Editing Soil formation (section)

==Overview==
Soil develops through a series of changes.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Jenny |first1=Hans |title=Factors of soil formation: a system of quantitative pedology |year=1994 |publisher=Dover |location=New York, New York |isbn=978-0-486-68128-3 |url=https://book4you.org/book/832215/90064b |access-date=26 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130225050838/http://soilandhealth.org/01aglibrary/010159.Jenny.pdf |archive-date=25 February 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref> The starting point is [[weathering]] of freshly accumulated [[parent material]]. A variety of soil microbes ([[bacteria]], [[archaea]], [[Fungus|fungi]]) feed on simple compounds ([[nutrients]]) released by weathering and produce organic acids and specialized proteins which contribute in turn to mineral weathering. They also leave behind [[biotic material|organic residues]] which contribute to [[humus]] formation.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Samuels |first1=Toby |last2=Bryce |first2=Casey |last3=Landenmark |first3=Hanna |last4=Marie-Loudon |first4=Claire |last5=Nicholson |first5=Natasha |last6=Stevens |first6=Adam H. |last7=Cockell |first7=Charles |year=2020 |chapter=Microbial weathering of minerals and rocks in natural environments |title=Biogeochemical cycles: ecological drivers and environmental impact |pages=59–79 |editor-last1=Dontsova |editor-first1=Katerina |editor-last2=Balogh-Brunstad |editor-first2=Zsuzsanna |editor-last3=Le Roux |editor-first3=Gaël |publisher=[[Wiley-Blackwell]] |location=Hoboken, New Jersey |isbn=978-1-119-41331-8 |chapter-url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/334319081 |doi=10.1002/9781119413332.ch3 |s2cid=216360850 |access-date=26 September 2021}}</ref> Plant roots with their symbiotic [[mycorrhiza]]l fungi are also able to extract nutrients from [[Rock (geology)|rocks]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Augusto |first1=Laurent |last2=Fanin |first2=Nicolas |last3=Bakker |first3=Mark R. |journal=[[Functional Ecology (journal)|Functional Ecology]] |volume=33 |issue=5 |title=When plants eat rocks: functional adaptation of roots on rock outcrops |year=2019 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/332964580 |pages=760‒61 |doi=10.1111/1365-2435.13325 |s2cid=164450031 |access-date=26 September 2021 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2019FuEco..33..760A }}</ref>

New soils increase in depth by a combination of weathering and further [[deposition (geology)|deposition]]. The [[soil production function|soil production]] rate due to weathering is approximately 1/10&nbsp;mm per year.<ref>{{cite journal |title=The role of pedogenic overprinting in the obliteration of parent material in some polygenetic landscapes of Sicily (Italy) |last1=Scalenghe |first1=Riccardo |last2=Territo |first2=Claudio |last3=Petit |first3=Sabine |last4=Terribile |first4=Fabio |last5=Righi |first5=Dominique |year=2016 |doi=10.1016/j.geodrs.2016.01.003 |journal=Geoderma Regional |volume=7 |issue=1 |pages=49–58 |bibcode=2016GeodR...7...49S |url=https://art1lib.org/book/54626974/c3872a |access-date=26 September 2021 |archive-date=26 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210926082245/https://art1lib.org/book/54626974/c3872a |url-status=dead }}</ref> New soils can also deepen from [[aeolian processes|dust deposition]]. Gradually soil is able to support higher forms of plants and animals, starting with [[pioneer species]] and proceeding along [[ecological succession]] to more complex [[soil food web|plant and animal communities]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Mirsky |first=Arthur |title=Soil development and ecological succession in a deglaciated area of Muir Inlet, Southeast Alaska |year=1966 |publisher=[[Ohio State University]] Research Foundation |location=Columbus, Ohio |url=https://kb.osu.edu/bitstream/handle/1811/38513/IPS_Report_20_%20p_i-xxi_1-18.pdf |access-date=3 October 2021 }}</ref> [[Topsoil]]s deepen with the accumulation of humus originating from dead remains of [[vascular plants|higher plants]] and soil microbes.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Soil development on the Crimean Peninsula in the Late Holocene |last1=Lisetskii |first1=Fedor N. |last2=Ergina |first2=Elena I. |year=2010 |doi=10.1134/S1064229310060013 |journal=Eurasian Soil Science |volume=43 |issue=6 |pages=601–13 |bibcode=2010EurSS..43..601L |s2cid=128834822 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/227297100 |access-date=3 October 2021 }}</ref> They also deepen through [[Perturbation (geology)|mixing]] of organic matter with weathered minerals.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Exploring pedogenesis via nuclide-based soil production rates and OSL-based bioturbation rates |last1=Wilkinson |first1=Marshall T. |last2=Humphreys |first2=Geoff S. |year=2005 |doi=10.1071/SR04158 |journal=Australian Journal of Soil Research |volume=43 |issue=6 |pages=767–79 |bibcode=2005SoilR..43..767W |url=https://art1lib.org/book/63951907/03ecca |access-date=3 October 2021 |archive-date=3 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211003083423/https://art1lib.org/book/63951907/03ecca |url-status=dead }}</ref> As soils mature, they develop [[soil horizon]]s as organic matter accumulates and mineral weathering and leaching take place.