Earth Science: Water, Soil and Me

Quarter 1 - Module 6 (Week 7-8)

What This Module is About

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Water is life. Our basic need for food, freedom from disease, and overall human
development and well-being depend on it. Households, schools, hospitals, industries and all other
sectors rely on the availability of safe water for sanitation, hygiene, waste management, and the
maintenance of a sustainable natural environment.
The demand for water has consistently increased across all major water use sectors. It will
continue to do so over the coming decades. In addition to the water demand of the agricultural
sector, large increases in water demand are predicted for industry and energy production (WWAP,
2015). The situation worsens with shifting diets towards water-intensive meat products and the
consumer’s fascination for larger meal portions, quick meals, and food waste disposal to landfills
instead of hitting compost bins at home for richer soils.
An understanding of water and land management is needed as we consider human
interactions with water and soil functions. If ignored, then human activities will continue to degrade
freshwater and terrestrial ecosystems. This in turn affects the life-supporting ecosystem goods and
services that water and land provide us.
This module, Water, Soil and Me is designed as a self-learning module for the Senior High
School - STEM core subject on Earth Science. As a learner under the Alternative Delivery Mode
for DepEd’s Basic Education, it is expected that you are physically and digitally incapable of
attending face-to-face and online blend of class sessions.
You may complete this module at your own pace within a week and a half. The inquiry-
based lesson activities are to be done at home on your own (or with your family when called for)
using minimal household items or none at all. In some activities you will follow easy step-by-step
procedures. In other activities, you will design and initially execute the plan as an open-ended
investigation on your family’s water and soil management practices.
It is important for you to write your notes, questions, observations, reports and reflections
on your science notes or on note template printouts. A sample Learner’s Notes template is shown
at the end of this module as a guide. The notes and reports you make for each lesson shall serve
as main parts of your learning portfolio.

This module is divided into two units:

1. Of Ripples and Reflections: Human Impacts on Freshwater, and
2. Of Dirt and Digs: Human Impacts on Soil

What I Need to Know

At the end of this module, you should be able to:

1. Explain how different activities affect the quality and availability of water for human use.
(S11ES-Ig-16);
2. Identify human activities, such as farming, construction of structures, and waste disposal,
that affect the quality and quantity of soil. (S11ES-Ih-17); and
3. Give ways of conserving and protecting the soil for future generations. (S11ES-Ih-i-18)
 Earth Science: Water, Soil and Me
Quarter 1 - Module 6 (Week 7-8)

LESSON 1: OF RIPPLES AND REFLECTIONS: HUMAN IMPACTS ON FRESHWATER

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What I Need to Know

Consider the parting lines written by the green poet, Martin Kiszko in his “Water Walk” poem:
. . . At four miles, I ask myself whether you ever gave a thought, about the trek I must make
through scorching heat – to the spring, the river bank, a muddy hole, where I collect the
dirty water I must drink. I start the four mile journey home . . . a full container on my back. I
day dream about other children far away from Africa and wonder what the distance is of
their daily water walk.

How many steps did you take to fetch your basic water supply this morning? Did you use a
pump to draw water from the ground? Did you turn an indoor faucet or simply grab a water bottle?
What did you use water for? And where did the wastewater drain into?
The goal of this lesson is to help you understand key water issues. You will take a look at
key water facts and analyze actions that affect different freshwater resource ecosystems and its
life-sustaining functions. Through this unit, you will explore water use in agriculture, industry, and
household sectors. The lesson introduces also water audit and water footprints as tools for you
and your family to identify current practices and future approaches of water use and management.

After going through the lesson, you are expected to:

1. identify goods and services supplied by water resource ecosystems,
2. record and analyze your direct and indirect water use,
3. explain how human actions from the different sectors affect access to freshwater, and
4. plan a water consumption and management practice that increases water quality and
availability.

What’s In

Water Facts

In the previous module, you have learned about the various water resources on Earth.
Recall that we live on a blue planet where water circulates through the water cycle in its different
states, as water vapour, liquid water and ice. The freshwater in our world is found in three main
places:
• Atmospheric water in the air either as a solid (hail, snow), liquid (fog, mist, rain) or gas
(invisible water vapour)
• Surface water as runoff and base-flow into and from the catchment areas like lakes
• Groundwater in the cracks and spaces of soil, sand, and rocks underground, generally
adequate and of high quality that does not require treatment for human use.

But despite the seeming abundance of water on Earth, freshwater availability is less than 2.5
percent of the world’s water supply. Of this percentage, less than one third is easily accessible
from surface water bodies like lakes and rivers and from the underground stored in aquifers. This
leaves us with less than 1% available for water, sanitation and hygiene needs.
 Earth Science: Water, Soil and Me
Quarter 1 - Module 6 (Week 7-8)

Figure 1. World’s small fraction of freshwater for human needs.

