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Chapter 1

DEFINITION AND COMPOSITION OF SOIL

In the end, we will conserve only what we love. We will love

only what we understand.
And we will understand only what we are taught.
—Baba Dioum, African Conservationist
INTRODUCTION

Soil -
➢ is crucial to life on earth
➢ its quality determines the nature of plant ecosystems and the capacity of land to support
animal life and society
➢ plays a central role in many of today’s environmental challenges
➢ plays a major role in the provision of global ecosystem services

Challenges in the 21st century

1. The population of humans that demand agricultural products will increase by several billion (population
is expected to stabilize later this century at 9 to 10 billion)
2. The amount of soil available to meet these demands will not increase. The resource base is shrinking
because of soil degradation and urbanization.

Ecosystem Services - are the direct and indirect contributions of ecosystems to human well-being

Types of Ecosystem Services

a. Provisioning - providing goods such as water, food, medicines, lumber, etc.
b. Regulating - includes processes that purify water, decompose wastes, control pests, or modify
atmospheric gases
c. Supportive - assisting with nutrient cycling, seed dispersal, primary biomass production, etc.
d. Cultural - providing spiritual uplift, scenic views, and outdoor recreation and opportunities

Six Key Roles of Soil in the Provision of Ecosystem Services

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Six Key Roles of Soil in the Provision of Ecosystem Services

1. Soils support plant growth - by providing habitat for plant roots, nutrient elements, and other needs
for the entire plant.

What does a plant obtain from the soil?

a. Physical support
- soil mass provides physical support
- soil anchors the root system so that the plant does not fall over or blow away

b. Air
- like human respiration, root respiration produces carbon dioxide (CO 2) and uses oxygen
(O2)
- soil provides ventilation (accomplished by the networks of soil pores)
- during root respiration, ventilation maintains the quality and quantity of air by allowing
CO2 to escape and fresh O2 to enter the root zone.

c. Water
- soil pores absorb water and hold it where it can be used by plant roots.
- plant requires a continuous stream of water for cooling, nutrient transport, turgor
maintenance, and photosynthesis.

d. Temperature
- soil moderates temperature fluctuations.
- the insulating properties of soil protect the deeper portion of the root system from extremes of hot and
cold that often occur at the soil surface allowing roots to function normally

e. Protection from toxins - good soil protects plants from toxic substances by decomposing or
absorbing organic toxins or by ventilating gases, decomposing or
suppressing toxin-producing organisms.
f. Nutrient elements
- fertile soil will provide a continuous supply of dissolved mineral nutrients in amounts and
relative proportions appropriate for optimal plant growth
- 17 elements have been shown to be essential elements, i.e., plants cannot grow and
complete their life cycles without them
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Table 1.1 Elements Needed for Plant Growth and Their Sources
Macronutrients: Used in relatively large amounts Micronutrients: Used in relatively
(>0.1% of dry plant tissue) small amounts
(<0.1% of dry plant tissue)
Mostly from air and water Mostly from soil solids From soil solids
chemical chemical chemical chemical chemical chemical forms chemical chemical chemical forms
element symbol forms most element symbol most taken in by element symbol most taken in by
taken in by plants plants
plants
Carbon C (CO2) Cations: Cations:
Hydrogen H (H2O) Calcium Ca Ca2⁺ Copper Cu Cu2⁺
Oxygen O (O2, H2O) Magnesium Mg Mg2⁺ Iron Fe Fe2⁺
Nitrogen N NH4⁺ Manganese Mn Mn2⁺
Potassium K K⁺ Nickel Ni Ni2⁺
Anions: Zinc Zn Zn2⁺
Nitrogen N NO3- Anions:
Phosphorus P H2PO4-, HPO42- Boron B H3BO3, H 4BO4 - ,
Sulfur S SO42- H 2 BO 3 -
Chlorine Cl Cl-
Molybdenum Mo MoO4 2-

2. Soils regulate water supplies.

➢ Every drop of water in our rivers, lakes, estuaries, and aquifers has traveled either through the soil or
flowed over its surface.
➢ If the soil allows the rain to soak in, some of the water will be stored in the soil, some used by the trees,
and some will seep slowly down through the soil layers to the groundwater, eventually entering the river
over a period of months or years as base flow.
➢ Contaminated water is purified and cleansed by soil processes that remove many impurities and kill
potential disease organisms.
➢ If the soil is so shallow or impermeable, water runs off the land surface, scouring surface soil and debris
as it speeds toward the river causing flash floods.

3. Soils function as nature’s recycling system.

➢ Soils play a pivotal role in the major geochemical cycles (N, C, S cycles, etc);
➢ have the capacity to assimilate great quantities of organic waste, turning it into beneficial soil
organic matter;
➢ converting mineral nutrients in the waste to forms that can be utilized by plants and animals;
➢ returning the carbon to the atmosphere as carbon dioxide, where it again will become part of the
living organisms through plant photosynthesis.

