MR.

OTIENO RONALD BABU

 SOILS
Soil is a naturally occurring thin layer of loose/ unconsolidated materials
which overlies the crustal rocks and on which plants grow.
Components of Soil
 Mineral particles/ inorganic matter.
 Humus/ organic matter.
 Water.
 Air.
Ways in which humus contributes to the quality of soil
 By retaining of moisture.
 By facilitating the aeration of the soil.
 By improving the soil texture.
 By providing mineral matter in soil.

 WAYS IN WHICH HUMUS IMPROVES SOILS
• By providing food for micro-organisms in the soil.
• By binding the soil particles together.
• By improving soil structure.
Soil forming processes/ ways.
Weathering
Decomposition of organic matter.
Leaching.

a.)Through weathering.
-This involves breaking and disintegration of parent rocks through physical and
chemical processes.
-This (weathering) results to regoliths that are further broken into smaller and
finer particles to form soil.
 SOIL FORMATION PROCESSES

b.)Through decomposition of organic matter.

-This involves the accumulation and decomposition of decaying plants and
animal matter on the ground surface.
-This is done through mineralization and humification.
-Mineralization is the biological and chemical breakdown on dead plant
tissues by soil microorganism to produce simple soluble organic substance.
-Humification involves regrouping of the mineralized materials into large
molecules to form humus.

c.)Through leaching.
-Leaching is the process by which soluble mineral particles are carried in
solution form from one soil layer to the other.
 SOIL FORMING PROCESSES
Factors determining soil leaching
Nature of soil. Solubility of [Link] of rainfall/ alternating wet
and dry season. Nature of the slope.
Soil leaching processes.
a)Ferralisation/ Laterization
-This is where soluble materials are carried from horizon A to horizon B
leaving insoluble minerals that form laterites/ ferrisols on the top layer.
b)Eluviation.
-It is the downward movement of soluble materials from horizon A to
horizons B and C.
c)Illuviation.
-It is the redeposition of soluble materials from horizon B back to horizon
 SOIL FORMATION PROCESSES

d)Podzolization
-It occurs in areas with high rainfall and low temperatures/ cool
and wet conditions/ cool temperate regions/ humid temperate
regions/ coniferous forest covered areas.
-Slow decomposition of vegetative matter results in formation of
humic acid.
-Minerals such as calcium/ iron/ magnesium/ aluminium/
potassium/salts/bases/ carbonates in the soil are dissolved and
moved/ translocated from horizon A to B.
-This leaves the soil extremely acidic/ humic/ ash grey/ light in
colour/ grey-brown/ red-yellow/ white.
 SOIL FORMATION PROCESSES

f)Ribification.-It is where soils are dehydrated during dry season and

leached during the rainy season.
g)Salinization.-It is where soils are leached upwards through capillarity
depositing salts on the surface.
Factors influencing soil formation.
[Link] rock. [Link]. [Link] organisms/ Biotic factors. [Link]. [Link]
a.)Parent rock
-Nature of parent rock determines the mineral composition of the soil.
-Resistant/ hard parent rock result in coarse grained soils/ soft rocks lead to
fine textured soils.
-The minerals in the parent rock determine the soil colour while young.
-The nature of parent rock influences the rate of weathering, in that soft
rocks weather fast while hard rocks weather slowly.
 FACTORS INFLUENCING SOIL FORMATION
b.)Climate
-Rain water influences chemical and physical weathering leading to
formation of soils through rock break up/ decay.
-Rainfall causes leaching resulting to laterite soils.
-High temperatures facilitates chemical/ physical weathering causing faster
formation of soils/ lower temperatures slow down rate of soil formation.
-High temperatures quicken decay forming the organic matter in soils.
-Wind may expose parent rocks to weathering processes/ erode loose soil
particles making them thin.
-Wind/ rain water may deposit light particles that accumulate to form soils.
c.)Living organisms/ Biotic factors
-Microorganisms in the soil assist in plant/ animal decay to form humus.
-The microorganisms mix and aerate the soils.
 FACTORS INFLUENCING SOIL FORMATION

