Soil Science 22

Laboratory Exercise No. 1

THE SOIL AS A NATURAL BODY

Introduction

Soils are dynamic natural bodies that occur at the surface of the lithosphere, the rock layer of the
earth. Their properties are determined by five major factors; parent material, climate, organism,
relief or topography and time.

The role of the five factors in the formation of soils was first recognized by V.V. Dokuchaev in the
1880's in Russia and was elaborated in 1941 by Hans Jenny, a Swiss pedologist who later taught in
California, USA. The now accepted Dokuchaev-Jenny equation explicitly expresses the dependence
of the soil or its properties on these factors as follows:

S = f ( p, cl, o, r, t, … ) where : S = soil or any soil property

p = parent material
cl = climate
o = organism ( e.g. vegetation )
r = relief or topography
t = time

One classical concept states that soils have three dimensions, length, width and thickness. The
three represent the horizontal and the vertical dimensions. The modern version of this concept,
however, recognizes soils as four dimensional bodies, the fourth dimension being time. One
important implication of this modern concept is that, soils or their properties change in space and
time.

Since soils are natural bodies, any scientific attempt to understand their nature and properties
requires that soils should be examined in their original site of formation. This is necessary in order
to know the five factors which have produced the soil. Moreover, many soil properties and
processes can be studied only when the soil is in its natural state. For this purpose, the soil profile is
the standard unit of examination (more appropriate, the pedon).

A soil profile is a vertical section from the soil surface down to the bedrock or water table below. It
generally shows layers (termed soil horizons) which may differ from one another in terms of
morphological, physical, chemical, mineralogical and biological properties. In general, more soil
horizons are exhibited by a mature soil than by a young soil.

In this exercise, students will learn how to examine a soil profile. They will also familiarize the basic
steps in evaluating some morphological and physical soil properties in the field.

Materials
knife munsell color chart 10% HCl
spade plastic bags pH indicators
meter stick marking pens 50 ml beakers

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Procedure

1. The class will visit an upland area inside the campus. The instructor will demonstrate how the
site characteristics and the soil profile will be evaluated and described, respectively.

Site characteristics
a. Location –place where the soil is located. If possible, include an easily observable but
permanent reference point (e.g. river, highway, etc.)

b. Landform – whether the area is an alluvial plain, coastal plain, flood plain, terrace, hill and
mountain as shown by the figure below:

Moorman & van Bremen, 1978

c. Topographic position – whether the soil profile is in the summit, shoulder, back slope, toe
slope or foot slope of the area

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 d. Vegetation – this refers to the dominant vegetation types (e.g. cogon, coconut trees, etc)

e. Land use – refers to the dominant land use such as agriculture (wetland rice, corn, cassava,
coconut, pasture, etc), forest, grassland, urban or wetland.

f. Parent material – this refers to the parent rock of the soil. If possible, indicate the type of
rock present.

g. Drainage – whether the drainage condition is well-drained (soil chroma two or less is not
observed within the top 120 cm) or poorly drained (soil has chroma of two or less within the
top 120 cm or water table is observed within the top 120 cm)

h. Climate – this is the climatic type prevalent in the area. It is usually sufficient to indicate the
average annual rainfall and temperature. For VSU, the average annual rainfall is 2,600 mm
and the temperature is 28oC.

Soil Profile

To describe the soil profile, do the following:

a. Differentiate the layers of soil horizons by carefully observing variations in color, texture,
friability, degree of compaction, presence of stones, etc.

b. Mark the boundaries between horizons using sticks and measure their depths by starting
from the surface (measurement starts with zero, e.g. 0-10 cm).

c. Determine their morphological characteristics with the aid of the supplementary notes.

d. Identify the different horizons

2. Back in the laboratory, the class will practice description using two fresh monoliths of an upland
and lowland soil.

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 Soil Science 22
Laboratory Exercise No. 1
THE SOIL AS A NATURAL BODY

Name:__________________________________ Date Conducted:_______________________

Lab. Section:_____________________________ Date Submitted:________________________
Lab. Instructor:___________________________ Rating:_______________________________

DATA SHEET

I. Draw the horizon boundaries and label the horizons

Soil profile No. 1 (Upland) Soil profile No. 2 (Lowland)

Site Characteristics Site Characteristics
Location:____________________ Location :_________________
Landform:___________________ Landform :________________
Topographic position__________ Topographic position _______
Vegetation and Land Use ______ Vegetation and Land Use____
___________________________ ________________________
Parent Material :______________ Parent Material :___________
___________________________ ________________________
Drainage : __________________ Drainage :________________

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II. Complete the table below for each soil profile.