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Source: UN Environmental Programme, Vital Water Graphics: An overview of the state of the
world’s fresh and marine waters, 2nd ed., UNEP, Nairobi, 2008; United Nations Environment
Programme, Global Environment Outlook 3: Past, present, and future perspectives, UNEP,
Nairobi, 2002.; UN Population Division, 2015 Revision of World Population Prospects, UN DESA,
New York, Jul 2015. Reprinted with permission of UNICEF.

Activity 1: Mouth-watering Options

Table 1. Ways Water is Used Daily
A. You and I use water in many ways. How much water My Da i l y W a t e r Us e s
you use daily is a measure of your water footprint and can Direct Use Indirect Use
be traced back to the actions and choices you make. On
your science notes, make a table similar to Table 1. Using
the first column, list as many ways in which you use water.
Do this for a minute or two.
When you’re done, encircle the answers where you
directly see or handle water. Activities like these are ways
you directly use water for the intended purpose.
Now fill the second column with things you have to use
daily. Using these products – like food, clothes or electric
power, are ways of indirectly using water that we refer to as
virtual (embedded) water?

Q1. Which do you estimate is larger – your direct water use or your indirect water use?
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B. Your diet and lifestyle make up the largest part of your individual water footprint. If you are to
have your breakfast, which option in Figure 2 would you choose and why?
 Earth Science: Water, Soil and Me
Quarter 1 - Module 6 (Week 7-8)

Figure 2. Filipino Breakfast Set Menu I

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A. dried fish and champorado B. egg, rice and banana C. adobo, rice and banana

Your reasons may be personal – food budget, energy needs, nutrient value, or simply an
appetite for a craving. Yet your choice is very much related to local and global freshwater resource
consumption. Consider Figure 3 and choose which breakfast you will have based on how large or
how small you want your water usage will be.
Q2. Which menu do you estimate, requires the least amount of water for growing and processing the
raw food and beverage materials from the fields to your fork? Why?
Q3. For reasons of a fair comparison and decision, how will you keep your investigation fair?

Figure 3. Filipino Breakfast Set Menu II

D. egg, fish, rice, banana and E. egg, adobo, rice, banana and F. egg, embutido, rice, banana
milk milk and milk

What Is It

Of Direct and Indirect Water Uses

As you have listed on Table 1, there are two categories of water use: direct and
indirect. You directly use water in different activities like hand washing, drinking, cooking,
bathing, cleaning and many more. You also used water indirectly through the food you eat, the
things you buy, and even the energy you use. The water used to produce or process a
commodity, commercial goods or service is referred to us virtual water. The measurement of
virtual water along the full production - consumption chain is referred to as a water footprint.
Let’s say you drank one liter of tap water last night. Due to this action, you directly
consumed one liter of actual tap water. If today, you will buy a 1-L bottled water and drink all of it,
you would have directly consumed one liter of bottled water. But you also indirectly used the
many liters of virtual water needed (and some amount possibly got wasted) to produce and supply
the water bottle itself. Depending on where and how the bottle was produced, you just added five
liters or more of freshwater to your water footprint because of that action.

Your personal water footprint is the total volume of water required in the production of the
services and goods you patronize and use. So in which type of water use did you consume more
 Earth Science: Water, Soil and Me
Quarter 1 - Module 6 (Week 7-8)

water? Drinking tap water or drinking bottled water? What can you do minimize your total water
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consumption even if you still prefer bottled water to tap?

How did you estimate which water use is larger? Within this week you will make a simple
water audit of your direct water use for 24 hours. To help you prepare for it, analyze Table 2 for
direct and indirect water uses and the total volume per use.

Table 2. Direct and Indirect Water Use

Direct Water Use for Liters of Water Indirect Water Use Liters of
Activity1 Used (Goods) 2 Virtual Water
1-min shower, regular flow 10 1 pair of jeans (1000 10,850
g)
1-min shower, low flow 7 1 bed sheet (900 g) 9750
1-min standard faucet flow 8 1 T-shirt (250 g) 2720
1-min with aerator faucet 6 1 diaper (75 g) 810
flow
1 standard toilet flush 6 1 cotton bud (0.333 g) 3.6
1 old inefficient toilet flush 22

Indirect Water Use Liters of Sources:

(Food)3 Virtual Water 1. www.epa.gov/watersense/using-water-
efficiently
Content
60 g large-sized egg 196 2. A.K. Chapagain A.Y. Hoekstra H.H.G.
250 ml of milk (1 glass) 255 Savenije R. Gautam (2005). The water
100 g chocolate 1720 footprint of cotton consumption, Value of
100 g mango 180 Water Research Report Series No. 18,
UNESCO-IHE, Delft, the Netherlands.
100 g banana (small) 79
1 kg cabbage 237 3. M.M. Mekonnen and A.Y. Hoekstra (2010),
1 kg potato 287 "The Green, Blue and Grey Water Footprint of
1 kg corn 1222 Crops and Derived Crop Products," and "...of
1 kg rice 2497 Farm Animals and Animal Products," Value of
Water Research Report Series No. 47 and 48,
1 kg beef 15415 UNESCO-IHE, Delft, the Netherlands.
1 kg chicken 4325
1 kg fish (freshwater)4 3160 4. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.03.134
1 kg fish (marine)4 1490
1 kg pork 5988

What you are reading now is printed on an A4 sheet of paper. The global average water
footprint for this paper alone is estimated to be between 2-13 liters. The exact amount depends
on the type and origin of the paper materials used. If recycled paper is used instead of raw paper
materials, then an estimated 40% of virtual water is saved.

