Explain any 5 factors that affects the soil formation
Answers
Answer:
Scientists attribute soil formation to the following factors: Parent material, climate, biota (organisms), topography and time. These factors interact to form more than 1,108 different soil series in Minnesota.......
Answer:
1. Climate is a direct factor in soil formation. It determines how temperature and moisture vary and determines the intensity of the weathering processes. Indirectly, climatic factors also govern vegetation growth at the interface of soil, atmosphere and biosphere.
2. Organisms, including flora and fauna, are not an independent factor in soil formation. Both continuously interact with climate, relief and soil parent material over time. Vegetation delivers organic material for humus formation and a forest regulates the climate of its surrounding.
3. Relief and topography define the micro-climatic conditions under which soil formation takes place, as well as the proximity of soil to the ground water table. Soils on steep, barren terrain are more prone to erosion than those on plains, or on plant-covered surfaces.
4. Parent material in the form of rock and sediment builds the initial substrate for soil formation. It defines a soil’s chemical and mineralogical composition and influences soil texture and structure.
5. Time describes an ongoing factor of soil formation. The intensity and combination of different factors leading to soil formation change over time. Time, therefore, is not always an indicator of the exact age of a soil or the stage of a soil’s development.