Soil Management
So today I'd want to tell you how
the soil is formed. Soil is a natural body that covers parts of the earth's
surface and provides nutrients for plant growth. The soil is formed
continuously, but slowly and occur when rocks break down due to weathering. Weathering
is a process that might be physical, chemical, or biological in nature. Soil
has the variety properties because of the combined action of climate and
creatures working on the parent material through time. There are three layers
of soil which are topsoil, subsoil, and parent material.
1) Topsoil
The organically enriched A horizon
at the soil surface with a height of 12-25 cm is known as topsoil. It's
also known as the plow layer because contain most plant roots, organic matter,
nutrients, and water are found.
2)Subsoil
The term "subsoil" refers
to the layers beneath the topsoil and below the tillage depth. Because of the
low organic matter level in this stratum, plants require a lot of water.
3) Parent Material
The parent material is The primary
material from which soils are formed
In the a layer
of soil, there is a vertical section through soil that show the profile of soil
that called horizon.There are five master horizons that are recognized using the capital letters O, A, E, B and C
1) O horizon
Organic layer made of fully and partially decayed plant and animal debris
2) A horizon
The surface
mineral layer where organic matter accumulates which called topsoil. It is Darker
than the horizons below and best environment for the growth of plant roots, microorganisms,
and other soil biota
3) E horizon
The horizon
where clay, chemicals and organic matter are greatly leached. This layer
is very light and most soil does not have it.
4) B horizon
This is the horizon where clay, chemicals and organic matter leached from A and E horizons and accumulate to become illuviation. This layer is lower in organic matter content than A horizon, but has more clay
5) C horizon
It has little
effect of soil-forming processes that usually contain the parent material of the soil. It may also include very soft weathered bedrock that roots can
penetrate.