A. Soil profile No. 1 (Upland)

Horizon Depth Color Texture Structure pH Size and

(cm) Abundance
of roots

B. Soil profile No. 2 (Lowland)

Horizon Depth Color Texture Structure pH Size and

(cm) Abundance
of roots

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Questions:

1. Why do soils differ?

2. How are differences among soils related to their parent materials and topography?

3. Which of the two soils you have examined is younger? Explain.

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 SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES ON SOIL PROFILE DESCRIPTIOIN

Soil profile is the vertical section from the surface down to the bedrock below the soil surface. It is
composed of horizons (layers) which are identified by their morphological, physical, chemical, and
biological properties. Morphological and physical properties include depth and type of layers,
texture, structure, pores, color, bulk density, hydraulic conductivity, consistency, etc. Chemical
properties include organic matter, pH, cation exchange capacity (CEC), % base saturation and
electrical conductivity. Biological characteristics include the kind of plant material and the
proportions of living and dead organic matter.

Horizons may be classified as "surface soils" (A and E horizons), "subsurface horizons or subsoils" (B
and C horizons). The processes mainly responsible for differentiation among A, E, B and C horizons
are addition, losses, translocation and transformations. In general, A horizons are zones of removal
(eluviation) while B horizons are zones of accumulation (illuviation). The C horizon is usually the
parent material, but the term must be used with caution. Parent material is usually the rock
material from which the solum (A, E, and B horizons) developed.

General Characteristics of the Master Horizons

O horizon - horizon composed of partly or undecomposed organic materials
- can be further classified into Oi (slightly decomposed Oe (moderately
decomposed and Oa (well-decomposed)
- absent from cultivated soils since it is destroyed by plowing and burning

A horizon - horizons composed of mineral soil particles but strongly darkened by

humus or organic matter intimately mixed with the mineral fraction
- common A horizons are Ap (plowed) and Ah (humus A for natural soils)

E horizon - horizons from which clay, iron, aluminum or some combination of

these have been eluviated (leached) leaving a light-colored horizon
(bleached horizon)
- not common in the Philippines; formed under pine forest in temperate regions
- occurs between the A and the B horizons.

B horizon - horizon that formed below an A, E or O horizon and characterized by:

a) concentration of clay, iron, aluminum, silica
b) evidence of removal of carbonates
c) coatings of sesquioxides that make horizon lower in value, higher in chroma,
or redder in hue than overlying and underlying horizons
d) blocky structure
- the most common B horizons in the country are Bt (clay accumulation) and Bw
(structure formation)

C horizon - horizon relatively unaffected by soil-forming processes & lacks the

properties of O, A, E or B horizons.
- weathered rock beneath the solum (A or AB)

R horizon - solid bedrock, not practically diggable by spade.

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Guide to Characterization of Soil Horizons

A. Color

Soil color is determined using a Munsell Color Chart. In the Munsell system, color is classified under
a combination of three elements: hue, value, and chroma. Hue refers to the dominant wavelength
or color of light. Value, sometimes called brilliance, refers to the relative lightness and darkness of
color which is a measure of the total quantity of light. Chroma is the relative purity of the dominant
color.

Steps in using the Munsell Color Chart:

1. Find the page of the chart that most closely corresponds to the color of the soil. This will give
you the hue. Many soils have a hue of 10 YR.
2. Look through the color chips on that page and find the color which matches the soil most
closely. On the left side of the table will be given the value (2/, 3/, etc.) and on the bottom will
be given the chroma (/2, /3, etc.)
3. You now have the color description (example 10YR 3/1). Then look for the corresponding color
description on the opposite page.

B. Texture

Soil texture is the fineness or coarseness of the soil. In this exercise you will determine this
property by using the Field Method. In judging the texture, consider that a soil high in clay will be
somewhat sticky, and the sample can be molded into different shapes like a modeling clay. A sandy
soil will be gritty when rubbed between fingers. A soil high in silt will be smooth like baking flour. A
soil with equal amounts of sand, silt and clay is said to be a "loam" soil. No soil is all clay, sand and
silt. Therefore, most soils are mixtures of all three : sand, silt and clay (plus some amount of organic
matter). By determining the amount of sand, silt, and clay, you are determining the textural class
of the soil.

