What is Soil?
Geography: KS3, topic 7.1.6
What is Soil?
Soil comes in many different types with different properties. Soil is not one substance but a compound of different substances.
What is in soil?
- Soil is made up of minerals, dead plants and animals, water, air and living organisms (e.g. worms).
Different types of soils
- Depending on the minerals that make up a soil, the soil will have different properties.
- For example, particles in clay soils are smaller than particles in sand particles.
- This means that water cannot easily get between the clay particles. It is relatively impermeable.
- Water can get between the larger sand particles and so it is permeable.
Soil fertility
- Different soils have different levels of fertility.
- Where it is very hot and decomposition happens very quickly, soils tend to be less fertile as the only nutrients are found at the very top.
Test yourself on What is Soil?
Which of the following is NOT a component of soil?