Question

List abiotic and biotic factors of soil formation.

Answer 1

Hint: Soil is the thin material layer covering the surface of the earth and is created by rock weathering. It consists primarily of mineral particles , organic materials, air , water and living organisms, all of which are slowly but constantly interacting.

Complete Answer:
The soil includes living and dead air , water, and minerals, as well as plant and animal matter. Two types fall under these soil components. In the first group are biotic factors — all the living and once-living things in soil, such as plants and insects. The second group consists of abiotic variables, including all non-living things, including minerals, water , and air, for example.

Phosphorus and potassium, and also nitrogen gas, are the most common minerals found in soil that support plant growth. Calcium, magnesium , and sulphur are other, less common minerals. What makes up the soil's composition is the biotic and abiotic elements in the soil.
Soil research has shown that five different, but interacting, factors affect soil profiles: parent material, climate , topography, species, and time. These are named the factors of soil formation by soil scientists. Those factors give their distinctive character to soil profiles.

Factors	Explanation
Parent Materials	Minerals from the soil form the base of the soil. By the processes of weathering and natural erosion, they are formed from rocks (parent material). Water , wind, variations in temperature, gravity, chemical interaction, living organisms, and differences in pressure all assist in breaking down parent material.The parent material types and the conditions under which they break down can affect the properties of the produced soil.
Organisms	Organisms (such as plants), micro-organisms (such as bacteria or fungi), burrowing insects, animals and humans are affected by soil creation.Plants begin to grow in it, as soil shapes. The plants mature, die and their place is replaced by new ones. Their roots and leaves are added to the soil. Animals consume plants and their waste, and their bodies are returned to the soil eventually.This will start to change the soil. Plant litter and animal waste and remains are broken down by bacteria , fungi, worms and other burrowers, to gradually become organic matter. The type of peat, humus or charcoal can take this form.
Climate	The rate of weather and organic decomposition is influenced by temperature. These processes can be sluggish in a colder and drier environment, but they are relatively rapid with heat and moisture.Rainfall dissolves some of the compounds in the soil and leaves others suspended. The water takes these materials down into the soil or leaches them. This process will alter the soil over time, rendering it less fertile.
Topography	Drainage is influenced by the form, length and grade of a slope. The aspect of a slope decides the vegetation type and shows the quantity of rainfall obtained. Such variables alter the way soils form.Through the action of water, gravity and wind, soil materials are gradually shifted within the natural landscape (for example , heavy rains erode soils from the hills to lower areas , creating deep soils). Typically, the soil left on steep hills is shallower. Soils which are transported include:Alluvial (transported by water)Colluvial (transported by gravity)Aeolian (wind-conveyed) soils.

Note: Most soil profiles, topsoil and subsoil, cover the earth as 2 primary layers. The layers in the soil as you pass down the soil profile are soil horizons. A soil profile may have horizons of the soil that are simple or hard to discern.