Formation of Soil: Byers, Charles E. Kellogg, M. S. Anderson, James Thori

IN THE hegtnning there is parent rock, inert and dead.
What kÍ7ids of rock

are there? How are they turned into the parent material oj soil and this into
soil itself? hi soil formation what part is played by climate, by living organ-
isms, by the slope or relief of the land, by rains and rivers and wind and ice,
and by time itself? This a rticle discusses these questions. A somewhat inore
technical section at the end deals with the differences that characterize the
various groups of soils.
Formation of Soil
By H. G. BYERS, CHARLES E. KELLOGG, M. S. ANDERSON,
and JAMES THORI» ^
SOILS are natural media for the growtb of plants. They are mix-
tures of fragmented and partly or Avholly weathered rocks and
minerals, organic matter, water, and air, in greatl}^ vaiying pro-
portions, and liave more or less distinct la.yei's or horizons developed
under the influence of climate and living oj-gan.isms. Tlie cross section
of horizons from the surface to the parent mateiial is ]aiown as the
soil profde. The degree of profile development is dependent on. the
hitensity of the activity of the diflereut soil-forming factors, on the
length of time they have been active, and on the nature of the ma-
terials from whicli the soils ha,ve develo])ed. Soils are dynamic in
character—they are constantly imdergoing change—but thc}^ nor-
mally reach a state of near equilibrium with, their environment, after
a long period of exposure to a given set of conditions, and they may
change but little (lurhig periods of lumdreds or even thousands of
years uidess tliere is a change in the environment,
THE FACTORS OF SOIL GENESIS
True soil is the product of the action of climate and living oi^ganisms
upon the parent material, as conditioned by the local relief. The
length of time during which these forces are operative is of great im-
portance in determining the character of the ultimate product,
Di'ainage conditions are also important and arc controlled by local
rehef, by the nature of the parent material or underlying rock strata,
or by the amount of proci])itation In relation to rate of percolation and
Ur. G. Byors is Principal Cluimist, tiiid Ar. S. AndersoTi is Senior Chomisi, Soil ClicniLsirv and Physics
.Research J)ivision; Charles E. Kellogi? is Principal Roil Scientist, and J.anies Thorp is Soil Scientist,'Soil
Survey Division, Bureau of Chcniistry and Soils.
948
Form ation of Soil 4* 949
run-off of water. Thoro are, tliei'eforc, five principal factors of soil
formation: (1) Parent niaterial; (2) climate; (3) biological activity
(living organisms) ; (4) relief ; and (5) time. These soil-forming factors
are interdependent, each modifying the eïïectiveness of the others,
Thns, tlie character of the relief influences, through drahiage and run-
off, the efl'ects of rainfall a.nd of time. The character of the parent
material modifies the effects of rainfall and ]'elief of a givcTi area. The
character of the vegetation is, in part, determined by temperature
and rainfall and in turn modifies the effects of these, i)a.rticularly of
rainfall. Despite these complex hiterrelationships, it is possible to
ga.iii a helj)ful insight into the question of soil formation by considera-
tion of each of the formative factors separately.
FORMATION OF PARENT MATERIAL
The first step íTI the development of soil is the formation of parent
material, accumulated largely through rock wenthering. The pai'ent
rock is a relatively inert storehouse of future soil material rather than
an active factor in soil foi^mation. The disthiguishing characteristics
of the soils of the great soil groups are primarily due to the efrects of
climate and biological action on rocks, but many of their subdivisions
owe their distinctive characteristics to parent material.
Rocks ^
Broadly speaking, rocks include both consolidated (luird) and un-
consolidated (soft) mineral and organic deposits of the earth. The
mineral rocks furnish by far the greater bulk of material for most soils,
but the ultimate product contains important amounts of water, oxygen,
and carbon dioxide in chemical combination contributed from other
sources. The rocks of the earth are of three principal kinds: (1) Ig-
neous or primary rocks; (2) sedimentary, eolian, and glacial rocks;
and (3) metamorphic rocks.
Igneous Rocks
Igneous rocks are formed by the hardening of various kinds of lavas
and are composed of different minerals in various proportions.
Coarsely crystalline texture is promoted when lavas cool very slowdy—
usually at great depths below the earth's surface. Finely crystal-
line and glassy textures develop when lavas are quickly cooled by
being intruded betwêen layers or in joints of other rocks or by flowing
out over the land surface.
Igneous rocks not only vary in the size of crystals of component
minerals, they also vary considerably in chemical character. Some of
them are composed almost entirely of quartz, which is distinctly
acidic in character, while others contain a high proportion of iron,
calcium, magnesium, and other basic elements and are known as
basic rocks. Between these two extremes there are a large number of
both coarse-grained and fine-grained igneous rocks with varying
proportions of acidic and basic elements. The rhyolite-granite group
includes rocks dominantly composed of quartz and feldspar with
minor quantities of other minerals. The coarse-grained members of
2 For more details concerniüfí rocks see Clarke (65).^
3 Italic iiunibers in parentheses refer to Literature Cite<l, i). 1181.
950 ^ Yearbook, 1938
the group arc called pegmatite ^granites aiul tlie ñnelj grained mem-
bers rLyolites; the glassy members are known as obsidians.
Rocks high in feldspar and iron-magnesium minerals include the
coarse-grained syenites and the fine-grained trachytes. Rocks high
in feldspars, feldspathoid minerals (similar in chemical composition
to the feldspars), and iron-magnesium minerals are known as neplie-
linc-syenites and i^honolites. The latter are dark-colored, very dense
and fine-grained, and give a ringhig sound when struck with a ham-
mer. Other coarse-grained igneous rocks are quartz monzonite,
quartz diorite, gabbro, and several others of less importance. Fine-
grained rocks hicludo latite, dacite, andésite, and the basalts. The
dai'k-gray andésites and nearly black basalts are especiall^r important
sources of soil material. Basalts contain a higher proportion of basic
minerals than andésites.
Another important class of igneous rocks comes from volcanoes.
Fragments of volcanic materials are blown from craters and spread
over the surface of the land or water by winds. Volcanic ash is
usually a soft mass of very finely divided glassy or finely crystalline
particles. The composition varies as widely as the composition of
other igneous rocks, and to a certain extent the fertility of the final
soil may reflect this variation in composition. In Puerto Rico and
parts of wêstern United States, many volcanic-ash deposits have been
stratified by wâter. Because of their finely divided coiidition and
porous consistence, most volcanic éjecta are easily weathered into soil
material.
Sedimentaryi Eoliatif and Glacial Rocks
Sedimentary rocks are either consolidated (hardened) or unconsoli-
dated fragmentary roclv materials deposited by water. They vary in
texture from gravelly or stony to the finest clays. The more usually
recognized sedimentary rocks are pudding stone or conglomerate,
composed of gravels and coarse sands; sandstones, composed of sands
of greatly varying composition ; clays and shales; and limestones with
varying proportions of impurities. In addition to these there are
other sedimentary rocks of greatly varying texture which might be
called loam stones or silt stones, according to their particle-size com-
position. Conglomerates and sandstones may be made up almost
entirely of quartz, or the}^ may contain a high proportion of such
minerals as feldspars, hornblende, pyroxine, and glauconite. Sand-
stones composed of quartz and feldspar and minor amounts of other
minerals are known as arkose, and their chemical composition is
similar to that of granite and gneiss. Glauconite, or greensand, is
rich in potash, silica, and alumina and easily wcatlicrs down to a
clayey mass. Soils developed from quartz sandstones are likely to
be infertile, whereas those from sandstones containing a goodly pro-
portion of other minerals are more likely to be fertile, although it w'úl
he seen from what follows that it is possible for a xevy poor soil to
develop from material rich in. plant nutrients. Some sandstones and
conglomerates are cemented by silica and weather very slowly, wîile
those cemented by lirne (CaCO^) weather rapidly. When iron
liydroxide is the cement for sandstones and conglomerates the product
is known as ironstone. Many sandstones, conglomerates, and loam
Formation of Soil ^ 951
stones, sucli US recent íílhiviíil and lake deposits, arc nnconsolidatod
or only wcaldy cemented.
Clays and shales vary exceedingly in composition. Some of tliem
are highly calcareous, while others contain no lime; some have a higli
percentage of very finely divided mica, while others contain none;
some ave composed of finely ground rock flour in wliich the chemical
composition, of the original rocks has been changed but little, and
others arc composed of highly weathered materials. vSome clays and
shales contain high percentages of silica while others have little or
none. All of these factors have a bearing on the ultimate productivity
of the soil. For example, productive soils are more likely to develop
from highly calcareous clays than from those containing no lime, and
from cliiys with a high percentage of rock fiom.' than from those that
have been very strongly weathered over a long period of time. High-
silica clays usually have a greater capacity for holding plant nutrients
than those of relatively low silica content.
Many productive soils are developed from limestones, some of
which are very hard and are composed almost entirely of calcium
carbona te or of mixtures of calcium carbonate and magnesium carbon-
ate (dolomitic limestones). Others are soft and chalky and contain,
a high percentage of clay or sand. These impure limestones mei'go
into thci calcareous sandstones and shales or clays. In nature these
sedimentary rocks frequently occur in alternate beds varying from
thin plates to deep strata several feet in thickness. Frequently
siliceous material, such as flint or chert, may be deposited within the
limestone. In some places these are a result of deposition from
solution in other rocks as well as limestone. Since chert and flint are
very hard and resistant to wêathcring, soils developed from limestone
containing them may be very stony. The noncalcareous impurities
of limestone usually form the bulk of the material from which soil is
formed after the lime has been dissolved.
Eolian (wind) deposits arc unconsolidatcd rocks which are very
important soil materials. These consist almost entkely of loess and
sands. Loess is composed of accumulations of dusts. It is common
near the edges of present or former deserts and along some alhivial
flood plains; in some instances deposits reach a thickness of as much
as 300 feet. ^ Since the mineralogical composition is extremely com-
plex and variable, there is an abundance of mineral plant nutrients in
most loess deposits, including more or less free carbonate of lime.
Deposits are usually uniform in texture and color and stand vertically
in clift's where eroded.
Sand dunes are common in many regions, especially along sea and
lake shores and within or near the margins of deserts. They may be
composed largely of quartz or of fragments of many difiêrent minerals.
They are not an important source of material for soil formation, but in
some places they migrate over the land and destroy crops and even
forests. Migrating dunes are common around the southern end and
eastern shore of Lake Michgan and in the desert areas of southwestern
L^nitcd States.
Many glacial deposits resemble unconsolidatcd conglomerates.
Some of them are composed of mixed and unstratified gravels, boulders,
sands, and clays, while others have been reworked and stratified by
water. Some of the most important soil types of northern United
States are developed from these materials. The glaciated portion of
the United States exteTids as far south as the Ohio and Missouri
Hivers and from the northern Atlantic seaboard to east-central
■Montana. In ad dition there are a few isolated areas of less importance in
the mountains and. valleys of northwestern United States and in Alaska.
Much of the glacial drift is composed of fragments of many différent
kinds of rocks, and for this reason it nearly always contains fair to
plentiful reserves of mineral plant nutrients. In some places, however,
such, as on the high i)lateaus of southern New Yorlv, it is composed
dominantly of rock materials low in the minerals necessary for plant
growth. In general the most productive soils in glaciated regions
develop from glacial drifts containing a considerable portion of lime-
stone. This is especially true of the soils developed under the forest
in the humid regions. Some very poor soils are developed from glacial
drift composed largely of noncalcareous sandstone and shale.
Peat is a peculiar type of sedimentary material and ordinaril}^ is
considered to be a rock only in a broad sense. Peat is the parent
material of organic soils, such as various kinds of muck and ])eat soils
(Bog and Half Bog soils). Some peats are composed largely of woody
fragments, some of reed and grass remains, some of sphagnum (])eat
moss), and some are essentially jellylike or colloidal (very finely
divided) materials derived from these plant remains. Manj^ peats are
extremely acid in reaction and very low in nnneral plant nutrients,
although some contain a relativeh^ high percentage of lime where they
have been watered by see]3age from limestone rocks or calcareous drift.
More soluble sedimentary rocks, such as various kinds of soluble
salts, gypsum (CaS04), and sulphur, are fairly common recent deposits
in arid regions, and outcrops of such rocks also occur hi some of the
older geological formations of humid regions. They may modify the
character of soil material but rarely make up the bidk of it.
Metamorphic Rocks
\^^len igenous and sedimentary rocks are exposed to intense heat or
to very^ high pressure, or both, their structure and mineralógica!
composition are considerably changed. The j)roces3 is known as
metamorphism, and the products arc Ivnown as metamorphic rocks.
Among the most common of the metamorphic rocks are gneiss, quartz-
ite, schist, talc and ser])entine, slate, i^hyllite, and marble. Gneiss is
a coarse-grained banded crystalline rock usually derived from igneous
rocks of various kinds, although some gneisses are formed through the
metamorphism of conglomerates or arkosic sandstones. Gneisses are
described as granitic, s^ênitic, dioritic, etc., according to the minerals
of which they are composed and their resemblance to various igneous
rocks. Soils derived from them are likely to have properties similar to
those derived from the original igneous rock.
Quartzite is formed by the metamorphism of quartz sandstone or
conglomerate and is composed almost entirely of quartz. This roclv
\\'eathers very slowly, and most soils developed from it are unproduc-
tive no matter what the climatic conditions.
Schist is the metamorphic product of several kinds of rocks, both
igneous and sedimentary, and is commonly derived from sandy clays
and shales, thron gli a high degree of met amorph ism. Talc, serpentino,
and soapstone ai'e metamorphic products of the weathering of siliceous
nifignesian rocks. Slates and phyllitcs exhibit a high, degree of clciiv-
age and break into thin plates ; the former are hard and often daj'k-
colored, while the latter are somewhat softer and contain a high, per-
centage of very finely divided mica or chlorite. Chemical weathering
is much slower than physical weathering on them. Clays commonly
become hardened into shales. Under heat and pressure shales are
changed to slate, phyllite, or mica sclvist, depending on the intensity
of the metamorphism and the composition of the original clay.
Marble is the metamorphic equivalent of Ihnestone. It may be
composed either of relatively pure calcite (lime), or it may be dolomitic.
Marble ii]eludes many impurities corresponding to the orginal impuri-
ties in the limestone roclv.
Relation of Rocks to Soils
The character of the ultimate soil product derived from any given
rock will depend in a large degree on the activity of the other factoi's of
soil formation. A rock may be rich in the minerals essential to plant
growth and still prod uce an exceedingly poor soil. On the other hand,
under suitable conditions of climate and vegetation, fairly productive
soils may be produced from weathered rocks relatively poor in plant
nutrients. Within any local region having only minor differences in
climate and vegetation, the kind of parent rock has an important
bearing on the ultimate nature and usefulness of the soil. For example
weathered gneisses and schists of the Piedmont Plateau of eastern
Pennsylvania are the parent materials of very excellent soils for general
farming, known, as Chester and Manor series.^ In the same region
soils derived from weathered serpentine are unproductive for agricul-
tural crops. The highly productive Sassafras loam has developed
from the mixed clays, silts, and gravels of the Coastal Plain of New
Jersey, while the Lakewood sand, which is almost useless for crop
production, has developed from the quartz sands of the same region.
Primary Physical Weathering of Rocks
Primary physical weathering consists in the loosening and breaking
up of the rocks. Joint planes and lines of stratification are the first
lines of attack in this process. Daily and seasonal variations in tem-
perature cause expansion and contraction of rocks, and, since the com-
ponent minerals have different rates of expansion, tension is set up
within the mass, and the rock gradually crumbles. Variations in
temperature are especially active when rapid and when they pass
across the freezing point. This effect is especially important in coarse-
grained rocks such as granite.
Exfoliation
Where rocks are exposed at the siirfacc they are subject to almost
daily rapid heating and cooling, especially in temperate regions. Since
most rocks are poor conductors of heat, the sun warms the outside
*In iiiiiriy places in this discussion it seems desirable to make reference to actual soil series or types in the
United States by way of illustration. Their location is shown on the soil map at the end of'the volume, and
their descriptions are given in part T), Soils of the United States, p. 1019.
954 * Yearbook, 1938
shell of rock much more rapidly than the interior, and expansion is
correspondingly greater. At night the surface cools and contracts
very quickly. The rapid expansion and contraction corresponding to
daily changes in temperature ultimately cause rock fragments to peel
off in flakes or leaves—a process known as exfoliation. Exfoliation is
effective on all dense-structured rocks. Dark-colored, fine-grained
igneous rocks, such as
basalt, are exfoliated
very readily, and the
leaflike fragments tend
to hold their shape
longer than those split
off from the coarser-
grained igneous rocks.
The latter soon crum-
ble into gravelly
fragments.
Exfoliation is accom-
plished to an important
degree as a result of
chemical weathering,
especially in warm and
humid regions. For
example, granitic and
fine-grained igneous
rocks of the Tropics
and sub-Tropics are
broken apart piecemeal
by the hydrolytic ac-
tion of water on clay-
forming minerals.
Water, with some car-
bon dioxide in solution,
finds its way into the
joint planes of the rocks
and thence into cleav-
age planes of clay-
FIGURE 1.—Concciilnc wcatiu'riiig oí tíiie-graliu'ii forming minerals, such
igneous rocks, characteristic of tropical regions. as feldspars. Where
Near Kilauca, island of Kauai, Hawaii. water comes in contact
with these minerals,
chemical changes occur (hydrolysis and carbonation), and clays and
carbonates, which have a larger volume than the original minerals,
form along the contact planes. The formation of these compounds
causes expansion, slight in extent but resistless in strength, which
breaks up the original rock into fragments and further exposes the
unweathcred portions to the agents of chemical weathering. In this
manner coarse-grained rocks arc rapidly reduced to gritty fragments.
Fine-grained rocks are more slowly reduced and eventually take the
form of concentric rings of weathered, crusty material surrounding
a rounded core of fresh rock (fig. 1). In this case chemical weather-
ing nearly keeps pace with disintegration.
In warm-temporate and tropical regions this process is probably
moro important and significant than the disintegration brought about
by expansion and contraction, of rocks with, temperature changes in
cooler regions or by the resistless expansion of ice in the craclvs and
crevices of rocks in colder regions. In. fact, the hydrolytic action of
water is an important contributing cause to the comminution, (rechic-
tion to fine fragments) of rocks and minerals in the temperate zone,
both in. humid and arid regions.
Ice and Root Wedging
In cool-temperate regions water fills crevices dining the warm season
and is frozen during colder periods. The resulting expansion, charac-
teristic of ice formation, breaks the rocks into fragments. This process
is especially important during late autmnn and late winter, when
there is much freezing and thawing.
liocks are also broken apart by the expansion of roots in cracks.
Tree roots work their way down from the surface along joint planes
and stratification, lines and wedge the rocks apart. Smaller roots gain
entrance to minute crevices between mineral grains or in the cleavage
planes of individual minerals and also help to break up the rocks.
Secondary Physical Weathering