Generally, water is required in the different paper production stages – from growing wood to
processing pulp into paper products. But most of the water is required in growing the tree, where
water consumption refers to the forest evapotranspiration. Then, there’s the additional water used
during the manufacturing processes in the industrial stage, mostly due to the evaporation and
contamination of groundwater and surface water.

How much water was used to grow your rice and chicken, to manufacture your shirt and
skirt, your books and music gadgets? Surprisingly, you may not see your indirect water use, yet it
 Earth Science: Water, Soil and Me
Quarter 1 - Module 6 (Week 7-8)

accounts for most of your water footprint. With your daily actions and choices, you directly and
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indirectly use, reuse, and waste water.
Later this week, you will do a household water audit. This is a quantitative analysis of
water use from entry into the home up to its discharge as waste or excess water. Doing a water
audit involves calculating your direct water use and identifying simple ways for reducing water
consumption. Practice how to do a simple water audit for virtual water uses.

Of Water Marks from Muddled Ripples

The first ‘detectable’ human impact within a lake catchment may not immediately cause a
response or change in the aquatic system because of its negligible degree of impact caused by
say a small population size or the use of less invading technologies. Bodies of water adapt to
slow changes, but over time with the rise of technological advance, population surge, intensified
activities and resource use, then ecological shifts start to occur significantly.

Human activities (settlements, industry, and agricultural developments) can disturb the
components of the natural water cycle through land use diversions, water use/reuse and discharge
of wastes into the natural groundwater and surface water pathways. A consolidated look of your
answers for Activity 3 may be illustrated similar to Figure 6.

Figure 6. Water Marks from Muddled Ripples

 Earth Science: Water, Soil and Me
Quarter 1 - Module 6 (Week 7-8)

Human activities in natural drainage areas can cause soil erosion and pollution. These
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are direct drivers of ecosystem change. Erosion affects freshwater ecosystems due to the
transportation and deposition of sediments, nutrients and contaminants to surface water systems.
This results to sedimentation, flooding, turbidity, and eutrophication which can fill downstream
water reservoirs faster than planned.

On the other hand, high levels of lead, copper or mercury in sediment loads are indications
of heavy metal contamination. Effluents, discharges and even nutrients come from domestic,
industrial and agricultural (fertilizer and fungicide) runoffs. These lead to water acidification and
the worst cases of eutrophication. Due to high nitrogen and phosphorus loads in water,
eutrophication, is globally considered as the most prevalent water quality problem. In addition,
contaminated surface waters and groundwater are costly and difficult to clean.

Moreover, habitat modification changed the physical flow of water into the ecosystem
through the manipulation of surface water level and groundwater reservoirs. The creation of
dams, bridges, harbors, or electric power plants can cause flow diversion or intensive water
withdrawal and/or water recharge. These results in fluctuations of water level, salinization,
nutrient loads, turbidity and the light environment.

Biological invasions, like the introduction of non-native species of fish on a lake that has no
fish before, can induce important shifts in breeding, feeding and nursing patterns, and even
promote algal blooms and the dominance of invasive species.

On the other hand, people have been disposing untreated wastes into the air, land and
water resources. Pollution degrades ecosystems and affects rainfall, surface and ground waters.
Pollution sources that impact our water resources can develop at different space and time scales.
The 2006 United Nations World Water Development Report 2 categorized the freshwater
pollution sources in the following nine categories:

• Organic matter from industrial wastewater and domestic sewage can deplete oxygen from
water as it decomposes and suffocates aquatic life.
• Pathogens and microbial contaminants from domestic sewage, livestock and natural
sources can spread infectious diseases through contaminated drinking water supplies.
• Nutrients from agricultural run-offs, and industrial discharges can over stimulate the growth
of algae that leads to eutrophication. Furthermore, high levels in nitrate in drinking water
leads to illness in people.
• Salinization from saltwater intrusions cause salt residue build-up in soils due to over
irrigation or over-pumping of coastal aquifers. As irrigated waters evaporate from soils, salt
residues are left on the soil to accumulate.
• Acidification from electric power generation, industrial stacks, and vehicle emissions
including acid mine tailings can lower the pH of soils and water.
• Heavy Metals from industries and mining sites can accumulate in the tissues of shellfish
and fish. These are toxic to aquatic life and humans.
• Toxic organic compounds and micro-organic pollutants from industrial sites,
automobiles, agricultural fields, and municipal wastewaters can be toxic to aquatic fauna
and humans.
• Thermal Pollution from stored water in dams and reservoirs that warms up due to
discharges from cooling towers can change the aquatic oxygen levels and rates of
decomposition in the receiving waters.
• Silt and suspended particles from natural soil erosion due to road building, agricultural
activities, construction, deforestation, and other land use changes can reduce water quality
 Earth Science: Water, Soil and Me
Quarter 1 - Module 6 (Week 7-8)

for drinking and recreation. These can also degrade aquatic habitats by choking aquatic
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organisms with silt and disturbing breeding and feeding.

