CLIMATE Climate is one of the dominant active factors in soil formation, mainly because of the effects of precipitation and

temperature. Moreover, scientists consider climate to be the most influential of soil forming factors. Mohr et al. (1972) recognized several components of climate. They are the soil climate and atmospheric climate. Soil surface climate consists of near-the-soil (just above ground) climate and life-containing soil climate (immediately beneath the soil surface). Figure 1 shows the components of climate in the biosphere.

Figure 1: Descriptive Components of Climate (Mohr et al., 1972)

Among the climatological factors, those that affect soil formation directly are solar radiation intensity (temperature), humidity (rainfall) and wind velocity. Of these, temperature and rainfall exert a considerable effect on the weathering and soil formation (B. C. Mahilum, 2004). In humid tropics which have high rainfall and high temperature throughout the year, weathering is much more rapid than in cooler and drier areas. For example, a shallow accumulation or retention of lime (carbonates) in the areas having low rainfall occurs because calcium bicarbonates from dissolving carbon dioxide, minerals and lime are not leached if sufficient water is absent. Such soils are normally alkaline. Meanwhile, the acidic soil formed in acidic areas due to intense weathering and leaching out of basic cations which includes calcium, sodium, potassium and magnesium (Tanuja Singh et al., 2010).

Moisture is significant in the soil formation. A soil is developed when it have detectable layers or horizons. For instance, accumulated clays, organic colloids, carbonates, or soluble salts that have been move downwards by the water. The further and extent of colloid movement and the depth of deposition are determined partly by the amount and the pattern of precipitation that produce the leaching action (Tanuja Singh et al., 2010). Climate also influences the soil formation through its action towards vegetation. Semiarid climates encourage only scattered shrubs and grasses. Arid climates supply only adequate moisture for short grasses or shrubs that may not be dense enough to protect the soil against wind and water erosion. Many arid soils exhibit only slight organic matter accumulation and small amounts of profile development (Tanuja Singh et al., 2010).

PROPERTIES OF SOIL The effects of climate can be seen through the characteristics of soil in different climates such as the soil colour, depth, texture and structure. Soil colour The colour of the soil comes from its constituents. Organic matter is black and brown; iron is red or yellow; whereas lime, soluble salts, quartz and pure clay are white. The climate affects the relative proportions of the coloured materials in the soil that will determine the soil's colour. For instance, in a hot, wet region the soil will tend to be reddish in colour because iron is the predominant mineral in the soil, other soil constituents being readily leached, and there is rapid decomposition of organic matterinto acid components which are colourless, therefore, do not affect the red colour of the soil. Soils in hot, but drier conditions will tend to be black coloured because organic matter accumulates more easily and it imparts a dark colour to the soil, hiding the red of the iron. Soil depth The depth of soil is also related to climate. Hot and wet conditions favour the formation of deep soils. Ample water and warm temperatures increase the rate and depth of rock weathering. In tropical climates the soil may be 15 metres or more thick. The soil of cold and/or dry regions is usually very shallow, for example in deserts and in Arctic soils.

Soil colloids The primary minerals of soils weather more rapidly in hot and wet conditions than in other conditions. This weathering releases cations, anions and crystal units which recombine to form clay minerals or colloids. Therefore, soils in tropical regions have a high colloid content. The colloid content of soil decreases in proportion as both temperature and rainfall decreases. Soil in hot but dry conditions does not have a high colloid content and tend to be sandy. Rainfall influences the eluviations of colloids in the soil profile. Soil Texture The texture of tropical soils tends to be undifferentiated because as they contain so much colloid material, there is very little eluviations of clay. In soils of a moderate climatic region where there is a high rainfall, there is a loss of clay and so the profile will show a texture change such as the podsolics. Desert soils usually show very little texture differentiation because usually there is insufficient rainfall for eluviations of clay. Soil structure As the quantity and type of soil colloid (organic or inorganic) determine the structure, structure is also related to climate. Soils of semi-arid (Bourke) and sub-humid (Lismore) regions tend to have the best structures. The A horizon of a podsolic is usually poorly structured while the B horizon (colloid enriched) has a better structure. Soil reaction The pH of the soil is related to climate through other factors such as rate of organic matter decomposition, leaching and accumulation of soluble products of weathering. For example, podsolics are acid because the rate of organic matter decomposition is slow, allowing humic acids to build up. Also in these wet conditions, bases are leached out of the soil and replaced with H+ ions from organic acids. (Source: Landscape Info Guide)

EFFECTS OF DIFFERENT CLIMATE ON SOIL FORMATION There are five different world climatic patterns (Landsberg et al., 1963). Each climates show different characteristics that will affect the soil formation due to changes of rainfall and temperature. Some of these climates characteristics are shown in Table 1.