-The roots of plants penetrate the soil enabling it to become

porous.
-When plants and animals die, they decay to form humus/
organic matter in the soil.
-Burrowing animals/ penetrating plant roots breaks up the rock
into small particles forming soils.
d.)Relief
-Valley bottoms encourage formation of deep well drained soils
due to deposition or accumulation of weathered materials.
-Steep slopes encourage rapid removal of the top soil thus
slowing down soil formation. They have thin soil or
underdeveloped.
 FACTORS INFLUENCING SOIL FORMATION

e.)Time
-Where soil formation processes take a short duration, the soils
are generally immature.
-Where soil formation processes has taken a long period of time,
soils are generally well developed or mature.
-Young soils retain the characteristics of the parent rock since
they have not been exposed to factors that may cause change.
-Mature soils may not display the characteristics of the parent
rock.
 PROPERTIES OF SOIL
[Link] structure. [Link] texture. [Link] colour. [Link] porosity. [Link] permeability.
[Link] acidity/ alkalinity
a.)Soil texture
-This is the degree of fineness or coarseness of the particles making up the soil.
-It is the size of the soil particles.
-The texture controls the size and spacing of the soil pores/ soil aeration.
-This affects the soil water content/ the drainage/ leaching.
Importance of Soil Texture
It influences the ease of plant root penetration into the soil.
It regulates the soil water content.
It controls aeration of the soil.
It controls the availability and retention of nutrients within the soil.
It controls the size and spacing of pores in the soil.
 PROPERTIES OF THE SOIL
Types of soils by texture
[Link] soils.
Have high permeability because of large particles. Well aerated. Low
mineral nutrients due to leaching. Low water content. Easy to cultivate.
Ideal for horticulture.
[Link] soils.
Very fine soil particles. Retain a lot of water i.e. are waterlogged. Contain
little air. Rich in nutrients and organic matter. Difficult to cultivate. When
dry, the surface becomes hard and concrete like. Ideal for paddy rice.
[Link] soils.
Consists of medium soil particles. High organic matter. Ideal for
agriculture.
Consists of a mixture of sandy, silty and clay particles.
 PROPERTIES OF SOIL

[Link] soils.
Medium size particles. High water content. High organic matter.
b.)Soil structure
-Soil structure is the way the individual soil particles are arranged into
aggregate compound particles.
Types of soil structure.
Crumb soil structure.
Granular soil structure.
Plate soil structure.
Prismatic soil structure.
Blocky soil structure.
Columnar soil structure.
 PROPERTIES OF SOIL
Importance of soil structure.
It influences the rate at which soil absorbs and retains water.
It determines soil stability.
It determines the degree of soil aeration.
It contributes to soil fertility as well as plant growth as it facilitate root penetration
by plants.
It influences the activities of microorganisms in the soil.
It determines the ease with which a soil can be cultivated.
It describes the characteristics of soils in terms of appearance and physical
properties.
c.)Soil acidity.
-It is the high concentration of hydrogen ions in the soil solution.
-It is reduced by adding lime (calcium hydroxide) to the soil.
 PROPERTIES OF SOIL
Significance of soil acidity.
 It reduces the rate at which bacteria decompose organic matters.
 It reduces the rate at which roots absorb minerals.
 It also determines the chemical environment in which plants grow.
 It also determines conditions under which microorganisms live.
d.)Soil colour
-Soils have different colours influenced by parent rock/ vegetation/
leaching processes.
-Black/ dark brown soils denote a lot of humus.
-Grey soils are characteristics of poorly drained/ water logged soils.
-Whitish soils show high concentration of salts.
-Reddish soils have high concentration of iron.
 PROPERTIES OF SOIL
Factors determining the soil colour
The type of parent rock.
The amount of organic matter or humus.
The chemical composition/ degree of concentration of minerals.
The amount of water in the soil/ the drainage of the soil.
e.)Soil porosity
-This is the amount of pore spaces in the soil.
-The size of the pore spaces determine the water flowing in the soil/ sandy soils
have high porosity hence allow water to pass through / clay soils have many
pores hence retain water.
f.)Soil permeability.
-This refers to the movement of water in the soil. It depends on the soil texture
i.e. fine textured soils are impermeable while course textured soils are
permeable
 SOIL DEPTH
Soil depth.
-This is the mass of a unit volume of dry soil/ the amount of dry soil
overlying a parent rock.
-Soil depth is influenced by the following factors;
Nature of the bed-rock/ the ease with which it weathers.
The length of time the soil has taken to form.
The vegetation cover existing in the area.
The climate of the place.
The rate of weathering of the mineral matter.
Soil profile
-This is the vertical arrangement of the soil into layers/ horizons from
the surface to the bedrock.
SOIL PROFILE
 SOIL PROFILE

