describe how soil is formed
Answers
Soil is the thin layer of material covering the earth's surface and is formed from the weathering of rocks. It is made up mainly of mineral particles, organic materials, air, water and living organisms—all of which interact slowly yet constantly.
Soil consists of a mix of organic material and broken bits of rocks and minerals. This is termed the ‘parent material’- The parent material is the minerals and rocks that are slowly disintegrating to form the soil.
Soil is formed over a long period of time by a number of factors. Soil formation is a long slow process. It's estimated that an inch of soil takes 500 to 1000 years to form.
At Stage One ,This is the rock pulverizing stage. Here the forces of wind, rain, freezing and thawing water, earthquakes, volcanos all work to slowly pulverize rocks into smaller partcles that can make up a soil.
At Stage Two ,This is the early stage of what we might call soil. Here we add some life, specifically lichens.
At Stage Three ,At this time the little pockets of soil have formed to the extent that some larger plants, plants with roots can have a go at growing.
At final stage, The soils are developed enough to support thick vegetation.