The quality of water is affected by chemical, microbiological and thermal pollution (Carr
and Neary, 2008; Mayers et al., 2009; UNEP, 2010a):
• Chemical contamination can be caused by excess in nutrients, heavy metals, and
persistent organic pollutants, resulting to acidification, changes in salinity and increase in
sediment loads.
• Microbiological contamination due to bacteria, viruses and protozoa in water is a leading
global human health hazards.
• Fluctuating natural water temperature cycles can affect metabolic rates and biological
functions resulting to long-term population declines.

What’s More

Human Impacts on Freshwater: Water Clear Reflections

Just as there are direct and indirect water usages, there are also direct and indirect
drivers that change water resource ecosystems. A direct driver clearly impacts ecosystem
processes while an indirect driver works by influencing one or more direct drivers:
• direct drivers are physical and biological factors that include climate change, land
conversion, plant nutrient use, and the onset of diseases and invasive species
• indirect drivers are demographic; economic; socio-political; cultural and religious; and
scientific and technological factors
Table 5 is an adapted summary of land use changes and the major threats on water
resource ecosystems around the world (UNEP, 2004b). Only five out of eighteen freshwater
ecosystems were selected and shown for you to analyze and synthesize.
Table 5. Some major threats to selected coastal and freshwater ecosystems and services
Ecosystem Goods and Services Threats
Rivers many environmental, economic (e.g. fish, reclamation, drainage, flow regulation, dam
water supplies, transport, disposal, biological construction, hydroelectric power, pollution,
cleaning, climate regulation, etc.), religious deforestation, soil erosion and degradation, climate
and spiritual values change and alien invasive species
Inland deltas water supplies, sediment and nutrient drainage, irrigation, regulation of water flow,
retention, recreation pollution, deforestation, soil erosion, agricultural
intensification, overexploitation of fish and other
food species, climate change

Lakes water supplies, fiber, fish, waterfowl, pollution, agricultural intensification, eutrophication,
recreation, groundwater recharge, religious deforestation, soil degradation, overexploitation of
and spiritual values fish and food species, climate change, waterborne
disease control

Groundwater Water reservoirs, water storage, nutrients Irrigation, pollution, agricultural intensification,
aquifers storage eutrophication, deforestation, soil erosion,
overexploitation of food species, waterborne
disease control
Freshwater water and food supplies, stop-over sites for irrigation, pollution, agricultural intensification,
springs migratory species, recreation, religious and overexploitation of fish and other food species,
spiritual values alien invasive species

Source: UNEP and UNEP-WCMC, 2004

 Earth Science: Water, Soil and Me
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Lesson
Of Dirt and Digs:
2 Human Impacts on Soil

What I Need to Know

Can you name all the vegetables in the song “Bahay Kubo” without singing it?
The catchy tunes of this well-known Filipino folk song brings to mind a simple nipa hut
surrounded by bounteous blessings of the land. Young or old, farmer or not, one would do well in
life by remembering the song’s message of hope in the harvest of the land.
Remember those childhood days of playing barefoot outside, shooting marbles on holed
grounds of bare soil, baking mud cakes with petals on top, or getting dirty while digging. Did we
ever ask then, is soil dirt? And now as an adult, we need to ask, is dirt soil?
Soil scientists dig deeper and study soils getting their hands dirty to learn the role of soils in
food, fiber, fuel, freshwater and even flood control. Soil is Mother Earth’s thin dynamic skin which
serves as foundation for our natural living world. Dirt, on the other hand is that dead, disintegrated
mineral part of wind-eroded soil and by itself can never sustain life. Soil is much more than dirt!
But when we treat soil as dirt, digging it for our immediate needs and economic gains without
regard for its continuous health, conservation and protection, then tons of natural soil will end up
as useless dirt. It is time to look at our actions and strengthen our personal connection to the very
soil that supports the very ground we stand on.
The statement from then US President Franklin D. Roosevelt, “The nation that destroys its
soil destroys itself.” kick-started the soil conservation programs against the devastating problems
of great dust storms and floods. This powerful warning assert that human actions globally impact
soil resources. It is no wonder that scientists and environment authorities under the United
Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization declared 2015-2024 as the International Decade of
Soils and published on 2015 the report “Status of the World’s Soil Resources” that shed light into
the soil threats challenging soil functions and resources.
The goal of this lesson is to help you understand soil degradation issues. You will take a
look at soil science, soil matters and the growing trend in human activities that affect soil
resources and its life-sustaining functions. Through this unit, you will explore global and local uses
of soil in agriculture and urban developments through a simple soil aggregate model. Finally, the
lesson introduces the concept of soil sealing and some soil health principles as groundwork for
you and your family to identify current practices and apply sustainable approaches to soil use at
home or in the community.

