Soil and Media

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Soil and Media
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• 40-50 inorganic solids (rocks, sand, silt, clay)
• 1-10 organic solids (organic matter, residues,
  roots, microbes)
• 20-30 water or soil solution
• 20-30 air or soil gases

Soil
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Introduction

• Medium for plant growth
• Recycles nutrients and organic wastes
• Habitat for soil organisms
• Water supply and purificationsystem

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Objective 1

• Measuring the bulk density of
• Sand
• Soil
• Mix (sand soil)
• Bulk Volume Vsoil VAir Vwater

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Methods

• Measure 100ml of soil and sand
• Mix your samples
• Tamp the container lightly until your mix is
  packed
• Mark the level of the mixture
• Record the volume
• Draw a diagram

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Objective 2

• Measuring
• Solid Volume Vol. of the solid parts
• Pore Volume Vol. occupied by air
• Porosity ( Pore Vol. / Bulk Vol. ) x 100

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Methods

• Prepare 100ml of sand, soil and mix
• Add 100ml of water to each sample
• Stir each to remove trapped air
• Record the volume
• Solid Volume (Soil Vol. Water Vol.) Bulk
  Vol.
• Pore Vol. Bulk Vol. Solid Vol.

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Table 1.
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Objective 3

• Measure
• Aeration pore volume
• Drained water volume
• Water retention pore volume
• Difference between applied and drained water
  volume.
• Total porosity ()

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Table 2.
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Soil Texture