Soil - It is the natural occurring, loose mineral and organic material at the earths surface that provides an environment

for living organisms. - It is where living organisms, or the biosphere, interact with rocks and minerals (geosphere), water (hydrosphere), atmosphere and dead organic matter (detritosphere). - It is an independent natural body possessing unique properties resulting from parent material, climate, topography, and living matter, interacting over time. Physical weathering processes: heating and cooling, freezing and thawing, and abrasion from wind, water, and ice masses Chemical and Biochemical weathering processes: enhance by the presence of water, oxygen, and the organic compounds resulting from biological activity

Figure 1. Layers of Soil Soil is layered into sections called "horizons". Figure 1 shows a typical soil profile developed on granite bedrock in a temperate region. The top horizon is composed of humus and contains most of the organic matter. This layer is often the darkest. The "A" horizon consists of tiny particles of decayed leaves, twigs and animal remains. The minerals in the A-horizon are mostly clays and other insoluble minerals. Minerals that dissolve in water are found at greater depths. The "B" horizon has relatively little organic material, but contains the soluble materials that are leached downwards from above. The "C" horizon is slightly broken-up bedrock, typically found 1-10 meters below the surface. While this is a typical soil profile, many other types exist, depending on climate, local rock conditions and the community of organisms living nearby. Layered nature of soil indicates its long evolution under the effects of atmospheric and biological processes. The process that creates soil from bare rock is called "weathering".

Weathering Since early geologic time, the atmosphere has interacted with the Earth's exposed crust though a process known as weathering. Weathering takes place through a combination of both mechanical and chemical means. Many of the original volcanic gases (e.g., carbon dioxide, sulphur-bearing gases, etc.) were able to dissolve in water and produce acids. Since the advent of land plants, soil and surface minerals have been exposed to relatively high concentrations of carbon dioxide maintained in soil pores as a result of decomposition and the metabolic activities of roots. The reaction of carbon dioxide with water in the soil produces carbonic acid (H2CO3) which determines the rate of rock weathering in most ecosystems. CO2 (gas) + H2O (liquid) -- H2CO3 (solution) Acid rain, produced by human effluents of nitrogen and sulphur-bearing gases will increase the rate of rock weathering in downwind areas. Igneous Rock Weathering There is a well known expression that captures much of the story of rock weathering and illustrates the important role it has played in Earth history: "Igneous Rocks + Acid Volatiles = Sedimentary Rocks + Salty Oceans" What we mean by this will become clearer if we look at the details of the weathering processes. Consider a boulder or rock containing Feldspar minerals. Feldspar is a general term for a group of aluminosilicate minerals containing sodium, calcium, or potassium and having a lattice framework structure that makes for rigidity. Feldspars turn out to be one of the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Feldspars are weathered through the chemical process of hydration: K Al Si3O8 + H2O --> Al2Si O5(OH)4 In this chemical formula feldspar reacts with water to produce a kaolinite (clay). Notice that the chemical equation does not exactly balance, that is, not all the elements on the left hand side appear on the right hand side. This is because soluble elements, such as potassium (K) areleached out during the chemical reaction and carried away as dissolved salts. The process of leaching can perhaps best be understood by analogy with the making of coffee. When hot water is passed over crushed coffee beans, the soluble components (making the coffee) are leached away, leaving the insoluble crushed coffee bean remnants behind. In this way, rocks containing feldspars are weakened though the conversion of rigid feldspar to more plastic clays which do not have anything like the same structural rigidity. The process occurs at exposed surfaces of the minerals making up the rock. Through geologic time, large amounts of sedimentary rocks have been deposited as part of this process. In fact about 75% of all exposed rocks on the Earth's surface today are of sedimentary origin and have been brought to the surface by geologic uplift.

