SITE PLANNING assignment on SOIL AND ITS TYPES

Soil
characteristics formation properties types

presented by C. Visalakshi C. Abirami D. Elavenil

SOIL Soil is a natural body consisting of layers (soil horizons) of mineral constituents of variable thicknesses, which differ from the parent materials in theirmorphological, physical, chemical, and mineralogical characteristics.

Soil is composed of particles of broken rock that have been altered by chemical and environmental processes that include weathering and erosion.
Soil differs from its parent rock due to interactions between the lithosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, and the biosphere. It is a mixture of mineral and organicconstituents that are in solid, gaseous and aqueous states.Soil is commonly referred to as dirt. Soil particles pack loosely, forming a soil structure filled with pore spaces. These pores contain soil solution (liquid) and air (gas).Accordingly, soils are often treated as a three state system. Most soils have a density between 1 and 2 g/cm. Soil is also known as earth: it is the substance from which our planet takes its name.

SOIL FORMATION

SOIL COLOR It is often the first impression one has when viewing soil. Striking colors and contrasting patterns are especially memorable.
The Red River (Mississippi watershed) carries sediment eroded from extensive reddish soils like Port Silt Loam in Oklahoma. The Yellow River in China carries yellow sediment from eroding loessal soils. Mollisols in the Great Plains are darkened and enriched by organic matter. Podsols in boreal forests have highly contrasting layers due to acidity and leaching. Soil color is primarily influenced by soil mineralogy. Many soil colors are due to the extensive and various iron minerals. The development and distribution of color in a soil profile result from chemical and biological weathering, especially redox reactions.

As the primary minerals in soil parent material weather, the elements combine into new and colorfulcompounds.
Iron forms secondary minerals with a yellow or red color, organic matter decomposes into black and brown compounds.

SOIL STRUCTURE It is the arrangement of soil particles into aggregates. These may have various shapes, sizes and degrees of development or expression. Soil structure affects aeration, water movement, resistance to erosion and plant root growth. Structure often gives clues to texture, organic matter content, biological activity, past soil evolution, human use, and chemical and mineralogical conditions under which the soil formed. If the soil is too high in clay, adding gypsum, washed river sand and organic matter will balance the composition. Adding organic matter to soil that is depleted in nutrients and too high in sand will boost the quality.

Definition of Grain Size

Gravel Sand Cobbles
Coarse 300 mm Fine Coarse Medium No.4 19 mm 4.75 mm No.10 Fine

Silt and Clay

75 mm

No.200

0.075 No.40 mm
0.425 mm

Soil symbols: G: Gravel S: Sand M: Silt C: Clay O: Organic Pt: Peat

2.0 mm

Example: SW, Well-graded sand SC, Clayey sand SM, Silty sand, MH, Elastic silt

SOIL TEXTURE It refers to sand, silt and clay composition. Soil content affects soil behavior, including the retention capacity for nutrients andwater. Sand and silt are the products of physical weathering, while clay is the product of chemical weathering. Clay content has retention capacity for nutrients and water. Clay soils resist wind and water erosion better than silty and sandy soils, because the particles are more tightly joined to each other. SOIL RESISTIVITY It is a measure of a soil's ability to retard the conduction of an electric current. The electrical resistivity of soil can affect the rate of galvanic corrosion of metallic structures in contact with the soil.

Higher moisture content or increased electrolyte concentration can lower the resistivity and increase the conductivity thereby increasing the rate of corrosion.Soil resistivity values typically range from about 2 to 1000 m, but more extreme values are not unusual.

Different soil types develop in different climates.

Prairie soils have a dark surface layer (horizon), are rich in minerals, and form in grasslands widespread across Earths middle latitudes.

Forest soils have a light gray upper horizon, a horizon rich in aluminum and/or iron, and form in warm to cool humid regions where coniferous forests grow.

Tropical soils are reddish and iron-oxide rich, depleted in nutrients, and form in humid and warm regions.

Organic soils are dark colored, rich in decomposed organic matter, and form in poorly drained lowlands such as swamps and wetlands.

Desert soils form in arid settings and are commonly rich in calcium carbonate.

Tundra soils form in Arctic environments, have a dark organic-rich upper layer, and a mineral rich layer over frozen ground.

SOIL TYPES Therefore depending on the size of the particles in the soil, it can be classified into these following types: Sandy soil Silt soil Clay soil Loamy Soil Peaty Soil Chalky Soil SANDY SOIL- This type has the biggest particles and the size of the particles does determine the degree of aeration and drainage that the soil allows It is granular and consists of rock and mineral particles that are very small. It warms very fast in the spring season. So if you want to grow your plant in sandy soil it is imperative that you water it regularly in the summers and give a break in the winters and rainy season, sandy soil retains moisture and nutrients.

SILTY SoilSilty soil is considered to be one of the most fertile of soils. It can occur in nature as soil or as suspended sediment in water column of a water body on the surface of the earth. It is composed of minerals like Quartz and fine organic particles.

It is granular like sandy soil but it has more nutrients than sandy soil and it also offers better drainage.
In case silty soil is dry it has a smoother texture and looks like dark sand. It offers better drainage and is much easier to work with when it has moisture. CLAY SOILClay is a kind of material that occurs naturally and consists of very fine grained material with very less air spaces, that is the reason it is difficult to work with since the drainage in this soil is low, most of the time there is a chance of water logging and harm to the roots of the plant. Clay soil becomes very heavy when wet and if cultivation has to be done, organic fertilizers have to be added. Clay soil is formed after years of rock disintegration and weathering. It is also formed as sedimentary deposits after the rock is weathered, eroded and transported.

LOAMY SoilThis soil consists of sand, silt and clay to some extent. It is considered to be the perfect soil. The texture is gritty and retains water very easily, yet the drainage is well. There are various kinds of loamy soil ranging from fertile to very muddy and thick soil. CHALKY SoilUnlike Peaty soil, Chalky soil is very alkaline in nature and consists of a large number of stones. The fertility of this kind of soil depends on the depth of the soil that is on the bed of chalk. This kind of soil is prone to dryness and in summers it is a poor choice for plantation, as the plants would need much more watering and fertilizing than on any other type of soil. Chalky Soil, apart from being dry also blocks the nutritional elements for the plants like Iron and Magnesium.

PEATY SOILThis kind of soil is basically formed by the accumulation of dead and decayed organic matter, it naturally contains much more organic matter than most of the soils. It is generally found in marshy areas. This kind of soil is formed in wet climate. Though the soil is rich in organic matter, nutrients present are fewer in this soil type than any other type. Peaty soil is prone to water logging but if the soil is fertilized well and the drainage of the soil is looked after, it can be the ideal for growing plants.

The above discussed soils are found in indian terrains and most of the tropical climate areas .

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