4. Soils are home to living creatures

➢ Soil is home to many living organisms from small mammals to microorganisms of unimaginable numbers
and diversity.
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5. Soils influence the composition and physical condition of the atmosphere.

➢ gas exchanges between the soil and the atmosphere have a significant influence on
atmospheric composition and global climate change

Table 1.2 Composition of Soil air and Ordinary air

Soil Air Ordinary Air
Gases
(% by volume) (% by volume)

CO2 0.25 0.03

O2 20.06 20.97

N2 79.2 79.00
*Russell and Appleyard, 1915

Table 1.3 The main differences between soil air and atmospheric air are their compositions and locations.
Soil Air Atmospheric Air
Higher content of carbon dioxide (CO2) Lower content of CO2
Lower content of oxygen (O2) Higher content of O2
Occurs in soil pores Occurs above the Earth's surface
Affects the availability of nutrients for plants Has little impact on soil nutrient availability
and microorganisms
CO2 concentration in soil is usually 8 times CO2 concentration in the atmosphere is
higher than in the atmosphere significantly lower

6. Soil as an engineering medium

➢ building materials
➢ as a good base on which to build roads and all kinds of structures

Reasons why the study of soil will always remain important.

• It is an integral part of our ecosystem, the central component of the terrestrial ecosystems which produces
our basic needs: food, clothing, shelter, and medicine.
• Soil is a very slow renewable resource. Thus, the challenge is to conserve soils, so they are not degraded
or depleted faster than they are renewed.
• A crucial resource as the world population doubles every 40 years on average and while there is land that
could yet be farmed, much is marginal – difficult to use w/o serious environmental side effects. More
areas will be lost to urbanization or degradation due to erosion, etc.
• It forms the spatial dimension for urban development, engineering, and recreation as it lays the foundation
of buildings, other infrastructures, and waste disposal. It provides raw materials, including water,
minerals, and construction materials.
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DEFINITION (and concepts of soil)

Soil - a dynamic natural body resulting from pedogenic processes during and after weathering of
rocks, consisting of mineral and organic constituents, possessing definite chemical, physical,
mineralogical, and biological properties, having a variable depth over the surface of the earth, and
providing a medium for plant growth.

Soil - has various definitions as perceived differently by people from different walks of life. To
the farmer, the soil is the portion of the earth’s surface on which he can plow and grow crops; to the potter,
the soil is the raw material with which he fabricates earthenware and utensils; to the civil engineer, soil
provides the foundation for all construction activity – roads, highways, buildings, runways, etc.; to the
mining engineer, soil is a nuisance, a material he must quarry to get to the precious gems and minerals he
is up to; to most of us, soil is a safe place for burying toxic wastes and organic debris that pose pollution
problems and health hazards. In this course, it will be viewed as cited in paragraph one above.

APPROACHES IN SOIL STUDY

• Pedological – deals with soil genesis and classification; findings are as useful to agriculture
as they are to engineers and other disciplines.
- lays minor emphasis on its immediate practical utilization
- its application includes road construction, building establishment, and dam construction

• Edaphological – studies soils mainly from the standpoint of higher groups of plants.
- considers the various properties of soils as they relate to plant growth
- its goal is the production of food and fiber

BRANCHES OF SOIL SCIENCE

Soil Science - is the study of soil as a natural resource on the surface of the earth, which includes
pedology (soil genesis, classification, and mapping), physical, chemical, biological, and
fertility properties, and the management thereof for crop production.

1. Soil Genesis, Morphology, and Classification (Pedology)

- deals with the mode of origin, structural characteristics, and systematic arrangement of
soils or the weathering of rocks and minerals, factors and processes of soil formation, and
classification of soils in a recognized system.

2. Soil Physics
- it deals with the characteristics, properties, and reactions in the soil which are caused by
physical forces, and which can be described by an equation.

3. Soil Chemistry
- deals with the chemical composition and properties of the soil and the chemical processes
taking place in the soil.

4. Soil Microbiology
- deals with the characterization of the important groups of microorganisms in the soil and their
role in the biophysicochemical changes or biological transformation in the soil.
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5. Soil Mineralogy
- study of the original rocks and minerals that constitute the materials from which soils are
derived and their contribution to the soil’s chemistry, physics, biology, and fertility.

6. Soil Fertility
- study of the status of a soil concerning the form, amount, and availability to plants of
nutrient elements necessary for plant growth.

7. Soil Conservation and Management

- protection of soil against erosion or chemical degradation; fatality of all tillage and cropping
practices, fertilization, liming, etc., conducted on soil for crop production.

