1. Soil
An important resource

2. No Soil…No Life…

3. WHAT is it???
Mixture of weathered/eroded rock, nutrients, decaying organic matter, water, air and…

4. billions of organisms!

5. Different sizes and types of minerals determine soil texture:
Clay: very fine and ultrafine particles
Silt: fine particles

6. Sand: medium size particles
Gravel: course to very course particles

7. If soil feels:
Gritty: lots of sand
Sticky: lots of clay
Smooth: lots of silt (like flour)
Loam: a mixture best suited for plant growth

8. Texture Lab… Using a soil triangle to determine texture
Determining the texture of a soil sample

9. Texture determines Porosity:
Porosity: the volume of pore spaces (air spaces)
Porous soil: has many pores so can hold more air and water.
Permeability: the rate at which water and air move from upper to lower layers.

11. Porosity and Permeability Labs…
Determine the porosity of two soil samples.
Determine the permeability of two soil samples.

12. Clay: low permeability
Sand: high permeability

13. Soil Nutrients
Basic Chemistry…

14. The Soil Profile
Layers of soil (horizons) each have their own distinct textures and composition.
Cross section of horizons = Soil Profile

16. Notes:
Soil Horizons: Layers
Soil Profile: Cross-Section

17. Different Ecosystems have different Profiles:
Grasslands have a deep/rich layer of topsoil due to yearly decomposition of grasses. PERFECT for farming – nutrient rich. (“breadbasket” of United States)

19. Years of over-plowing + drought = Dust Bowl of the 1930’s
However, poor agricultural practices have depleted this resource; plowed soil left to the elements of wind and rain is easily eroded.
Years of over-plowing + drought = Dust Bowl of the 1930’s
In some areas of the Great Plains, topsoil has decreased in thickness from 12 inches to less than 4 inches due to human activities!!

20. Tropical Rain Forest have thin, very acidic soil due to
rapid cycling of nutrients and
leaching of nutrients due to excessive rainfall
HORRIBLE for farming
Topsoil is only 1 to 2 inches thick

22. However, the world’s rainforests are being deforested or burned to provide room for more farmland (a response to the pressures of overpopulation…)
These farms are usually abandoned within one to two years after what little nutrients from the soil are used up… and the cycle of burning continues…

27. Borneo: Deforestation