Question

Give the importance of soil. Explain any three factors that are responsible for soil formation.

Answer 1

Importance of soil:

1. Soil helps in the filtration of rainwater and regulates the discharge of excess rainwater, preventing soil erosion.
2. Soil maintains adequate aeration for plants, providing oxygen for plant roots, microbes, and insects.
3. Soils are habitats for beneficial soil microbes.
4. They form synergistic relationships with plants to protect them from stress and provide them with nutrients.

The major factors responsible for soil formation are:

1. Parent Material:

1. Parent material is the beginning point for soil formation.
2. Mineral rock, organic matter, and lava are some examples of the parent material.
3. When parent rock material is exposed to the atmosphere or deposits on the earth’s surface, soil formation begins.
4. Parent material affects the fertility of the soil in many ways:
5. Finely textured parent materials tend to weather into finely textured soils.
6. Dark minerals are supposed to yield more fertile soils.

2. Geography:

1. Topography is the lay of the land.
2. It details the relative steepness of a slope or the flatness of a plane.
3. It describes the orientation of the land regarding the sun and also the depressions and elevations of the land.
4. Topography has a direct impact on water drainage.

3. Temperature:

1. Temperature also has a great effect on weather.
2. Warm temperatures with high moisture tend to increase weathering processes.
3. Therefore, it is typical to have well-developed, highly weathered soils at a warm temperature.