Grinding hy Rivers and Ice
The fragments ma(]e by primary methods of physical weathering
are further broken up by secondary processes. Creeks and rivers
collect rook fragments, roll them along their beds, and grind them into
finer particles. Deposits of sand and silt in the bends and on the
banks of almost any stream bear witness to the importance of this
process. The rate of grinding depends very largely on the amount of
material suspended in the \yater and the speed of the stream. The
carrying power of water varies approximately with the sixtli power of
the speed—that is to say, if the speed of the current doubles, the
carrying capacity is increased 64 times. The greater the carr^dng
power, the more important the grinding effect along the bottom of the
stream. Waves of seas and lakes produce a grinding action among
the fragments along the shores.
Materials collected, and ground into fine fragments by streams are
deposited on flood plains and deltas and, with intermixed materials
washed from hillsides of interior regions, go to make up some of the
most important soils of the world. The Mississippi flood plain and
"Delta and the flood plains and deltas of other large rivers of the United
States, as well as those of the Yellow and Yangtze RiA'êrs of China, of
the Ganges Hiver of India, and of the Amazon of South America, are
excellent examples. A very large proportion of the world's popula-
tion gains its living from the cultivation of alluvial soils. The pro-
ductivity of alluvial soils has a more direct relationship to the kind of
rocks from which the materials were derived than that of most soils,
because they are young and only slightly developed and are receiving
continual additions of new material. If materials are wâshed from
rocks of low mineral plant nutrient content or from poor soils, they are
956 4^ Yearbook, 1938
likely to be poor and improductive; but larê rivcns draw tbeir soil
materials from, sucli a wide raiig-e of rocks and soils tliat their deposits
are likely to make productive agricultural soils.
Glaciers—rivers and seas of moving ice—collect loose rock frag-
ments iindnot only grind them together to form smaller fragments but
also use them as tools for gouoing out still more fresh rock from beneath.
The grinding effect is especially evident in regions where glaciers are
now active. For example, glacial ice on. the mountains of north-
western United States flows slowly down into the valleys, where it
3iielts away. Ground rock fragments as fine as flour give the water a
milky tint as it flows away from the glacier front, and the rushing
streams push, innumerable boulders and gravels along their beds
away from the glacier. At the present time there are continental
glaciers only in. Greenland and Antarctica, where they arc actively
plucking and grinding stones from the rock masses beneath, them.
During the geologically recent glacial period (Pleistocene) of North
America and Europe, however, continental glaciers covered most of
Canada, part of northern United Staates, and much of northern
Europe.^
It is estimated that these sheets of ice in many places exceeded a
mile in thickness. They transported and pulverized au enormous
quantity of rock material and deposited it over a, very large area.
The richest agricultural regions of north-central United States are
miderlain by materials deposited by these ancient glaciers or by
rivers which flowed from their fronts. The glacial invasions of north-
ern United States came from centers in Canada from which most of the
unconsolidated material was removed. At the present time large
expanses of territor^^ in Canada have very thin soils, because the
glaciers scraped the rocks bare and ])ushed and carried the materials
to southern Canada and northern United States. Most of the soils
from the Ohio and Missouri Rivers northward to the Canadian border
are derived from rock materials deposited by the glaciers or by glacial
streams and lakes.
Wind Scouring, Landslides, and Avalanches
\\\ desert and semiarid regions, where vegetation, is sparse and
winds of high velocit,y are more or less prevalent, much physical
weathering is accomplished by the scouring action of wind-blown
sand, which cuts fragments of stone from outcropping rocks of the
region. Fragments thus produced arc blown into adjacent regions
to produce sand dunes and loess.
Some physical weathering is accomplished by means of landslides,
avalanches, and soil-flowing (solifluction), especially in. hilly and
mountainous regions. Landslides and avalanches accomplish much
work in steep mountainous regions, as in central Puerto Rico; but
they are also fairly common in hilly lands where parent rocks are
largely shales and clays, as in northern Wyoming and southeastern
Ohio. Freezing and thawing and seepage of water on slopes aid in
the process.
^'Various oslimates indicate ihat the first luirt of the tilacial i)crio("l bofiaii more than l,f)()0,000 jeans ago,
and after several advances and retreats of the ice, the last remnants melted away a few tens of thousands of
years ago.
Chemical Weathering
Hydrolysis and Solution
Hydrolysis is the precio min a tiiig process by which the chemical
weathering of rocks tajvcs place. Ti^clniically speakhig, simple soln-
tion probably is the first reaction that takes ])lace between water and
any kind of rock, but the progress of this action, is, in the case of
most silicate minerals, iiiiinitesimal when considered independent of
hydrolysis. The hydrolysis and solution of most kijids of rocks are
hastened by the influence of carbonic acid and various more complex
organic acids. Such products arc carried out in the ground water.
The more finely divided the rock fragments, the more rapid is the
action of water so long as it is able to filter througli. Among the
materials most readily removed in solution are compounds of potas-
sium,^ sodiuin, calcium, and magnesium, as well as a certain amount
of silicic acid. Solution is especiaUy important on the more soluble
rocks such as gypsum, limestone, aTjd rocks containing calcareous
cement. Soils can be formed from limestones only when a certain,
amount of impurities has collected following tlie removal of calcium
carbonate from the rock.
At all stages of the process of breakhig up of large masses of rocks
into finer material, water is reacting with the minerals, forming
secondary products. This is the process called h3Mrolysis, and it is
essentially the exchange of component parts between the minerals
and water. For example, when water comes in contact w4th a simple
mineral such as calcium silicate (CaSiOg) some of the mineral clis-
solves, and the wâter reacts with the silicate to produce some calcium
hydroxide and silicic acid (CaSi03+2H20^Ca(On)o + H2Si03). It
will be seen that a change of this sort involves an exchange between
constituent parts of the mineral and component parts of the water,
resulting in. the formation of two substances having properties differ-
ent from the original mineral and water.^ Clays are, for the most
part, mixtures of complex silicates. They contain varying propor-
tions of alumina, iron oxide, and silica. Some clays are Very high in
silica, while others consist almost entirely of the hydroxides of iron
and aluminmn, the silica having been almost entirely removed in
solution.
The chemical composition of clay influences to a considerable
degree the amount of water held as a part of its constitution. Chiys
wdth a high contcTit of iron oxide and alumina usually contain con-
siderably more water than clays relatively low in those constituents
and high in silicia. This is not to bo cojvfused with the more loosely
held water described in another article as hygroscopic water (Water
Relations of Soils, p. 897). When water is taken up or is lost in any
manner, stresses and strains tend to be set up in the rocks, and this
assists physical weathering.
Hydrous oxides of iron and aluminum are each subject to dehydra-
tion in varying degrees under different conditions. Such compounds
in different stages of dehydration normally occur in certain soils.
f> More complex phases of hydrolysis, by which various Icinds of clays arc formed, arc discussed in General
Chemistry of the Soil, p. Oil.
Liinonite, geolliite, and perhaps the conipletely deh^^clrated form,
hematite, are found and are usually mixed with a simihir group of
the hydrous oxides of aluminnm. The tendency toward dehydration
is particularly marked in some of tlie tropical regions where highly
lateritic soils are formed.
Carhonation {Carhonatization)
In the reaction cited above, the readily soluble calcium hydroxide
is easily washed away, but it may react further with the carbon,
dioxide of the air or of the soil water. In this case, calcium carbonate
will be formed, and it will either accumulate in the soil or be washed
away accordhig to whetJier or not there is siiilicient water in circula-
tion. In a similar manner carbonates of magnesium and other
metals are formed in the soil material or in the soil itself. Carhona-
tion is most rapid hi regions of high rainfall, but the products of
carbonation are removêd so rapidly in such areas that the soil will actu-
ally contain fewêr carbonates than that developed in semiarid regions.
Oxidation and Reduction
Changes in the state of oxidation of some of the elements, ])ar-
ticularly of iron and manganese, take place under certain soil con-
ditions. Mineral powders exposed to moderately í\YJ air undergo
little or no change. When they are enveloped b^'^ water, however,
hydrolysis converts some of the ferrous iron and manganous form of
manganese into a solution in the form of slightl}^ soluble hydroxides,
among which the iron, ordinarily, greatly predominates. These
compouiuls arc capable of taking up ox3^gen from the air to form
more highly oxidized compounds of extremely low solubilities. Such
oxidation is often evident from the formation of scums or crusts
which have the characteristic color of iron rust and coiisist primarily
of ferric hydroxide, more or lesss dehydrated.
Under certain soil conditions a reverse action takes place. The
mere absence of air is not sufficient to cause these compounds to
lose oxygen. However, certain organisms associated with the
decomposition of organic matter are capable of extracting oxygcji
from such compoimds as ferric hydroxide when air is excluded b^^
water. This change produces an iron compound of greater solubility.
When soils are waterlogged for a considerable period significant
proportions of the iron may bo reduced. These oxidation and reduc-
tion changes may play an important role in soil-profile development
and in the formation of ])arent material from rocks.
EFFECTS OF PARENT MATERIAL ON SOILS
Soil material is the product of physical and chemical wealherhig of
rocks and minerals. Since unconsolidated rocks such as sands and
clays are nearly always more or less weathered chemically, they may
serve as parent materials of soils without having to go tlirough fur-
ther physical and chejnical changes. Soils form directly from tliem.
Parent material may be shallow or deep. It may consist of frag-
ments of widely vaiying sizes or be of uniform texture; of coarse
rock fragments with smaller quantities of finer materials, or the
converse; it may consist esscTitially of a single mineral such as quartz
or feldspar or of fragments of many Idncls of minerals or of rocks of
varying mineralógica! composition. Tlie finer materials may be in
almost any stage of hydrolysis and leaching with, higli. silica, and low
alumina content or the reverse. Parent miiterial may be exceedingiy
resistant to change or may be subject to rapid alteration under the
prevailing cnviroimient.
Over a long period the general effect of soil-forming processes is
to obliterate the differentiating influence of parent material. Many
soils may be examined from the surface to a depth of 2 or 3 feet with-
out finding any inkling as to the nature of the parent rock from
which, the soil material was derived. So-called normal, ¡tarent ma-
terials are mixtures of clays and unweathered minerals and rock
fragments of considerably varying composition. These develop into
soils the characteristics of which depend almost entirely on the
factors of biological activity, relief, climate, and time.
If parent materials are devoid, or nearly so, of mineral plant
nutrients it is safe to assume that it wnll be impossible for fertile soils
to develop from them. IToweverj materials of this type are not usual.
Direct Effects
Parent materials have a strong modifying effect in many places
on the typo of soils developed and more especially on the rate at
which development talces place. For instance, quartz and arkose
sands are much more subject to the dissolvhig efl'ect of water than
materials high in clays. This is because water passes easily through
the materials and there is a smaller proportion of basic elements to
be dissolved away. If lime cement is present in these sandy materials
or if the rock contains large quantities of lime, removal by solution
is very much delayed, but it is not necessarily prevented.
Such rocks as shales, slates, silt stones, phyllites, or mixtures of
two or more of them may have the effect of checking internal drain-
age. This is especially true if the materials have been mixed and
compacted by glacial action. For example, imperfectly and poorly
