Episode 4: From Parent Material to Soil Horizons & Classification. Reading the Story in Your Paddock

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of *Agriculture From The Ground Up*, we connect the dots between parent material and the soil profiles you dig into every season. Leonie walks through the CLORPT framework (Climate, Living organisms, Relief, Parent material, Time + humans), explains the important difference between layers and true soil horizons, and unpacks the four soil-forming processes that create the profiles we see in the paddock. You’ll also learn how to read the master horizons (O, A, E, B, C and R) and how the Australian Soil Classification helps us name and understand common WA soils such as Tenosols, Chromosols, Sodosols and Kandosols. This is practical knowledge you can use the next time you dig a hole, because every horizon tells a story, and understanding that story helps you make better decisions on farm. Reference List Birkeland, P. W. (1999). Soils and geomorphology (3rd ed.). Oxford University Press. Carson, J. (n.d.). Soil biological fertility. soilquality.org.au. https://www.soilquality.org.au/factsheets/soil-biological-fertility Hoyle, F. C., & Murphy, D. V. (Eds.). (2017). Soil quality: 1. Constraints to plant production. SoilsWest / Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development. https://library.dpird.wa.gov.au/sq\_ebooks/1/ Isbell, R. F., & National Committee on Soil and Terrain. (2016). The Australian soil classification (2nd ed.). CSIRO Publishing. Jenny, H. (1941). Factors of soil formation: A system of quantitative pedology. McGraw-Hill. Leopold, M. (2020). ENVT4401 Advanced Land Use Management \[Lecture notes]. University of Western Australia. McKenzie, N., Jacquier, D., Isbell, R., & Brown, K. (2004). Australian soils and landscapes: An illustrated compendium. CSIRO Publishing. Moore, G. (Ed.). (2001). Soil guide: A handbook for understanding and managing agricultural soils (Bulletin 4343). Department of Agriculture, Western Australia. Orr, T. J., & Roberts, E. M. (2024). A review and field guide for the standardized description and sampling of paleosols. Earth-Science Reviews. Weil, R. R., & Brady, N. C. (2016). The nature and properties of soils (15th ed.). Pearson. White, R. E. (2006). Principles and practice of soil science: The soil as a natural resource (4th ed.). Blackwell Publishing.   **Connect with Leonie** Instagram: @agfromthegroundup Website: www.agriculturefromthegroundup.com.au