FACTORS EFFECTING SOIL FORMATION:-
It takes a very long time to make soil,
sometimes a thousand years or more. Basically, when surface rocks break down,
they mix with decaying organic material, like plants and animals. As this
organic material breaks down, it returns nutrients back to the ground, which
provides food for plants.
Specifically, there are five main factors
that create soil:-
(i) Parent
material;
(ii) Climate;
(iii) Biology;
(iv) Topography;
and
(v) Time.
(i) Parent material:- This is the material that new soil forms from. Parent material
includes both mineral and organic material. The organic material is usually
very dark and spongy, and this is also known as humus. The mineral material
comes from sediments and weathered rocks, and the type of mineral material
present helps determine which type of soil will form and how long it will take
to form.
(ii) Climate:-
Climate affects soil formation because temperature, moisture, rainfall and
wind influence mineral material weathering and the production of organic
matter. In climates that are warm and moist like rain-forests, plants grow much
faster and more consistently throughout the year. This creates a soil with more
organic matter than a climate that is dry and cool, but this organic matter
also gets broken down faster, so there is less accumulation in the soil.
(iii) Biology:- Soil formation is also impacted by biological influences such
as plants, animals, bacteria and fungi. Plants help recycle nutrients by
decaying as well as by taking up nutrients. Plants also put down roots into the
soil, which helps anchor the soil in place and prevent erosion. There are
millions of tiny organisms in the soil that you can't even see, and they help
mix the soil and recycle nutrients.
(iv) Topography :- Topography is the shape of the land,
including the steepness and features like mountains, depressions and
floodplains. Soil is affected by water and the sediments and rocks that are
present. If the land is very steep, there will be more runoff from rainfall,
which will transport more rocks and minerals. This increased level of erosion
also means that there will likely be less organic material, and, as we know,
this also influences the soil.
(v) Time:-
Finally, time plays a critical role in soil formation because the
interaction of all the previous factors is a slow and continuous process. It
takes a long time for sediments to be transported and weathered, and organic
material needs time to decay.
