WHAT IS SOIL?

DISCUSS TYPES OF SOILS

Soil is a mixture of organic matter, minerals, gases, liquids, and organisms that together
support life. Earth's body of soil, called the pedosphere, has four important function.
 Clay Soil.

 Sandy Soil.

 Silty Soil.

 Peaty Soil.

 Chalky Soil.

 Loamy Soil.
Clay Soil
• Clay is a finely-grained natural rock or soil material that combines one or more 
clay minerals with possible traces of quartz (SiO2), metal oxides (Al2O3 , MgO etc.) and 
organic matter. Geologic clay deposits are mostly composed of phyllosilicate minerals
 containing variable amounts of 
water trapped in the mineral structure.
Clays are plastic due to particle size and
geometry as well as water content, and
become hard, brittle and non–plastic upon
drying or firing.[1][2][3] Depending on the soil's
content in which it is found, clay can appear
in various colours from white to dull grey or
brown to deep orange-red.
sandy soil
Sandy Soil is light, warm, dry and tend to be acidic and low in
nutrients. Sandy soils are often known as light soils due to their high proportion
of sand and little clay (clay weighs more than sand). These soils have quick
water drainage and are easy to work with
Silty 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
Peaty soils
• Peaty soils are formed from partially decomposed plant
material under anaerobic water saturated conditions. They are found
in peatlands (also called bogs or mires). ... In highly saturated
anaerobic soils, decomposition of plant material by micro organisms
is slowed down, resulting in high carbon accumulation
Chalky Soil.

• What is Chalky Soil? Chalky soil is comprised mostly of calcium

carbonate from sediment that has built up over time. It is usually
shallow, stony and dries out quickly. This soil is alkaline with pH levels
between 7.1 and 10. In areas with large deposits of chalk, well water
will be hard water.
Loamy Soil.
• Loam soil is a mixture of soil that is the ideal plant-growing
medium. It is actually a combination soil, normally equal parts of clay,
silt, and sand, which gives the benefits of each with few of the
disadvantages.
What is a rock
Rock, in geology, naturally occurring and coherent aggregate of one or
more minerals. Such aggregates constitute the basic unit of which the solid Earth
 is composed and typically form recognizable and mappable volumes. Rocks are
commonly divided into three major classes according to the processes that
resulted in their formation. These classes are (1) igneous rocks, which have
solidified from molten material called magma; (2) sedimentary rocks, those
consisting of fragments derived from preexisting rocks or of materials
precipitated from solutions; and (3) metamorphic rocks, which have been
derived from either igneous or sedimentary rocks under conditions that caused
changes in mineralogical composition, texture, and internal structure. These
three classes, in turn, are subdivided into numerous groups and types on the
basis of various factors, the most important of which are chemical,
mineralogical, and textural attributes.
Types of Rocks
The three main types
• Sedimentary,
• Metamorphic
•  Igneous
Sedimentary rocks 
• Sedimentary rocks are types of rock that are formed by the accumulation or deposition of small particles and
subsequent cementation of mineral or organic particles on the floor of oceans or other bodies of water at the 
Earth's surface. Sedimentation is the collective name for processes that cause these particles to settle in place.
The particles that form a sedimentary rock are called sediment, and may be composed of geological detritus
 (minerals) or biological detritus (organic matter). Before bein deposited, the geological detritus was formed by
 weathering and erosion from the source area, and
then transported to the place of deposition by water,
 wind, ice, mass movement or glaciers, which are called
agents of denudation. Biological detritus was formed by
bodies and parts (mainly shells) of dead aquatic organisms,
as well as their fecal mass, suspended in water and slowly piling up on
the floor of water bodies (marine snow). Sedimentation may also occur
as dissolved minerals precipitate from water solution.
EXAMPLE OF SEDIMENTRY
ROCKS
 Metamorphic Rocks

• The term “metamorphosis” is most often used in reference to the

process of a caterpillar changing into a butterfly. However, the word
“metamorphosis” is a broad term that indicates a change from one
thing to another. Even rocks, a seemingly constant substance, can
change into a new type of rock. Rocks that undergo a change to form
a new rock are referred to as metamorphic rocks.
Metamorphic Rocks
 Igneous Rocks
The solid Earth (the mantle and crust) is made of rock. You may have noticed that there are many kinds of rocks, from
the soft sandy rocks that form
the cliffs at Scripps beach to
the hard rocks that form the
mountains to the East of
San Diego. Geologists have developed a way of
classifying the various rocks and understand fairly
well where they come from and where they go.
There are three general types of rocks, those that form from melt (igneous rocks),
those that are deposited from air or water (sedimentary rocks), and those that have
by "cooking" or otherwise altering
another rock (metamorphic rocks)
. Sedimentary rocks form by breaking down other kinds of rock
blowing them away; metamorphic rocks form from other rocks and igneous rocks form by melting other rocks. Thusrocks
are always changing form and are redistributted as part of a giant cycle of renewal. This cycle is called the Rock Cycle.
Igenous rocks examples