• What is Soil?

Soil • How do living

things affect soil?

• Soil Conservation
What is soil?

• Soil is the loose, weathered material on

Earth´s Surface in which plants can
grow
Soil composition Is a mixture of rock particles, minerals
decayed organic material, water, and air.

The main ingredients of soil comes from

bedrock

Bedrock: solid layer of rock beneath the soil.

Once bedrock is exposed to air, water, living

things, it gradually weathers into smaller and
smaller particles that are the most common
components of soil
Particles of rocks in soil

• Classified by size: gravel,

sand, silt and clay.

• Together they make up the

portion of soil that comes
from weather rock
HUMMUS

• The decayed organic material in soil

• Is dark-colored substance that forms as

plants and animal decay

• Helps create spaces in soil for air and

water

• Contains nutrients the plant needs

SOIL FERTILITY

• Fertile soil is rich int the nutrients that

plants need to grow.

• Fertility of a soil is a measure of how

well the soil supports plant grow
• Soil that is rich in hummus has high
fertility

• Sandy soil has low fertility

Soil texture

• Depends on the size of soil particles

• It is important for plant grow

• Clay may hold too much water and not enough air

• Sandy loses water quickly and plants may die for lack
of water or air

• Loam: soil that is made up of equal parts of clay, sand

and silt. Is the best for growing plants
Soil pH

• Soil can be acidic or basic.

• Most plant gardens grow best in a soil

with a pH between 6 and 7.5
Process of soil formation
Soil forms as rock is broken down by weathering and mixes with other materials in the
surface

Is a process that continue over a long period of time

Gradually, soil develops layers called horizons

Soil horizon is a layer of soil tat differs in composition, color and texture from layers
above or below
Soil Horizon

• C Horizon: forms as bedrocks begins to weather. The

rocks breaks up into small particles.

• A Horizon: made of topsoil, a crumbly dark brown soil

that is a mixture of hummus, clay and other minerals.
Topsoil forms as plants add organic material to the soil,
and plant roots weather pieces of rock.

• B Horizon: called subsoil, consist of clay and other

particle, but little hummus. Forms as rainwater washes
these materials down from A horizon
How do living things
affect soil?

• Some soil organisms make humus, the

material makes soil fertile.

• Other soil organisms mix the soil and

make spaces in it for air and water
Forming
Humus forms in a process called
humus decomposition.

Decomposers are organisms that the

remains of dead organisms into smaller
pieces and digest them with chemicals.

Examples: fungi, bacteria, worms, and

other.
Mixing soil

• Earthworms and borrowing

mammals mix humus with air
and other materials

• Borrowing mammals: mice,

moles, prairie dogs.