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Parent material is the underlying geological material (generally bedrock or a superficial or drift deposit) in which soil horizons form. Soils typically inherit a great deal of structure and minerals from their parent material, and, as such, are often classified based upon their contents of consolidated or unconsolidated mineral material that has undergone some degree of physical or chemical ...
Mollisol is a soil type which has deep, high organic matter, nutrient-enriched surface soil ( A horizon ), typically between 60 and 80 cm in depth. This fertile surface horizon, called a mollic epipedon, is the defining diagnostic feature of Mollisols. Mollic epipedons are created by long-term addition of organic materials derived from plant ...
Chernozem (from Russian: чернозём, romanized: chernozyom, IPA: [tɕɪrnɐˈzʲɵm]; "black ground"), [ 1][ 2] also called black soil, regur soil or black cotton soil, is a black-colored soil containing a high percentage of humus [ 3] (4% to 16%) and high percentages of phosphorus and ammonia compounds. [ 4] Chernozem is very fertile ...
The most common engineering classification system for soils in North America is the Unified Soil Classification System (USCS). The USCS has three major classification groups: (1) coarse-grained soils (e.g. sands and gravels ); (2) fine-grained soils (e.g. silts and clays ); and (3) highly organic soils (referred to as "peat").
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.
The physical properties of soil, in order of decreasing importance for ecosystem services such as crop production, are texture, structure, bulk density, porosity, consistency, temperature, colour and resistivity. [1] Soil texture is determined by the relative proportion of the three kinds of soil mineral particles, called soil separates: sand ...
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.
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. SOM provides numerous benefits to the physical and chemical properties of soil and its capacity to provide regulatory ...