Table 1: The Effects of Climates on Soil Formation. Climate Humid tropics and monsoon Characteristics High intensities of rainfall event -increase leaching rates in well-drained soils with high infiltration rate Temporary flooding or water-saturation - reduce organic matter decomposition Greater amounts and frequency of runoff on soils in sloping terrain -sedimentation downslope and downstream More chances of mass movement -landslides or mudflows in certain soft sedimentary materials Adequate cation exchange capacity and anion sorption -minimize nutrient loss during leaching flows High structural stability system and of a strongly heterogeneous macropores -maximize infiltration and rapid bypass flow in soil during high-intensity rainfall Subtropical / sub-humid / semi-arid Examples: equatorial regions including South America, Africa, Indonesia, southeast Asia High productivity and water-use efficiency due to higher CO2 -increase ground cover If rainfall intensity is low, less dry-matter continuous

Climate

Characteristics production and lower soil organic matter contents Periodic leaching during high-intensity rainfall with less standing vegetation desalinize soils in well-drained sites, cause increased runoff and lead to soil salinization in depressional sites or where the groundwater table is high High structural stability system and of a strongly heterogeneous continuous

macropores (same as in the tropics) -rapid infiltration rate, large available water capacity and a deep groundwater table Examples: North Africa, southwest South America, southwest Africa, central Asia, southwestern U.S., central Australia Temperate Low intensity of rainfall -increase evapotranspiration of vegetation or crops Elevations contribute to freeze-thaw cycles necessary for ice wedging Small net hydrologic or chemical effects on the soils Higher photosynthesis, and greater higher potential water-use evapotranspiration

efficiency in a high-CO2 atmosphere Smallest changes in soils -minor and slow, but very visible, change could be a reddening of presently brown soils Small intensity and amount of phosphate fixation Examples: Rocky Mountains, Sierra Nevada Mountains, Alps, Andes Mountains

Climate Boreal / polar

Characteristics Water in solid form ice is unable to react with rock Gradual disappearance of large extents of permafrost -increases in leaching rates Soil temperature is high enough for microbial activity would lead to lower organic matter contents Adequate cation exchange capacity and anion sorption -minimize nutrient loss during leaching flows High structural stability system and of a strongly heterogeneous macropores -maximize rapid bypass flow during periods with excess meltwater Examples: Alaska, Antarctica, Siberia continuous

(Source: FAO, 1996)

Physical weathering Physical weathering refers to the disintegration of the rock or the mineral constituents of a soil under the physical action without any of the chemical change or formation of new products. (Tanuja Singh et al., 2010) The main agent of physical weathering includes the temperature. Expansion and contraction of the minerals in the rocks due to the variation of temperature set up internal tensions from weaker zones and slowly break them apart. High temperature accelerates the process of chemical weathering especially in warm humid regions. In cool and temperate climate where precipitation is abundant, the alteration of freeze and they are very essential in physical comminution of rocks. Another agent is the water. The inner portions of the rocks were exposed to the agent of weathering as the torrential rains and flowing of waters dislocate the solid particles that found on the rocks. The dislodge particles are carried down and deposited elsewhere as alluvium. Similarly the sea-waves wear off the rocks on the shore and the glaciers in the high mountains exert an erosive and transporting influence on the rocks and their fragments. Wind is another significant agent of the weathering. Wind detaches the particles from the rocks by exerting abrasive action on them. Wind also acts as the carrying agent. Sand storms in the deserts and high winds on the seashore have both the erosive and transportive action. Glacier is also one of the principal agent. In regions of continuing forever snow, the motile ice has great grinding power. Ice exerts a pressure of 40 lb per square inch for every feet thickness. The glaciers move from a few feet to hundred feet per day. Glacial areas are confined to polar and few mountainous regions where the phenomenon is being observed. The process of the physical separation of the individual mineral particles of a rock from one another is called granular disintegration which can cause the rocks crumble easily. Rocks can fracture by unloading and uneven pressure through the process of exfoliation which means that the splaying of bodies of bedrock along the sheeting joint. After the rock that formed deep in the earth exposed to the surface due to erosion, it expands, caused large fractures or expansion joints which parallel to the earth surface and gradually breaks into sheets.

Thaw and freeze weathering occurs when the temperature are extreme and fluctuate during day and night. Water from rain or melting snow penetrates the cracks, bedding planes and all other opening in the rocks easily. The presence of water accentuates this thermal effect as the water expands about 9% when frozen which exerting pressure on the rock wall and force rocks open. The growth of ice crystal can produce frost heaving and frost wedging. Frost heaving is the lifting of overlying particles in regolith while frost wedging is the prying apart of solid bed rock. Animals and plants played a minor role in physical weathering of rocks. Burrowing animals mixed the soil and loosen the rock particles. For instance, moles, gophers, prairie dogs, and some other insects. (Joseph D.E., 2002) Roots of the plant that grow in the fractures in rocks widen the cracks and force them to open and breaks. For example, lichen (Source: http://www.geology.edu.np/lectures/physical-geology/pdf/weathering.pdf accessed on 24/3/2012)

References Benjamin C. Mahilum, 2004, Basic Soil Science and Concepts in Tropical Soils. Joseph D. Exline, 2002, Science Explorer Earths Changing Surface. Landscape Info Guide, www.landscapeinfoguide.com.au accessed on 23/3/2013. Robert Brinkman & Wim G. Sombroek, 1996, Land and Water Development Division, FAO. Tanuja Singh, S. S. Purohit, & Pradeep Parihar, 2010, Soil Microbiology-Student Edition, 1013.