SOIL a valuable natural resource.

Why. Because everything that lives on land depends on soil Why? Because everything that lives on land depends on soil. People & animals eat food that grows in soil. Plants need fertile soil to grow well to make good food.

Soil can be damaged by loss of fertility: (fertility describes how well the soil can grow plants)

LOSS of FERTILITY In the South in the 1800s – where cotton had been grown for years, the soil was exhausted, not fertile enough to grow healthy crops. Farmers left their farms.

George Washington Carver came up with a new way of farming with peanuts to bring nutrients back to the soil.

Soil can be damaged by loss of topsoil: (when soil is uncovered, wind and water can erode the topsoil)

People moving out west saw beautiful native grass growing as tall as men. They thought if they cut down the grass & plowed the land, they could grow any crop they wanted! The problem was that the crops they planted could not handle to dry times, the winds – the climate of the area.

LOSS of TOPSOIL Grasses of the Plains were plowed for crops LOSS of TOPSOIL Grasses of the Plains were plowed for crops. Then drought caused the crops to die and dirt to blow away, resulting in The Dust Bowl in Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado, New Mexico.

Since the Dust Bowl days, farmers have found ways to take care of the soil and prevent its destruction. This is called soil conservation.

SOIL CONSERVATION: (4 methods)

1. Contour Plowing – farmers plow along the curves of the land to prevent water from washing away soil; rows of garden look curvy instead of straight

2. Conservation Plowing (No-Till Plowing) – farmers leave the dead plants to keep the soil covered and in place; don’t cut down or plow old crops

3. Crop Rotation – farmers plant different crops each year that use different nutrients from the soil (EX: corn/cotton  oats/barley/rye  beans/alfalfa)

4. Terracing – farmers plant crop on different levels of a hillside to maximize the area of usable land and keep healthy soil in place; looks like steps on the hill This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA

FOOD FOR THOUGHT: WHY is it important to take care of our soil? HOW can we take care of our soil around our houses and school? A farmer growing corn wants to maintain soil fertility & reduce erosion. What conservation methods could he try? Explain.

The farmer could use… Conservation plowing (prevents soil erosion and add humus to soil which increases fertility) Crop rotation (keeps soil fertility) Terracing (maximizes use of land, keeps soil in place, and keeps soil fertile) Contour plowing (prevents soil erosion)