Clay minerals from diallage in a warm and humid climate

In the course of chemical weathering, rockforming minerals release constituent ions changing into secondary minerals by alteration or recrystallization. Minerals formed in this way are primarily of colloidal nature, and are the most active portion in soils together with humus. The chemical weathering has dual meaning for soil fertility, that is, it provides soils with nutrients released and inorganic colloids formed, namely clay minerals. It has been well established that climate, vegetation, parent material, topography and time influence the formation of soils. Generally speaking, Japanese soils have developed under a warm and humid climate which causes leaching of released bases resulting in acid reactions, and a predominance of kaolin in soils. Accumulated information pertaining to Japanese soils, however, has disclosed that physical, chemical, and mineralogical properties of parent rocks are still obviously reflected in the clay minerals of soils.