Explains how the climate contributes to soil formation

Parent material - Few soils weather directly from the underlying rocks. These residual soils have the same general chemistry as the original rocks. More commonly, soils form in materials that have moved in from elsewhere. Materials may have moved many miles or only a few feet. Windblown loess is common in the Midwest. It buries glacial till in many areas. Glacial till is material ground up and moved by a glacier. The material in which soils form is called “parent material.” In the lower part of the soils, these materials may be relatively unchanged from when they were deposited by moving water, ice, or wind

Sediments along rivers have different textures, depending on whether the stream moves quickly or slowly. Fast-moving water leaves gravel, rocks, and sand. Slow-moving water and lakes leave fine textured material like clay and silt when sediments in the water settle out.

Climate - Soils vary, depending on the climate. Temperature and moisture amounts cause different patterns of weathering and leaching. Wind redistributes sand and other particles, especially in arid regions. The amount, intensity, timing, and kind of precipitation influence soil formation. Seasonal and daily changes in temperature affect moisture effectiveness, biological activity, rates of chemical reactions, and kinds of vegetation.

Topography - Slope and aspect affect the moisture and temperature of soil. Steep slopes facing the sun are warmer. Steep soils may be eroded and lose their topsoil as they form. Thus, they may be thinner than the more nearly level soils that receive deposits from areas upslope. Deeper, darker colored soils may be expected on the bottom land.

Biological factors - Plants, animals, microorganisms, and humans affect soil formation. Animals and microorganisms mix soils and form burrows and pores. Plant roots open channels in the soils. Different types of roots have different effects on soils. Grass roots are fibrous near the soil surface and easily decompose, adding organic matter. Taproots open pathways through deeper layers. Microorganisms affect chemical exchanges between roots and soil. Humans can mix the soil so extensively that the soil material is again considered parent material.

The native vegetation depends on climate, topography, and biological factors, plus many soil factors such as soil density, depth, chemistry, temperature, and moisture. Leaves from plants fall to the surface and decompose on the soil. Organisms decompose these leaves and mix them with the upper part of the soil. Trees and shrubs have large roots that may grow to considerable depths.

Time - Time is also a component for the other factors to interact with the soil. Over time, soils exhibit features that reflect the other forming factors. Soil formation processes are continuous. Recently deposited material, such as the deposition from a flood, exhibits no features from soil development activities. The previous soil surface and underlying horizons become buried. The time clock resets for these soils. Terraces above the active floodplain, while similar to the floodplain, are older land surfaces and exhibit more development features.

These soil-forming factors continue to affect soils even on stable landscapes. Materials are deposited on their surface and blown or washed away from the surface. Additions, removals, and alterations are slow or rapid, depending on climate, landscape position, and biological activity.

Soils differ from one part of the world to another, even from one part of a backyard to another. They differ because of where and how they formed. Five major factors interact to create different types of soils:

CLIMATE

ORGANISMS

RELIEF (LANDSCAPE)

PARENT MATERIAL

TIME

Climate, Temperature and moisture influence the speed of chemical reactions, which in turn help control how fast rocks weather and dead organisms decompose. Soils develop faster in warm, moist climates and slowest in cold or arid ones.

Rainfall is a part of climate

Rainfall is one of the most important climate factors in soil formation.

Organisms—Plants root, animals burrow, and bacteria eat – these and other organisms speed up the breakdown of large soil particles into smaller ones. For instance, roots produce carbon dioxide that mixes with water and forms an acid that wears away rock. Learn more on our Soil Biology page!

Termites can radically change a landscape.

Termites can generate mounds in the soil that are three stories tall!!!

Relief (landscape)—The shape of the land and the direction it faces make a difference in how much sunlight the soils gets and how much water it keeps. Deeper soils form at the bottom of a hill because gravity and water move soil particles down the slope.

Soil is different depending on where on a slope it is taken

Soils are different depending on the location in the slope that they are located.

Parent material—Every soil “inherits” traits from the parent material from which it formed. For example, soils that form from limestone are rich in calcium and soils that form from materials at the bottom of lakes are high in clay. Every soil formed from parent material deposited at the Earth's surface. The material could have been bedrock that weathered in place or smaller materials carried by flooding rivers, moving glaciers, or blowing winds. Parent material is changed through biological, chemical and environmental processes, such as weathering and erosion.

Soil forming at a volcano in real time

These are soils forming in real time from the side of the volcano. They form into rock first, then weather into fertile soil.

Time—All of these factors work together over time. Older soils differ from younger soils because they have had longer to develop. As soil ages, it starts to look different from its parent material. That is because soil is dynamic. Its components—minerals, water, air, organic matter, and organisms—constantly change. Components are added and lost. Some move from place to place within the soil. And some components are totally changed, or transformed.

WHO STUDIES ABOUT SOIL AND HOW IT FORMS?

Evaluating a Soil Profile

Evaluating a soil profile can tell a lot of stories how soils form, and what they can be used for.

Soil pedologists and morphologists study how different soils form. How do soils form? How is this important for soil management? What impact do humans have on the evolution and formation of soils?

SOIL MAPPING

Did you know that the soil under your feet has a name (there's an app for that)? Soils, like species, can be identified through a process of taxonomy. Taxonomy groups soils with similar features into the same category. There are over 25,000 different named soils in the US. People who map soils generate digital copies of the world beneath our feet, and draw lines to estimate boundaries between soil with different names.

This is an example soils map

This is an example of a soils map over a small area in Wisconsin. The little letter are different soil series

Disturbed Soils

When humans build buildings and roads they change soils, often removing the surface soil and drastically changing the areas. When this change happens, soil formation starts to change. People who study disturbed soils map how these soils respond to human manipulation.

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