Horizon A/ Top soil

-Uppermost layer.
-Rich in humus.
-Leaching takes place here.
-Contains plant roots and micro-organisms.
Horizon B/ Sub-soil
-Found below the topsoil. An accumulation zone for leached
minerals from horizon A. Mainly made up of inorganic materials.
The soil texture is clay in nature. Soils are red/ brown in colour.
The zone sometimes forms the hard pan/ murram. Subdivided
into B1, B2 and B3. It is illuviation zone.
 SOIL PROFILE
Horizon C/ Partly weathered materials.
-Has weathered rocks.
-Very low content of organic matter.
-Deepest layer.
-No accumulated leached materials.
Horizon D/ Parent rock/ Bed rock.
-This is the solid underlying rock.
-Forms the basis of soil formation.
-Rocks have not undergone weathering.

NOTE: The development of soil profile is determined by the following

processes: Podzolization, Calcification, Ferralization, Desilication,
Salinization, Solodization and Gleization.
 SOIL PROFILE
Factors used to identify the layers of a soil profile.
Soil colour.
Soil texture.
Soil porosity.
Chemical/ mineral composition.
Soil thickness.
Factors influencing the development of a soil profile.
Climatic elements e.g. rainfall and temperature.
Vegetation cover.
Drainage.
Length of time taken for the soil to develop parent rock.
Leaching process.
Gradient of the slope.
 SOIL CATENA

Soil catena is the sequence of different soils down a slope.

