Question

Explain the major factors which are responsible for the formation of soil.

Answer 1

Hint: The relative influence of each factor varies from place to place, but the combination of all the different factors usually determines the form of soil growing at any given location.
A significant factor responsible for the formation of soil determines how quickly the weathering will be and what kind of organic materials will be available on and within the soil.
The soil texture is not the element responsible for the formation of the soil.

Complete answer:
The soil is one of the essential components of the preservation of the environment because it is a crucial natural medium for the development of the plants. It can be described as the upper layer of soil in which plants grow, a black or dark brown material usually consisting of a mixture of organic remains, clay, and rock particles.
Factors Responsible for the Formation of Soil
Relief features, parent material, atmosphere, vegetation and other types of life, as well as time away from human activities, are the key factors responsible for soil formation.
1. Parent Material:- is deposited by streams or is derived from in-situ weathering. At this point, soil has many properties, such as mineral composition, color, particle size and chemical elements. Black soil, for example, derives its colour from lava rock.
2. Climate:- This is one of the key factors in soil formation because it influences the weathering rate of the parent rock.
3. Function of precipitation:- The variability of precipitation affects the composition of the soil. For example, areas with low rainfall and high evaporation rates have led to the accumulation of salts in the soil. The soils underlying tropical rainforests appear to be nutrient-poor due to extensive leaching due to heavy rainfall.
4. Function of temperature:- It also plays an important role because temperature variations cause shrinkage and swelling, frost action and general soil weathering.
5. Biota (Flora, Fauna and Microorganisms):- Biota, in combination with climate change, modifies the parent material for the production of soil. For example, leguminous plants (such as beans, peas and groundnuts) have nitrogen-fixing bacteria. These plants are taking nitrate ions directly from these nitrogen-fixing bacteria. The fertility of the soil is improved by fixing atmospheric nitrogen to ammonia or ammonium.
6. Topography (Relief, Altitude, and Slope):- It is considered a passive factor in climate change because it influences soil processes, soil distribution and the form of vegetation.
7. Time:- The formation of the soil is not a one-day process, but takes several years of formation. Younger soils have similar characteristics from their parent material, but as they mature, the addition of organic matter, exposure to moisture and other environmental factors can change their characteristics.
It should be noted that the above factors are separate but interdependent, as the soil profile of any area in the world depends on climate, parent material, topography, time.

Note: In addition to the factors listed above, various forces of nature, such as temperature rise, amount of rainfall, humidity, action of flowing water, wind and decomposers, contribute to the formation of the soil.
In Rajasthan, both granite and sandstone give birth to sandy soil regardless of parent rock due to high temperature and wind erosion.
Soil growth starts as plants and animals colonise rocks or rock fragments. As soon as organic processes begin between mineral particles or fragments of rock, chemical and physical differences begin to grow from the surface down through the parent material.