drained soils are very common on relatively steep hillsides in New
York and New England, because the compact shaly and slaty ma-
terials prevent the dow^mvard movement of water through the soil.
Soils of the Volusia, Erie, and Culvers series are good examples. In
most places these occur on gentle to steep slopes, the soils of which
would normally be well drained.
In the semiarid and arid regions, parent-material clays sometimes
become saturated with sodium and are often very impervious to
water. These conditions favor the development of soils belonging
to the Solonetz and Soloth groups.^
Heavy, waxy clays, whether calcareous or not, are very resistant
to soil-forming processes and may retain their essential parent-
material nature throughout long periods. Sandy soils develop
from Ycry sandy parent materials quite regardless of the other
conditions.
7 References to the names of the great poil jiroups am scarcely })e avoided in tliis discussion. Their par-
ticular morphoIoi?y and evolution are dealt with later in this article.
960 4* Yearbook, 1938
Residual Effects
Parent materials in many places bave an important residual effect—
so-called because it resides or remains in the soil for a long time—on
tlie soil, especially in. regard to its productivity for trees, grasses, or
crops. Sucli residual effects are extremely difficult to determine by
merely examining a soil in the field without regard to what is growing
on it. By examining tlie parent material carefully, however, or even
the parent roclc beneath, (^ne can frequently get indications as to what
to expect from the soil. For example, in humid regions a soil more
productive of the common agricultural crops and grasses may be
expected from glacial till containing fragments of limestone than
from materials derived entirely from acid shales and sandstones.
Forest growth on the former will usually comprise larger individual
tree specimens, and the rate of growth is likely to be inore rapid than
on. the acid materials. Crops will bo more bountiful, as a rule, on
soils derived from more or less calcareous materials than on those
derived from more acidic rocks. This is especially true if leaching
has not extended to too great a depth. For example, the Miami
soils of the North Central States are derived from a glacial till com-
posed of as much as 60 percent of limestone and dolomite jnaterials
mixed with granite, gneiss, shale, sandstone, and maii}^ other kinds of
rocks. Miami soils are ]}roductive and maintain much, of their
native fertility for a long period. They are very responsive to
fertilization aTid good agricidtural methods. On the other hand the
Lordstown soils, derived entirely from acid shales and sandstones, are
far less productive and need considerable fertihzation before producing
good yields. The Gloucester soils of New England and New York
are derived from glacial till composed almost entirely of fragments of
granite and gneiss. These soils are responsive to fertilization, but
nnist receive fertilizer applications every year if their productivity is
to be maintained. Their natural fertility for crops is far less tluin
that of the Miami soils.
The residual ed'ect of hmestone on soils has its limits. For example,
in warm-temperate and subtropical regions the prevailing type of
weathering has so completely removed the lime and absorbed calcium
from the soils that their fertility is greatly reduced. Eventually
soil-forming processes overcome the-beneficial effects and to a less
extent the detrimental eifects of parent materials.
Effects of parent nuiterial are far more important on young and
imperfectly d.evelo])ed soils than on old ones. Freshly deposited
alluvimn is an excellent example of this fact. Alluvium washed from
the soils of the western plains and of the prairie section of Iowa and
Illinois have an extremely high natural fertility and will maintain a
high state of productivity over a long period of years under suitable
moisture conditions. On the other hand alluvium washed from old
lied and Yellow soils exclusively has a lower natural fertility and can
be made to maintain a similarly high state of productivity only by
constant fertilization. Few if any largo river s^^stems draw all of
their materials from naturally fertile or naturally infertile soils.
Alluvium is usually a mixture of both of these kinds of materials and
of freshly powdered rock as well. Productivity will vary more or less
with the proportion of ricli and poor matcrialsj with drainage condi-
tions, aiid with the adaptabihty of spécifie crops to specific soils.
CLIMATE AS A FACTOR IN SOIL FORMATION
The climate is directly or indii'cctly responsible for variations in plant
and animal life, for major soil differences, for the shaping of land
masses thrust al3ove the sea by movements of the earth/s crust, and
to a certain extent for the character of many importan t rock formations.
Climate influences soils both directly and indirect^. Directly it
affects the type of weathering of rocks and the removal and redeposi-
tion of materials by water, whid, and glaciers; and it is responsible
for the establishment of percolation of water through the soil. Regions
of high humidity have more highly leached soils than those of semiarid
and desert regions, and for this reason the chemical nature of the soils
is radically different. In humid regions most soils are more or less
acid in reaction and with few exceptions contain very little free lime
(calcium carbonate). On the other hand soils of the deserts are
leached but little and usually contain more or less lime and, in many
cases, some soluble salts. These effects are in large part directly
attributable to climate. In the arctic regions where substrata are
frozen throughout the year and wehere upper horizons freeze and thaw
during warmer seasons, there is considerable mcclianical mixing of
the soil horizons, and the soils remain in a poorly drained condition
most of tlie time.
The most important direct effects of climate are on the weathering
of rocks and alteration of parent material. These points have
already been discussed in some detail. It is largely this direct
influence of the chmate on parent rocks which is responsible for the
development of enormous areas of Laterite and old Red soils in the
Tropics. Many of these materials are true soils, but some of them
are the parent materials of soils now formed or in process of formation.
In some instances Latérites are true soils, and in others they are merely
the parent materials from which new soil profiles are now developing.
The climate within the soil, or soil climate, may be quite imlike
that of the air above it. The content of carbon dioxide is considerably
higher in soil air than in ordinary air, since it is constantly being
j^roduced by plant roots and other living organisms. Except in ex-
ceedingly dry soils or in the immediate surface of ordinary soils, the
soil air is saturated with water vapor. When covered with vegeta-
tion, especially forests, the surface layer of soil is more moist than
when cultivated. In fact the clearing of soils and their exposure to
the sun majr greatly reduce the activity of micro-organisms, especiall}^
in the Tropics.
Soil climate, especially that of the surface soil, is profoundly affected
by relative atmospheric humidity. Where the average humidity
approaches complete saturation (90 to 100 percent) soil climate is
more moist than when the average is 60 percent or less. The efiects
of relative humidity are especiaUy noticeable in China (400), On the
Kweichow Plateau and in parts of Kwangsi and Szechuan the relative
humidity for the entire 3âr averages approximately 95 percent, and
soils are in an almost continually moist condition in spite of the fact
that the rainfall is less than in some other regions where average
59183^—38 G2
962 ^ Yearbook^ 1938
humidity is lower. A direct result ot this differcT:ice in liuniidity is
the formatioii of Yellow Podzolic soils very similar to those of tlie
southerii. United States. In the Province of Yunnan^ adjoining
Kweichow on the west, relative humidity averages from 60 to 7()
percent for the year, but the rainfall is greater than in Kweichow.
In spite of a greater rainfall, soil humidity is less than that in
Kweichow, and as a result the dominíint soils belong to the Keddish-
Brown Lateritic and Keel Podzolic groups. Simihu* conditions prob-
ably exist in mountainous regions of southeastern United States.
In southern United States soil hinnidity is encournged in some places
by :(lat or slightly depressed relief, and in these places soils of the
Yellow^ Podzolic group are especially common, whereas on the better-
drained areas Ked Podzolic soils are dominaut. Here topographic
conditions have the same effect as difl'erences in average relative
humidity. Kelative humidity is so high in the British Isles that the
soils formed are somewhat similar to those of the United States just
west of the Appalachian Mountains, althougli the annual rainfall of
England is comparable to that found in parts of the Great Plains area.,
where the character of the soils reflects the influence of semiarid
climatic conditions.
Effects of Rainfall, Temperature, and Wind
The total rainfall of a given region is not iiecessarily a measui'e of tlie
effectiveness of water in soil formation, there. Ijong-continued gentle
rains will moisten the soil much, more effectively tlian torrential down-
pours. Gentle rains soak into the soil, and the water percolates down-
ward without severe run-off', except where the parent materials are
almost entirely im])ervious. On the other hand, torrential rains teud
to puddle the surface soil and prevent further penetration by water,
and the rain runs on' over the sin^face and into streams. If the land is
not protected by vegetation or by erosion-control structures, soil
erosion may be severe even on some of the less readily erodible soils.
The more gentle rainfall characteristic of western Euro])e as compared
with the United States accounts in part for the relatively small amount
of soil erosion in England, France, and Germany. Gentle rains are
more characteristic of humid regions than of semiarid and arid cli-
mates, wîere torrential downpours are the rule. ITeavy thunder-
storms during summer months in humid, regions are an exception to
the rule, but their eff'ects are partly offset by the absorptive qualities
of the soils engendered by dense vegetation.
High, average annual temperatures encourage the rapid weathering
of parent rocks and soil materials. In general the speed of chemical
reactions approximately doubles for each rise of 10° C. in temperature.
Hydrolysis, carbonation, and other forms of chemical weathering are
extremely rapid in warm regions, especially if those regions are humid.
In dry hot regions dehydration is important and hydrolysis, hydration,
and carbonation are slowed down. These processes are active only in
deeper horizons where soils are protected from the burning rays of the
sun and from the evaporation effects of winds. In cold regions,
especially if they are humid, soils are frozen during several months of
each year, and in arctic regions deep substrata are permanently frozen.
Freezing prevents the percolation of water through, the soil and so
Formation of Soil *§* 963
slows clown soil-forming processes. In the timclra^ processes of soil
development are reduced to a minimum. In cool-temperate regions
tliey can proceed actively only during the wârmer montiis. Structure
of soil is greatly modified in cool-temperate and temperate regions by
freezing and thawhig during transitional periods between summer and
winter. Freezing and thawing of wet ciays tend to form the material
into aggregates.
In soil formation, wind acts as a drynig agerit and as an agent of
erosion. Moving air will absorb more water than quiet air, so that
in windy regions soils dry out much more rapidly than in regions of
calm. The effect is accentuated if the average relative humidity is
also low.
Wind erosion amounts to very little in regions of heavy rainfall and
dense vegetation, but it is extremely important in the desert and to a
less extent in seraiarid regions. Winds pick up fine particles of soil and
blow them from the deserts to nearby areas where vegetation is more
dense and is able to hold soil in place. For this reason deserts are
characterized by large expanses of bare rock, by drifting sand dunes,
tlie grains of which are too heavy to be carried far, and by desert
pavement.
Desert pavement is an accumulation of gravelly or stony rock frag-
ments on the surface of soils. It is seldom more than an hich or two in
thickness. Desert pavement is the coarse residue remaining on the
surface after tlie fine particles of soil have been blown away by the
wind. When it becomes thick enough to cover the soil completely it
prevents further wind erosion. It will form only in places w4iere the
soil is composed of a mixture of fine-grained and coarse-grained
materials. For this reason we do not find desert pavement on loess
deposits or on silty or clayey alluvial materials. It is not common
on soils derived from uniform-grained sandstones but develops readily
where soils are derived from coTiglomerates or interstratified gravels,
sands, silts, and clays of alluvial fans.
LIVING ORGANISMS AS A FACTOR IN

