Soil Science 22

Laboratory Exercise No. 1

SOIL PROFILE EXAMINATION

Name: Date Conducted: 03-14-23

Lab. Section: C123 Date Submitted: 03-21-23
Lab. Instructor: Rating:

INTRODUCTION:
The vertical portion of soil that extends from the ground surface to the point where it
meets the underlying rock is known as the soil profile. The soil profile layers can be easily
identified by the texture and color of the soil. The topmost layer of the Earth’s crust is the
soil. The most important layer is made up of diverse organic minerals and small pieces of
rock. Plants may develop and survive supported by these crustal layers of the Earth. When
soil is created, it settles into several vertical levels. Each layer is composed differently. They
differ in terms of color, texture, and chemical composition. These layers describe the soil
profile.
Weathering is the process by which soil is created. Continuous physical and chemical
deterioration of rocks is a phenomena known as weathering. Many forces, including wind,
water, and climate, can accomplish this. Because of the five main characteristics of climate,
parent rock, landscape, organisms, and time, the soil generated differs from one another.
These lead us to the various kinds of soil. The soil is divided into the following: Topsoil,
Subsoil, and Parent Rock. The capital letters O, A, B, C, and E have been found to be an
intriguing method by soil scientists (also known as pedologists) to establish the soil profile
model. The aforementioned layers are all distinct from one another and have various
qualities. The soil profile diagram shows the three major surfaces of the soil consisting of A,
B, and C, which are the surface horizon, the subsoil, and the substratum. Soil profile consists
of an organic mineral coat at the surface (O). This surface provides the soil with all the
natural minerals.
OBJECTIVES:

1. Differentiate soil horizons based on field features.

2. Determine the soil color using Munsell Color Book, soil texture by feel method for each of
the samples, soil pH using pH test strips, and soil structure.

METHODOLOGY:

The class visited an upland and lowland area inside the campus. The instructor
demonstrated how the site characteristics and the soil profile was evaluated and described.
The said site characteristics are; Location, Landform, Topographic position, Vegetation, Land
use, Parent material, Drainage, and Climate.

To Differentiate the layers, the instructor marked the boundaries between horizons
using sticks and measured their depths by starting from the surface, measurement starts with
0-10 cm. The class also carefully observed the variations of colors, textures ,the sizes and
abundance of roots in every soil horizons.

Figure 1. soil Figure 2. soil pH Figure 1. soil color

texture using feel using pH test strips using Munsell Color
method Book
RESULTS AND DISCUSION

Soil profile No. 1 (Upland) Soil profile No. 2 (Lowland)

Site Characteristics Site Characteristics

Location: Back of DPM Location: DSS shed house

Landform: Volcanic Hill Landform: Alluvial
Topographic position: Foot slope Topographic position: Toe slope
Vegetation and Land Use: Forest Vegetation and Land Use:
Bananas and Gabi
Parent Material: Volcanic rock Parent Material: Alluvium
deposit
Drainage: Poorly drain Drainage: Poorly drain
Table 1. Soil profile No. 1 (Upland)

Horizon Depth Color Texture Structure pH Size and

(cm) Abundance
of roots
Ah 0-25cm 5YR 3/3 Clayey Granular 4pH, Acidic Fine & few
(dark reddish
brown)
AB 25- 35cm 5YR 3/4 Clayey Sub- angular 4pH, Acidic Meduim &
(dark reddish blocky few
brown)
BC1 35-60cm 5YR 4/6 Clayey Sub- angular 3pH, Acidic Meduim &
(yellowish blocky very few
red)
BC2 60-88cm 5YR 4/6 Clayey Sub- angular 4pH, Acidic Meduim &
(yellowish blocky few
red)
C 88-100cm 5YR 4/4 Clayey Sub- angular 3pH, Acidic No roots
(reddish blocky
brown)

Table 2. Soil profile No. 2 (Lowland)

 Horizon Depth Color Texture Structure pH Size and
(cm) Abundance
of roots
Ap 0-17cm 5YR4/4 Sandy Granular 4pH, Acidic Very fine &
(reddish
common
brown)
BW1 17-45cm 5YR 4/6 Sandy Sub- angular 3pH, Acidic Very fine &
(yelowish blocky very few
red)
BW2 45-70cm 5YR 3/2 Sandy Sub- angular 4pH, Acidic No roots
(dark blocky
brown)
BW3 70-100cm 5YR 4/2 Sandy Sub- angular 4pH, Acidic No roots
(brown) blocky