Composition of the Soil Organic Matter 5% Air 25%

Minerals 45% Water 25%

Figure 1. Composition of Soil In reality, these percentages of the four components vary tremendously. Soil air and water are found in the pore spaces between the solid soil particles. The ratio of air-filled pore space to water-filled pore space often changes seasonally, weekly, and even daily, depending on water additions through precipitation, groundwater discharge, and flooding. The volume of the pore space itself can be altered, one way or the other, by several processes. Hence, there are nearly infinite variety of substances found in soil these are the four basic components. 5 Interactive Factors Responsible for Soil Formation: Parent Material What was there before soil formation began?(Possibilities include mud deposited by a river, sand deposited by ocean, rock that weathers and breaks down, etc.); Organisms usually refers to vegetation and microorganisms, but includes the complete biological community; Climate on both large and small scales; Relief, or landscape position; Time.

Organic Matter Organic material is different from organic matter! Organic material is anything that was alive and is now in or on the soil. For it to become organic matter, it must be decomposed into humus. Humus is organic material that has been converted by microorganisms to a resistant state of decomposition. Organic material is unstable in the soil, changing form and mass readily as it decomposes. As much as 90 percent of it disappears quickly because of decomposition. It takes at least 10 pounds of organic material to decompose to 1 pound of organic matter.

Soil organic matter (SOM) is a complex mixture of substances that can be highly variable in its chemical content. It ranges from freshly deposited plant and animal parts to the residual humus stable organic compounds that are relatively resistant to further rapid decomposition. Elemental Composition of SOM: Carbon Oxygen Hydrogen Nitrogen Phosphorus Sulfur

plant nutrients that are slowly released during decomposition and are then available to plants, as well as other soil organisms

An important physical property of SOM is its ability to absorb and hold large quantities of water. The mass and volume of water that can be absorbed by SOM often exceed the mass and volume of the SOM itself.

Benefits of Organic Matter: Nutrient Supply Water -holding Capacity Soil Structure Aggregation Erosion Prevention

Ways on how to improve soil organic matter levels: Reduce or eliminate tillage Reduce erosion Soil-test and fertilize properly Cover crops

Soil Nutrients 3 Main Nutrients (NPK): Nitrogen

Nitrogen is a key element in plant growth. It is found in all plant cells, in plant proteins and hormones, and in chlorophyll. Atmospheric nitrogen is a source of soil nitrogen. Some plants such as legumes fix atmospheric nitrogen in their roots; otherwise fertiliser factories use nitrogen from the air to make ammonium sulfate, ammonium nitrate and urea. When applied to soil, nitrogen is converted to mineral form, nitrate, so that plants can take it up. Phosphorus

Phosphorus helps transfer energy from sunlight to plants, stimulates early root and plant growth, and hastens maturity. . All manures contain phosphorus; manure from grain-fed animals is a particularly rich source. Potassium

Potassium increases vigour and disease resistance of plants, helps form and move starches, sugars and oils in plants, and can improve fruit quality. Potash, potassium compound often used in agriculture and industry contains muriate and sulphate that are the most common sources of potassium.

Other important nutrients: Calcium

Calcium is essential for root health, growth of new roots and root hairs, and the development of leaves. Magnesium

Magnesium is a key component of chlorophyll, the green colouring material of plants, and is vital for photosynthesis Sulfur

Sulfur is a constituent of amino acids in plant proteins and is involved in energy-producing processes in plants. It is responsible for many flavour and odour compounds in plants such as the aroma of onions and cabbage. Superphosphate, gypsum, elemental sulfur and sulfate of ammonia are the main fertiliser sources. Iron Manganese Znc Copper Boron Molybdenum

Nutrient Availability A number of laboratory extraction techniques have been developed to estimate soil nutrient availability. The choice of which technique to use for a particular nutrient depends on the chemical characteristics of the soil, in particular its pH. Soil chemistry is highly complex; most nutrients exist in different chemical forms, and not all forms are equally plant-available.

