The seven soil formation factors have created unique soils throughout Saskatchewan. Through time soil processes such as additions, losses, translocation, and transformations have continued to form soils and make different horizons. Two catena's in Saskatchewan, one in the prairie and another in the boreal forest, were examined and classified into taxonomic group. The objective was to identify, compare, and contrast the major soil formation factors, morphological features, and taxonomic classes that occur at Clarine Lake and St. Denis National Wildlife Area (SDNWA).
Literature Review
It was once believed that soils were formed by solely parent material (Fuller 2010). However, the famous soil scientist, Vasily Vasil'evich Dokuchaev, determined that soils were also influenced by climate and topography (Fuller 2010). Soil scientists soon started exploring soil diversity, distribution, and formation (Fuller 2010). Hans Jenny, a soil scientist from the United States, identified five key soil formation factors: climate, parent material, organisms, relief, and time (Fuller 2010). Joseph Henry Ellis, a Canadian professor, who studied the nature and …show more content…
(Perrapirce et al. 2010). Glacier retreat in Saskatchewan left behind sediments that formed rolling glaciofuvial silts and sands, flat glaciolucutrine clays, and hummocky till (Pennock et al. 2011). In small pockets of southern Saskatchewan, the parent material was influenced from melting glaciers whose melt water formed streams and large glacial lakes (Perrapirce et al. 2010). Larger sediments such as sand and gravel from the glacial melt water were deposited first in the stream delta forming rolling glaciofuvial silts and sands (Anderson and Cerowiak 2010). After the glacier retreat, these landscapes were impacted by wind erosion and formed aeolian deposits such as sand dunes and silty deposits (Perrapirce et al.