What Factors Affect Soil Formation?
The kind of soil that develops in any area is the result of the interaction of the five soil forming factors: climate; plants and soil organisms in the area; parent material; topography , and time . Climate controls the distribution of plants. Together, climate, plants and soil organisms are called the “active factors” of soil formation. This is because on gently undulating topography, within a certain climatic and vegetative zone, a typical soil will develop, unless parent material differences are very great. Thus, the tall and mid-grass prairie soils have developed across a variety of parent materials . Parent material exerts its influence on soils principally by determining soil texture and mineral composition. Topography determines what drainage a soil will have. Steep slopes have excessively drained, thin soils; flat or depressed topographic areas usually have poorly drained, thick soils. The factor of time can be illustrated by comparing a soil on a flood plain that receives annu
