 To have a concept of how soil form

 To learn the minerals that are present

in the lithosphere
 To know the methods of waste
disposal
 What do you see?
 What is different from top to bottom?
 How deep do roots go?
 Soil Profile - A vertical section of the soil extending
vertically through all its horizons and into the parent
material.
 Soil Horizon - A layer of soil, approximately parallel
to the surface, with properties that differ from the
horizons above or below it – the properties
(characteristics) are produced by soil forming
processes.
 Soil Layer - A layer in the soil deposited by a geologic
force (wind, water, glaciers, oceans, etc.) and not
relating to soil forming process.
 Topsoil A Horizon

Subsoil
B Horizon

COMMON
Parent TERMS
Material SCIENTIFIC TERMS
C Horizon
 O (humus or organic)
Decomposing leaves
and lots of organic
A (topsoil)
matter
Contains lots of roots,
and minerals for
growing plants
E (eluviated layer or EXIT layer)
Materials, minerals, organic
matter, and clays exit the soil
B (subsoil)
profile
Minerals from upper
horizons stop here
C (parent material)
Earth’s surface that soils
developed from

R (bedrock)
Remember the Ideal Profile
Using this Pneumonic Device:

Our
Aunt
Ethel
Bakes
Cookies
Regularly
O horizons or layers: Layers
dominated by organic material.
 Identification Criteria
 >20% organic matter
 Dark color (
 Feels ‘Squishy”
 Identifiable dead leaves, grass, etc.
accumulated at surface
 Typically ranging from 6-30 centimeters
thick
 Mineral horizon formed at the surface or
below an O horizon.
 Characterized by an accumulation of well
decomposed organic matter intimately
mixed with the mineral fraction.
 Identification Criteria
 Mineral soil material
 Mix of well decomposed organic matter and
mineral material
 Surface mineral horizon
 Typically dark in color-darker than underlying
horizons
 Mineral horizon in the upper part of
the soil typically underlying an O or A
horizon.
 Light color due to the natural color of
the mineral grains.
 Formed by weak organic acids that
strip coatings from mineral grains.
 Field Identification
 Zone of eluviation - removal of clays,
Fe, Al, and humus
 Lighter in color than over or underlying
horizon
 Near surface, below O or A horizons
and above a B horizon
.
 Field Identification
 Subsurface horizon formed below an O,
A, E horizon and above the C horizon
 Formed as a result of soil forming
processes
 Expressed often by color
 Illuvial concentration-zone of
accumulation
E Horizon
E Horizon
 Referred to as subsoil.
 The zone of accumulation (or
illuviation) within the soil.
 Field Identification
 Subsurface horizon formed below an O,
A, E horizon and above the C horizon
 Formed as a result of soil forming
processes
 Expressed often by color
 Illuvial concentration-zone of
accumulation
B Horizon B Horizon
 Referred to as parent material.
 These horizons and layers are little
affected by soil forming processes
(unweathered geologic material).
 Field Identification
 Little affected by soil-forming processes
 Geologic layering
 Color of unweathered geologic material
 Soilforms when weathered parent
material interacts with environment.
 Affected by the following
 CLIMATE
 ORGANISMS
 RELIEF
 PARENT MATERIAL
 TIME
 Determines
speed, character of soil
development:
Type and rate of weathering
living organisms and plants found in an
area
 Determines
speed, character of soil
development:
Type and rate of weathering
living organisms and plants found in an
area
 Living plants and animals on and in
soil
Type of vegetation influences soil type
Base pumping
Sources of organic matter
Nutrient recycling
Vegetation prevents erosion
 Important for rate of runoff, erosion,
drainage
 Determinestexture, types of
weathering, mineral make-up
 Weathering is the breaking down of rocks,
soil, and minerals as well as wood and
artificial materials through contact with the
Earth's atmosphere, water, and biological
organisms.
 Physical/ Mechanical
 Chemical/ Biogeochemical
 Physical(Mechanical): disintegration of parent
material; increases surface area:
 Surface area increases by same factor as particle
size decreases
 Chemical(Biogeochemical) : primary minerals
are broken down and secondary minerals are
formed
 Freeze/thaw  Hydrolysis
 Exfoliation  Hydration
 Abrasion  Oxidation/ Reduction
 Salt wedging  Carbonation
 Complexiacation

