Module 7: Soil and Soil Profile

Objective
This module aims to achieve the following objectives:
1. Develop an understanding on soil and its profile.
2. Identify different types of soil
Soil
Soil is the biologically active, porous medium that has developed in the uppermost layer of
Earth’s crust. Soil is one of the principal substrata of life on Earth, serving as a reservoir of water
and nutrients, as a medium for the filtration and breakdown of injurious wastes, and as a
participant in the cycling of carbon and other elements through the global ecosystem.
The Soil Profile
Soil horizons -over distance and time, soil varies in properties due to the difference in climate
and geology. Properties like soil thickness, intensity and duration of weathering, soil deposition,
erosion, and patterns of landscape evolution can be factors in identifying layers or horizons of
soil.
O – (humus or organic) Mostly organic matter such as
decomposing leaves. Could be thin, thick or not present.
A - (topsoil) Mostly minerals from parent material with
some organic matter. A good material for plants and
other organisms to live.
E – (eluviated) Leached of clay, minerals, and organic
matter, leaving a concentration of sand and silt particles
of quartz or other resistant materials – missing in some
soils but often found in older soils and forest soils.
B – (subsoil) Rich in minerals that leached (moved down)
from the A or E horizons and accumulated here.
C – (parent material) The deposit at Earth’s surface
from which the soil developed.
R – (bedrock) A mass of rock such as granite, basalt, quartzite, limestone or sandstone that
forms the parent material for some soils – if the bedrock is close enough to the surface to weather.
This is not soil and is located under the C horizon.

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Different Types of Soil
Sandy soil

Sandy Soil is light, warm, dry and tend to be acidic and low
in nutrients. It is often known as light soils due to its high
proportion of sand and little clay (clay weighs more than
sand).

Clay Soil

Clay Soil is a heavy soil type that benefits from high

nutrients. It remains wet and cold in winter and dry out in
summer.

These soils are made of over 25 percent clay, and because

of the spaces found between clay particles, clay soils hold
a high amount of water.

Silt Soil

Silt Soil is a light and moisture retentive soil type with a

high fertility rating. As silt soils compromise of medium
sized particles they are well drained and hold moisture well.
As the particles are fine, they can be easily compacted and
are prone to washing away with rain.

By adding organic matter, the silt particles can be bound

into more stable clumps.

Peat Soil

Peat soil is high in organic matter and retains a large

amount of moisture.

This type of soil is very rarely found in a garden and often

imported into a garden to provide an optimum soil base for
planting.

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 Chalk Soil

Chalk soil can be either light or heavy but always highly

alkaline due to the calcium carbonate or lime within its
structure.

As these soils are alkaline they will not support the growth
of ericaceous plants that require acidic soils to grow.

Loam Soil

Loam soil is a mixture of sand, silt and clay that are

combined to avoid the negative effects of each type.

These soils are fertile, easy to work with and provide

good drainage. Depending on their predominant
composition they can be either sandy or clay loam.

As the soils are a perfect balance of soil particles, they

are considered to be a gardeners best friend, but still
benefit from topping up with additional organic matter.

References:
https://www.britannica.com/science/soil
https://www.boughton.co.uk/products/topsoils/soil-types/

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