Title: Soil
1Soil
2Soil Formation
- The four major components of soil are
- Water (25)
- Air (25)
- Organic matter (6)
- Parent material (44)
- 2. Parent material is
- Bedrock which provides mineral content of
the soil, Ex - Sand, silt and clay
- Quartz SiO2
- Calcite CaCO3
- Feldspar KAlSi3O8
- Mica (biotite) K(Mg,Fe)3AlSi3O10(OH)2
3- 3. How is soil made from parent material? Include
the role of weathering and living organisms - Weathering (physical and chemical) creates small
pieces - Dead organisms- decay and release nutrients and
gases - living organisms also release nutrients and gases
- Parent material can be native to the area or
transported to the area by wind, water or a
glacier - EX
- Calcareous soils in Miami-Dade County are derived
from Miami limestone. Most of Miami-Dade County,
part of Broward County, and Monroe County
(including the Florida Keys). Broward also has
marl and stone sand bedrock
4- 4. Humus is Organic matter
- Dead and decayed organisms, ex plant matter
- How long does it take to make soil from bare
rock? - 10 000 years
5- Soil Profile
- 1. Describe the 5 Soil horizons
- O- Organic matter, leaf litter (duff),
- dead animals, decomposed litter
- A- Surface soil, decomposed organic
- matter and minerals, humus (fertile)
- B- Subsoil, leached nutrients
- C- Parent rock, weathered large
- unbroken rocks
- R (Bedrock)- mostly a continuous
- mass of hard rock
6(No Transcript)
7(No Transcript)
8Soil Texture1. What is soil texture?
- Proportions of clay, sand and silt
- Particle size
- Smallest - clay less than .002mm
- - - Silt .002mm - .05mm
- largest - sand .05mm - 2 mm
-
9- 2. What is porosity?
- Ability to hold water
- 3.What is permeability?
- Ability of water to flow through the material
(rate) - 4. Compare permeability of sand and clay.
- Sand high, clay low
10- 5. What is a loam?
- A loam has about mixtures of clay, sand, silt
- and humus - best for growing crops.
- 6. How can soil texture be determined?
- Determined by particle size and feel
11- Soil type
- 1. What are the main Soil types?
- There are six main types of soil usually
discussed in agriculture, distinguished by the
size of the particle matter that makes up the
soil. - Sandy (water/minerals easily flow)
- Clay (no drainage)
- Silty (fertile, good drainage)
- Loamy (a mixture of soils)
- Chalky (alkaline)
- Peaty (acidic , undecomposed organic matter)
12Table 10-1 p. 216
Texture Nutrient Infiltration Water-Holding Aerati
on Tilth Capacity Capacity Clay Good Poor Good
Poor Poor Silt Medium Medium Medium Medium Medium
Sand Poor Good Poor Good Good Loam
Medium Medium Medium Medium Medium
Refer to Fig. 10-15 p. 215
13- Soil Erosion is the process by which soil and
rock are removed from the Earth's surface by wind
or water flow, and transported and deposited in
other locations. - Sheet erosion - surface water peels off fairly
uniform sheets of soil. - Rill erosion - fast flowing rivulets cut
- Small channels in soil.
- Gully erosion - rivulets join together to
- Cut wider, deeper ditches or gullies
- Two major impacts- loss of soil fertility and
pollution of near by waters
14Causes of soil Degradation
- Deforestation
- No vegetation to hold the soil, soil is removed,
loss of soil fertility, pollutes and can silt up
rivers, decline in fish, flooding can worsen - Management prevent deforestation, manage forest
harvesting, replant
15Stepped Art
Fig. 10-6a, p. 219
16- 2. Agriculture
- Overgrazing- livestock are grazed on land in an
unsustainable way (poorly managed) which leads to
soil erosion and compaction of soil (due to the
feet of the animals) - Solutions-Rotational grazing- land is not grazed
on until the plants have had enough time to grow
back, cattle supplied with other food sources, ex
hay - Over grazing can lead to desertification
17Soils Degradation
- Desertification - combination of
- Prolonged drought and human activities
- Lead to a reduction in the productive
- potential of land.
- Solutions Reduce
- Overgrazing
- Deforestation
- Destructive forms of farming, irrigation, and
mining
18Soils Degradation
- Salinization - salts left on soil as
- irrigation water evaporates. Stunts crop
- growth and reduces crop yields.
- Waterlogging - farmers leach salts from
- Soils by applying large amounts of water.
- if water does not drain, saline water sits in
pools and damages roots of plants. - Solution- Drip irrigation, better drainage
19Prevention
Cleanup
Reduce irrigation Switch to salt- tolerant
crops (such as barley, cotton, sugar beet)
Flushing soil (expensive and wastes water) Not
growing crops for 2-5 years Installing under-
ground drainage systems (expensive)
Preventing and cleaning up soil salinization
20Industrialized Crop Production Causes Soil Erosion
- Industrialized agriculture, high-input
agriculture (intensive) produces 80 of worlds
food supply - Uses heavy equipment and large amounts of fossil
fuels, water, commercial fertilizers, pesticides,
and financial capital. - Primarily monocultures single crop in one area.
- Goal is to steadily increase crop yield, Ex Corn
21Reduce Soil Erosion Due to Agriculture
- Soil conservation methods
- Crop rotation- Crop rotation is the practice of
planting different crops during consecutive
growing seasons. By doing this the following
benefits are applied to the soil and plants - Strip cropping with cover crop
22Terracing Carving steep hills into terraces to
retain water at each level and prevent soil
erosion from downhill runoff. Contour farming
plowing rows to follow the curve of gently
sloping land. Same benefits as terracing.
Terracing
23Alley cropping rows of crops are planted
between a row of trees that provide fruit or
fuelwood and reduce Evaporation and wind blown
soil erosion Windbreaks - use rows of trees to
reduce wind erosion and help retain soil
moisture.
24Soil Degradation conventional tillage
- Conventional-tillage - fields often
- Plowed in the fall and left bare over
- winter. This leaves it vulnerable to
- Erosion, breaks soil structure
- Solution Conservation tillage
- Idea is to disturb the soil as little as
possible when - planting crops
- No-tillage- leave last years crop, use
- Seed injectors
- Minimum tillage - subsurface soil is
- loosened but not topsoil.
25CONSERVATON TILLAGE
Disadvantages
Advantages
Reduces erosion Saves fuel Cuts costs Holds
more soil water Reduces soil compaction Allows
several crops per season Does not reduce crop
yields
Can increase herbicide use for some
crops Leaves stalks that can harbor crop pests
and fungal diseases and increase pesticide
use Requires investment in expensive equipment
26- Water ManagementOver-watering a crop area will
result in erosion of soil and possible flooded
fields. - To counteract this farmers can plant crops native
to the area that do not require external
irrigation or employ minimal water techniques,
such as drip-irrigation - the process of only
watering the crops themselves by using a hose
with small holes at each crop.
27- Case Studies
- MEDC- USA pg 303 textbook (Dustbowel 1930s)
- LEDC- India see article
28- Types of Soil
- Podzols are soils with an ash-grey subsurface
horizon, bleached by organic acids, on top of a
dark accumulation horizon with brown or black
reddish iron compounds. - Podzols occur in the Boreal and Temperate Zones
- Soils are acidic (pine needles), little ground
vegetation - Sandy not good for farming
- Characteristics
- Cool moist environment
- Climate
- Evergreen so limited litter layer
- Slow to decompose due to limited soil organisms
(cold) - Water
- Lots of water, snow melt
- Water infiltrates through layers, leaches out
nutrients (Fe, Al) that collect lower down the
profile.
29 30(No Transcript)