Soil

Composition of soil
Soil is made up of two components:
1. Mineral component: This comes from larger rocks. These
include iron, calcium, potassium, magnesium and phosphorus
etc and they are required for plant growth.
2. Humus: it is dark brown in colour and consists of dead and
decaying remains of plants and animals.
Soil also contains water, air and living organisms. Humus makes
the soil fertile by providing organic nutrients and also improves the
texture of the soil.
Importance of living organisms in soil
Living organisms in soil like centipedes,
millipedes, ants, fungi and bacteria play an
active role in maintaining fertility of the soil.
Earthworm is known as farmer’s friend as it
makes the soil fertile. It makes burrows in
soil that leads to aeration of soil.
Bacteria and fungi help in formation of
humus.
Bacteria also bring about nitrogen fixation.
Formation of soil
● It takes millions of years to form a thin layer of soil.
● Soil formation takes by weathering of large rocks.
● Weathering is a natural process by which large rocks
breaks into small pieces by the action of water, wind,
glacier, roots of plants etc.
● There are two different types of weathering:
Physical and chemical weathering.
Water as a weathering agent
Water brings about physical as well as
chemical weathering.
Water enters the crevices of rocks and as it
freezes, it expands causing the rocks to
break.
Rainwater containing acid reacts with the
minerals in the rocks leading to weathering.
Running water carries pieces of rocks which
collide against each other and still break into
smaller pieces.
Roots of a plant and weathering
Roots of trees grow through
the rocks and exert great
pressure on rocks. This leads
to formation and widening of
gaps in rocks and thus
weathering takes place.
Chemical weathering
The minerals in rocks
react with oxygen to
form new substances,
thus crumbling the
rocks.This is called
oxidation of minerals.
Variation in temperature
● Large variation in day and night temperatures can
also cause weathering.
● The rocks expand during the day and contract at
night.
● This contraction and expansion weakens the rock
and they crack and crumble.
Soil profile
Soil profile of an area is
vertical section through
the layers of soil.
There are 4 main layers
of soil: top soil, subsoil,
parent rock and bedrock.
Soil profile
● Top soil: It is the most fertile layer of soil as it contains humus.
The roots of most of the plants are confined to this layer.
● Subsoil: It is lighter in colour and does not have much humus.
It is rich in minerals.
● Parent rock: It consists of small pieces of rocks with cracks
and crevices. The weathering of these rock pieces gives rise to
layers of soil above.
● Bedrock: It consists of solid rock called bedrock. It is non
porous and rainwater gathers over it to form water table.
Types of soil particles
All topsoils are not same.The topsoils of different places have
different colours due to different rock particles and minerals
present in them.
Three main kinds of rock particles found in topsoil are:
● Clay particles: diameter less than 0.002mm. Microscopic
particles and smooth to touch.
● Silt particles : diameter between 0.002mm and 0.2mm
● Sand particles : diameter more than 0.2mm. Largest diameter
and coarse in texture.
Types of soil : Sandy soil
This type of soil has lot of
sand in it and very little silt
and clay. It can hold air but
not much water as water
drains quickly through the
large gaps between sand
particles.
Clayey soil
This type of soil contains
mostly clay particles. The water
drains through this soil very
slowly, since the particles are
very small and tightly packed.
This soil doesn’t trap enough
air for roots to grow.
Loamy soil
Loam is a mixture of sand, clay
and silt. It also has humus in it.
It has right water holding
capacity and adequate spaces
between the soil particles to
trap air required by the roots of
plants.
Different types of soil at a glance
Proportion of solid components in a soil sample
Measuring percolation rate of soil
Percolation rate of water in the soil
Percolation rate of water in soil

○ The percolation rate is the amount of water that drains through any soil at any given time
○ Formula for calculating percolation rate is,
Percolation rate (ml/min) = amount of water (ml) / percolation time (min).

○ For example, If 200 ml of water is percolated through the soil sample in 40 min. Calculate
the rate of percolation.
Solution – Rate of percolation is = amount of water (ml)/ percolation time (min)

= 200 ml/ 40 min

= 5 ml/ min

Ans- The rate of percolation is 5 ml/ min.

Moisture in the soil
● Soil contains moisture.
● On a hot summer day, the
vapour coming out of the
soil forms a layer above
the ground and reflects
the sunlight and the air
above the soil seems to
shimmer.
Absorption of water by the soil
Soil and crops
● Clayey and loamy soil both are suitable for growing
wheat and gram.
● Paddy grows well in clayey soil as it can hold lot of
water.
● Pulses grow well in loamy soil which drains water
easily.
● Cotton grows best in sandy loam as it can hold air but
water drains through it easily.
We depend on soil for-
● Food, clothing and
shelter.
● Minerals.
● Water.