Geography Atlas

Where Everything Happened
Sign In
Text size
100%
Theme

Switch Atlas

Physical Process

Pedogenesis

PEE-doh-JEN-ih-sis
Also Known As Soil Formation
Biogeochemical and Pedological Processes

Pedogenesis is the formation of soil from weathered rock and organic matter into the layered profile of horizons a mature soil shows. Five factors classically govern the outcome: climate, the organisms present, the relief of the land, the parent material weathering supplies, and the time available, which for a fully developed profile is measured in decades to several thousand years. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

Facts
Timescale
Timescale (category)
Years 1
Timescale (category)
Decades 1
Timescale (category)
Thousands of Years 1
Process Type
Geomorphological 1
Timescale
Decades to several thousand years for a mature soil profile to develop. 1
First Proposed Year
1883 2
Connections

Associated With

Eluviation, Physical Processes
Source Eluviation (Wikipedia)
Illuviation, Physical Processes
Source Illuviation (Wikipedia)

Caused By

Weathering, Physical Processes
Source Pedogenesis (Wikipedia)

Demonstrated By

Daintree Rainforest, Landforms

The Daintree's ancient, heavily leached tropical soils are a textbook case of rapid organic-matter cycling paired with deep chemical weathering.

Sources
1. Pedogenesis (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia Foundation
  • Definition section
    Soil formation, also known as pedogenesis, is the process of soil genesis as regulated by the effects of place, environment, and history.
  • Factors section, process-type
    Climate is the dominant factor in soil formation, and soils show the distinctive characteristics of the climate zones in which they form.
  • Factors section, timescale
    It takes decades to several thousand years for a soil to develop a profile, although the notion of soil development has been criticized.
  • Caused By: Weathering, Overview section
    The starting point is weathering of freshly accumulated parent material.
View the Source
2. Vasily Dokuchaev (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationBiography section
Quote, Biography section
He arrived at his theory after extensive field studies on Russian soils in 1883. His most famous work is Russian Chernozem (1883).
View the Source
Illuviation (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationAssociated With: IlluviationView the Source
Eluviation (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationAssociated With: EluviationView the Source
Comments (0)
No comments yet. Be the first to share a thought.
Reader Challenges (0)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.