Thus warm humid climates generally have more highly weathered rock, and rates of weathering are higher than in cold dry climates. Time - since a rate is how fast something occurs in a given amount of time, time is a crucial factor in weathering. Depending on the factors above, rates of weathering can vary between rapid and extremely slow, thus the time it takes for weathering to occur and the volume of rock affected in a given time will depend on slope, climate, and animals. Soils Soils are an important natural resource. They represent the interface between the lithosphere and the biosphere - as soils provide nutrients for plants.
Soils consist of weathered rock plus organic material that comes from decaying plants and animals.
The same factors that control weathering control soil formation with the exception, that soils also requires the input of organic material as some form of Carbon. When a soil develops on a rock, a soil profile develops as shown below. These different layers are not the same as beds formed by sedimentation, instead each of the horizons forms and grows in place by weathering and the addition of organic material from decaying plants and plant roots. Although you will not be expected to know all of the soil terminology discussed on pages 212 through 214 in your text, the following terms are important. The Ca and Carbonate ions are dissolved from the upper soil horizons and precipitated at the K-horizon.