After going through the lesson, you are expected to:

1. identify soil functions and soil threats,
2. compare healthy soil from a degraded soil,
3. identify human actions that can have significant impacts on soil health, and
4. plan a soil conservation and protection project that improves soil quality and quantity.
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What’s In

Soil Matters

In the previous modules, you have learned about earth consisting of four subsystems
across whose boundaries matter and energy flow. At the overlapping boundaries of the
atmosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere and biosphere is the critical zone of soil. It is here
where air, water, minerals and life intersect and interact. You also studied the importance of
common rock-forming minerals, and how these rocks undergo earth processes to offer mankind
with natural resources and energy supply.

Prior to the 20th century, soil was regarded as a mixture of weathered rock layer which
serves as a medium for plant growth and agricultural production. Engineers may define soil in
relation to supporting structures as a mixture of mineral material of sand, gravel, and fine particles
used as a base for construction. Over the past 150 years of man’s interaction with soil, soil
concept and principles has increased with studies on soil horizons, soil-forming factors, soil
processes, soil fertility, soil conservation, soil system, soil cover, soil quality, soil health, soil
degradation, sustainable soil management and much more.

At present, soil as a dynamic and finite resource is defined as the unconsolidated mineral
or organic material on the immediate surface of the earth formed from a parent rock
material through processes that show the effects of climate, macro and micro-organisms,
the topography of its location on land, and of formation time (SSSA, 2015).

Figure 7. What are the components of an idealized soil? Based from Pidwirmy (2006)

1.) 40-50% inorganic mineral particles
a. rock particles too big to be soil
(gravel, stones, boulders),
b. sand as large soil particles,
c. silt as medium soil particles, and
d. clay as small soil particles
2.) ~ 50% empty pore spaces in soil filled
with either (a) air that allows exchange of
CO2 and O2 gas for the respiration of
organisms or (b) water for uptake by
plant roots and living soil organisms
3.) 0–10% biological organisms or parts of
biological organisms (living or dead) from
macroscopic plants and animals to the
microscopic bacteria, archaea, and fungi.
Included here are the animal and microbial
waste products in different stages of
decomposition breaking down into humus.
The soil organic matter is the most important
component because of its influence on the
physical, chemical and biological properties of a
healthy soil as it carry out its different soil
functions.
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What Is It

Of Global Soil Functions and Soil Threats

Table 9. The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment – Summarized Ecosystem Services

and Functions of Soil (FAO, 2015)

Food, Fiber and Fuel (water, nutrients, and physical support for plant growth,
bioenergy and fiber needed by man and animals)
Soil Water (retains, stores and purifies water)
Provides Raw Earth Material (topsoil, aggregates for construction, peat, etc.)
Surface Stability (support for human habitations and related infrastructure)
Refugia (habitat for soil organisms, birds, etc.)
Pharmaceutical and Genetic Resources (source of biological materials)
Water Quality (filters, buffers substances, transforms contaminants in water)
Water Supply (water infiltration into soil, water flow within soil, and drainage of
Soil excess water out of soil and into groundwater and surface water)
Regulates Climate (regulates CO2, N2O, and CH4 emissions; stores soil organic carbon and
sequesters carbon from the atmosphere and land vegetation*
Erosion (retains soil on the land surface)
Nutrient Cycling (soil organisms transform organic materials; releases or retains
nutrients on charged surfaces)
Soil
Soil Formation (weathers primary minerals; releases nutrients; transforms and
Supports
increases organic matter; creates structures in soil aggregates and soil horizons for
gas, water flow, and root growth; and creates charged surfaces for ion retention or
exchange)
Soil’s Aesthetic and spiritual (preserves natural and cultural landscape diversity, source
Cultural of pigments and dyes)
Services Heritage (preserves archaeological records)

Soil services are basically determined by the soil properties texture, mineralogy, and soil
organic matter (Palm et al. 2007). Soil texture and mineralogy are dependent on the parent rock
materials which change very slowly over time. While the soil organic matter (SOM) changes
easily due to human-induced impacts. So the management of SOM is critical to sustainable
soil management because of its quick response to changes and our ability to use and manipulate
it.

The World Soil Charter echoes the plea for all who use or manage soil to act as stewards
of the soil and ensure that this essential natural resource is managed sustainably and protect it
for the future generations (FAO, 2015).
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Soil degradations result to reduced soil functions and lower ability to support ecosystem
services needed for human survival and well-being. Minimizing or stopping significant soil
degradation is important for the sustainable maintenance of soil services. This is more cost-
effective than restoring degraded soils.
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Quarter 1 - Module 6 (Week 7-8)

Conversely, the arrangements of the solid parts and pore spaces of soil is called soil
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structure. Clumps of soil particles held together by varied organic substances are called soil
aggregates. Well-structured aggregates of soils indicate a healthy soil.

