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A soil layer is a zone in the soil, approximately parallel to the soil surface, with properties different from layers above and/or below it. If at least one of these properties is the result of soil-forming processes, the layer is called a soil horizon. In the following, the term layer is used to indicate the possibility that soil-forming ...
Soil formation, also known as pedogenesis, is the process of soil genesis as regulated by the effects of place, environment, and history. Biogeochemical processes act to both create and destroy order within soils.
The model allows for a wide-ranging generalized assessment of soilscapes, and is useful in soil chronosequence work (Birkeland 1974, 1984) but the biodynamic soil processes that are largely responsible in producing stonelayers are absent at a highest theoretical (five factors) level.
In soil science, agriculture and gardening, hardpan or soil pan is a dense layer of soil, usually found below the uppermost topsoil layer. [1] There are different types of hardpan, all sharing the general characteristic of being a distinct soil layer that is largely impervious to water. Some hardpans are formed by deposits in the soil that fuse ...
Field equipment for soil description. Soil morphology is the branch of soil science dedicated to the technical description of soil, [1] particularly physical properties including texture, color, structure, and consistence. Morphological evaluations of soil are typically performed in the field on a soil profile containing multiple horizons. [2]
For a surface layer, the vertical effective stress becomes zero within the layer when the upward hydraulic gradient is equal to the critical gradient. [15] At zero effective stress soil has very little strength and layers of relatively impermeable soil may heave up due to the underlying water pressures.
Gypcrust forms in a manner similar to that of caliche, which is composed of calcium carbonate.The development of gypcrust has three main stages. The first stage is primary crystallization of the surface brines or groundwater; the second stage is transportation and redeposition by wind or water; and the third stage is post-depositional alteration above or below the capillary fringe.
A further consequence of continued cultivation and traffic is the development of compacted, impermeable layers or 'pans' within the profile. The decline of soil structure under irrigation is usually related to the breakdown of aggregates and dispersion of clay material as a result of rapid wetting.