SOIL FORMATION
Biological Activity
Twô of the chief functions of plant and animal life, so far as soil
profile development is concerned, are the furnishing of organic matter
for the soil and the bringing in of plant nutrients from the lower
layers to the upper ones. It may be said that there is no soil without
organic matter. The organic-matter content of soils varies widely.
Certain peats and the organic mats of some of the forest floors consist
ahnost entirely of organic materials. On the other hand some of the
desert soils contain only a small fraction of 1 percent of organic matter.
Tlie cilccts of organic matter upon soil j)rofiles are also extremely
variable. The ])rimary source of soil oi'ganic matter is the vegetation
that develops on it and modifies the color of practically all soils.
Higher plants, such as grasses ajid trees, drop their dead leaves and
trunks on tlie surface, and these furnish an enormous quajitity of
organic material over a long period. Tlie roots of these same plants
964 4^ Yearbook, 1938
permeate the soil, making it more or less porous nnd penetrating it
sometiines to depths of many feet. The decay of roots, especially those
of grasses, provides a hu'ge amount of organic matter for the soil.
Organic material from grass and tree leaves is eaten, by worms and
mixed by them with the mineral soil.
Deep-rooted plants, such, as some of the trees and grasses, bring
water from deeper horizons to the surface and into the stems or
trunks and the leaves of the plants. With this water there is always a
certain, amount of dissolved, mineral material, particularl}^ of more or
less soluble bases, SOITIC iron and alumina, a little silica, and many
other elements in smaller amounts. AVhen the leaves fall and the
plants themselves decay, these minerals are returned to the surface of
the soil, and in this manner an important upward movement is estab-
lished from deep horizons and parent mateiials to the surface. The
process tends to keep the soils in a productive state, and the plants
thus assist in the perpetuation of conditions under which they can
exist.
If the vegetation is deep-rooted, water will pass through the surface
soil more readily than where there are shallow-rooted j)lants. Thus,
other things being equal, there is more leaching under deep-rooted trees
than under shallow-rooted trees or grass. Water that falls on the
surface tends to be quickly absorbed by these roots, and the water thus
absorbed is withdrawn before it can permeate the soil and carry col-
loids and dissolved materials to deeper horizons. In humid forested
regions rainfall is sufficient to overcome this effect, but in grassy ai*eas
of subhumid and semiarid regions wâter that falls on the surface
seldom makes contact with water of deep substrata.
The decay of forest debris causes the formation of organic acids of
various kinds, including particularly carbonic acid. These acids in
solution hasten the leaching processes of soils and soil materials, and
basic elements are rapidly leached away. It is the rule, then, rather
than the exception, to find more or less strongly acid soils in humid
forested regions. Desert vegetation is very scanty, as a rule, and con-
tains little organic matter. Vegetation plays a less important part in
the formation of Desert soils than of the soils in humid forested regions
and especially in those of the subhumid and semiarid grasslands.
Animals play a role of secondary importance in soil formation, but
their total influence is very great. They furnish one step in convert-
ing plant remains into.soil organic matter, hiasmuch as plants directly
or indirectly furnish the food for animals and the excreta of the latter
are returned to the soil, where they are further transformed. Barn-
yard manure is an important source of organic matter in. agricultural
soils, and in some countries human, feces are equally important in this
respect.
Burrowing animals, such as various kinds of rodents found in nearly
all regions, aid in mixing various horizons of soils together and íTI
supplying a certain amount of fresh parent material to surface hori-
zons from which leaching in. some soils is taking an extensive toll of
plant nutrients. Earthworms feed on soil organic matter and thor-
oughly mix soils in which they live. They move and enrich many
tons of soiL:to the acre each year, and they thrive especially well in
moderately acid to moderately alkaline soils. One of the many indica-
tions of potentially productive soils is the presence of plenty of well-
nourished earthworms; although in productive soils of arid regions the
moisture is frequently insuilicient for worms to exist. When such
soils are irrigated, earthworms eventually establish themselves and
assist in promoting crop production. Following rains in humid
regions, pastures and cultivated fields are liberally sprinkled with
worm casts, which contribute to the fertility of surface horizons. The
burrows of worms and small mammals in many places reach deeply
into the earth, and the excavated material is spread out over the sur-
face. When the burrows arc abandoned, sin-fiice soils, rich in organic
material, find their way to deeper horizons as fillings for these cavities.
It is possible for roots to make rapid growth through some of these
relatively rich materials and to penetrate more deeply into more or
less impervious substrata than might otherwise be possible. Animal
burrows in desert and semiarid regions are especially noticeable
because they are not completely covered by vegetative growth, but
they are probably equally important in humid regions where forests
dominate the landscape.
Micro-Organisms
Micro-organisms play an extremely important part in the develop-
ment of soils and their preparation for the growth of higher plants. In
some cases micro-organisms tend to encourage the growth of certain
kinds of plants, whereas some forms are responsible for the destruction
of other plants.
One of the most importaiit functions of micro-organisms is that of
changing raw vegetable waste into soil organic matter. Putrefactive
bacteria and various kinds of fungi cause the decay of dead leaves and
other plant remains and aid in their hicorporation into the soil as
organic matter. Microscopic animals (protozoa and other forms)
live on some of these plant remains and help convert them into soil
material. Some nitrogen-fixing bacteria live in symbiotic relationsliip
with plants (usually legumes, such, as clover and alfalfa), collect nitro-
gen from the air, and fix it in a form that can be used by higher plants.
Nonsymbiotic nitrogen-fixing bacteria fix a still larger amount of
atmospheric nitrogen in the soil. In general, fungi are more abundant
in forested regions than bacteria, and their waste products are radically
different from those left by bacteria, as indicated in table 1 (15).
Conversely, bacterial activity is greater in grasslands than that of
fungi. Nitrif^âng bacteria assist in producing nitrates from proteins
and other nitrogen compounds, so that they are available for the use
of higher plants.
Table 1.—Chemical composition of fungous and bacterial residues
not-
Ether Alcohol water
ircini- Cellu-
Keskluo celhi- Ligniii
extract extract extract lose
lose
Percent Percent Percent Percent Percent Percent