In this activity, you will use bread as a simple model of a soil aggregate. Observe how soil
erodes due to water (or wind) flow, how soil contaminants get dispersed by water, and how
water flows when soil is compacted or sealed. This activity is designed to introduce the concept
of soil aggregate stability which is critical to soil functions and soil health.

Of Healthy and Degraded Soils

Soil takes thousands of years to naturally form a few centimeters thick of soil cover. Yet in
just a few minutes we can lose volumes of it to natural and human-induced soil threats like soil
erosion, soil contamination, soil compaction, soil sealing, waterlogging and through
unsustainable land use/land take/land conversion practices as shown in Figure 16.

Figure 16. From top to bottom, left to right (landslide due to water erosion, house improvements expose grounds, urban
areas have lots of storm drain systems, paved driveways and rain gardens, cut mountainsides for roads, corn growing on
a vacant dumped with construction debris).

With increased population, the demands on what arable land is left has continued to increase.
Human settlements and urban infrastructure expanded. Residential and recreational areas extend
 Earth Science: Water, Soil and Me
Quarter 1 - Module 6 (Week 7-8)

further into rural areas where prime farmland gets converted into other land uses.
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Those who rely on their land are taking actions to improve the health of their soil. Key actions are
not to disturb the soil by practicing sustainable solutions like the no/reduced till, crop rotation,
composting or leaving crop residues on the soil, and providing a living cover crop of diverse plants
and animals, above and below the soil surface.

When the solid parts – sand, silt and clay particles – stick together as aggregates, the soil
has a good combination of solid parts and pore spaces. Well-structured soils have both large
macropores (>0.08 mm) and small micropores within interconnected networks of pores. This allows
rapid infiltration and easy movement of water and air. These pores also provide a refuge or habitat
for soil organisms. Thus, healthy soils are well-structured. Plowed or tilled soils have loose
particles that easily erode, clog pores, seal surfaces, and can be compacted.

The undisturbed soil on The disturbed soil on the top layer

the top layer of a lawn or of a field or construction site is
field that has not been unaggregated having no stable
tilled for years form form, it readily falls apart during
stable soil aggregates erosion. Runoff waters are
and hold together when muddy. Eroded sediments settle
immersed in water. in layers sealing off fine pores.
Figure 17. stable soil aggregate (USDA-
NRCS Soil Health Campaign)
 Earth Science: Water, Soil and Me
Quarter 1 - Module 6 (Week 7-8)

The aggregated soil model of bread showed a greater available water capacity (AWC or
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holding capacity) compared to the unaggregated soil model of flour. Water soaked all the way
through the bread “soil” while water was surface sealed off the flour “soil”.
The same principle happens with tilled or plowed land. Pores collapse and soil breaks apart
in poor soil structures. Much of the water that falls on cultivated soil surface move individual soil
particles into empty pores. The soil gets sealed, making it difficult for water to seep into the soil
but easier to runoff to other lower areas. On the other hand, water flowing past aggregate soil
structures soaks deep, gets filtered and stored in the unplowed soil.
Figure 22. Holding capacity of aggregated and unaggregated soil.

Figure 23. Soils (b) compacted by vehicular or foot traffic changes the soil composition by decreasing the
percentages of organic matter, soil air, and soil water in the soil. These results to a higher bulk density for
minerals but with lower available water capacity (AWC) of the soils limiting the infiltration of water so the
excess water runs off and can cause waterlogged areas where water accumulates in depressed areas that
does not drain water well.

Do the Slake Test for Real Soils!

(a) (b) The test compares two clods or chunks of real topsoil
submerged in water. See for yourself how well and how
long tilled and untilled identical topsoil chunks will hold
together as aggregates under water.
Hook wire screen holders inside two water-filled glasses.
Submerge the soil clods on separate water-filled glasses
at the same time. Watch and see for yourself which soil
holds together and which one falls apart.

Soil erosion by water is the greatest threat to soil productivity and one of the largest source of water pollution. The
productive topsoil layer is usually the first to be eroded and the organic matter disintegrated. When water erodes
contaminants like fertilizers, pesticides and soil particles away into other water sources, the soil will be deposited as a
pollutant sediment.
Figure 24. Polluted bread “soil” aggregate Figure 25. Polluted unaggregated flour “soil”

Most of the liquid and solid contaminants on the soil Most of the liquid contaminants got sealed onto the soil’s
soaked into and got filtered in the bread “soil aggregate”. surface. While most of the solid contaminants spread over
What little excess water that wasn’t able to infiltrate the the “unaggregated soil” surface some were carried away by
soil, runs off as a polluted water. the polluted runoff waters.

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 Earth Science: Water, Soil and Me
Quarter 1 - Module 6 (Week 7-8)

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Soil erosion can damage or wash away human structures like roads and weakened
building foundations or cause landslides on steep slopes. It can also uproot or damage
vegetation and crops, covering plants with eroded soil and field residue. Mulch tillage,
crop residues, and cover crops help hold the soil in place and filter out fertilizers and
pesticides.

