ABSTRACT
From a purely pragmatic viewpoint, soil can be considered everything that is included in the superficial covering of the earth’s land area. Based on environmental perspectives, soil is an aggregate of unconsolidated mineral and organic particles produced by the combined physical, chemical, and biological processes of water, wind, and life activity. The science of soil physics, which evolved from agricultural studies, considers the mechanical functions of soil such as fluid flow, interparticle relationships, and the complex interaction between the soil atmosphere, water, mineral surfaces, and organic matter. The chemical composition and physical structure of the soil at any given location is determined by: the type of geological material from which it originated, the vegetative cover, length of time that the soil has been weathered, topography, and the artificial changes caused by human activities. Soils have significant variations in appearance, fertility, and chemical characteristics, depending on the mineral and plant materials from which they were formed and continue to be transformed.
