The soil is waterlogged for one reason or another, and low evaporation occurs. Reduction of iron, organic matter, and silicate compounds occurs under the waterlogged conditions. Gray or bluish colors in the profile result. Few bases are recycled and accumulate in unavailable form in the undecomposed organic matter on the soil surface. These are usually bog or swamp soils.
Soil formation is a continuous process.
When we utilize a soil, we are making use of a dynamic system in a particular stage of development. When we use the soil for certain activities, such as agriculture, the pedogenic process is modified to a degree that is related to the magnitude of disturbance. An example of the initiation of soil development on igneous rock at Crane Mountain, Johnsburg, New York. The rock becomes progressively covered with lichens, mosses, and after a rudimentary organic layer is established, grasses and sedges invade the surface. Physical and chemical weathering begin to disentegrate and decompose the rock surface, and small rock fragments accumulate.