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Hitachi High-Tech

Special Feature — Part 12

How is soil formed?

Quiz Time! What Sort of Soil Is This?

Take a quiz on the types of soil you've learned about.
If you answer correctly, you'll be able to see its microscopic structure in a picture taken by an electron microscope.
See how many questions you can get right!

Click the numbers on the map to take the quiz!

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Quiz

Which one ispeat?

If you answer correctly,
you'll get to see a close-up photo of the soil.

It's formed from plants, so you can
see plant fragments in it.

Which one isandosol?

If you answer correctly,
you'll get to see a close-up photo of the soil.

It's a soft, fluffy and dark type of soil.

Which one isAkadama?

If you answer correctly,
you'll get to see a close-up photo of the soil.

It's redder than other soils.

Which one isKanuma?

If you answer correctly,
you'll get to see a close-up photo of the soil.

It has a light color and is similar to pumice stone.

Which one isFujisuna?

If you answer correctly,
you'll get to see a close-up photo of the soil.

It has lots of holes formed when magma cooled and solidified.

Which one isvolcanic ash?

If you answer correctly,
you'll get to see a close-up photo of the soil.

It's made of very fine particles that float through the air along with volcanic smoke.

Which one isShirasu?

If you answer correctly,
you'll get to see a close-up photo of the soil.

The name "Shirasu" literally means white-colored sand in Japanese.

とじる

Peat

A muddy soil made up of plants that have died and decomposed. This is also known as peat moss. The wetlands of Hokkaido and Fukui Prefecture are known as peatlands.
This soil is made of vegetable fibers (called cellulose), which means it can retain a lot of water and has good air circulation.

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Andosol

Soil made of volcanic ash and plants such as fallen leaves. This soil is dark due to all the organic matter (plant matter) it contains. It also has a high water content, so land where the soil is andosol is often used for farming.
The surface of this soil has a lot of gaps, and it has a thin, pointed shape like wire

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Akadama

This soil is made from volcanic ash that piled up when Mount Nantai in Tochigi Prefecture erupted, and can be found in the Kanto loam soil layer. It contains a lot of aluminum and iron, and has more of a reddish-brown color than other soils.
The grains in this soil have a lot of small gaps on the surface, which means it retains heat well and has good air circulation.

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Kanuma

This soil is made from weathered pumice stone formed by the eruption of Mount Akagi in the northern Kanto region, and can be found in the Kanto loam soil layer.
This soil does not contain nutrients (organic matter) and has lots of small gaps less than 1 μm wide on the surface of each grain. These gaps mean it retains heat well and has good air circulation.

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Fujisuna

This soil is made from volcanic debris (pieces of rock around 2 mm to 64 mm created by a volcanic eruption) found at the base of Mount Fuji. The color is black because it contains a lot of iron.
This soil has a lot of holes that were formed when the magma erupted from the volcano. It's used in potted plants and bonsai trees because of its excellent drainage and air circulation.

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Volcanic ash

Volcanic ash is made from small pieces (less than 2 mm) of liquid magma that flies out when a volcano erupts, and is found near volcanoes that have erupted in the past, like Sakurajima and Izu Oshima.
Since these particles are fine and have a pointed shape, breathing this soil in or getting it in your eyes can be bad for your health.

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Shirasu

This soil is formed from the pyroclastic flow (fast-moving gas and matter) and ash from volcanic eruptions, and is widely found in southern Kyushu. It has very good drainage, which is perfect for growing plants such as sweet potatoes.
The main component of this soil is volcanic glass (glass made from rapidly cooled magma). The surface of each grain is smooth, with small cracks.

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CloseComplete!

You answered all the questions correctly. Congratulations!

There are many other soils around the world. Let's check them out

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