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Florida Land Steward

Florida Land Steward

« Soils

Soils Overview

A wide variety of soils and landscapes comprise the state of Florida.  These include:

  • The red, loamy soils of the upper Florida Panhandle;
  • the poorly drained, sandy soils of the flatwoods;
  • the peat soils of the northern Everglades; and
  • the shallow, limerock-influenced soils of extreme south Florida

What is Soil??

Soil is the portion of the earth's crust in which plants can grow if water and temperature are adequate, at least the minimum nutrients are available, and toxic substances are in low concentration. All soils develop from weathered rock, volcanic ash deposits, or accumulated plant residues.  The majority of soils are formed from weathered minerals which include:

  • quartz
  • feldspars
  • micas
  • hornblende
  • calcite
  • gypsum

Combinations of minerals into solid masses are called--you guessed it--rocks.

Soils are often deposits of weathered, loosened, or transported particles.  These materials are called parent materials and are deposited by water (alluvium), glaciers (moraines), wind (dunes), or gravity (colluvium).  These deposits (in parentheses above)are called landforms.