8. Soil Technology
- an applied science that deals with the principles and practices of soil erosion and conservation
and management of problem soils, namely saline, sodic (alkali), acid, waterlogged, and other
degraded soils.

9. Soil Survey
- the systematic examination of soils in the field and laboratories, their description and
classification, mapping, and interpretation of soils according to adaptability to various crops, and
their productivity under different management systems.

SOIL COMPOSITION

Four major components of Soils and their ideal proportions:

Solid Matter (SM): Mineral matter (MM) – 45 %; Organic matter (OM)– 5 %
Pore Space (PS): Soil water – 25 %; Soil air – 25 %
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1. Mineral matter (MM; 45% of the total soil volume)

- composed of rock fragments and minerals of various kinds and sizes:

➢ Sand - 0.02-2 mm; feels gritty when rubbed between fingers; not sticky
➢ Silt - 0.002-0.02 mm; feels smooth but not sticky when wet.
➢ Clay - <0.002 mm; form sticky mass when wet and form hard clod when dry.

2. Organic matter (OM; 5%)

- an accumulation of animal and plant remains at various stages of decay; consists of a wide
range of organic (carbonaceous) substances. Over time, organic matter is destroyed by
microbial respiration, and its carbon is lost from the soil as carbon dioxide. Repeated
additions of new plant and/or animal residues are necessary to maintain soil organic matter.

The general groups of organic deposits:

A. The original tissue is decomposed.
➢ Muck – if the organic matter is decomposed to the extent that the source of
vegetation cannot be identified.
➢ Peat– when identifiable remains of the residues are present.
B. Humus - dark, clay-sized substance left after soil organisms have modified the original
organic materials to a rather stable group of decay products, the most resistant product of
decomposition.

3. Soil water (20-30%)

- held within the soil pores with varying degrees of tenacity depending on the amount of water
present.
- makes up the so-called soil solution (dynamic solution) which is important as a medium for
supplying nutrients to growing plants.

An important function of the soil solution is to serve as a constantly replenished, dilute nutrient
solution bringing dissolved nutrient elements to plant roots.
Soil water -
➢ a crucial nutrient for plants
➢ a media for transporting nutrients for plant growth
➢ plays a key role in the soil-forming process, weathering of rocks, and process
of photosynthesis.
➢ controls the exchange of heat and water energy between the atmosphere and land surface

4. Soil air (20-30%)

- the amount and composition of air in a soil are determined to a large degree by the water
content of the soil. When water enters the soil, it displaces air from some of the pores; the air
content of a soil is therefore inversely related to its water content.
➢ Soil air differs from atmospheric air in several respects:
a. the composition of soil air varies greatly from place to place in the soil
b. soil air generally has a higher moisture content than the atmosphere
c. soil air usually contains much higher carbon dioxide (CO2) and lower oxygen (O2)
than the atmosphere

Soil matrix - is the arrangement of solid particles and pore spaces, a three-phase system of solid, liquid,
and gas.
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Table 1.4 Components of Mineral and Organic Soils

Organic soils - soils with more than 20% organic constituents

Mineral soils (OM<20%) - where inorganic constituents dominate

Minerals constitute the main bulk of the solid phase of soil and consist of silicates, both of primary and
secondary origin. Soil may also contain a certain proportion of carbonates, soluble salts, and free oxides of
iron, aluminum, and silicon, in addition to some amorphous silicates.

Elemental Composition of Earth’s Crust

The earth’s crust is about 16 km or 10 miles deep. It is the source of inorganic materials which in turn are
the soil parent materials.

The composition of the earth’s crust was estimated by Clark and Washington (1924) as follows:
1) igneous rock- 95%
2) shale- 4%; sandstone- 0.75%, and limestone- 0.25%.
The most abundant minerals are alumino-silicates which contain Al, O, and Si and their oxides are
dominated by Fe, Al, and Si.

Table 1.5 The average composition of elements in the earth’s crust (Clark and Washington, 1924)

Elements % (by weight) Oxides (%)

O 46.60
Si 27.72 SiO2 59.07
Al 8.13 Al2O3 15.22
Fe 5.00 Fe2O3 3.10
Ca 3.63 CaO 5.10
Na 2.83 Na2O 3.71
K 2.59 K2O 3.11
Mg 2.09 MgO 3.45
Ti 0.60 TiO 1.03
P 0.10 P2O5 0.30
Mn 0.09 MnO 0.11
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Table 1.6 Volume composition of mineral soil.

.
Components Optimal Soil Clayey Soil Sandy Soil

Mineral matter approx 45% approx 45% approx 45%

Organic matter approx 5% approx 5% approx 5%
Soil water approx 25% > 25% < 25%
Soil air approx 25% < 25% > 25%

Compiled by:
Analiza C. Ouano
Mindanao State University Main Campus
Marawi City, Lanao del Sur
2024