Dead soil fungus {Pseiidomonas ßiiorescens) .^ 4. iS'¿ 2. oil 8. -K) Trace Trace 14.0
Dead soil bacteria (^/fer-naria si).)__ . _ .54 2.98 ñ. 29 9.32 5.19 29. 0
RELIEF AS A FACTOR IN SOIL FORMATION
Tlio in ñu once of relief n])ou soil formation is due to its con trolling'
effect upon, drainage, rnn-oif, and other wate]' eífects, including* normal
and accelerated erosion. Differences in. relief may radically affect
moisture and air conditions witJiin the soil. Theo re tica 11.y the water
falling on a perfectly level surface of a ])ermeable soil material will be
absorbed unifoi'mly into tlie soil until tlie latter becomes saturated
and will then collect on the surface as a thin sheet. Since perfectly
Hat surfaces and uniformly permeable soil materials are practically
unknown, the rain water collects in depressions, howevei' slight, and
penetrates some materials more rapidly than otliers. Even if parejit
materials are exactlj^ tlie same, slight undulations in the surface will
encourage the water to di*ain away from the high, spots to collect in
tiie low spots, and soils in the latter situations will receive more water.
On moderate and steep slopes the tendency toward run-off is normally
greater than the tendency for water to penetrate the soil, and good or
excessive drainage is found in such positions. Only during and im-
mediately after rains are these soils wet or very moist. Soils in these
positions are subject to more or less severe erosion, especially if they
have been cleared of their native vegetative cover, if timj occur in
arid, regions where vegetation, is sparse, or if, for some otJier reason,
plant growth, is scanty.
Soil profiles on steep slopes are usually not strongly developed,
except in some regions of heavy rainfall, warm climate, and dense
vegetation. This stunting of soil development is chie to (1) rapid
normal erosion, (2) the reduced percolation of water through the soil,
and (3) lack of water in the soil for the vigorous growtli of plants
responsible for soil formation. With equal rainfall and similar parent
material, the soil climate is more humid on. gentle than on steep slopes
and still wetter on flats and in depressions.
The degree of profile development taking place within a given time
on a given parent material and under the same type of vegetation
seems to depend largely on. the amount of water passing through the
soil. With medium and moderately heavy textured parent materials,
therefore, the most strongly developed soil profiles are found on ihit
areas where there is a sivliiciently permeable substratum to carry off
the excess ground water slowly. ITI poorly drained and waterlogged
areas may be found strongly developed soils of a special type. Soils
of flat areas in the humid temperate zone eventually reach a stage of
senility in which they are characterized by leached surface horizons
and extremely heavy subsoils of claypan or hard pan types—the
Planosols. Convex, gently sloping areas in the same region, have a
similar sequence of horizons but are without the extremely heavy
development in the subsoil. These are sometimes called mature or
normal soils. Normal erosion on them is just about^ sufficient to
keep pace with soil-forming processes, so that they neither take on
the characteristics of senility nor are sufficiently eroded to be kept
in a youthful stage of development. Figure 2 illustrates a sequence
of profiles varying in characteristics on account of differences in relief.
It has been pointed out that soils in semiarid and arid climates
usually contain more or less lime in the profile, especially in the lower
horizons. They also normally contain some of the more soluble
salts, such as the chlorides, sulphates, bicarbonates, and carbonates
of sodium and other alkali or alkaline earth metals. On convêx
surfaces, where drainage is good, gradual leaching of rahi water
removes these salts to deep horizoi:is, below the true solum,« where
Undulating
Poor
drainage Swamp
PLANOSOL
NORMAL (CLAY PAN) THIN SOLUM HALF BOG BOG
FT.CURE 2.—Soil profiles developed from similar parent materials but varying in
surface relief. Note that a shallow soil is developed on hilly land because of
excessive run-off and erosion; whereas the flat upland has little or no erosion and
a highly leached upper soil, with a dense claypan in the lower part of tlie soil.
Examples from the detailed soil classification, reading from left to right, include
Miami, Crosby, Rodman, Brookston, and Carlisle soil series {195).
they have no bad effect on crops. On concave or flat surfaces, where

