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Soil is the mineral and organic material on the
surface of the earth. It is a valuable natural resource
that has formed over hundreds of years and continues
to form each and every day.

Soil is a complex mixture of sand, silt, clay, and

bits of decaying animal and plant tissue. The
ingredients in a soil define what type of soil it is and
what is able to grow in it.

 

 

Soil production takes a long time. Over hundreds and hundreds of years, forces and
factors work together to create the soil that we use for agriculture (and most other
activities on earth). It's the organization of those factors and forces that creates
different types of soils.

New soils begin with some type of parent material. Most often, this parent material
is made up of materials (sediment) that has been moved by wind, rain, glaciers, and
other forces.

In some soils, parent material is created as natural forces begin to break down rock
and materials on and near the surface of the earth. This weathering process is caused
by many things Ɯ wind, rain, and freezing temperatures or plant, animal, chemical, and
human activity.

Over hundreds of years, weathering and erosion continues to slowly change parent
materials into smaller and smaller particles. These particles sift and filter to create
layers on the Earth's surface. Penologists call these layers horizons.
 The type and number of plants and animals living in an area plays a big part in the
formation of new soils. As they go through their life cycles, organisms add organic
materials to the make up of the soil.

Plant roots move through soil layers opening places for water and air to collect.
These spaces affect the quality of the soil created. Other organisms digest the food
they find there and mix the soil with their movements. Both plants and animals then
become part of the soil as they decompose after dying.

Humans also affect soil production. Building, agriculture, and other human activities
cause changes to the soils by adding or changing chemicals, changing parent materials,
and changing the rate of erosion.

The physical features (or topography) of the land also play a role in the type of soil
that is created an area. The topography of an area affects how much moisture is held in
the soil and the erosion patterns of an area. The quality and development of soil is very
much affected by these factors.

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 organic material
 partially weathered rock
 volcanic ash
 deposited sediment
 rock moved by glaciers

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 climate affects the number of plants and animals in an area

 decomposition is slower in cold and dry climates
 rainfall and water amounts affect the speed and amount of weathering

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 the slope of the land Ɯ steep or flat

 steep slopes can have high rates of erosion and loose new soil quickly

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 more organisms causes new soils to have a greater amount of organic material
 human activity can aid or deter new soil production
  animals mix and aerate soils
 tree and plant roots can grow deep causing changes in the lower horizons
(layers) of the soil

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 new soil is always being formed

 the more time each factor is given, the greater the influence on the soil

To understand the soil of an area, soil scientists take samples from many locations.
These samples are part of a larger study called a soil survey. A soil survey is a carefully
planned study of the soils in an area. The scientists examine, describe, classify and map
the soils.

A soil profile is one part of a formal soil survey. A soil profile shows and describes
the layers of the soil just below the surface of the earth. This profile is one tool used to
classify the soils of the area. REAL TREE growers are able to use this classification when
deciding what trees to purchase and plant for their crops.

To create a soil profile, pedologists look at a cross-section of the land. In this cross-
section, they can observe and describe each layer or horizon they see. There are about
five or six identified horizons that the soil scientists look for.

Important Note: The horizons in each area will be different in type and amount.
Below shows one example and gives information about five general horizon layers.

Look at the profile to the right. Four horizons are

shown.

The O horizon is the topmost horizon. It contains

quite a bit of living material and humusƜ plants,
decaying leaves, needles, moss, and such. This is a
thin horizon and is often very dark in color.

The A horizon is below the O horizon. It is made

mostly of minerals and is the location of quite a few
plant roots. This layer is also dark in color due to the
amount of humus located there.

The B horizon is below the A horizon. It's also

known as the subsoil layer. This horizon usually is
lighter in color and has less organic material than the
layers above it (O and A). The B horizon is described
by the kind and amount of minerals found within it.

The C horizon is below the B horizon. It contains

some parent material that has been slightly
weathered. Because this layer is usually deeper than
the layers above it, the material in this layer is less
weathered.

The R horizon is the lowest horizon. It is the layer

of bedrock Ɯ a solid rock layer.

Those working on a soil profile look at each visible

layer. They observe, study, test, measure and
describe the thickness, texture, and make-up in each
layer present. This information is included as part of
the soil survey of the area.

The earth has a limited amount of land that is usable for growing crops.
Understanding the composition of the soil allows REAL TREE growers to plant trees that
will grow well in their area.

Each grower is dependent on the amount and quality of the soil on their operation.
The information in this section is just a start to the knowledge that experienced growers
use to make good decisions about this very complex natural resource.






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Rocks and minerals are different things. Rocks are groups of different
minerals pushed together and combined. They don't have easy chemical
formulas to describe their makeup. A ruby is considered a mineral. It's a nice
pretty crystal with the same compounds throughout the object. But the rock
that surrounds that ruby has many many different compounds (and even a
few pieces of ruby mixed in). There's an easier example that many people can
relate to. Think about quartz. On its own (as a mineral) it's a nice pretty
crystal. But a piece of granite often has loads of quartz. It's ground up and
crushed, but its still bits of quartz. Granite is a rock and quartz is a mineral.

 

Igneous rocks are the ones that
were   and originally
liquid. They come from the center
of the Earth! Not really the center,
but they often start their lives
below the crust and then get
pumped out. There are two basic
types of igneous rocks. There are
the rocks that make it to the
surface (extrusive) and the ones
that are stuck in the crust just
below the surface (intrusive).
These igneous types have all
hardened after being molten rock. If you walk around a volcano, you will find
those 
 types. The

types are usually found in areas called
plutons and dikes, big old pools of molten rock that were just beneath the
surface. Some examples of igneous rock are granite, all volcanic rock, basalt,
and obsidian.
    




This rock type is created by heat and/or pressure. Even though heat is involved,
they didn't start off as molten rock. But. You often find metamorphic rock near
volcanoes and sources of super hot rock. The heat from the magma changes all of the
rock around it. Try another explanation. Look at the name 'metamorphic.' It looks like
the word used to describe insects that go through a metamorphosis. It's the same
concept. Some force (heat/pressure) has changed these rocks from one type into a new
type. The result is a metamorphic rock. Some examples are marble, jade, slate, and
gneiss. Because pressure and heat are involved, these rock types are usually found
deep beneath the surface. They are also found near fault lines where plates push
against each other and create enormous pressures. Over time, because of the
movement of the crust, these metamorphic rocks are pushed to the surface where you
can find them every day.

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The last of the big three rock types is probably the rarest... unless you live near the
coast. Sedimentary rock types are created when sediment compresses. It's pretty
simple. Here's the setup... A river flows through a canyon and picks up a bunch of silt.
That sediment and silt runs downstream and deposits where the river ends. It could be
in a flood plain or a valley, but we're using a coastline as an example. When that
material gets to the beach, it sits there. Now if you watch this happen over millions of
years, more and more sediment builds up and compacts. That compacted sediment
eventually becomes a type of rock. Examples of sedimentary rock include sandstone,
amber, anthracite, and limestone.

 



Not all rocks are from Earth. Someone can debate whether a meteorite is a rock, but
you definitely find them all over the Earth. Some super big ones have created massive
craters across the globe. Most scientists now believe that a super-massive meteorite hit
the Earth and created an extinction event for the dinosaurs. There are also millions of
tiny meteorites. They look just like rocks until you break them open. Meteorites are
mainly made of iron and nickel. You will also find many smaller trace elements. The key
thing to remember about meteorites is that they have much different percentages of
elements than rocks on Earth. Many trace elements found on these space travellers are
nearly impossible to find on Earth.