Field Key to Soil Textural Classes (Feel Method of Soil Texture Determination)

1. a) Soil does not remain in a ball when squeezed ………………………………….. sand

b) Soil remains in a ball when squeezed ……………………………………………….. 2

2. Squeeze the ball between your thumb and forefinger attempting to make a ribbon
that you can push up over your finger.
a) soil makes no ribbon ……………………………………………………….loamy sand
b) soil makes a ribbon but very short …………………………………………………... 3

3. a) Ribbon extends less than a thumb's length before breaking ……………………… 4

b) Ribbon extends more than a thumb's length without breaking ………………….. 5

4. Add excess water to a small amount of the soil

a) Soil feels at least slightly gritty ……………………………… Loam or sandy loam

b) Soil feels smooth (silky) ……………………………………………………. silt loam

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5. a) Soil makes a ribbon that breaks when 1 to 2 thumb length long:
cracks if bent into a ring ……………………………………………. 6

b) Soil makes a ribbon longer than two thumb lengths: can be bent into a ring
without cracking .……………………………………………… ………………. 7

6. a) Add excess water to a small amount of soil: soil feels at least slightly gritty
……………………………………………………….. Clay loam or sandy clay loam
c) Soil feels smooth ……………………………………………... silty clay loam or silt

7. a) Add excess water to a small amount of soil: soil feels at least slightly gritty
……………………………….. ……………………………………….. clay or sandy clay
b) Soil feels smooth ………………………. …………………………………… Silty clay

C. Structure

Soil structure is formed by the aggregation of primary soil particles into larger units called peds.
Peds can be described by their size (class), distinctness (grade) and their shape (type). The
distinctness is a measure of how well the aggregate is cemented together or, conversely, how easily
it is broken down. When we say a soil has a good structure, we usually mean that there are many
aggregates present which are "stable", that is, well cemented together. For this exercise, only type
or dominant shape of peds will be determined. Soil structural type describes the shape of individual
aggregates in the soil. The shape of the aggregates depends on the soil texture, soil composition
and the extent of weathering of the soil. Each soil horizon normally has its own characteristic types
of structure.

Common structural types are granular, blocky and subangular blocky. Granular is a relatively small
and spherical peds that are not fitted to adjoining aggregates. Blocky is a block-like peds bounded
to other aggregates whose sharp angular faces have angles near 90 o. Subangular blocky is also
block like peds bounded by other aggregates whose rounded subangular face form cast for the ped.
Most ped faces have angles greater than 90o.

Some soils are structureless, i.e., there is no observable aggregation or no definite orderly
arrangement of natural lines of weakness. It is massive if coherent and single grain if noncoherent.

Determine the structural type of each soil on each horizon by getting some peds and identifying
their shape or type using the guide below.

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D. Soil pH

Determine the pH of soil samples from each horizon by using indicator dyes. Your instructor will
provide you with a) a set of dyes b) small porcelain plate in which to make the test, c) a scoop d)
a color chart and e) a glass rod for you to use in determining the pH. The procedure is as follows:

1. Place a sample of the soil on one side of the plate.

2. Add, drop by drop, the dye just enough to allow for an extra drop to be recovered later for pH
reading.
3. Rotate the plate gently to insure good contact and satisfactory equilibrium. This may take 1-2
minutes.
4. Allow a thin layer of the dye to run into the small groove on your test plate. If necessary, the
glass rod can be used to help you pull the liquid out in a thin layer.
5. Compare the color of the thin layer with the color chart and decide on the pH.
6. If the pH of the soil is out of the range of the dye that you have used, try the next appropriate
dye. It may be necessary to make the reading with only the second dye or perhaps, if the pH
falls on the overlap both dyes can be used. A double reading is always advisable if possible.

E. Size and Abundance of Roots

The distribution of roots in the horizons of the soil profile is indicative of the prevailing soil
characteristics of the soil layers which is relevant to soil-plant interrelationships.

Root characteristics could be described in terms of size and abundance based on the following
qualitative description:

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Size (Root diameter)

Very fine - less than 1mm

Fine - 1 - 2 mm
Medium - 2 - 5 mm
Coarse - more than 5 mm

Abundance ( in terms of volume %)

Very few - less than 5%

Few - 5 - 15 %
Common - 15 - 40%
Coarse - more than 40%

Changes in size and abundance of roots are usually related to changes in soil properties.

References:

Fanning, D.S. and M.C.B. Fanning. 1989. Soil Morphology, Genesis, and Classification. John Wiley
and Sons, New York.

FAO. 1990. Guidelines for Soil Description. Rome.

Soil Survey Staff. 1951. Soil Survey Manual. USDA, Washington, DC.

Elenbass, P.F. M. 1994. Field and Lab Work in Ecology in Zimbabwe. CDCS, Vrije Universiteit,
Amsterdam.

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