Dynamics of Soil Formation

Why are there so many d|fferent so||s?

O ou can find different soils everywhere. From area to area. But also
you can find different soils in a single field. ou will find different
soils if you walk down a hillside - the soils at the top of the hill will
differ from those at the base - sometimes only subtly, often
dramatically. Why is this the case?
O %he answer lies in the nature of the soils and its components. When
it comes to soils, location truly matters. What makes up specific
soils and how are these maintained?
O s I presented last Friday, there are five major factors that control
the formation of soils.
4 Parent materials - both geological and organic precursors
to the soil
4 limate - primarily precipitation and temperature
4 iota - the living organisms, including native vegetation,
microbes, soils, animals, and increasingly, humans
4 %opography - the role of slope, aspect and landscape
position
4 %ime - the length of time since the parent materials began to
undergo soil formation
our broad processes of so|| genes|s
So|| format|on |s brought about by a ser|es of spec|f|c changes that can be grouped
|nto four broad processes
O %ransformations - such as mineral weathering and the
decomposition of organic matter, by which soil constituents are
modified or destroyed or synthesized
O %ranslocation - movements of inorganic and organic materials
from one horizon to another
O //itions - of materials to soils from outside sources such as
organic matter from falling leaves and atmospheric dust, or soluble
salts in groundwater
O osses - of materials from soil through leaching to groundwater,
erosion of surface materials or other forms of removal (even by
humans)
O %hese four broad processes also operate under the influence of
environmental factors.
O %herefore, in analyzing the dynamics of soils in a given site, you
should ask yourself:
4 What are the materials being added to the soil (and how)?
4 What transformations and translocations are taking place in
this profile?
4 What materials are being removed (and perhaps how/why)?
4 ow have climate, organisms, topography, and parent
materials at this site affected these processes over time?

So|| format|on
we will assume that this soil is developing from a thick layer of relatively
uniform parent material)
Stage 1 Weather|ng of the parent mater|a|
Some physical weathering and leaching may be necessary for plants to begin
to grow in certain parent materials. owever, true soil formation truly begins
when plants become established and begin to deposit organic matter (in the
form of litter on the surface and decomposing roots in the parent material
itself).
Stage 2 8u||dup of organ|c matter at the surface
!lant materials disintegrate and are partially decomposed by soil organisms
that also synthesize humus and other new organic substances
O %he accumulation of humus enhances the availability of both plant
nutrients and water, providing a positive feedback for more plant
growth that, in turn, fosters further humus build-up.
O ew living - earthworms, ants, termites, and a wide range of
smaller animals - come to live in this developing soil and to feed on
the newly accumulating organic resources; D they also burrow
into the young soil, mixing the plant residues and other organic
matter deeper into the loose mineral material.
Stage 3 Creat|on of an A nor|zon
%his leads to the creation of an orizon on top of a developing C orizon.
%he resulting organic-mineral mixture near the soil surface is commonly the
first soil horizon to be developed - the horizon. nd it develops relatively
quickly (in terms of the time it takes for a fully developed soil to develop).
O It becomes darker in colour due to the introduction and
transformation of organic matter.
O Its chemical and physical properties differ from those of the parent
material - for the same reasons.
O Individual soil particles begin to aggregate - or clump together -
under the influence of the organic matter to form granules, again
differentiating this horizon from the parent material in terms of its
structure.
Stage 4 ormat|on of a 8 nor|zon
s time continues to pass some organic matter is carried deeper into the
soil. Even as the /C horizons are developing, leaching is also taking place.
%his describes the movement of organic aci/s that form from decaying
plant residues that are carried downwards into the young soil by percolating
waters. In these deeper parts of the soil they stimulate weathering
reactions.
O %he acid-charged percolating water dissolves various chemicals and
translocates them (leaches) them from upper to lower horizons.
%his process can result in respective zones of depletion and
accumulation of specific leaches.
O %he dissolved substances include both positively charged ions
(called cations) and negatively charged ions (called anions)
released from the breakdown of minerals and organic matter.
O When rainfall is great enough, some of these dissolved materials
may be completely removed from the developing soil profile
through drainage. %his leads to increasingly acidic soils as the
positively charged calcium, magnesium and potassium ions are
depleted.
O owever, this is where the interconnectedness of the processes
kicks in too - as plants with deep roots intercept some of these
soluble weathering and return them to the upper horizons (O and
) as new litter to be decomposed. In so doing, this process helps
to retard the process known as acid weathering and horizon
differentiation.
Another process beg|ns to |mpact on so|| deve|opment What |s th|s?
%his is chemical weathering of mineral materials or mineral weathering.
O Biochemical processes accelerate the weathering of primary
minerals leading to their disintegration. Some of this disintegrated
material is altered as well into different kinds of silicate clays. s
the breaking down of primary minerals continues, more of these
silicate clays form as well as other new materials form through the
recombination of materials.
O %he clay materials may accumulate where they form or they may
be leached downward to accumulate deeper in the profile.

In general, as materials are removed from one layer to another, adjacent
layers become more distinct from each other and horizons are created.
%hese are identifiable by differences in colour, texture, and structure.

s a soil matures, the various horizons within the profile generally become
more numerous and more distinctive from each other.
A more comp|ex (yet s|mp||f|ed) examp|e
O Figure 2.33 illustrates the stages of development of a hypothetical
soil forming from a relatively uniform parent material.
O In stage one you have the development of an horizon and a C
horizon over the parent material, but no distinctive layering exists.
Organic matter has just begun to accumulate at the surface.
O By stage two the activity of earthworms and other soil organisms,
and the decay of plant roots, have incorporated organic matter into
the top few centimeters of the parent materials. Soluble ions have
also moved downwards through leaching. Clays are beginning to
form from minerals and to disperse through percolating water.
O By stage three, more organic matter has accumulated in the upper
zones of the soil. %his organic matter has also moved deeper into
the forming soil. Further leaching of soluble ions has occurred
leading to additional clay forming and being translocated into lower
horizons. Bw horizon has formed - distinguished by its colour and
the development of some block-like structure (What does the w
stand for?) Ions leached from the forming upper layers have
leached deeper into the regolith, creating a Ck horizon, rich in
calcium carbonates.
@o caveats
O First, not all of the contrasting horizons found in a soil profile are
genetic horizons, created out of this process I have just described.
4 %he parent materials from which a soil develops may contain
contrasting layers of materials before soil genesis begins.
4 For example, glacial outwash, like what you can find in
Ontario, may contain several layers of fine and coarse
particles, laid down as part of differing episodes of
sedimentation.
4 Because of this, we have to recognize that some horizons of a
soil may inherit the characteristics of the different layers of
parent materials too (e.g. development of an organic soil or a
soil based on marine deposits [near shore/beach versus
deeper water sedimentation]).
O Second, soils are dynamic and their formation is ongoing.
%herefore, in some soils you will find the process of horizon
differentiation has only begun while in other soils it is well advanced
with easily recognizable horizons.