成土作用是土壤形成的过程，也称为成土过程，这也是母质产生肥力而转变成土壤的过程。母质又是岩石的风化产物。因此从母岩变成土壤，实际上包括两个相互关联的不同过程，即从母岩形成母质的风化过程和由母质形成土壤的成土过程。成土过程是在生物因素参与下发生的，它只能发生在地球上出现生命(特别是绿色植物)之后，成土过程一经发生，便不可能再孤立，它一定与风化过程同时进行，因为岩石开始风化也就开始了成土过程，因此两个过程是无法分离的。所以土壤的形成和发育过程，可以看作是以母质为基础，与各个自然的要素不断进行物质和能量交换的过程。

Pedogenesis (from the Greek pedo-, or pedon, meaning 'soil, earth,' and genesis, meaning 'origin, birth') (also termed soil development, soil evolution, soil formation, and soil genesis) is the process of soil formation as regulated by the effects of place, environment, and history. Biogeochemical processes act to both create and destroy order (anisotropy) within soils. These alterations lead to the development of layers, termed soil horizons, distinguished by differences in color, structure, texture, and chemistry. These features occur in patterns of soil type distribution, forming in response to differences in soil forming factors.