Gardeners may not think too much about the soil horizons in their garden plots or the history of their soil, but it can help them to make informed decisions. It all depends on how the soil was formed over time and the surrounding conditions. Soil horizons don’t have a set order for how the horizons appear in the soil profile. Not only can soil profiles have all six soil horizons, fewer than six soil horizons, or have repeating profiles, they can be found in any order. Also, some may also include an O horizon in addition to these three major soil horizons. Keep in mind that the majority of soil profiles will have A, B, and C horizons in them. In some spots, there may be soil horizons that repeat in different layers. An example would be some may have just O, or O, E, and B, or A and C. Other areas will have fewer soil horizons in their soil compositions. Some soil profiles will have every single one of the six soil horizons in it. There is no specific reason for soil horizons. Does All Soil Have All Six Soil Horizons? This horizon is technically not soil and is usually found under soil horizon C. The materials that weather off of the bedrock become the soil horizon C. In areas where the bedrock is exposed at the surface of the ground, these materials will weather. The rocks typically found in this layer include limestone, quartzite, sandstone, basalt, and granite. It could have been produced by glaciers moving across the earth, lake sediment, or the exposure of bedrock. The Earth’s surface deposits created this layer. Soil Horizon C is the parent material layer. Bulldozers and landscaping can also result in erosion that exposes it. Erosion can sometimes expose this layer to the surface, in addition to some manmade causes. Often, it has iron, soluble salts, and clay accumulated in it. All of the materials, such as minerals that are leached from the soil horizon A and E, make up this layer in the soil profile. This layer is often lighter in color than other layers because much of it has leached into lower layers. Soil horizon E is often found in forests and areas with old soil that hasn’t been disturbed in a long time. Anything that can’t be leached out of the soil is left behind and makes up this layer. It is formed by the organic materials, clay, and any minerals being leached out of the soil. Soil horizon E is a complex layer that is mostly sand, quartz silt particles, and other material that can’t be leached away. If there is a natural event, such as flooding or a landslide, that moves the ground, this layer can go deeper into the soil profile. It is always at the surface of the soil, as that is where it forms however, it can show up again deeper in the layers. Soil horizon A is the best for growing plants. It has a combination of organic matter and minerals located in it. When you think of dirt, you probably imagine soil horizon A. The O soil horizon can vary when it comes to the size of the segment. This organic matter has decomposed down and created a layer of soil. Soil horizon O is made up of the organic matter or humus that falls on the soil. Finally, R is the soil horizon that’s bedrock. C is the soil horizon that contains parent material. E is the soil horizon that’s comprised of eluviated soil, or soil layers that have gained materials from other layers by water movement. Soil horizon A is the layer that is made up of minerals. O is the soil horizon that is made up of organic materials. Each of these soil horizon layers are unique. The six soil horizons are labeled with a letter denotation and are O, A, E, B, C, and R. Think of this as the biography of the soil. The layers are formed in a specific way due to the original composition of the land, the weather, the vegetation of the area, and other factors. Soil horizons act as the history of the soil in a particular area. These six layers are made up of different substances that either look different, have different chemical makeups, or are physically different from the other layers. Simply put, a soil horizon is a distinct layer in the ground. Learn more about these soil horizons and what impact they can have on your gardening efforts. Have you ever thought about the ground that’s beneath your feet and what is it composed of? We might think it’s just plain dirt, but scientists have determined that six different soil horizons make up the different soil profiles of the ground.
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