This entails the systematic step that involves the changes that soil parent materials undergo before forming soil. These processes are:
1. Podzolization: This is the main process of soil formation, which results from the effect of soil leaching in cool humid regions.
2. Calcification: This is another process of soil formation that occurs as a result of low rainfall thus carrying little downward movement of water followed by evaporization.
3. Lateritization: This is also known as ferralitization and it occurs as a result of the effect of leaching in humid tropical regions.
4. Gleying: This occurs as a result of the availability of water in the soil for a relatively long period of time thus resulting to non- oxygenated conditions.
5. Salinization: This occurs in arid regions where drainage is hampered.