 SOIL CATENA
Zone A
-Laterite soils. -Red in colour/ heavily leached. -Acidic. Rich in iron
and aluminium oxides. Have low humus content/ organic matter.
Have developed soil profile. Are mature soil. Are of low agricultural
value.
Zone B
-Soils are very thin because of high rates of erosion.
Zone C
-Well drained mature soils. -Thick soils.
Zone D
-Peat/ Bog soils. Poorly drained/ waterlogged. Grey/ Blue in colour.
Are acidic. Have poorly developed soil profile.
 SOIL CATENA
Factors influencing development of a soil catena.
a.)Relief.
-The top and bottom of the hill/ mountain must be gently sloping
while the side should have a steep slope.
b.)Drainage.
-The rate of water percolation should be more on gentle slopes
than on steep slope.
c.)Leaching.
-There should be soluble minerals to be carried to the lower
horizons.
d.)Transportation of soil particles/ debris.
 SOIL DEGENERATION
Soil Degeneration.
-Also called soil degradation/ deterioration/ impoverishment.
-It means the loss of soil fertility.
-It is the decline in the quality and productivity of soil due to both natural
and human causes.
Types of soil degeneration
Physical degeneration. Biological degeneration. Chemical degeneration.
[Link] degeneration is the decline in the usefulness of the soil due to
changes in its physical properties like soil texture, structure and moisture
content. It is due to the following causes;
Poor land-use practices such as overgrazing. Excessive soil erosion due
to heavy rainfall. Drought. Over-cultivation. Use of heavy farm machines.
 SOIL DEGRADATION
[Link] degeneration is the decline in the usefulness of the soil due to
change in the organic content of the soil. It is due to the following causes;
Overgrazing.
Deforestation.
Burning of land.
Soil water-logging.
Prolonged drought.
[Link] degeneration is the decline in the usefulness of a soil due to change
in the soil pH and mineral composition of soil. It is due to the following causes;
Monoculture.
Over-cropping.
Excessive or wrong application of fertilizers.
Excessive leaching.
Excessive drought also leads to accumulation of salts in the top soil.
 CAUSES OF SOIL DEGENERATION
Soil erosion interferes with soil structure leading to loss of top productive
soil.
Prolonged drought leads to accumulation of salts in the top soil making it
saline.
Leaching due to heavy rainfall can lead to percolation of soil nutrients to the
lower horizons leading to deficiency of the top soil.
Excessive/ wrong application of fertilizer may affect the soil pH making it too
acidic interfering with soil micro-organisms.
Poor agricultural practices like burning of land/ over cultivation/ monoculture/
over cropping cause soil to be deficient in some mineral nutrients leading to loss
of soil fertility.
Other human activities like quarrying/ construction of roads interfere with soil
structure leading to soil degeneration.
Mass wasting e.g. landslide may bring sub-soil to the top causing soil
degeneration.
 SOIL EROSION
-This is the removal of the top soil by the action of moving water,
wind, glaciers, mass movements and human activities.
Agents of soil erosion.
Moving water. Wind. Animals. Glacier. Mass movement.
People.
Types of soil Erosion
Splash erosion.
Rill erosion.
Gulley erosion.
Sheet erosion.
Wind erosion.
 SOIL EROSION
a.)Splash Erosion.
-This is caused by heavy and sudden rainstorms that hit and loosens
unconsolidated particles of soil on the earth’s surface
-The impact of the heavy drops throws away or splashes the soil particles
b.)Rill Erosion.
-The rain water cuts small channels called rills as it flows over the surface.
-It is most prevalent when rainfall exceeds the rate of infiltration.
c.)Gulley Erosion.
-Moving water or glaciers on the earth surface may cut deep and large channels
through widening the existing rills.
d.)Sheet Erosion.
-This is the uniform removal of the top soil by rainwater moving downslope
immediately after heavy downpour occurs in a flat area.
e.)Wind erosion.
 CAUSES OF SOIL EROSION
i.)Nature of the slope i.e. steep slopes accelerate erosion while
gentle slopes experience less erosion.
ii.)Nature of the soil texture i.e. areas with volcanic ash (fine
textured soils) are vulnerable to soil erosion.
iii.)Mass wasting especially landslides and soil creep accelerate
soil erosion.
iv.)Climatic conditions i.e. heavy rainfall accelerate erosion.
Eddy currents of wind during dry season causes wind erosion.
 CAUSES OF SOIL EROSION

