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Soil that was removed and stockpiled (e.g. during the operation of a mine), can become part of a constructed soil once a site is being reclaimed. [4] The goal in designing a constructed soil is to replicate the physical, chemical, and biological functions of natural soils. The target soil properties depend on the site location and final land use.
Soil develops through a series of changes. [2] The starting point is weathering of freshly accumulated parent material.A variety of soil microbes (bacteria, archaea, fungi) feed on simple compounds released by weathering and produce organic acids and specialized proteins which contribute in turn to mineral weathering.
In other words, they look like cookie crumbs. Granular structure is common in the surface soils of rich grasslands and highly amended garden soils with high organic matter content. Soil mineral particles are both separated and bridged by organic matter breakdown products, and soil biota exudates, making the soil easy to work.
The adhesion of the soil textural components by organic substances, iron oxides, carbonates, clays, and silica, the breakage of those aggregates from expansion-contraction caused by freezing-thawing and wetting-drying cycles, [21] and the build-up of aggregates by soil animals, microbial colonies and root tips [22] shape soil into distinct ...
Topsoil is composed of mineral particles and organic matter and usually extends to a depth of 5-10 inches (13–25 cm). Together these make a substrate capable of holding water and air which encourages biological activity.
Soil organic matter (SOM) is the organic matter component of soil, consisting of plant and animal detritus at various stages of decomposition, cells and tissues of soil microbes, and substances that soil microbes synthesize.
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Cob, sometimes referred to as "monolithic adobe", [12] is a natural building material made from soil that includes clay, sand or small stones and an organic material such as straw. Cob walls are usually built up in courses, have no mortar joints and need 30% or more clay in the soil.