PHYSICAL CEMICAL
Chemical (biogeochemical):
 Hydrolysis: minerals react with H2O
 H+ replace soluble parts; OH- combine with
mineral cations
 Hydration: mineral combines with H2O
 Oxidation: mineral combines with O2 (lose
electron)
Reduction: loss of O2 (gain electron)
 Carbonation: oxides combine with acids to
make carbonates
 Complexation: organic acids form organic
complexes with metal cations
 Oxidation: mineral combines with O2 (lose
electron)
Reduction: loss of O2 (gain electron)
 Carbonation: oxides combine with acids to
make carbonates
 Complexation: organic acids form organic
complexes with metal cations
wind
water
ice
 Amount of time soil has been exposed to
weathering and soil forming processes
influences soil properties.
 Thelithosphere is made up of soil,
sand, mud and rock, which are all
composed of minerals
◦ Minerals - a mineral is a naturally occurring,
crystalline, inorganic substance with specific
physical and chemical properties.
 Naturally Occurring - a process by
which a material is formed in or on
the earth.
 Crystalline - the atoms and molecules
of a mineral are the same throughout
and are joined in a fixed position as a
solid in a definite pattern.
 Inorganic Substance - not living or
formed from a living thing.
 Chemical Symbol - a chemical symbol
or formula can be used to represent a
mineral.
 Mostminerals are composed of two
or more elements. Oxygen is the
most abundant element in the earth’s
crust by both weight and volume.
Silicon is the second most abundant
element by weight.
 Differentminerals can possess
different structures. Silicate
containing minerals (Silicon and
Oxygen) have a structure based on
the silicon-oxygen tetrahedron. In
this arrangement, four oxygen atoms
surround one silicon atom.
 All
minerals have their own unique
physical and chemical properties that
can be used to identify them.
 Color- all minerals have unique
colors. Many minerals share similar
colors. Also, some of the minerals
come in different colors.
 Luster- luster is the way the surface
of the mineral reflects light. There
are two forms of luster, metallic and
non-metallic.
 Hardness - is a mineral’s resistance
to being scratched. Talc is so soft
that it can be scratched with a finger
nail, and a diamond is so hard, no
other mineral can scratch it.
 Streak- is the color of the powder left
by a mineral after it is rubbed against
a hard surface. A porcelain plate is
often used to reveal a minerals streak.
 Cleavage- is the tendency of a
mineral to split along surfaces, or
planes of weakness. Minerals that do
not show cleavage are classified as
fractured.
 Special Properties - some minerals
possess special properties like
magnetism (magnetite), luminescence
(fluorite), piezoelectricity (quartz).
 Specific Gravity - minerals can be identified by
determining their relative density as compared
to water.
 Chemical Tests - The use of hydrochloric acid
to see if a mineral bubbles, or taste tests can
help identify a mineral like halite or quartz.
Taste tests can be dangerous, because some
minerals can be toxic.
 Means any garbage, refuse, sludge from a
waste, water treatment plant, water supply
treatment plant or air pollution control facility,
and other discarded materials.
 It is a solid or semisolid, non-soluble
materials, such as agricultural refuse,
demolition waste, industrial waste, mining
residues, municipal garbage and sewage
sludge.
 EXAMPLES
 EXAMPLES
 Municipal
 Hazardous
 Biomedical
 Municipal– Consist of household and
construction waste, demolition debris,
sanitation residue and waste from
streets
Biodegradable
Non-biodegradable
 Hazardous
Waste - those that can
cause harm to human and
environment
 Toxic waste-Poisonous in small or
trace amount
 Reactive waste - Have tendency to
react vigorously with air and water,
unstable to shock and heat, generates
 Hazardous
Waste - those that can
cause harm to human and
environment
 Infectious waste -Includes human tissue
from surgery, used bandages and hypoderm
needles, hospital waste
 Hazardous
Waste - those that can
cause harm to human and
environment
 Corrosive wastes - Destroys materials and
living tissues by chemical reaction
 Biomedical waste - Any waste
generated during the diagnosis,
treatment or immunization of human
beings, or animals or in research
activities pertaining to the production
or testing of biological.
 Land fill - Burying the waste in the
yard.
 Land fill - Burying the waste in the
yard.
 Inceneration- Wastes are burned at
hi temprature so as to convert them
into residue and gaseous products
(also known as thermal treatment).
 Composting - An easy and natural
biodegradable process that takes organic
wastes(remains of plants, garden and
kitchen waste) and turns into nutrient rich
food for your plants.
 Composting
 recoveryand recycling -resource
recovery is the process of taking
useful discarded items for a specific
next use. Recycling is the process of
converting waste products into new
products to prevent energy usage and
consumption of fresh raw materials.
 REDUCE - To buy less and use less
 REUSE - Elements of the discarded
item are used again
 RECYCLE - Discards are separated
into materials that can be
incorporated into new products.