Soils may form from:
Soil Forming Factors:
The Five Factors:
Soil is produced by the interaction of five soil forming factors:
Thirty thousand years of soil formation in 5 seconds!
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mineral material such as volcanic ash |
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weathered rock or alluvium (river or stream deposits) |
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organic material, most often peat formed from swamp or bog vegetation |
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climate - temperature and rainfall |
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parent material - the type of material in which the soil is formed (eg clay, sand, peat) |
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living organisms - play a major role in the cycling of nutrients |
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topography - controls the movement of water, and largely determines erosion patterns. |
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time - how long the soil has had to form and develop |
Instructions: Go to the Next Topic, or select from the menu to look at further detail of these soil forming factors.