Question

On what factor does the formation of the soil depend?what ate the types of soil?s

Answer 1

Factors affecting soil formation

1) The parent rock: The original rock, from which soil is formed by the process of weathering is known as parent rock. For example, the black soil of India is derived from the lava rock.

2) The topography: The location of a soil on a landscape can affect how the climate processes affect it. Variation in the relief, such as mountains, plains, and plateaus determines the thickness of the soil. For example, the northern plains of India have thick soil cover than the Himalayas. Even with mountains, river valleys have thick soil cover.

3) The climate: Climate factors like temperature and rainfall affect soil formation. In the areas of high rainfall and extreme temperature, rocks are easily weathered which affect the soil formation. For example, In Rajasthan, due to the extreme difference in day and night temperatures, rocks expand and contracts, which results in the quick formation of soil. In regions of heavy rainfall, soluble rock material easily get dissolved and washed away by running water. This, it affects soil formation.

4) The vegetation cover: Plants grow in the cracks existing in the rocks. With time, the roots of the plant start penetrating in the cracks and make it wider. As a result, it disintegrates it into smaller pieces and helps in the soil formation.

5) Time: Time gives maturity to the soil. Although, the soil is a renewable resource it takes thousands of years to develop a very thin layer of it on the earth's surface. For example, Nile delta and delta formed by Ganga and Brahmaputra rivers have very deep and fertile soil.

There are many different types of soil.

Different types of soil in India are-

- Alluvial soil

- Red soil

- Black soil

- Arid/desert soil

- Laterite soil

- Forest soil

- Mountain soil