The ultimate result of kaolinisation is clay and quartz sand. The clay tends to wash away fairly quickly, leaving behind a coarse, grainy soil largely composed of hard, white quartz sand. This is a very poor soil - lacking in many of the nutrients (calcium, iron and magnesium) that plants need. Thus, where the soil layer is relatively thin, only small shrubs can grow. In deeper soil regions, forests can flourish.
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The top layer of soil is mostly a coarse, quartz sand.
Just beneath the sandy layer is a mixture of sand and clay.
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Biological Weathering – Plants have their role to play as well.
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