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CHAPTER 1

WHY SOIL GENESIS?

1.1. What is soil genesis?

Soil formation or soil genesis refers to changes of soil properties with time in one
direction: the content of one component or mineral in a certain horizon decreases or
increases‚ sedimentary layering disappears‚ etc. Mostly‚ such changes are slow and can
be seen only after decades to millennia. So‚ most soil properties that change during soil
formation are relatively stable. Sometimes‚ however‚ effects of soil formation can be
seen within weeks or months. Examples are the quick drop in pH when sulphides
oxidise to sulfuric acid upon exposure to air and the formation of gley mottles when a
soil becomes very wet. Most rapid processes are cyclic‚ however‚ and are not considered
part of soil formation

Soils may be moist or dry‚ and warm or cold‚ depending on weather and season.
Seasonal variations in weather also drive biological processes‚ which in turn change soil
properties. Examples of such biological processes are plant growth and uptake of water
and nutrients‚ supply of fresh plant litter‚ and decomposition of plant litter by micro-
organisms and soil fauna. These cause temporal variations in soil pH‚ in contents of
certain fractions of soil organic matter (e.g.‚ microbial biomass)‚ and of soluble and
adsorbed nutrients. Most of such soil properties change in a cyclic way: they are
reversible on an annual or seasonal basis‚ and do not constitute a unidirectional change
in soil properties. Therefore they are not considered part of soil genesis.

Question: 1.1. Which of the following soil properties may vary strongly within a year‚
and which can change strongly only over much longer times (decades to millennia)?
(a) soil temperature in °C‚ (b) cation exchange capacity (CEC)‚ (c) dissolved salts‚ (d)
clay mineralogy‚ (e) soil water retention characteristics‚ (f) soil organic matter (SOM)
content.

The rapid‚ cyclic processes are part of the complex set of processes that cause the
unidirectional changes typical of soil formation. E.g.‚ seasonal snow melt causes strong
percolation by water. Over centuries to millennia‚ this causes a marked decrease of
weatherable minerals by leaching. Part B treats many of such short-term physical‚
chemical and biological processes that are important in soil genesis.
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SOIL FORMING PROCESSES
The properties of any soil are‚ at least theoretically‚ determined by five SOIL
FORMING FACTORS (V.V.Dokuchaev‚ 1898 cited by H. Jenny‚ 1980):
parent material‚ topography‚ climate‚ biota‚ and time.
Any particular combination of these factors will give rise to a certain SOIL
FORMING PROCESS‚ a set of physical‚ chemical and biological processes that
create a particular soil. The factors hydrology and human influence have been
added later.
If we could fully characterise and quantify each factor and describe all relevant
processes in a simulation model‚ we could exactly predict the resulting soil profile.
As you will come to realise in this course‚ reality is too complex for that!

It will be clear that a soil is not a static object that can be described once and for all‚ but
a natural entity with a time dimension. A soil comprises living and non-living
components. It can be considered as part of an ecosystem. Therefore‚ a soil should not
normally be studied in isolation: the interactions with the rest of the ecosystem to which
it belongs should be taken into account. Many publications about soil formation deal
with one or a few aspects only‚ for example‚ soil chemistry or soil mineralogy. These
refer to a subsystem of the soil‚ which itself is a subsystem of the ecosystem.

1.2. Why study soil genesis?

The study of soil genesis brings order to the overwhelming variety of soils that are
observed in the world‚ and links the field of soil science to other scientific disciplines.
A basic understanding of the main soil forming factors and soil forming processes (see
box above)‚ helps to order soil information. This can be very useful during soil survey
or when setting up a system of soil classification. Also when you study plant-soil
interactions or investigate consequences of large-scale human perturbations (climate
change‚ acid rain‚ salinization or alkalinisation due to improper irrigation and drainage)
a good general understanding of soil genesis is indispensable. Last but not least‚ the
study of soil formation is the way to satisfy your curiosity about the many different and
wondrous phenomena that can be observed in soil profiles all over the world.

Question 1.2. The Soil Forming Factor (state factor) approach is often used to study
the effect of one factor‚ by seeking sequences of soils where one factor varies‚ and the
others remain constant. a) Give an example of a chronosequence (soil age varies)‚ a
climosequence (climate varies) and a toposequence (elevation varies). b) The state
factor approach assumes that (i) the factors are independent‚ and (ii) state factors
influence the soil‚ but not vice versa. Criticise these assumptions.