drainage is imperfect, saline solutions are held within capillary reach
of the solum and the salts are precipitated on or near the surface by
the evaporation of the capillary water. For this reason, microrelief
(minor variations in relief) is extremely important on soils of the
semiarid and arid regions, especially where irrigation of the land
tends to raise the ground-water level.
In semiarid and arid regions well-drained soils of flats and depres-
sions receive enough moisture shed by soils of steeper slopes nearby
to support more vegetation, and hence they accumulate more organic
matter. As a result, there are frequently found in depressed but
well-drained areas soils characteristic of higher rainfall regions tliaii
those in close association with them on slightly higlier groimd. Micro-
relief may thus produce a subhumid soil climate in semiarid regions.
Not only is the degree of slope important, in that it afl'ects moisture
conditions in the soil, but its direction is also significant, especially on
the great plains and deserts. On moderate to steep northerly slopes
of the Northern Hemisphere, the sun's rays are much less eflective in
hcathig the soil and evaporating the mositure than oji southerly
slopes. As a result soil moisture is higher on the nortlierly slopes,
■'The Holuiri is iJio inie soil or thai par!, of tho soil ])roiUc that shows llio eLïccts of süil-foriiiiiig processes,
lilies directly over the parent iiiuterial (.^êe Olossary).
vegetation is denser, and. the soils are darker. In critical rainfall
areas one finds forests on Jiorthcrly slopes and gi'asslands on sumnuts
and southerly slopes, with, correspondingly great differences in soil.
In other places the effects of slope direction may be due to rainfall
produced when warm winds are cooled by passiîig over high, bills or
mountains (orographie rainfall). 'For extunple, summer storms on
the Kocky Àlountains originate near the crests of ridges and drift
eastward, so that more ]'ain fnlls on eastern than on western slopes.
.In such regions may be found successively, from the foot of the
mountains to the summit, a succession of soil characteristics simihir
to that found in passing from the arid portion of the Great Plains to
the humid forest soils of the North Athuitic vStates.
TIME AS A FACTOR IN SOIL FORMATION
Time is necessary for the development of soils fi'om i)arent materials.
The length of time re((uired for the formation of a given type of soil
depends largely on the other factors involved. Certain acid soils
characteristic of humid regions form in a relatively short time on acid
materials containing an abundance of quartz sand and a covering of
dense forest growth, especially under a cool and very humid clinuite.
.Perhaps 100 or 200 years might be sufHcieut under such, conditions.
If lime is present in the sandy material the time recjidrement is
greater, and if the texture of the parent material is very heavy, a
very long time wôuld be required, because of the difficulty of estab-
lishing and maintaining a free downward movement of water through
the solum and into the parent material.
Time is a very important factor in the formation of parent materiaL
For example, two soil series in eastern Indiana are both developed on
highly calcareous glacial till. The Miami soils are developed from
material which has been leached free of lime to a depth of about 30
in dies, while the Kussell soils, with very similar profiles, are developed
on till which has been leached to a depth of about 50 inches. The
difference in age of these materials is represented by the difference
iii time between the deposition of the Early and Late Wisconsin
glacial drifts and would probably be measured in thousands of years.
The Illinoian drift, in the same State, is leached to a depth of 10 feet
or more and represents a still longer time for the preparation of soil*
material.
It must be remembered, however, that the so-called }iormal soils
are developed on gently sloping land subject to continuous, if slow,
geological erosion. Soil and parent-material formation are approxi-
mately balanced by gradual erosion.
Soils of flat areas, elevated above present stream overflow, may be
much older in point of time and soil development than those on slightly
higher and more sloping areas. For example, soils of the Bethel and
Delmar series of eastern Indiana (in the Miami-Crosby-Brookston
area of the soil map) have much more strongly developed profiles
than those of the Miami and Kussell series, which are considered
normal for the region. Their profiles have not been truncated by
erosion, nor, in typical areas, have they received new material. They
are old in terms both of soil morphology and actual years. They arc
classified as Planosols and have characteristic claypan subsoils.
Soil materials of formerly flat and now dissected areas of the Tropics
and warm-temperate regions are extremely old in. years, even though
relatively yoinjg from the geological viewpoint. Maiw, if not most,
of them cíate back to glacial times and even to the more remote
Pliocene epoch of the Tertiary period, variously estimated at from
1 to 6 million years ago. Flat, ancient 2:)eneplains (areas which liave
been reduced by erosion almost to base level) of these regions have
soils some of which date back, as such, to those ancient geologic times.
Many of these soils are in a senile stage of development and are
extremely infertile because of long leaching of important nutrients
witiiout renewal from fresh parent material.
The time required for the development of a normal soil is probablj^^
greater in dry regions tlian in more humid ones. Where rainfall is
light and vegetation scanty, the desert winds are active in removing
and redepositing soil materials. Hard lime accumulations many
feet in thickness have developed in these desert regions, but the
time required must have been great.
Soils of high and steep mountains are normally young in terms of
years and stage of development because of rapid erosion, and the age
of soils on flood plains is also slight because of the almost continuous
accumulation, of materials. Many young soils of the mountains as
well as of the flood plains are very fertile, but steepness, shallowness,
and stoniness in the mountains limit their usefulness for agriculture.
Young soils of alluvial flood plains include much, of the most produc-
tive soil of the world.
One cannot make any useful statement in terms of years, however,
regarding the rate of soil formation in general. Some soils have
formed very rapidly, hi a few years, and others exceedingly slowly.
It is also clear that there is no direct relationship between the age or
maturit}^^ of soils and the age of the rocks underneath.
SOIL-FORMING PROCESSES AND THE ZONAL, INTRAZONAL,
AND AZONAL SOILS
On the basis of common characteristics, local soil types and series may
be grouped logically into various broader groups as described in the
article Soil Classification. These groups fall uiuler the heads of (1)
zonal soils, (2) intrazonal soils, and (3) azonal soils.
Zonal soils are those that owe their most important characteristics
to the eflccts of the climatic and biological factors acting on well-
drained but not excessively drained parent materials of mixed mineral-
ógica} composition over a long period of time. Pedologists speak of
them as normal soils.
Intrazonal soils owe their distinguishing characteristics to the over-
balancing effects of parent material or relief. In some the parent
material is of a special type and is able to outweigh the effects of the-
biological, climatic, and relief factors. In others relief outweighs
other soil-forming factors.
Azonal soils are those that have few or no soil morphological char-
acteristics. Their characteristics are similar to those of the i:>arent
materials of which they are composed. These materials have either
not been exposed long enough to soil-forming processes or are too
resistant to them for soil characteristics to develop. Fresh alluvium,
dry sands, and the soils on steep rocky Jiillsi(]es nre the principa]
examples.
SOIL-FORMING PROCESSES '
Zonal, intrazonal, and a/onal soils of various great groups owe their characteristics
to various soil-forming processes of which the most important are (1) calciftcation,
(2) podzolization, (3) laterization, (4) sahnization, desalinization, alkalization,
and dealkalization, (5) formation of peat and i)oorly drained soils, including
gleization.
Calcification
Pec/oca Is
The calcification process results in. the redistribution of calcium carbonate or
carbonate of lime in the soil profile without complete removal of it. Magnesium
carbonate accumulates along with tlie carbonate of lime. The areas so affected
arc normally those of restricted rainfall—varyiiig from approximately 25 inches
or less in the Temperate Zone to approximately 45 inches or less in the Tropics—
and the dominant vegetation is grass or brush. Since the rainfall is low, the
percolation of water through the profile is not sufficient to remove wholly the
calcium carbonate that existed in the parent niaterial or was produced by reac-
tion between carbonic acid and the calcium hydrolyzed from silicate minerals.
The usual result is the development of an accumulation of calcium and mag-
nesium carbonates at some point in the profile below the surface, approximatijig
the depths to which surface waters most frequently percolate. Marbut (240)
called these soils Pedocals (soils with lime accumulation),lo While this is the
normal formation, a calcium-carbonate deposit does iiot necessarily always occur,
A secondary result of calcification is that the calcium tends to keep the colloid
(fine clay) in a somewhat granular condition, and there is therefore relatively
little downward movement of the colloid in the profile.
It has becTi possible to arrange a multitude of Pedocal soil series into a few
great groups, using their color, organic-matter content, depth, and amount
of lime accumulation as criteria for making combinations. The group names
are largely of liussian origin, and tlieir application to soils of the United States
wâs first made by C. V. Marbut, who modified some of them. In the present
classification further modification seems advisable. They are: (1) Chernozem
(black earth); (2) Chestnut soils (dark-brown soils); (3) Reddish Chestnut soils;
(4) I5rown soils; (5) Reddish Brown soils; (6) Sierozem soils; (7) Desert soils;
(8) Red Desert soils.
Chernozems are very dark brown or black in the upper 2 to 4 feet and have
slightly acid or slightly alkaline reaction and a nutlike structin-e. Organic
matter is high, and the soils are naturally very fertile. A yellowish-brown or
grayish-brown transitional horizon of a few inches separates the dark surface
soil from the very calcareous horizon of Hme accumulation. The lime is silty
in character, includes more or less magnesium carbonate, and occurs as irregudar
soft masses and vertical streamers, extending to a dex)th of several feet in many
places. Parent material below is less calcareous and in places contains no free
lime. Accumulated lime comes partly from lime originally present in the mate-
rials and partly fi'om the carbonation of calcium and magnesium silicates.
Chestnut, Brown, and Sierozem soils have prismatic, dark-brown, brown, and
light brownish-gray upper horizons, respectively, and progressively less organic
matter in the order listed. The thickness of the surface soils also becimies lens
in the order listed, and the lime accumulation usually reaches its maximiun
development in the first two, except in cases of extremely old Sierozems and
Red Desert soils. All typical members of these groups except tlie Sierozem
and Red Desert soils have little or no free lime at the surface, but the brown
horizons in places are calcareous in their lower portions. Calcareous dusts
sometimes accumulate sufíiciently to render calcareous the surface inch or two.
Reddish Chestnut and Reddish Brown soils have a dull reddish tinge in surface
horizons and reddish-browar or red heavier subsoils above the horizon of lime
accumulation.
öTho following pagos aro vsonicwhat moro technical in character than the rreceding general discussion
and are intended primarily for Ktudeuls and others concerned with soil science.
i(j From a technical standpoint the use of the term "lime" for calcium and magneshim carbonates is
incorrect, but the term is very commonly used in this way among layiiieii and pedologists alike.
ClieniozGins occupy grasslands with subhumid climate, and Chestnut, Brown,
and Sierozem soils occupy regions with progressively drier climate and scantier
grass cover. Sierozems have little grass and some small shrubs and are in semi-
desert regions. Reddish Chestnut, Reddish Brown, and Red Desert soils sujiport
a greater percentage of shrubs and less grass than the corresponding groups
farther north. True Desert soils have but a scanty growth of perennial shrulDs
and certain scattered drought-resistant grasses.
Desert and Red Desert soils are in the true deserts—the first in temperate
regions and the latter in subtropical and tropical regions. They are usually
calcareous to the surface but more so in substrata. Winds remove finer parti-
cles from surface horizons and leave a protective desert-pavement cover of small
and large rock fragments. In many of the Desert soils the lime accumulation
takes the form of hard concretions "or stony formations (caliche) and attains a
thickness of many feet in places. Physiographic evidence indicates that some
of these lime hardpans or crusts were formed in poorly drained depressions tens
of thousands of years ago and have become well-drained during a geologically
recent cycle of erosion.
According to Nikiforoff\s hypothesis (281) ^ the reddish heavy subsoil of Red
Desert soils is due to weathering of minerals in deeper horizons under the influ-
ence of moisture which percolates downward during brief rainy periods. This
assumption might also be made in regard to the heavj'- subsoil horizons of the
Reddish Chestnut and Reddish Brown soils.
Black crusts of iron oxide form protective coatings on rocks and i)ebbles of the
hotter deserts and are known as desert varnish.
The calcification process not only connotes the accumulation of lime in the
soil but also the adsorption of calcium ions by the colloids. (See General Chem-
istry of the Soil, p. 911.) Grasses and other plants requiring relatively large
amounts of bases, particularly of calcium, bring these bases to the surface and,
through decay, replenish the losses of leaching. For this reason the surface
soils are seldom strongly acid—usually approximately neutral—and may be
even faintly alkaline. When colloids are high in calcium (and to a less extent
in magnesium) the reaction will usually range from slightly acid to slightly
alkaline, and there will be an abundance of calcium available for crops. Brown
Forest soils presumably owe their lack of cluviation and illuviation to this
kind of calcification and are limited to areas with a forest vegetation having
a particularly high content of bases in its leaves. Rendzinas are also calci-
fied but, in spite of calcareous parent material, do not always contain free car-
bonate of lime.
Prairie Soils and Degraded Chernozem
Under a somewhat higher rate of rainfall than is characteristic of lime-accumu-
lation soils (Pedocals) the mean flow of water through the profile may be sufficient
to produce, under abundant grass cover, a soil profile containing no calcium
carbonate accumulation and yet with a high degree of base saturation. Such
soils may have some free lime in the parent material. They are the most fertile
and productive of the Corn Belt. They exist over large areas, particularly in
central United States, and are known as Prairie soils. They have profiles similar
to Chernozem and Chestnut soils but do not have any lime accumulation. There
is no sharp division in areas or profile characteristics between the soils having a
zone of calcium carbonate accumulation and the Prairie soils, which have none.
The colloids of Prairie soils are usually high in calcium even though no free lime
is present. Furthermore, as rainfall increases and grassland gives way to forests,
the calcified soils merge into the Gray-Brown Podzolic, the Red and Yellow
Podzolic, and other soils cliaracteristic of forested regions. The northern Prairie
and Chernozem soils merge with tlie Podzols in cooler regions. Reddish Prairie
soils contain less organic material than Prairie soils and occur in warmer climates.
They grade into Reddish Chestnut soils on the one hand and into Red and Yellow
Podzolic soils on the other.
When forests invade the Chernozem grasslands ujider tlie influence of changing
climate, podzolization becomes active, and the dark color of i\\c Chernozem begins
to become lighter, especially in the lower part. Upper horizons begin to take on
tlie character of Podzols and Gra.y-Bro\v]i Podzolic soils before the lime horizon is
entirely leached away. These are known as Degraded Chernozems.
The "general effect of moderate rainfall, particularly when accompanied by grass
972 4- Yearbook, 1938
cover, is to produce very fertile soils. Calcified soils are usually exlreuiely ])ro-
ductive if they receive sufFicieiit water for crops. Iweii Desert soils of low orgatric
content produce bountiful crops if irrigated and drained.
Podzolization
Podzols and Brown Podzolic Soils
Podzolization is dominant in areas of high humidity and forest Vegetation and
is one of the most important jjroccsses in the forjuatiou and modificatiou of the:
Pedalfer soils. The process comprises two i.:)hasos. One of these is the accunni-
lation of a peaty mat of organic matter ou the surface and removal of clays and
iron compounds from an upper to a lower layer, with consequent whiteni!ig\3f líie
soil layer immediately beneath the surface organic mattei-. The translocated
materials are partly assorted (fractionated), and différent ingredients aj"e deposited
ill different horizons of the profile. Suspended organic matter is deposited just
below the bleaclied layer, together with a considerable quantity of iron '¿.\u\
aluminum compounds. Iron compounds are deposited next, often to serve as
cementing agents, while clays are carried still deeper by the filtering waters.
There is considerable overlaf) between these horizijns. This i)rocess results in tlio
formation of members of the great group of soils called Podzols. Typical profiles
are iisualh^ found on coarse-textured parent material. Table 2 shows the general
profile characteristics of Podzol soils.
Table 2.—General characteristics of Podzol soil profiles
Horizon ':r]ii('kiioH.s .iJCSCTÎpliOïl
1. AOü 1 inch or more '■Loose loiif Ultcr.