Figure 2. Chart of the effect of soil pH on the nutrient availability

Nitrogen Soil N exists both in mineral (inorganic) forms, available for plant uptake, and in complex organic forms that are not readily available. The most common analytical approach to determine mineral N concentration is potassium chloride extraction. There are two mineral N forms. N03-N and ammoniumnitrogen (NH4-N); the N03-N form usually predominates, and often is the only form reported. N03-N exists only in a soluble form and is easily extracted from soil, and therefore the soil test result unambiguously describes soil N03-N concentration. These measures of organic N may be useful to rank the relative potential of soils to supply N over time, but do not give an indication of current N availability. Phosphorus Olsen or bicarbonate, extraction test the laboratory method most appropriate for P determination in soils with pH greater than 6.2. Bray extraction test - the laboratory method most appropriate for P determination in soils with pH less than 6.2.

Both the Olsen and Bray techniques extract only a small portion of total soil P, and therefore should be considered to be indexes of relative soil P availability rather than quantitative measures of soil P content. Potassium Ammonium acetate extraction - most common analytical technique for soil K availability; soil is extracted with an ammonium acetate solution Calcium, magnesium and sodium The concentration of these cations can be measured in the same ammonium acetate extract used to determine K availability: many laboratories do just that, reporting exchangeable calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg) and sodium (Na). While this is a valid measure of Na, it does not accurately describe Ca or Mg availability in alkaline soils containing Ca and Mg carbonates: such soils are common in California. The test that more accurately describes soil Ca and Mg availability is saturated paste extraction: in this procedure dry soil is mixed with enough distilled water to create a slurry, which is then filtered under vacuum. Results are often reported as soluble or saturated paste Ca and Mg. Saturated paste extraction is also the preferred method for evaluating soil salinity.

Micronutrients Zinc (Zn), iron (Fe), manganese (Mn) and copper (Cu) exist in a variety of chemical compounds in the soil, and determining the fraction that is plant-available is difficult. The most commonly used technique is extraction with DTPA, a chelating compound. Where boron (B) concentration may be low enough to be a limiting factor in crop growth, soil extraction with hot water is a common analytical technique;

where the concern is that B may be present in sufficient concentration to be toxic to a crop. Saturated paste extraction is the appropriate technique. Ion Exchange in Soils Adsorb accumulate (liquids or gases) on the surface Cation exchange capacity is defined as the degree to which a soil can adsorb and exchange cations; a positively charged ion (NH4+, K+, Ca2+, Fe2+, etc...) Anion a negatively charged ion (NO3-, PO42-, SO42-, etc...) Soil particles and organic matter have negative charges on their surfaces. Mineral cations can adsorb to the negative surface charges or the inorganic and organic soil particles. Once adsorbed, these minerals are not easily lost when the soil is leached by water and they also provide a nutrient reserve available to plant roots. These minerals can then be replaced or exchanged by other cations (i.e., cation exchange) CEC is highly dependent upon soil texture and organic matter content. In general, the more clay and organic matter in the soil, the higher the CEC. Clay content is important because these small particles have a high ration of surface area to volume. Different types of clays also vary in CEC. Smectites have the highest CEC (80100 millequivalents 100 g-1), followed by illites (15-40 meq 100 g-1) and kaolinites (3-15 meq 100 g-1). Examples of CEC values for different soil textures are as follows: Soil texture CEC (meq/100g soi) Sands (light-colored) Sands (dark-colored) Loams Silt loams Clay and clay loams Organic soils 3-5 10-20 10-15 15-25 20-50 50-100

In general, the CEC of most soils increases with an increase in soil pH. Two factors determine the relative proportions of the different cations adsorbed by clays. First, cations are not held equally tight by the soil colloids. When the cations are present in equivalent amounts, the order of strength of adsorption is Al3+ > Ca2+ > Mg2+ > K+ = NH4+ > Na+. Second, the relative concentrations of the cations in soil solution helps determine the degree of adsorption. Very acid soils will have high concentrations of H+ and Al3+. In neutral to moderately alkaline soils, Ca2+ and Mg2+ dominate. Poorly drained arid soils may adsorb Na in very high quantities.

Reference: Paul, E. .Soil Microbiology, Ecology and Biochemistry. Third Edition. 2007. Elsevier Inc.