Soil Composition and Water Retention

Reasons for the Dust Bowl Drought (a lack of rain) contributed to the Dust Bowl. – The 1934 drought was the worst drought experienced in North America. At that time, farming practices included plowing the soil and leaving it bare.

Reasons for the Dust Bowl When the rain did not come, the soil dried out. The winds came up, and since there was not any ground cover, the soil was easily carried away by the wind. – This is a form of soil erosion.

Types of soils The main soils are: – Loam, – Sand, – Silt, – Gravel, – And clay. Some ground covers are: – Turnips, – Radishes, – And native grasses.

Clay Clay is a fine grained rock and or soil. Water is retention is high. – In fact, it can cause problems with proper water drainage. Plant growth depends on the amount of precipitation and type of plants you want to grow.

Loam Loam is a soil that is mixture of sand, silt, and clay. It is considered good for growing plants when nutrients are present. Loam can retain water and nutrients better than most other soils.

Sand Sand is made of fine grains of silicon and other rocks. It is often found along rivers, streams, lakes, and oceans. Sand is difficult to grow plants in. Water can easily move through it and sand does not store water for later use.

Gravel Gravel is a mixture of small pebbles and sand. Gravel has similar properties of sand as far as water retention and ability to grow plants.

Silt Silt consists of fine grains of clay and sand. It is often found at the bottoms of rivers. Silt allows for better water retention. The amount of clay determines the ability for plants to grow.

Ground Cover Ground cover includes plants that grow over the ground to hold the soil in place and lower water runoff. Some common ground covers include radishes, turnips, and native grasses. These can be grazed providing food for cattle and other livestock.