O ground, more than just the Earth's surface layer, is conceptualized as the terrestrial substrate that contains organic matter and is capable of supporting plants and vegetables on itself in an open environment, resulting from the weathering and decomposition of rocks. It is the unconsolidated organic or mineral material in the upper portion of the earth's crust that serves as the basis for all socio-spatial and natural activities. The area of knowledge that is concerned with specifically studying soils is called Pedology.
It is a renewable resource, that is, the soil is a natural element that can be used several times by the being. human resources in their productive activities, although the misuse and non-conservation of soils cause them to become uncultivable. To better understand its structure, knowledge about the ground horizons, thus named: O, A, B, C and mother rock. Check out the following scheme:
Soil profiles or horizons represent different characteristics of the same element
Below is a breakdown of the main characteristics of each soil profile.
horizon O – is the organic horizon formed from the decomposition of organic materials of animal and vegetable origin.
Horizon A – is the mineralogical horizon which, as the name indicates, is composed of mineral compounds from the parent rock (the rock that decomposed and gave rise to the soil) and also from other areas. Generally, this layer has a good amount of decomposed organic material, which makes it also called moist soil.
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Horizon B – is the essentially mineral composition horizon. It is formed by the accumulation of clay as well as iron and aluminum oxyhydroxides.
Horizon C - is the transition zone between the soil and its forming rock, being also called saprolite. It is formed by some larger and less decomposed sediments, representing the rock decomposition process.
The elements and characteristics of the soil usually follow a combination of different characteristics, such as: the type of parent rock, age of the soil, transport of sediments from other areas, presence of organic matter resulting from the decomposition of living beings, among others. For this reason, different classifications are used based on different pre-established criteria.
For example, if we take depth into account, soils are divided into shallow (less than 50 cm), semi-deep (50 to 100 cm), deep (100 cm to 200 cm) and very deep (more than 200 cm). By drainage, they can be classified as excessively drained, well drained and poorly drained. There are still many other criteria that give rise to names such as oxisols, luvisols, clayey soils, sandstone soils and many others.
By Me. Rodolfo Alves Pena
Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:
PENA, Rodolfo F. Alves. "Ground"; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/geografia/o-solo.htm. Accessed on June 27, 2021.
