GPHY 102 Lecture Notes - Lecture 24: Silicate Minerals, Soil Classification, Soil Texture

• School: Queen's University
• Department: Geography
• Course: GPHY 102
• Professor: Ryan K Danby

Document Summary

Lecture 24 & 25 soil & soil systems. Important interface between biosphere, lithosphere, hydrosphere and atmosphere. Used by plants for nutrients, water, physical support. Unconsolidated material comprised of mineral and organic matter, generally >10cm thick. Formation of soil (pedogenesis) is impacted by 5 main factors: parent material. Affects rate and fate of runoff, and therefore soil depth, moisture, and nutrient content: climate. Temperature affects rates of decay of organic matter: biological activity, time. Decomposing vegetation adds to pool of soil organic matter. Soils develop over long periods of time: physical processes (weathering) break down rock fragments, chemical processes (weathering) produce new minerals. Parent material is the mineral matter that is being transformed into soil. Organic material is contributed from biological materials (typically plant matter) May be inherited from parent material, but more often is generated by soil-forming processes. Shades of black, brown, red, yellow, gray and white. Munsell soil colur book based on hue, value, and chroma.