Chapter 7

Title: Soil
I.

Introduction
A.

II.

Soil -

is made out of organic and inorganic materials.

is a natural resource that is very important for planets life.

Are constantly changing and vary in different locations.

Orders of Soil
A.

Entisol - is found commonly on unconsolidated sediments like sand.

B.

Vertisol tends to swell when dried forming deep cracks that surface
layer can drop into.

C.

Inceptisol is the alternation of parent material it form quickly like young

soils.

D.

Aridisol - is a dry soil forming under desert conditions or in an arid or

semiarid climate.

E.

Mollisol - is a soft soil under physical grass land cover formed in semiarid to semi-humid areas.

F.

Spodosol - is a soil typically of deciduous and coniferous forests in

cooler climates.

G.

Alfisol

- is formed under boreal or broadleaf forest in a moderately

weathered area.
H.

Ultisol - is commonly known as red clay soil that is heavily leached.

I.

Oxisol - it composed of heavy oxide content.

J.

Histosol - primarily it contains of organic materials.

K. Andisols - is formed from volcanic ash which contains high in glass and
amorphous colloidal materials.
L. Gelisols - contains permafrost within two meters of the soil surface of
every cold climates.

III.

Geological Processes
A.

Erosion - is a natural process that changes the structure of the lands by

the appearance and disappearance of rivers.

B.

Weathering - is the breaking up of the earths surface by forces of the

atmosphere.

C.

Plate Tectonics - is a scientific theoretical analysis about the earths

surface.

IV.

Soil and Land

A.

Residential Land uses include several types of dwelling on large or

small lots.

B.

Institutional Land - uses are lands occupied by public infrastructural

supports.

C.

Industrial Land - uses refers to the areas developed for factories.

D.

Agriculture and Forestry Land - uses depends on the types of crops

and agronomic system.

V.

Factors of Soil Formation

A.

Parent Material is a mineral material from which soil was formed.

1. Residual - are found in mesas and plain areas.
2. Transported deposited form many miles by water, wind or gravity.
3. Cumulose originate from deposited organic material.

B.

Climate is the principal factor in soil formation that directly affects the
rate of weathering and leaching.

C.

Organism the biological factors that contribute to soil formation include

plants, animals microorganism and humans.

D.

Topography has a great impact in the formation of soil.

E.

Time weathering process continue overtime for soil parent material to

breakdown and decompose.