Figure 4. Soil profile of Upland Figure 5. Soil profile of Lowland

The first soil profile that we examine was the Soil in Upland , which located at the
back of Department of Pest Management, besides the famous stairs that known as the stair
way to heaven. The landform is Volcanic hill, the topographic position is foot-slope, the
location of upland soil profile has many tress, the vegetation and land use is Forest, the parent
material of soil in upland are Volcanic rocks. The type of rocks that VSU have are basalt and
andesite both are sedimentary rocks. The drainage is poorly drained. Good drainage starts
with good soil structure, because well-structured soils contain enough pores—the gaps
between soil particles—to allow air and water to flow freely. Soils with a high proportion of
clay contain smaller pore spaces that release water very slowly, so clay-heavy soils are often
dense and wet. We observed that there are some holes in the soil, it means that the soil is
healthy and probably many microorganisms survived in the soil.
After examining the upland soil, we proceed to the lowland soil which located at the
Department of Soil Science Shed house. The landform is alluvial, Topographic position is toe
slope, there are bananas and some gabies around the area, the parent material is alluvium
deposit, and it is poorly drained. The structure of the soil is sandy, that only grasses can
survive. The soil’s lack of many micro nutrients , because the abundance of roots are very
fine and common and it is the roots that came from the grasses. Even the farmers say that it is
not good for some vegetation.
The visited upland soil only has A, B and C horizon. There are five horizon in all, the
Ah (humus A for natural soils) , AB the transition horizon, BC1 and BC2 sacrolyte horizon ,
and the last horizon which the C horizon ( weathered rock). the common color of the soil in
upland are dark reddish brown, yellowish red and reddish brown. While the visited lowland
soil only has A and b horizon. There are four horizon in all, the Ap (plowed) and the BW1,
BW2, and BW3 horizons. There are different color of the soil in every horizons the Ap is
reddish brown , BW1 is yellowish red, BW2 is dark brown and lastly BW3 is brown. We
used the Musell Color Book in determining the soil color. Both upland and lowland soil has
3-4 ph level, Acidic. We used the pH test strips in getting the pH level, though it is less
accurate than the pH meter.

CONCLUSSION:
In conclusion doing the exercise no.1 which is the soil profiling. The difference
between lowland and upland soil profiling. Upland and lowland are both types of land, but
they have key differences that can affect the way a plant grows. Upland soils have more
organic matter and therefore hold water better, which means plants grow taller and vines can
spread farther than on lowland soil. Lowlands are also home to grasses, shrubs, and trees that
cannot grow as tall as those found in uplands.
Soil drainage can also affects organic matter accumulation and preservation, and local
vegetation types. Most uplands are well drained and tend to be more brownish or reddish due
to conversion of ferrous iron to minerals with ferric iron. Poorly drained soils like lowland
tend to be more greyish, greenish-gray (gleyed), or dark colored, due to iron reduction and
accumulation and preservation of organic matter in areas tending towards anoxic.
QUESTIONS TO BE ANSWERED

1. Why do soils differ?

Soils differ to one another due to the relief, or shape of the landscape. For instance,
soils on slopes frequently endure more erosion and are thus shallower than soils on the
summit of a hill. Because of the deposition of the eroded soil from the slope above, the soils
at the bottom of the slope are frequently much deeper.

2. How are differences among soils related to their parent materials and topography?
A combination of elemental composition analysis and geostatistics thus showed that
different elements contributed differently to the overall elemental contents of paddy surface
soils in the alluvial plain depending on the parent material and topography. In conclusion, a
better knowledge of soil formation processes and their potential fertility was made possible
by the examination of the interacting effects of parent material and topography on regional
variability of soil material features.

3. Which of the two soils you have examined is younger? Explain.

Between the upland and lowland soil, lowland has the younger soil.There is no
precise way to measure soil age. Young, mature, or old are frequently used as simple
descriptors. A young soil typically has no B horizon and a thin A horizon. Upland area may
not be older in terms of actual time or years, but in terms of weathering of the minerals
present and amount of horizon development, they are definitely older.

REFERENCES
https://soila16.imascientist.us/question/how-do-you-determine-how-old-soil-is-knowing-the-
different-interactions-it-has-with-time-climate-and-living/
Fanning, D.S. and M.C.B. Fanning. 1989. Soil Morphology, Genesis, and Classification.
John Wiley and Sons, New York.
FAO. 1990. Guidelines for Soil Description. Rome. Soil Survey Staff. 1951. Soil Survey
Manual. USDA, Washington, DC.
Elenbass, P.F. M. 1994. Field and Lab Work in Ecology in Zimbabwe. CDCS, Vrije
Universiteit, Amsterdam