Dear Chegg, I need help with following environmental chemistry / earth science o

Question

Dear Chegg, I need help with following environmental chemistry / earth science oral exam question in detail and hope that someone can help me, so I can prepare myself extra good for the exam:
4. Explain the process of causing soil formation (in detail!)
(Anything like reaction schemes, references and everything that's good and can be shown at the exam.. I would love to have them and therefore I hope someone can include it to the answer down below) Dear Chegg, I need help with following environmental chemistry / earth science oral exam question in detail and hope that someone can help me, so I can prepare myself extra good for the exam:
4. Explain the process of causing soil formation (in detail!)
(Anything like reaction schemes, references and everything that's good and can be shown at the exam.. I would love to have them and therefore I hope someone can include it to the answer down below) Dear Chegg, I need help with following environmental chemistry / earth science oral exam question in detail and hope that someone can help me, so I can prepare myself extra good for the exam:
4. Explain the process of causing soil formation (in detail!)
(Anything like reaction schemes, references and everything that's good and can be shown at the exam.. I would love to have them and therefore I hope someone can include it to the answer down below)

Explanation / Answer

Soils are classified and named on the basis of physical and chemical properties pertaining to their horizons or layers. Taxonomy od soil basically uses color, texture, structure, other properties of the soil upto two meters deep

Soils and their layres or horizons differ from one soil to other, depending on how and when they have been formed.There are five factors used by Soil scientists to explain how soils are formed and to this also helps them to predict where different soils may occur in the layer.

Parent material. Few of the soil type may weather directly from the rocks underlying the surface. These kind of residual soils have the same basic general chemistry as the original rocks

Climate. Soils may also vary depending on the type of climate. Different temperature and moisture amounts cause different patterns of weathering and leaching ,these are basic process in soil formation.

Topography.The factors like slope and also aspect may affect the moisture as well as temperature of soil. For example - Steep slopes facing the sun are warmer.

Biological factors. soil formation is also affected by other biological factors like Plants, animals, micro-organisms as well as humans beings. For example - animals and micro-organisms have the property of mixing the soils and forming burrows and pores

Time. Time plays a crucial factor as for all these factors to interact with the soil ,time is needed. Over the time, you may find the soils exhibit features that reflect the other forming factors.

Soil Forming Processes

There are five key processes by which soil is formed, they are:

Leaching - leaching can be defined as the removal of soluble components of the soil column. As water washes down through the soil carries away bases such as calcium which are held as ions to be exchanged in clay-humus complexes,the process of acidification also occurs through the substitution of hydrogen ions.

Eluviation – The soil particles which are still in suspension, such as clay, are removed or in simple terms washed away.

Illuviation – Some of the soil particles held in suspension, such as clay, are also accumulated or deposited.

Podsolisation – podsolisation is the process when strongly acid soil solutions cause the breakdown of clay minerals. As a result of which There is a complex formation between silica, aluminium and iron with organic substances in the soil. These minerals are finally removed from the surface zone and these accumulate in dark sub-surface layers which are distinct – i.e very evident on inspection.

Gleying – This process is generally found in in waterlogged and anaerobic conditions when the iron compounds are reduced or it bhas been found that they either removed from the soil.Gleyed soils can be easily found in Marshy wetlands

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