Old soils - Seven soil orders consist of soils with well developed horizons or with fully weathered minerals. They are old with a large history of development, well adjusted to preventing soil temperature and soil water conditions. Organic soils - one soil order that is characterized by a thick upper layer of organic matter called peat. Young soil - two orders have poorly developed horizons or no horizons, they are young soils, not yet well adapted to the environment. Base status - Soils differ greatly in natural fertility.
Poor soils have low base status.
Soil order- Classes II and III are geologically controlled by local occurrences of features, such as flood plains, recent deposits left by glaciers, acres of sand dunes, marshlands or bogs. Oxisols and Ultisols can only sustain crops on freshly cleared areas for only 2 to 3 years at most before the nutrient bases are exhausted. Use of lime and fertilizers are necessary for high sustainable crop yields. Next 100 km and the rest called Mesosphere- Upper mantle. Minerals A Mineral is a naturally occurring inorganic substance, usually possessing a definite chemical composition and characteristic atomic structure.