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Natural Resources and Ecology
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The Formation of Soils Unit 2 – Lesson 2.1 Soils and Land
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Soil Forming Factors Five factors acting together influence the formation of soil: Parent Material Climate Organisms Topography Time
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Parent Material Original mineral from which soil develops Influences soil fertility and texture Sources of parent material –Minerals and rocks –Deposits – glacial, wind, water, and organic
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Climate and location affect the rate of weathering. Weathering breaks down rock into smaller fragments and eventually down to small particles. Climate Temperature Rainfall
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Organisms Macro-organisms (living and dead) –Source of organic matter –Large plants and animals Microorganisms –Microscopic plants and organisms –Primary decomposers of organic material
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Topography Affects distribution of soil particles and water Slope causes water runoff and potential erosion Water moves smaller soil particles down the slope
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Time Highly variable rate of formation Different types of parent material weather at different rates Climate and topography also influence rate of soil formation
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Erosion The opposite of soil formation is erosion, which has a detrimental effect on soil. Erosion is a natural process. Erosion comes in two forms: Water Wind
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Erosion Happens In what circumstances is soil erosion more likely to happen? Steep ground Excessive water movement Little or no vegetation Wind blowing across bare soil
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Soil Development There are four main ways that the process of soil formation occurs: Addition – accumulation or deposition Reduction – leaching and erosion Translocation – movement within soil profile Transformation – soil changes in place by weathering or microorganism conversion
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References Burton, L. D. (2009). Environmental science: Fundamentals and applications. Clifton Park, NY: Delmar Cengage Learning. Huddleston, J. H., & Kling, G. F. (1996). Manual for judging Oregon soils. Corvallis, OR: Oregon State University. Parker, R. (2010). Plant and soil science: Fundamentals and applications. Clifton Park, NY: Delmar.
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