SOIL

Soil is finely divided material covering the earth crust or surface. It consists of inorganic matter
(weathered rock), organic matter (humus), living organisms, water and air.
Importance of soil

• Provides water, nitrates and other minerals to plants which are chief producers of food
in the environment.

• Provides anchorage (support) to plants.

• It is a habitat (home) for many organisms such as bacteria, earth worms, insects,
rodents, etc.

• It provides a medium through which man and other animals dispose off their wastes.

• It is an important natural resource which provides construction materials, supports

agriculture, craft and art materials, etc.
SOIL FORMATION
Soil is formed from parent rocks through a gradual process called Weathering.
Weathering
Is the gradual breakdown of exposed rocks on the earth’s surface into smaller particles of soil.
Types of weathering.
1. Physical weathering.
This involves breakdown of the parent rock by the action of heat, frost/cold, water and
wind.
❖ Temperature changes e.g., alternate heating and cooling of rocks causes them to expand
and contract making them to crack and finally break up.
❖ Water sometimes enters cracks in rocks and when it freezes, it expands and forces the
rock to break up.
❖ Running water also carries small rocks which hit against one another hence breaking
into smaller particles.
❖ Wind blows small particles like sand against rocks breaking them further over time.

2. Chemical weathering
❖ This is mainly due to the action of rain water and oxygen on rocks. Water combines
with carbon dioxide in the atmosphere forming a weak solution of carbonic acid. When
this acid comes into contact with the rocks which are made up of a number of chemical
compounds or mineral elements, it dissolves them and they are released to form part of
the soil.
❖ Oxygen reacts with some rock mineral elements like iron, oxidizing them. This
weakens the rock causing it to breakdown to small particles.

3. Biological weathering.
 ❖ This occurs as a result of presence and action of living organisms on rocks. Organisms
such as mosses and lichens can grow on bare rocks. When they die, they form humus
which is a component of soil. They also secrete chemicals which break down rocks.
❖ The action of roots of flowering plants can also cause widening of cracks in the rocks
causing rock disintegration.
❖ Man also contributes to weathering directly by splitting rocks for house and road
construction and indirectly during cultivation.

SOIL COMPOSITION
Soil is composed of the following components:

• Air.
• Water
• Inorganic matter
• Organic matter (humus)
• Living organisms

Importance of soil components to plants

1. Soil air
Soil air exists between soil particles and consists of mainly, oxygen, nitrogen and carbon
dioxide.
Importance of soil air
❖ Oxygen is required for respiration of plant roots and the soil microorganisms.
❖ It is also important in the germination of seeds.
❖ It is important in absorption of mineral salts by roots which require energy for active
transport.
❖ Carbon dioxide increases the acidity of the soil when it dissolves in water there by
making certain nutrients like iron and manganese available for plants.
❖ Nitrogen absorbed as nitrates is required for formation of plant proteins.
❖ Oxygen is needed for the decomposition of organic matter by soil microorganisms to
form humus.

EXPERIMENT TO DETERMINE THE PERCENTAGE OF AIR IN THE SOIL

Apparatus
Measuring cylinders (2)
Dry soil sample
Water
Glass rod/ stirring rod
Procedure.
• Measure about 50cm3 of dry soil in a measuring cylinder and tap the cylinder to
level out the soil.
• Measure 50 cm3 of water in another measuring cylinder.
• Slowly add the measured water to the measuring cylinder containing soil.
• Stir the mixture gently to drive off all trapped air bubbles between soil particles.
 • Allow the mixture to stand until no more bubbles appear. Read and record the final
level of water plus soil in the measuring cylinder (e.g. 80 cm3)
• Calculate the air content in terms of percentage.
Treatment of results
Volume of soil = 50 cm3
Volume of water = 50 cm3
Final volume of water + soil after mixing = 80 cm3
Volume of air in the soil= (100-80) = 20cm3
Volume of air in soil
% of air in soil = x 100%
Volume of dry soil
20
= x 100%
50
= 40%
Observation.
Air bubbles are seen coming off.
Total volume of the mixture after stirring is less than the total volume of water and soil before
stirring.
Conclusion.
Soil contains air in spaces between its particles.
Exercise
1. In an experiment to determine the proportion of air in soil sample X, the following results
were obtained:
Volume of dry soil = 200cm3
Volume of water added = 250cm3
Volume of mixture of soil + water after stirring = 400cm3
a) What was the volume of air in soil sample X?
b) What was percentage volume of air in soil sample X?
2. A 500 cm3 beaker was filled firmly with soil. 400cm3 of water was poured into a large
measuring cylinder. The soil was added to water, the mixture was stirred gently and the final
volume noted. If the soil contained 30% by volume of air, what was the final volume?
2. Inorganic matter
These consist of the solid or mineral part of the soil and are classified according to their varying
sizes. In order of decreasing size, there are stones, gravel, coarse sand, fine sand, silt and clay.
They are differentiated according to the diameters of their particles i.e.
 Soil particles Diameter

Gravel (small stones). Larger than 2mm

Coarse sand 0.2mm - 2mm

Fine sand 0.02mm - 0.2mm

Silt. 0.002mm - 0.02mm

Clay. Less than 0.002 mm

Size of the particles in soil (texture) affects the;

❖ Amount of air in the soil
❖ Degree of drainage in the soil
❖ Amount of water retained by the soil
❖ Rise of water by capillarity in the soil
Importance of soil inorganic matter.
1. Forming the frame work of the soil.
2. Providing anchorage to the roots of the plant and in this way, act as a means of their
support.
3. Have spaces in between them which are occupied by air and water used by soil
organisms.
4. Providing mineral salts to the soil e.g. potassium, magnesium, aluminium, calcium and
iron which are necessary for normal plant growth.
3. Soil water.
Soil water which is useful to the plants is called capillary water/ field capillary water. This
is a thin film of water held around the soil particles by surface forces after water drainage.
Soil should not have very little or too much water because this will affect the plants growing
in it.

