.
∙ Nitrogen is insufficient and Phosphate is
normal.
∙ Texture: Sandy
∙ Colour: Red to Brown.
Peaty / marshy soil:
∙ Areas of heavy rainfall and high
humidity.
∙ Growth of vegetation is very less.
∙ A large quantity of dead organic
matter/humus which makes the soil
alkaline.
∙ Heavy soil with black colour.
Forest soil:
∙ Regions of high rainfall.
∙ Humus content is less and thus the soil
is acidic.
Mountain soil:
∙ In the mountain regions of the country.
∙ Immature soil with low humus and
acidic.
Sandy soil –

1. are light, warm, dry and tend to be acidic and low in nutrients.
Sandy soils are often known as light soils due to their high
proportion of sand and little clay (clay weighs more than
sand).

2. These soils have quick water drainage and are easy to work
with. They are quicker to warm up in spring than clay soils but
tend to dry out in summer and suffer from low nutrients that
are washed away by rain.

3. The addition of organic matter can help give plants an

additional boost of nutrients by improving the nutrient and
water holding capacity of the soil.
Clay soil –

1. are heavy soils that benefit from high nutrients.

2. Clay soils remain wet and cold in winter and dry out in
summer.

3. These soils are made of over 25 percent clay, and because

of the spaces found between clay particles, clay soils hold
a high amount of water.

4. Because these soils drain slowly and take longer to warm

up in summer, combined with drying out and cracking in
summer, they can often test gardeners.
Silt soil –

1. are light and moisture retentive soils with a high

fertility rating.

2. As silt soils compromise of medium sized particles

they are well drained and hold moisture well.

3. As the particles are fine, they can be easily

compacted and are prone to washing away with
rain.

4. By adding organic matter, the silt particles can be

bound into more stable clumps.
Peat soil – are high in organic matter and retain a large
amount of moisture.
This type of soil is very rarely found in a garden and often
imported into a garden to provide an optimum soil base for
planting.
Peaty soil is dark brown or black in color, soft, easily
compressed due to its high water content, and rich in
organic matter.
Peat soil started forming over 9,000 years ago, with the
rapid melting of glaciers.
This rapid melt drowned plants quickly and died in the
process. Their decay was so slow underwater that it led to
the accumulation of organic area in a concentrated spot.
 Soil Profiles and Horizons

Soil profiles is a vertical

cross-section of layers of soil
found in a given area.
Soil is the material found on the surface of
the earth that is composed of organic and
inorganic material.
Minimul
eluviation is the
transport of soil
material from
upper layers of soil
to lower levels by
downward
precipitation of
water across soil
horizons, and
accumulation of
this material
(illuvial deposit) in
lower levels is
called illuviation.
• O: An O horizon has at least 20% organic matter
by mass.
• Two main scenarios result in the formation of an O
horizon: saturated, anaerobic conditions
(wetlands) or high production of leaf litter in
forested areas.
• Anaerobic conditions slow the decomposition
process and allow organic material to accumulate.
• An O horizon can have various stages of
decomposed organic matter:
• highly decomposed, sapric;
• moderately decomposed, hemic; and
• minimally decomposed, fibric.
• Fibric in O layer, early stage of
decomposition of plant matter is
recognizable (e.g., it is possible to
identify a leaf).
• Sapric material is broken down into
much finer matter and is unrecognizable
as a plant part in which less than one
sixth is recognizable as original plant
material .
• Hemic is in between sapric and fibric,
with some barely recognizable plant
material present.
It is possible to have multiple O horizons
stacked upon one another exhibiting
different decomposition stages.

Because of their organic content, these

horizons are typically black or dark brown
in colour.

The dominant processes of the O horizon

are additions of organic matter, and
transformations from fibric to sapric.
∙ A: horizon is a mineral horizon. This
horizon always forms at the surface and
is refer to as topsoil.
∙ Natural events, such as flooding,
volcanic eruptions, landslides, and dust
deposition can bury an A horizon so that
it is no longer found at the surface.
∙ Buried A horizon is a clear indication that
soil and landscape processes have
changed some time in the past.
• Compared to other mineral horizons (E, B, or
C) in the soil profile, they are rich in organic
matter, giving them a darker color.

• The A horizon, over time, is also a zone of

loss – clays and easily dissolved compounds
being leached out – and A horizons are
typically more coarse (less clay) compared to
underlying horizons (with the exception of an
E horizon).

• Additions and losses are the dominant

processes of A horizons.
• E: The E horizon appears lighter in color than an
associated A horizon (above) or B horizon (below).

• An E horizon has a lower clay content than an

underlying B horizon, and often has a lower clay content
than an overlying A horizon, if an A is present.

• E horizons are more common in forested areas because

forests are in regions with higher precipitation and forest
litter is acidic.
• However, landscape hydrology, such as perched water
tables, can result in the formation of an E horizon in the
lower precipitation grasslands, as seen in the profile
below.

• The dominant processes of an E horizon are losses

B: B horizon is typically a mineral
subsurface horizon and is a zone of
accumulation, called illuviation.
• Materials that commonly
accumulate are clay, soluble salts,
and/or iron.
• Minerals in the B horizon may be
undergoing transformations such
as chemical alteration of clay
structure.
• In human modified landscapes,
processes such as erosion can
sometimes strip away overlying horizons
and leave a B horizon at the surface.
• Such erosion is common in sloping,
agricultural landscapes.
• A bulldozer preparing land for a new
subdivision can also leave a B horizon at
the surface.
• The dominant processes in a B horizon
are transformations and additions.
∙ C: C horizon consists of parent material,
such as glacial till or lake sediments that
have little to no alteration due to the soil
forming processes.
∙ Low intensity processes, such as
movement of soluble salts or oxidazation
and reduction of iron may occur.
∙ There are no dominant processes in the C
horizon; minimal additions and losses of
highly soluble material (e.g., salts) may
occur.
• An R layer is bedrock.

• When a soil has direct contact with

bedrock, especially close to the soil
surface, the bedrock becomes a
variable when developing land use
management plans and its
presence is noted in the soil profile
description.
END