FACTORS EFFECTING SOIL FORMATION

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.