Yi inch or Jiiore . _ - (Feniicîitin^
1. organic mailer.
leaves, twi^;s', a;i(l wmú. Uunúñaá acid
4 \i y± incli or more Dark-gray niixt uro of acid humus and njineral soil. Usu-
ally very lliin and entirely lacking in many places.
h. As HinchtoSOiiicliüsormortí Whitish-gray or pale pinkish-gray, highly leached, acid,
phylliforni (composed of very thin plates or laminae)
vsoil of light or medium texi ure.
6. Bo 2 to 10 inches ])ark coirec-hrown silty or loamy soil containing nnich
organic matter and iron oxides. Somcümes ecmenled.
7. Bi 1 to 10 inches Yellowish-brown or brownish-yellow loam or clay loam
with little organic matter.
8. Bsi Transition and i)arcnt material usually more or less acid
and sandy, but may be somewhat calcareous in places.
The A2 and B2 liorizons arc usually very distinct, but their thickness varies
extremely within short distances. In somo'^placcs there is a thin transition layer
between them. The soils have a low natural fertility but some of them respond
well to fertilization.
Under certain local variations in soil climate and where soils have been disturbed
within a relatively short time, the whitish A horizon is entirely lacking, and the
dark brown B2 horizon, somewhat hghtened in color by admixture wuth the A2
horizon, appears directly under the A) horizon. The name Brown Podzolic soils ^^
is proposed for this group. Gloucester series soils arc excellent representatives of
this group, while Hermon soils, developed on the same kind of materials, are good
representatives of the Podzol group.
The organic layer overlying Podzol soils is usually so strongly acid and of such
low base content that bacteria act upon it only very slowly. Fungi usually
dominate the microfiora. It is possible also that in some cases toxic organic
constituents, such as tannic acid, may restrain decomposition. As the acid
organic matter slowly decomposes and a part of it dissolves in the presence of
iron-bearing niinerals, the solution of iron in the ferrous state is promoted. Water
carrying such compounds in solution or in a state of dispersion may also carry
other organic material or dispersed inorganic soil colloids. As this wâter perco-
lates through the profile it often encounters soil layers less acid than the surface,
and oxidation more readily takes place, rendering the iron less soluble. Such
^1 See Soil'Classification, p. 979.
material as may be precipitated mider tlie slightly changed conditions serves as a
filter mat to remove still more material from the percolating waters. This may
account for the liigh sesquioxide and organic matter content of the upper portion
of tlie B liorizons of many Podzols. The total clay content of this horizon is not
usually high, l)ut it is usually composed of a high percentage of aluminum and
iron hydroxides and a verj^ low content of silica. Surprisingly large quantities of
highly dispersed organic matter are fi-equently found in the C horizons of such
soils.
It is possible for the removal of fine material to take place without much
fraetionatioTi (partial assortment), and this results in the development of a grayish-
brown, whitish, or gray layer in the upper part of the mineral soil without the for-
mation of a yovy dark brown B2 horizon. Sucli a process is also called podzoliza-
tion, but it does not produce profiles in all respects characteristic of the Podzols.
The tendency to fractionation may also be evident without being sufficiently
effective to produce typical Podzols. In consequence we have podzolizatioîi, as a
process, operating to produce modifications in soils of several broad gi'oups
wherever sufficient rainfall occurs to produce percolation of water through soil
CO vered with acid organic matter. Podzolization is efi'ective under both coniferous
and hardwood forests and hi temperate and tropical climates.
Gray-Brown Podzolic Soils
Gray-Brown Podzolic soils of forested humid temperate regions have certain
features in common with the typical Podzols, but the profile horizons are less
clearly defined. They have a surface covering of leaf litter, usually of deciduous
trees; a dark, thin, mild (only slightly or moderately acid) liiuniis, somewhat
mixed with mineral soil; a grayish-brown, crumb-structured loamy Aj horizon
and a light grayish-brown or grayish-yellow loamy A2 horizon; a moderately
heavy, nut-structured, yellowish-brown, brown, brownish-yellow, or reddish-
l)rown B horizon, becoming lighter-colored with depth. The total depth of the
solum varies considerably but seldom exceeds 4 feet. 12
Parent materials of Gray-Brown Podzolic soils cover a wide range of weathered
rocks and minerals, and their character has an important bearing on their ultimate
agricultural producti\'ity. Perhaps half of the region of Gray-I^rown Podzolic
soils in the Uiiited States was formerly covered by glaciers, and these materials
are variable in com])osition. Miami soils of Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, and
Wisconsin and Honeoyc soils of New York are among the best-known of tlie Gray-
Brown Podzolic soils derived from glacial till, while tlio Chester and Sassafras soils
of the northern Piedmont and the Coastal Plain, respectively, ^vell represent the
unglaciated members.
llic Red and Yellow soils of warm regions, and even Latérites, also are su})ject
to the podzolization process, but the decomposition, of organic matter is still more
rapidly accomplished and the leaching of bases is more conjpletc than in Gray-
Brown Podzolic soils. The fractionation of the colloid is still less marked tlian
in either the Podzols or Gray-Brown Podzolic soils. That is to say, the chemical
comj)osition of the mineral colloids of all horizons does not vary greatl3^ The
s-urfacc horizons may, however, be as completely bleached as the bleached horizons
of typical Podzols. In fact, this is very commonly the case, even in the soils of
tro])ical regions, provided tliC parent material contains at least a moderate content
of quartz sand and silt.
Laterization
The soil-forming process called laterization is essentially the progressive hydrol-
ysis of rock minerals, and its full development results in their conversion to'^silicic
acid, aluminum hydroxide, and iron hydroxide or tluîr more or less com])lete
dehydration products—the Latérites. Sijice in general silica is more rapidly
removed by solution than are iron oxide and alumina, a fully developed Latérite
nuiy consist of only aluminum and iroîi hydroxides, although the process is
normally not complete in any soil. The ultimate decomposition products contain
very little ¡acidic material; and, consequently, have little base-holding capacity.
The Latérites are normally very deficient in plant nutrients and can onl}^ be used
12 For further details seo Baldwin (£-?), IMarhut {24.0), Kellogg {Uß), and UALDWIN, MAKK, SOME
CIIARACTEKISTIC SOIL TROFILES IN THE NOJITH CEXTllAL STATES. AiriCF. Soil kSlirVCy ASSOO. Bllll. 7: 122-132.
192G. [Mimeographed.]
for the production of agriciiitiiral products by ñ'equontly repeated applications of
fertilizers, the phospliate portion of which is rapidly rendered unavailable. On
the other hand, since hi^h temperature and. high humidity favor plant production
and also hasten laterization, Latérites and lateritic soils are ofteii productive whi^n
fertilized or when conditions favor the accunuilation of nnich organic matter on
tlie surface. The fertility resuitiTig from the latter conih'tion rapidly disappeai-s
under cultivation.
Laterization, iii its strictest sense, is a process of soil-material development—a
process of rock weathering resulting in the formation of lateritic clays on wliich
the podzolization process acts to form podzolic lêd and Yellow soils characteristic
of humid warm-temperature and tropical regions. Lateritic clays are basically
red, with reticulate mottlings of red and light gray, buff or whitish; but some (if
them, wehere drainage conditions have alwaj^s been nearly perfect^ are a fairly
uniform red color. They are usually thick and may reach a depth of as much as
100 feet in places where weathering has been active for many thousands of yeai-s.
They develop from many diiïerent kinds of rock materials, including dark-cc)lüred
fine-grained igneous rocks, granites, shales and loamy sandstones, arkose, and
limestone residuum.
Soils derived from latei'itic materials usually are more or less podzolized, espe-
cially if they contain moderate or high proportions of quartz sand or silt. lied
Podzolic soils, of which there are many in the southeastern United States and íTI
the West Indies, have up to an inch or two of leaf Jitter on the suj'face, with
matlike develo]:)ment in places; a gray or dark brownish-gray humified mineral
soil (Al) up to 2 or 3 inches thick, a yellowish-gray, or fight pinkish-gray more or
less sandy A2 horizon several inches thick; a red or brownish-red granular-struc-
tured clay B horizon, 1 to 3 feet thick, and reticulately mottled lateritic parent
material, already described.
Yellow Podzolic soils develop under more humid soil conditions than the Kcd
Podzolic soils, either because of impaired drainage or because of a higher atmos-
pheric humidity, coupled with a high rainfall. The A2 horizon is grayer and
deeper in many places than, that of the Red Podzolic soils and the upper B horizon
is pale yellow instead of red. The lateritic parent material usually has a higher
proportion of yellow in the color pattern.
Some Bed and Yellow Podzofic soils are only slightly acid in i-eaction, while
others arc very strongly acid.
Latente is supposedly the ultimate product of lateritic weatliei'ing, but tliis
theory has not been proved conclusively. In many places it seems probable tliat
kaolinlikc (halloysitic or kaolinitic)^-^ clays, with a silica-alumina molecular ratio
of 2, are the ultimate stable product. The Latérite originally described by
Buchanan {:d96) in India is a reticulately mottled, red, buff, and whitish clay from
which some of the lighter-colored clays have been removed, leaving a niorc or
less cellular structure. These clays harden into rock on exposure to the air.
They are composed very largely of the hydroxides of aluminum and iron.
The ferruginous (high-iron) Latérites of Cuba and Puerto Rico (Nipe series)
and of the Hawaiian Islands arc uniformly dark brownish red in color, granular
in structure and porous in constitution. They contain higher percentages of
iron than normal Latérites. There are occasional seams of ceUular ironstone in
them and many shiny black iron-njanganese concretions. These soils absorb
water very readily, with little or no swelling, and can be plowed innnediately after
heavy rains. They have extremely low natural fertility and are subject to drought.
True Latérites seem to have been developed under tropical conditions with altc^r-
nating seasons of high rainfall and drought. They have been found in Puerto
Rico and the Hawaiian Islarids but arc not known in the I'nited States.
Soils in wdiicli th.e laterization process has become markedly evident but has
not reached completion are known as lateritic soils. Their best-known represen-
tatives in the United States are the Red and Yellow soils of the humid Soutii
and Southeast, and they are very important in the West Indies. Most of them
have been modified by podzolization. These soils are characterized by a colloidal
fraction whose molecular ratio of silica to alumina is approximately 2. Material
of this composition is very inert, having properties in common with those of the
commercial clays known as kaolin or china clay. Such soil colloids so}nei..imes
have a submicroscopic crystalline structure characteristic of the clay minerals
known as halloysitc and kaolinite.
13 Kaolin is common china clay, used for making cliinaware. This clay contains 2 molecules of silica
(SIO2) for each molecule of alunilnti (AbOa).
Formation of Soil ^ 91S
lu most areas wlicrc Latérites or lateritic soils are dominant, there usually exist
areas of less strongly developed soils in which, by reason of rapid erosion, or of
deposition of alluvium or volcanic ash, fresh minerals are exposed to decomposi-
tion. Under such conditions, even in tropical areas of high humidity, a very
complex mixture of soil types may be found.
Formation of Peat and Poorly Drained Soils (Gleization)
\yhen soil parent material is nearly impervious to water or is so located topo-
graphically that water stands continually at or slightly above the surface, the plant
growth, as it perishes seasonally, builds up a body of organic material known as
peat. Peat deposits in bogs are particularly abundant in cool, moist climates
where conditions arc favorable for the growth of sphagnum and other mosses, l)ut
they also occur in warm-temperate and tropical regions and are sometimes cojn-
posed largely of wood, grasses, or reed remains. Great peat deposits are found
in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and Puerto Rico, as well as in the northern
tier of States. Muck is peat in a more advanced stage of decomposition and
usually has a greater mineral content. It is usually black or very dark brown in
color, and some varieties produce high crop yields. Peat and muck are known
collectiveh^ as Bog soils.
Under alternating wet and moist conditions iron compounds are reduced to
soluble forms and the solubilities of calcium, magnesium, and manganese are in-
creased. The usual effect is to produce a gray or bluish layer in deep soil horizons
and mottling of yellow, brown, and gray streaks along cracks and root channels
of ui)per horizons. In sandy material there may be produced soils which closely
resemble Podzols in general character. These are known as Gromid-Water
Podzols, and in many places they have a hardpan of organic matter or ironstone
at the mean level of the ground water. The process results in the formation of
a wide variety of soil types intermediate between peat and Ground-Water Podzols.
These include Wiesenböden (Meadow), Half Bog, and various Planosols, as well as
Tundra and Alpine Meadow soils. Most impcrfectlj^ and i:)Oürly drained soils
have more or less strongly developed profiles differing, as already indicated, from
the normal soils of their regions. Tlio bluish or greenish waterlogged horizons
arc sometimes called glei or gley, and the process by which they arc formed is
sometimes called gleization. In tropical regions poorly drained Ground-Water
Latérites are developed under fluctuating wet and dry conditions. They are
especially common on nearly flat areas.
Imperfectly drained sofls in which tlie ground water is constantly draining away
tend to become gray instead of bluish or greenish in deep substrata, and these soils
in many places are better suited to cultivation when drained. This horizontal
leaching and eluviation may be regarded as a phase of podzolization. The pod-
zolized rice paddy soils of China are excellent examples of the combined effects of
gleization and ground-water podzolization. Usually it does not paj^ to drain very
strongly acid wet soils for cultivation, but those containing any appreciable per-
centage of lime are often quite i^roductive when drained. Rice will usually pro-
duce well, if fertilized, on soils having a very wide range of acidity, but yields are
likely to be low if bluish or greenish horizons (true gley) closely approach the
surface.
Salinization, Desalinization, Alkalization, Dealkalization