v.)Human activities
Monoculture/ over-cropping lead to soil exhaustion thus making the soil vulnerable to
erosion –kcse 2006
Continuous ploughing weakens the soil structure making it easy for agents of erosion
to carry it away.
Overstocking leads to trampling on the top soil by animals making them easy to be
carried away by agents of erosion.
Overgrazing reduces vegetation cover thus exposing the soil to agents of erosion.
Ploughing across the contour/ up and down the slope creates channels which
encourage easy removal of soil by running water/ agents of erosion.
Shifting cultivation/ Bush fallowing may leave land abandoned or unprotected
against erosion.
Deforestation and burning of vegetation exposes the soil to agents of erosion –kcse
2006
Cultivation of crops on steep slopes/ along river banks increases soil erosion process.
Continuous application of fertilizer.
 EFFECTS OF SOIL EROSION
 It leads to loss of productive top soil lowering agricultural productivity of land.
 It causes uprooting/ blowing away of plants/ plants are washed away/ buried.
 It causes destruction of buildings/ bridges.
 Gulley erosion exposes underground water lowering the water table.
 It leads to destruction of vegetation cover which can cause desertification.
 It causes deposition of sediments into water reservoirs thus requiring dredging which is
expensive.
 Contaminated sediments deposited into water bodies lead to water pollution.
 Sediments brought by water erosion to the beaches may make them muddy.
 It causes land dereliction.
 Sand eroded from steep slopes is deposited on the river beds and can be harvested for
building and construction.
 During soil erosion, deep soils may be deposited e.g. alluvium that create productive
lands for agricultural production.
 Eroded alluvial deposits on river beds make the river channel shallower resulting into
frequent flooding.
 EFFECTS OF SOIL EROSION ON WATER SOURCES
When the eroded soil is deposited into water reservoirs, it leads
to siltation of the reservoirs reducing the volume of water.
The eroded soil may contain pollutants like agricultural
chemicals and industrial effluents which may contaminate water
sources.
When eroded soil accumulate in the water reservoirs making
them shallow and eventually plants may colonize them forming
swamps.
Accumulation of eroded soils into river valleys makes the river
shallow and this may lead to frequent flooding since river
valleys cannot hold more water.
When eroded soils accumulate in river valleys, they may block
 CLASSIFICATION OF SOIL ACCORDIG TO ORDER
Zonal order soils. Intrazonal order soils. Azonal order soils.
1)Zonal order soil –kcse 2019
-These are mature soils that have undergone long time of soil
formation/ have a well- developed soil profile.
-They include; Podzol soils. Podzolic soils. Tundra soils. Latosols.
Pedocals- Subdivided into Chernozems and Vertizols.
Phenozems. Sierozems/ Desert soils.
Characteristics of Desert soils
The soils are of sandy or stony texture. Contain little or no
humus. Are saline or contain a lot of salts. They have high lime
content. Lack moisture. Are highly porous. May be light coloured.
Are thin or shallow. Do not have a distinct profile.
 CLASSIFICATION OF SOIL ACCORDING TO ORDER
2)Intrazonal order soils
-These are soils that are formed under poor drainage conditions/
waterlogged areas.
-They include; Hydromorphic soils. Halmorphic
soils.Calcimorphic soils.Andosols.
3)Azonal order soils
-These are young soils that have not been affected by soil
forming processes/ they do not have a well-developed soil profile/
they are immature and skeletal.
-They include; Lithosols. Regosols. Alluvial soils.Mountain soils.
Histosols.
Arenosols.
 IMPORTANCE OF SOILS
Soil is a medium through which natural vegetation and crops
grow.
Some soils e.g. clay is used in making ceramics/ pottery/ brick
making.
Soil may contain valuable minerals.
Some soils are used for road construction/ laying foundation to
structures.
Some soils are consumed by livestock/ human beings.
Organic soils like peat serve as fuel resources.
Some soils have medicinal values.
Some soils are used for decorative purposes e.g. red ochre.
 MANAGEMENT AND CONSERVATION OF SOIL

[Link] management.
These are measures undertaken to control processes and
activities that can lead to soil degeneration.
Measures of soil management.
Building of dykes and embakments.
Construction of drainage ditches or channels.
Control of soil erosion.
Application of manure or chemical fertilizers.
Application of lime to raise soil pH level.
Draining water logged soils/ flooded areas.
 MANAGEMENT AND CONSERVATION OF SOIL

[Link] conservation.
These are measures undertaken to protect the soil from destruction.
Measures of soil conservation.
Contour ploughing. Terracing. Planting cover crops. Regulation of
livestock. Crop rotation. Mixed farming. Afforestation and
[Link]. Strip cropping. Building check dams.
State three ways in which mulching helps in soil conservation.
( 2014)
Plant materials used decompose increasing soil humus.
It protects the soil against erosion.
It helps to increase infiltration rate of water into the soil.
It helps reduce water loss from the soil/ retains soil moisture.

 SOIL

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THE DISCUSSION

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