Soil

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Soil, also commonly referred to as earth, is a mixture of organic matter, minerals, gases, water, and organisms that together support the life of plants and soil organisms. Some scientific definitions distinguish dirt from soil by restricting the former term specifically to displaced soil. Soil consists of a solid collection of minerals and organic matter (the soil matrix), as well as a porous phase (Pore space) that holds gases (the soil atmosphere) and a liquid phase that holds water and dissolved substances both organic and inorganic, in ionic or in molecular form (the soil solution). Accordingly, soil is a complex three-state system of solids, liquids, and gases. Soil is a product of several factors: the influence of climate, relief (elevation, orientation, and slope of terrain), organisms, and the soil's parent materials (original minerals) interacting over time. It continually undergoes development through numerous physical, chemical, and biological processes, which include weathering...

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