Figure 26. Mulch Tillage leaves crop
residue on soil surface as a cover even
when the soil was disturbed during reduced
tilling. (US Department of Agriculture–
Natural Resources Conservation Service
Soil Health Campaign)
Figure 27. Corns planted into no till corn
residues provide soil organisms with food and
cover against heat and water evaporation.
(US Department of Agriculture–Natural
Resources Conservation Service Soil Health
Campaign)

Figure 28. Both soil landscapes are partially sealed (covered by a cement tile that represents an
impervious material). The exposed part at the lower right allowed water to interact with the
aggregated (a) and unaggregated (b) soils. There is greater water run-off from the partially sealed
aggregated soils (a) as compared to the open aggregated soil (c). But still this is a lesser volume
as compared to the runoffs from both the partially sealed (b) and open unaggregated soils (d). It
is evident that the spread of soil and water pollution is far greater when water flows over
impermeable or impervious materials covering soils.

(a) partially sealed aggregated soil (b) partially sealed unaggregated soil

(c) open/exposed aggregated soil (d) open/exposed unaggregated soil

Surface or soil sealing is a “land take” trend that appears to have no end at present
because of the demands of growing cities, changing lifestyles, and land planning decisions
 Earth Science: Water, Soil and Me
Quarter 1 - Module 6 (Week 7-8)

(European Union, 2013). Converting green spaces for areas like houses, offices, factories, roads
17
and other structures degrades the soil by covering productive land with hard layers of concrete
and asphalt that prevent the production of plants or animals.
Soils in urban areas can be natural soils (weathered by underlying bedrock or deposited
by water, wind or ice) or anthropogenic soils (formed in human-deposited material or fill) to
modify landscape or improve undesirable soil properties for specific human activities.
Urban soil fill materials can be any or a combination of (a) human-moved natural soils, (b)
construction debris, (c) waterways dredged materials, (d) coal ash, and (e) municipal solid waste.
Moving and using anthropogenic soils generally lead to topsoil removal, digging deep, overturning
and mixing subsoil and topsoil. This alter soil properties and predicting soil behavior in urban
areas become difficult (USDA-NRCS, 2005).

What’s More

Household Gardening – Green Gigs for Urban Home Soils

There are reasons for soil management at home:

(a) Humanitarian reasons – for adequate domestic supply of nutritious food
(b) Economic reasons – for livelihood out of growing and producing food
(c) Stewardship reasons – for sustainable use, conservation and protection of soils
(d) Environmental reasons – for safe water, clean air, productive soils and secure
areas
(e) Aesthetic reasons – for enjoyable and invigorating green spaces

Potential home garden products are legume tree crops (malunggay), fruits, vegetables,
spices, herbs, hanging or potted plant decors, compost, etc. Potential home green
space technologies are rain gardens and rain water harvesting systems.

Sample Home garden products

Figure 29. Traditional urban garden plots on vacant lot grounds

Figure 30. Traditional urban plants on bags, sacks and recyclable tires
 Earth Science: Water, Soil and Me
Quarter 1 - Module 6 (Week 7-8)

18

Figure 31. Urban plants along fences (ube), seed boxes (Ylang-ylang), raised beds or pots

Summary
The freshwater in our world is found in three main places:
• Atmospheric water in the air either as a solid (hail, snow), liquid (fog, mist, rain) or gas
(invisible water vapour)
• Surface water as runoff and base-flow into and from the catchment areas like lakes
• Groundwater in the cracks and spaces of soil, sand, and rocks underground, generally
adequate and of high quality that does not require treatment for human use.

Two categories of water use:

• direct - use of actual water in activities
• indirect.- virtual water used to produce or process a commodity, commercial goods or
service

Water footprint - the measurement of virtual water along the full production - consumption chain
of supply. There are 3 water footprint components:
• green water footprint - consumption of green water resources like rainwater and is
important for agriculture, forestry and horticulture.
• blue water footprint - consumption of blue water resources like surface water and
groundwater. Domestic, industry and irrigated agriculture uses blue water.
 Earth Science: Water, Soil and Me
Quarter 1 - Module 6 (Week 7-8)

• grey water footprint - polluted water or water used to dilute pollutants to satisfy water
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quality standards. This is what goes into bathroom floor drains, sinks and sewage facilities.
Water footprints differ. Products, services and goods require different amounts of virtual water
use along the different supply chain processes of growing, feeding, producing, manufacturing and
processing into a commodity.

Water footprints for crops are lower than those for animals because animals feed on plant
materials. Using, reusing, recycling goods, services and energy with lower water footprints
conserve big amounts of water more than the conservation of direct water use conception.

Conservation of actual/direct water use deliver immediate benefits and savings.

Safe hand washing is an important hygiene practice against respiratory and water-borne
diseases. Saving clean water from other non-essential activities means more water
available much needed for the frequent safe hand washing needs.

