All soils contain mineral particles (inorganic material), humus (organic material), water, air and living organisms. The actual amount of these components depends upon the type of soil. The soil profile (Figure 10) is a vertical section through the soil showing its different horizons. Most soil profiles consist of three layers, which are called horizons. These are A, B and C. Horizon A consists of the soil proper, B is the subsoil and C is the solid rock. The top part of A horizon is often rich in humus, and the texture of the soil becomes coarser as the C horizon is approached.
When rainfall is greater than evaporation, water moves downwards in the soil and mineral matter is removed from the top layer (A horizon) and is deposited in the layer beneath (B horizon). Very often these deposits give rise to a hard layer, which is called a hard pan, and this can cause drainage to be poor. When this takes place, in a soil the soil is referred to as leached.
francis1897 answered the question on October 11, 2022 at 07:53
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