Usually after heavy rain, soil contains a lot of water which drains down into deeper layers of
the soil by action of gravity. This water is called gravitational water and it has little value to
the plants.

The amount of water that remains after drainage of gravitational water is called the field
capacity of the soil.
As plants use up the water, more water rises in the soil from deeper layers to the surface layers
a process called capillarity.
The soil which does not drain properly is said to be water logged and this results in the soil
lacking enough air as water now occupies the air spaces.

Importance of soil water.

▪ It is a raw material for the process of photosynthesis.
▪ Maintaining turgidity of plant cell and therefore support in non woody plants.
▪ Cooling the plant during transpiration as it evaporates from plant leaves.
 ▪ Maintenance of the protoplasm (cytoplasmic substances) of which it constitutes a large
percentage.
▪ It supports germination of seeds.
▪ It provides the medium for absorption of mineral salts by plants.

EXPERIMENT TO DETERMINE PERCENTAGE OF WATER IN THE SOIL

Materials
▪ Soil
▪ Crucible
▪ Thermometer
▪ A Bunsen burner
▪ A weighing scale
Procedure
▪ Weigh a clean, empty crucible and record its mass X g.
• Half fill the crucible with soil and record the mass of the two, Y g.
• Heat the crucible with soil gently while stirring to aid evaporation of water at 1000C to
dry the soil.
• Let the crucible cool and weigh it again. Repeat the heating and weighing until a
constant weight is reached
• Record the final constant weight Z g.
Treatment of results
Weight of water = (total weight of crucible +soil before heating) – (total weight of
crucible + soil after heating)
= (Y-Z) g
Weight of fresh soil = (Weight of crucible + soil before heating) – (weight of empty
crucible)
= (Y-X) g

𝒘𝒆𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒘𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒓
% of water in soil = x 100%
𝒘𝒆𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒔𝒐𝒊𝒍

(𝐘−𝐙)
= x 100%
(𝐘−𝐗)

Observation:
The mass of soil reduced after heating, and its crumb structure broke down to smaller
particles.
Conclusion:
Soil contains water (moisture).
NB: Do not heat the soil to colour change while heating over a Bunsen burner.
Overheating would burn the humus and mineral elements, and thus lead to wrong results.
Examples:
1. Below are the results obtained by a student who was trying to find out the percentage of
water in a soil sample.
Mass of crucible = 10 g.
Mass of soil + crucible before heating = 60 g.
Mass of soil alone before heating = 60 – 10
= 50 g.
Mass of soil + crucible after heating = 50 g.
Mass of soil alone after heating = 50 – 10
= 40 g.
Mass of water in the soil = mass of soil alone before heating – mass of soil alone after heating
= 50 – 40 = 10g
% of water in the soil = 10 X100
50
= 20 %
2. A student wanted to determine the amount of water in a soil sample. The following results
were obtained:
Mass of crucible = 15g
Mass of crucible + soil = 40g
Mass of crucible + soil after drying = 35g
Calculate:
i) Mass of soil sample used
ii) Mass of water in the soil sample
iii) Percentage of water in the soil sample.
3. Calculate the percentage water content of the soil sample, given the results below:
Mass of evaporating dish = 15g
Mass of evaporating dish + soil = 30g
Mass of evaporating dish + soil after heating to constant mas = 25g
4. Organic matter (Humus)
When animals and plants or their parts die in the soil, they are slowly broken down or
decomposed by the action of bacteria and fungi to form humus.
Humus is a dark brown sticky substance. Therefore, soil containing a lot of it tends to be
dark. Most of this humus is found in the top soil where most of the soil organisms live.
The rate of formation of humus in the soil depends on;
 ❖ The nature of plant and animal matter available.
❖ The nature of micro-organisms active in decomposition.
❖ The temperature, moisture content, and amount of oxygen in the soil.
❖ Amount of litter available in the soil. Litter refers to all the dead and decomposing
plant remains e.g. leaves, branches on the soil surface.

Importance of soil humus.

1. Allowing water to percolate (drain) easily since it is spongy. This prevents water logging in
the soil.
2. Improving the crumb structure of the soil which in turn allows free aeration in the soil. This
is because it forms a sticky coat around soil particles there by binding them to form soil crumbs
(lumps).
3. Improving the water holding capacity of the soil. In so doing it acts as a store for water and
at the same time tends to keep it in the soil there by preventing leaching (loss of minerals to
deeper soil layers) & drying up of the soil.
4. Insulating the soil against extreme heat and cold.
5. On further decomposition, it provides nitrates, phosphates, sulphates & salts of ammonium
to the soil