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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 ( anisotropy ) within soils.
Wind throw is the toppling of a tree due to the force of the wind, this exposes the root plate and adjacent soil beneath the tree and influences slope stability. Wind throw is a factor when considering one tree on a slope; however, it is of lesser importance when considering general slope stability for a body of trees as the wind forces involved represent a smaller percentage of the potential ...
Soil structure affects aeration, water movement, conduction of heat, plant root growth and resistance to erosion. [26] Water, in turn, has a strong effect on soil structure, directly via the dissolution and precipitation of minerals, the mechanical destruction of aggregates [27] and indirectly by promoting plant, animal and microbial growth.
Soil Profile on Chalk at Seven Sisters Country Park, England. Pedology (from Greek: πέδον, pedon, "soil"; and λόγος, logos, "study") is a discipline within soil science which focuses on understanding and characterizing soil formation, evolution, and the theoretical frameworks for modeling soil bodies, often in the context of the natural environment. [1]
Soil consists of a solid phase of minerals and organic matter (the soil matrix), as well as a porous phase that holds gases (the soil atmosphere) and water (the soil solution). [ 1 ] [ 2 ] Accordingly, soil is a three- state system of solids, liquids, and gases. [ 3 ]
Mass movement is the downward and outward movement of rock and sediments on a sloped surface, mainly due to the force of gravity. [28] [29] Mass movement is an important part of the erosional process, and is often the first stage in the breakdown and transport of weathered materials in mountainous areas. [30]
The formation of soil aggregates (or so-called secondary soil particles or peds) occurs due to interactions of primary soil particles (i.e., clay) through rearrangement, flocculation and cementation. Aggregate stability has a direct impact on soil pore size distribution, which affects soil water retention and water movement in soil, therefore ...
Since the origin of agriculture, humans have understood that soils contain different properties which affect their ability to grow crops. [4] However, soil science did not become its own scientific discipline until the 19th century, and even then early soil scientists were broadly grouped as either "agro-chemists" or "agro-geologists" due to the enduring strong ties of soil to agriculture.