Water Audit - quantitative analysis of water use from entry up to discharge in a system

Water conservation can be a technological or a behavioral solution for water availability

An ecosystem change happens when people interact with their surroundings to satisfy their basic
needs and improve their well-being. We describe these interactions as “drivers” of ecosystem
change

Human activities for land use, land conversion, land take (activities on the natural drainage area),
water use, and water diversion impact the quality availability of water for human needs.

Main direct drivers of freshwater ecosystem change

• Soil erosion - affects freshwater ecosystems due to the transportation and deposition of
sediments, nutrients and contaminants to surface water systems. This results in
sedimentation, flooding, turbidity, and eutrophication.
• Pollution - effluents, discharges, nutrients and sediments are pollutants from domestic,
industrial and agricultural (fertilizer and fungicide) runoffs
• habitat modification – creation of structures like dams, harbors, power generation plants,
wastewater treatment facilities, etc. to manipulate or divert water flow
• introduction of species – non-native species of fish induce shifts in feeding, nursing and
breeding and the spread of invasive species

Eutrophication is a global prevalent freshwater quality problem due to the high nitrogen and
phosphorus loads in water and causes harmful algal blooms, dead zones and fish kills.

The quality of water is affected by chemical, microbiological and thermal pollutions.

Indirect drivers of ecosystem change are demographic; economic; socio-political; cultural and
religious; and scientific and technological factors which influence or modify a direct driver.
Soil - finite, precious, dynamic, thin overlapping boundaries of the earth systems where air,
water, minerals and life intersect and interact. Soil is the unconsolidated mineral or organic
material on the immediate surface of the earth, formed from a parent rock material through
processes that show the effects of climate, macro and micro-organisms, the topography of its
location on land, and of formation time.
 Earth Science: Water, Soil and Me
Quarter 1 - Module 6 (Week 7-8)

An idealized soil is about 45% mineral matter, 25% water, 25% air and 5% organic matter.
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Soils perform and deliver life-sustaining ecosystem services and goods as it:
• provides food, fiber, fuel, freshwater, construction earth material, surface foundation,
habitat for soil organisms and biological materials
• regulates water quality, water supply, climate and erosion
• supports nutrient cycling and soil formation
• preserves natural and cultural landscape and heritage

Soil functions are globally challenged by 10 soil threats which are nutrient imbalance, soil
acidification, soil biodiversity loss, soil compaction, soil contamination, soil erosion, soil organic
carbon (SOC) loss, soil salinization, soil sealing, and soil waterlogging.

Soil degradation - reduced soil functions to support ecosystem services needed for human
survival and well-being due to human-induced soil threats

Some soil management and conservation practices for soil health include maximum cover and
food for soil and its inhabitants using diverse, living cover crops; and no or minimal soil
disturbance through practices of no/reduced till, crop rotation, mulch tillage, etc.

Soil organic matter (SOM) is the most important component because it influences the physical,
chemical and biological properties of a healthy soil’s functions.

A soil aggregate is a stable well-structured soil that can hold itself even when immersed in water
for a long time and is an indicator of healthy soils. Unplowed soils contain stable soil
aggregates with high available water capacity (holding capacity) that allows storage of water in
soil for filtration and supply supporting organic matter processes in the soil. Plowed soils lack
structure or have weakened soil aggregates that easily crumble under water and wind agents of
erosion.

Urban soils can be:

• natural soil that are naturally water or wind eroded; naturally weathered soils from
underlying parent bedrock, or
• anthropogenic soil formed in human-deposited material or fill to modify landscape or
improve undesirable soil properties for specific human activities

Soil erosion by water is a prevalent soil threat together with soil pollution, soil compaction,
and soil sealing.

Soil sealing – soils are covered with impervious materials like asphalt or concrete and can no
longer be used for growing of food and animals

Moving and using anthropogenic soils through topsoil removal and mixing of subsoil and
topsoil results to degraded soil. Altered soil properties presents difficulty in predicting soil
behavior against natural hazards and disasters in urban areas.

A soil site survey includes a map and an inventory of existing properties and plant materials,
landscapes, soil descriptions, and soil problems.

Soil management can be done at home for many reasons and can be good for urban gardening
through production of home garden products and the development of green space
 Earth Science: Water, Soil and Me
Quarter 1 - Module 6 (Week 7-8)

technologies like rainwater harvesting for excess rainfall and the creation of rain gardens for
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water runoffs.

PERFORMANCE TASK 2: My Soil-Saving Green Digs

Now that you have an initial soil site analysis at home, design a plan to adopt an existing or to
create a future green space at home. Apply at least two soil-water conservation practices.

1. Describe two soil-water conservation practices you will use in your “green dig” plan. (10PTS.)

A.____________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
B.____________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

2. Sketch the green space on a base map where you will apply the conservation practices.
(20PTS.)

3. Write a paragraph to justify why you have chosen the two practices and their locations. Discuss
the benefits of your adopted home green space. (10PTS.)

______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
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