Salinization
Salinization is the i)rocess of accumulation of various kinds of salts in the soil,
including sodium chloride, sulphate, bicarbonate and carbonate, calcium sulpliate
(gypsum), and chloride; and sometimes magnesium sulphate and chloride or
potash salts also may })e present. Wlien these various kinds of salts occur in
appreciable quantities in the soil they are iôpularly known as alkali. White
alkali is composed of one or all of tlie salts listed except sodium carbonate. Sod-
ium and potassium carbonate are known as black ¿ilkali because tliey dissolve and
disperse the organic matter which diffuses tlnx)Ugh the soil and colors it dark
brown or black. I'he presence of sodium carbonate also tonds to strongly disperse
the inorganic colloidal material when water is present. As this disi)ersed mass of
organic and inorganic juaterials dries, it forms a jelh^ and later a structureless
impervious mass. It serves as a higlily effective ccnicnting agent when mixed
with the coarser soil grains. Saliiiization can occur on practically any kind of
soil and gives rise to the development of saline soils—sometimes called Solonchak.
Saline soils are most common in imperfectly or poorly drained areas of semiarid
and arid regions in depressions and in seepy spots. They are fairly common in
old lake bottoms in these regions and on low alluvial deposits along seacoasts, even
in humid regions. The salts are concentrated from the decomposition products of
rocks that may contain only small quantities of such constituents as chlorine and
sulphur, together with more abundant quantities of the basic elements sodium
and calcium.
Salts usually accumulate in the soil by the evaporation of slightly saline capil-
lary water or by the evaporation of salt water from the surface, as along the
borders of salt lakes. In some cases salts are deposited in the subsoils—some-
times several feet underground. This is because the capillary movement is not
usually very active more than 6 or 8 feet above the surface of ground water and
evaporation takes place in the soil air. In some cases the very coarse texture of
the soil prevents capillary water movement and evaporation takes place in the
pores of the soil.
There are many different comV)inations of salts of various kinds in saline soils.
In many of them sodium chloride is the chief salt, with only very small pro-
portions of others. In others sodium sulphate, sodium carbonate, or some of the
salts of calcium and magnesium may dominate, or the salts may be a mixture of
approximately equal quantities of each. In some cases complex double or triple
salts, such as hanksite—a compound containing sodium sulphate, sodium car-
bonate, and potassium chloride in definite proportions—may be present. If the
salts are composed almost entirely of compounds of sodium, with possibly some
potassium and other salts in lesser quantities, there is a tendency for the soil
colloids to approach saturation with sodium and for the soil to become a sodium
Solonchak. With a more abundant wâter supply these soils develop into alkali-
claypan types sometimes called Solonetz. On the other hand, if alkaline-earth
salts, such as calcium sulphate and chloride, are present in large quantities there
is a tendency for the soil to change over into one of the normal zonal types such
as Chernozem, if and when the salts are removed under improved drainage
conditions.
Saturation of soil with sodium salts results in large amounts of sodium being
absorbed by the colloidal clay. When such clays are leached by fresh water and
the excess salts removed, hydrolysis of the sodium clay results in the formation
of sodium hydroxide and later carbonate which causes individual clay particles
to separate from one another when sufficient water is present; to form a jellylike
mass. This is know^n as deflocculation and is a very common phenomenon lead-
ing to bad physical condition in soils after the greater part of the salts has been
leached away.
Vegetation on saline soils is usually rather sparse and of specialized types,
particularly if the percentage of salt is high. When there is more than 0.2 per-
cent of the ''wählte salts," most economic crop plants will be injured, and certain
specialized types of vegetation will begin to appear. Very few agricultural
crops wîll produce well when there is more than 0.5 percent of salts, but the salt-
loving vegetation will be fairly abundant on such soils. These salt-loving plants
are known as halophytes. There are also some plants which grow well on saline
soils but almost equally wxU on normal nonsaline soils. These are described as
being salt-tolerant. Surface soils with more than 3 percent of salts seldom
produce plants of any kind except deep-rooted varieties that were established
before the accumulation of salt took place and have been able to extend their
roots to deep levels where salt concentrations are not so great. Aside from the
actual concentration of soluble salt present, sodium carbonate tends to produce
such a strongly alkaline condition (high pH) of the soil solution that few plants
can survive when more than a few tenths of 1 percent of this constituent is present.
Desalinization and Alkalization
Theories concernmg these processes are many, and at present it is not known
with certainty which are correct and which are wrong. The following theory is
most commonly accepted, in whole or in part, by pedologists: When drainage
conditions on saline soils are improved and when they are irrigated or receive
fresh water from some other source, the salts are gradually dissolved and leached
away. As long as there is an abundance of salts in the soil the colloidal clay
materials arc held more or less aggregated, and the soils are usually sufriciently
porous for water to pass through rather readily. So long as suiïicient'^salts remain,
this structure is maintained, and the sodium-saturated colloids are not able to
hydrolyze. If there is an abundance of calcium in the soil in the form of soluble
salts or as finely divided lime the condition of good percolation is maintained,
and the soil gradually changes over to one of the zonal types, such as Chestnut
or Chernozem. If, on the other hand, the calcium content is low and the sodium
content high, the sodium clays will hydrolyze to form free sodium hydroxide as
soon as the greater part of the salts has been removed. This results in the deiloc-
culation of the colloidal particles, and the soil becomes sticky, jellylike, and
impenetrable to water, thus restraining the further improvement of such soils or
actually rendering them unprod\ictive even though the soluble salt content may
be below the percentage limit normally toxic. The soil solution becomes very
strongly alkaline, and very few plants can survive under these conditions. Accom-
panying the deflocculation of the clays, organic matter is dispersed and colors the
entire soil mass dark brown or black. In this stage the soil is popularly known
as black alkali. Some sodium carbonate is formed through the reaction between
sodium hydroxide and carbon dioxide of the air.
Following the deiiocculation of the clays, there is a tendency for them to migrate
downward through the soil and to collect in slightly lower levels, leaving a coarser-
textured material at the surface as a very thin coat. The soil in this stage of
development is sometimes described as an alkali-claypan type. The clay horizon
is extremely heavy and plastic when wet and very hard and columnar or prismatic
in structure when dry even though the percentage of clay may not be very high.
The columns or prisms tend to become roimded at the top, and the gradual hori-
zontal movement of water over them during wet weather tends to cause the
development of a white or light-gray leached silty layer from which organic and
mineral colloids have been removed by the water. Among pedologists these
alkali-claypan soils are known as Solonetz, a term which has been adopted directly
from the Russian.i'^ The process is known as solonization among some pedologists.
The typical Solonetz has many points in common with the claypan soils
(Planosols) of the Gray-Brown Podzolic soil region and with those of the Red
and Yellow Podzolic soil region as well. They may be compared, for instance,
with the Crosby soils of Ohio, Indiana, and neighboring States. The Crosby
soils have claypans which do not, however, have well-defined columnar structure
in the subsoil, but there is an accumulation of grayish silty material in the lower
part of the A horizon. The Crosby soils are acid to a considerable depth and
differ in most other respects from the Solonetz.
Many objections have been raised to this theory because a number of Solonetz
soils examined have contained a rather high content of absorbed calcium, and in
some cases of magnesium. This seems to be in conflict with the theory inasmuch
as high calcium content is supposed to prevent the deflocculation of the colloidal
material of soils. Some hold the theory that magnesium has an effect similar to
that of sodium, so that there might be magnesium Solonetz as well as sodium Solo-
netz. Others believe that the magnesium ion has an effect similar to that of
calcium and should, therefore, tend to keep the soil in a more or less granular
condition and prevent deflocculation. Up to the present time no one has satis-
factorily proved the theory of the formation of Solonetz. It is obvious from the
facts available that the soils cannot be strictly defined in chemical terms, especially
in regard to the base-exchange complex. It seems obvious that the definition of
SoloTietz should be a morphological OTie and should apply to soils having the
characteristics described above. It was on this basis that it was originally do-
scribed, and the morphological characteristics are far more important to the farm-
er, to the road builder, and to the soil surveyor than slight chemical differences.
Where Solonctz soils occur in imperfectly drained positions it is reasonable to
suppose that there may be some variation in the absorbed ions from one season
to another. When the water table is high and the weather dry, moderately large
quantities of salts will be brought up from the subsoil and deposited in upper
horizons. These salts may be rich in sodium or potassium, or they may contain
1* Although the term Solonctz htis long been used in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, there ai)pears
to be some confusion even there regarding a satisfactory definition for this group of soils. In the usage of
the term sometimes a, chemical definition is implied, and sometimes the definition appears to rest more
specifically on morphological characteristics. It is not surprising, therefore, that some confusion regarding
the use of this term has occurred in some of the Western States where Solonetz or Solonelzlikc soils occur.
There is particular need for further chemical and morphological work on this group of soils occurring in
widely scattered localities, in order that chemical character and morphological features may bo correlated.
59183°—38 63
more or less magnesium and calcimn. Their content will doubtless have some
bearing on tlie character of the absorption complex. During protracted rainy
periods, an abundance of fresh water will tend to remove part of the salts, and it is
easy to imagine that some of the salts would be removed more rapidly tlian others
according to their solubilities and according to the strength with which some ions
are lield by the soil colloids.
Solonetz soils are most abundant in semiarid regions where they receive light
accumulations of wind-blown calcareous dust from drier regions. Is it unreason-
able to suppose that the calcareous dusts thus accumulated may, in the long run,
result in an exchange of ions in Solonetz soil, the vsodium being replaced by cal-
cium after a long period of exposure to these conditions? Obviously the whole
problem is still very much in a state of flux, and it may be necessary to'make many
chemical analyses of samples taken from the same spots under different weather
conditions and from widely separated areas and under considerablj^ varying
chmatic conditions before the details of their genesis arc discovered.
It is well known that Solonetz soils begin to form where saline soils, high in
sodium salts and low in calcium salts, are irrigated and drained. For this reason
it is unwise to initiate irrigation projects on saline soils unless there is a high
content of lime, gypsum, or other calcium salt in the soil, or unless these are added
at the time irrigation is undertaken or are present in the irrigation water.
Dealkalization
When drainage is improved on Solonetz soils dealkalization takes place and the
excess sodium carbonate and a great deal of the absorbed sodium is gradually
removed. ITnder these conditions the whitisli silty layer, characteristic of the Ä2
horizon of Solonetz, becomes gradually thicker. It follows the cracks between
the colmnns to considerable depths, the tops of the columns arc gradually bleached,
and the collodial clays removed to lower depths. Eventually the upper layers
become moderately or strongly acid in reaction, even though parent materials
and lower B liorizons may remain neutral or alkaline. The soil formed by the
dealkalization process might be called dealkalized-claypan soil. It is commonly^
known among pedologists as Soloth, another word taken directly from the
Russian.
Theoretically Soloth soils gradually change to normal soils of the region in
which they occur after the normal vegetation has been able to establish itself on
them. For instance in a region of Chernozems grasses spread to the Soloth
soils, and their roots penetrate deeply to layers rich in lime; and calcium, brought
to the upper horizons in the roots and in the leaves of the grass, is deposited in the
soil. Calcium combined with the organic matter is in a relatively insoluble form
and aids in the aggregation of the fine soil material. In this form it cannot
easily ])e removed in solution or colloidal suspension; thus the light-colored Soloth
soil gradually becomes darker and darker until it develops into a true Chernozem.
Undoubtedly this process will take a very long time if it actually takes place.
In a similar manner, Soloth soils are supposed to change gradually to Chestnut
and Brown soils in regions characterized by these types. To what extent theory
and fact correspond in these res])ects is not fully known. The process by which
Soloth is formed is sometimes known as solodization.
Transitional Soils
It is not possible to pigeonhole every saline and alkali-affected soil neatly into
the grou})s just discussed. There are many transitional stages between each of
them individually and between all of them and the zonal soils with which they arc
associated. Soils of this general group have a wide variety of common names
among farmers. They arc known, for instance, as scab spots, slick spots, buffalo
wallows, and by many similar names.

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Formation of Soil: Byers, Charles E. Kellogg, M. S. Anderson, James Thori

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IN THE hegtnning there is parent rock, inert and dead.

What kÍ7ids of rock

Secondary Physical Weathering

LIVING ORGANISMS AS A FACTOR IN

Table 1.—Chemical composition of fungous and bacterial residues

Percent Percent Percent Percent Percent Percent

they have no bad effect on crops. On concave or flat surfaces, where

Table 2.—General characteristics of Podzol soil profiles

Horizon ':r]ii('kiioH.s .iJCSCTÎpliOïl

1. AOü 1 inch or more '■Loose loiif Ultcr.

Salinization, Desalinization, Alkalization, Dealkalization

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