HASIL PELAPUKAN

SOIL
What are the horizons of a typical soil profile
and what are some of the characteristics of
each horizon?
Soils -> the regolith or pedosphere
(unconsolidated sediments):
soil = upper part of the regolith or
pedosphere that supports life

• Forms in situ
• Influenced by micro- and macro-organisms

A. Components = what is in soil…..

1. Sand, silt and clay
2. Organics (litter & humus)
3. H2O & nutrients
Soil Forming Factors

1. Substrate/parent material : residual vs. transported

soils
->controls texture and amount of nutrients
2. Duration/Time: controls soil maturity-> amount and
quality
3. Climate: most important factor
– Soil type
– Soil character - horizons
4. Topography: slope angle => gravity aspect =
amount of sunlight.......
5. Vegetation - plant types
 Soil Horizons

1. O-horizon => organics (litter and humus)

2. A1& A2-horizons => zone of leaching:
O+A = topsoil
3. B-horizon => zone of accumulation: subsoil
4. C-horizon => broken up parent material (bedrock)
Soil Forming Processes

Processes that give horizons their characteristics

• Humification - formation of humus and organic acids

• Gleization - reduction of iron - waterlogged soils
• Podzolization - downward chemical migration - Al,Fe
• Lessivage - downward (mechanical) migration of
clay
• Ferralization - intense weathering
• Calcification - accumulation of calcium in subsurface
horizons
Soil Classification

• Factors - parent, climate, time, topography,

and organisms
• Oficial USDA system - 12 orders in the
taxonomy
Soil Classification

• Alfisols (Al + Fe) - moderate leaching, subsurface

clay, hardwood forests (climate, organisms)
• Andisols (volcanic-ash) - vocanic ash parent
(parent material)
• Aridosols (arid) - few organics - subsurface salts
and caliche (climate)
• Entisols (recent) - poorly developed horizons,
recent acumulation or constant erosion,
floodplains, mountains, badlands (time,
topography)
Soil Classification

• Gelisols (permafrost) - weakly weathered (climate)

• Histosols (organic) - abundant organics (>25%),
few minerals (topography)
• Inceptisols (young) - weakly developed horizons,
little clay (time, climate)
• Mollisols (soft) - moderate leaching, organic topsoil,
prairie soils (climate, organisms)
Soil Classification

• Oxisols (oxide) - very old, extremely leached,

tropics (time, climate)
• Spodosols (ashy) - cold, moist climates, well
developed B, pine forests (parent, organisms,
climate)
• Ultisols (leached) - subsurface clay, strongly
leached, humid subtropical (climate, time,
organisms)
• Vertisols (inverted) - high clay content (>35%),
shrink and swell, not strongly leached (parent
material)