The chemical weathering of rock-forming minerals like silica over long periods of time –that is, thousands of years – leads to the formation of clay soils. As parent materials break down into smaller particles through the weathering process, they combine with decaying organic material to become soils.
像二氧化矽這樣的造岩礦物在很長一段時間內(即數千年)的化學風化作用導致了粘土的形成。 隨著母質通過風化過程分解成更小的顆粒,它們與腐爛的有機物質結合成為土壤。