Mar 19, 2025 · Soil, the biologically active, porous medium that has developed in the uppermost layer of Earth’s crust. It is one of the principal substrata of life on Earth, serving as a reservoir of water and nutrients, as a medium for the filtration and breakdown of wastes, and as a participant in the cycling of elements.

Feb 21, 2025 · horizon, a distinct layer of soil, approximately parallel with the land surface, whose properties develop from the combined actions of living organisms and percolating water. Because these actions can vary in their effects with increasing depth, it is often the case that more than one horizon exists beneath the surface of any soil area, at ...

Mar 19, 2025 · Soils have a unique structural characteristic that distinguishes them from mere earth materials: a vertical sequence of layers produced by the combined actions of percolating waters and living organisms.

Mar 19, 2025 · The evolution of soils and their properties is called soil formation, and pedologists have identified five fundamental soil formation processes that influence soil properties. These five “state factors” are parent material, topography , climate , organisms, and time.

Mar 19, 2025 · Central to both systems is the notion of diagnostic horizons, well-defined soil layers whose structure and origin may be correlated to soil-forming processes and can be used to distinguish among soil units at the highest level of classification (see the table of primary diagnostic horizons).

Soil is not as solid as rock. It has many small spaces, called pores, that hold water and air. In some places on Earth, a thin layer of soil only 6 inches (15 centimeters) thick lies on top of rock. In other places, though, soil may be hundreds of feet deep.

Mar 19, 2025 · Soil - Structure, Composition, Properties: The grain size of soil particles and the aggregate structures they form affect the ability of a soil to transport and retain water, air, and nutrients.

leaching, in geology, loss of soluble substances and colloids from the top layer of soil by percolating precipitation. The materials lost are carried downward (eluviated) and are generally redeposited (illuviated) in a lower layer.

Bedrock, deposit of solid rock that is typically buried beneath soil and other broken or unconsolidated material (regolith). Bedrock is made up of igneous, sedimentary, or metamorphic rock, and it often serves as the parent material (the source of rock and mineral fragments) for regolith and soil.

Mar 24, 2025 · New York - Soil Types, Climate, Geology: New York soils can be grouped into categories based on their parent material. One of the most productive groups is found in regions of lime-rich glacial till. Where drainage is good and the terrain not too steep, these soils are excellent for agriculture.