ON THE PROCESS OF PRIMARY SOIL FORMATION

Abstract

In this paper, the four major stages in the process of primary soil formation have beenfurther confirmed and explained. These four stages are the litholac of occur-rence of rock-bearing microorganisms and biophysical weathering horizon, the mutation stageof lichen bearing and occurrence of bio-weathering horizon and fine earth, the evolution andconsolidation stage of bryophyte bearing and formation of fine earth horizon, and the soil-type fixing (setting) stage of high plant bearing and formation of primary soils. It is,therefore, easy to imagine that the whole process of soil formation has a close connectionwith the origin and evolution of terrestrial plants, being with inter-cause and effect as well asinterconditions (interdependence). That is to say, without terrestrial plants, there wouldbe no soils at all, and without genesis and evolution of soils, there would be no origin andevolution of terrestrial plants. The researches on the process of primary soil formation have provided us a practicalexample of the process of weathering and soil formation carrying on at the same time andthe same place. For primary soil, it is very obvious that soil fertility and the requirements of theplants growing in it are inseparable, and the requirealents of different plants often vary.