PAID ACCESS | Published on : 06-Jan-2026 | Pages: 11-23 | Doi : 10.37446/edibook222025/11-23
The chapter is about the Earth's surface weathering and soil formation processes. It specifically concentrates on transforming rocks into soil through physical, chemical, and biological changes. It defines weathering as the very first step of soil formation. Further, it explains that there are three kinds of weathering: physical weathering (which is influenced by temperature and mechanical forces), chemical weathering (where hydrolysis, oxidation, carbonation, and hydration are involved), and biological weathering (where the growth of organisms is the driving factor). The chapter describes the traditional equation for soil formation, which relates the properties of soil to the factors that are still active (climate and organisms) and factors that have become passive (parent material, topography, and time), and thus shows their different effects on the development of soil. Moreover, it also explains the soil forming processes such as humification, mineral transformation, eluviation, illuviation, and horizon differentiation, describing how these processes reshape soil profiles and maintain ecosystems.
Weathering, soil forming factors, physical and chemical processes, soil genesis
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