Geoecology

Chapter 1
 These are five components of soil:

•
 Rocks
Rocks are solid and made of minerals
 Sands
Sands are tiny grains of worn down rock.
It doesn’t hold water or doesn’t have many
nutrients.
 Silt
Silt is very small, broken pieces of rock. It is
larger than clay, but smaller than sand. It
is powdery when dry.
 CLAY
Clay holds water well. It is sticky and can
be shaped when it is wet. But, it is very
hard when dry.
Clay has many nutrients.

Clay is used for adobe or brick houses.

 Humus
Humus is made of leaves, twigs, small
animals, or other decayed substances.

Humus adds many nutrients to the soil.

Humus is in the topsoil.

 Soil Composition


 What is soil
made up of?
 Soil Composition

5%
25%
45%
Mineral Mater
Water
Air
25% Organic Material
 Soil Composition

1. Mineral Matter: Rock particles from the bedrock and
weathered rock.
2. Air: found in the pore spaces between rock grains.
3. Water: Also found in pore spaces.
4. Organic Material:
 Humus – a black sticky gel produced from decaying
leaves and animals.
 Living organisms – earthworms, beetles, & i
bacteria.
 How are Soils Formed?

3. Seeds are blown or
1. Solid rock particles 2. Chemical carried onto the soil
break down from weathering releases grains and may grow
chemical important nutrients into plants that enrich
weathering. from the rock grains. the soil when they die.

4. Micro-organisms
decompose the 5. The cycle continues
remains of plants to until soils reaches
form humus which maximum fertility given
further enriches the the climate it is in.
soil.
Soil Formation
 Soil Profiles

 S h o w the type of soil in the region.
 D e f i n e d as a vertical section of soil from the
ground surface downwards to where soil meets
the underlying rock.
 C o m p o s e d of a number of distinctive layers
called horizons.
 T h e key to understanding the process
involved in soil development.
 Soil Profiles
O = Organic horizon

 This has a high
percentage of organic
matter – leaves, plants
and dead animals.
 Humus is formed as
the dead organic matter
decays.
 Soil Profiles
A Horizon

 Known as topsoil.
 A dark organic
material mixed with
mineral soil grains.
 It is a source of
plant nutrients and
contains the majority of
plant roots.
 Soil Profiles
B Horizon

 Also called the subsoil.
 The B horizon is the
widely used to identify soil
type.
 May result purely
from the weathering of
underlying rock or from
movement downwards of
materials from horizons
above.
 Soil Profiles
C Horizon

 Lies just above
the bedrock.
 The overlying soil
horizons often develop
from the C horizon.
 R.E.Lizardo/ES_2020

Human Activities
Affecting Quality
and Quantity of
Soil
 R.E.Lizardo/ES_2020

1) Poor farming practices – leads to agricultural depletion

▪ Monoculture - The growing of one type
of crop over large areas of land year
after year
- depletes nutrients and water
supplies and has
negative impact on topsoil
▪ Improper soil tillage
▪ Shifting cultivation without adequate
fallow periods (tilling of land without
sowing it for a season)
▪ Absence or poor soil conservation
measures (to prevent erosion)
▪ Unbalanced fertilizer use
 R.E.Lizardo/ES_2020

2) Land clearance (including clearcutting and deforestation)

▪ removing trees, stumps, and other

vegetation
▪ to achieve needed land use
adjustments and improvements
(eliminates weeds and pests, decreases
chances of fires, etc.)
▪ Clearcutting (clearcut logging) - a
forestry/logging practice in which most
or all trees in an area are uniformly cut
down
▪ Deforestation - the permanent removal
of trees in a forest to
make land available for other uses
 R.E.Lizardo/ES_2020
Earth Science – Week 8

3) Overgrazing

▪ Occurs when the consumption of

vegetation biomass by livestock and
other grazers (e.g., wildlife)
exceeds the vegetation's
ability to recover in a timely fashion
 R.E.Lizardo/ES_2020
Earth Science – Week 8

4) Faulty planning or management of irrigation and

overdrafting
▪ Over-irrigation - makes the soil clayey
and dampy
▪ Overdrafting - removal of more water
from ground and surface basins than is
replaced by rain
 R.E.Lizardo/ES_2020

5) Urban sprawl and Commercial development

▪ Urban sprawl - the

unrestricted growth in
many urban areas of
housing, commercial
development, and
roads over large
expanses of land,
with little concern for
urban planning
 R.E.Lizardo/ES_2020

6) Land pollution including industrial wastes

▪ the deposition of solid or liquid
waste materials on land or
underground which
contaminates the soil and
groundwater
Earth Science – Week 8

7) Mining

▪ Leaves large amount of loose

soil exposed to the elements
▪ Induces land subsidence
>destroys soil structure and
changes its properties >causes
other eco-environmental
problems, (limitation of
vegetation growth, reduction
of crop production, plant death)
Earth Science – Week 8

8) Recreational activities

▪ Include hiking, biking on

terrains, driving off-road
vehicles
R.E.Lizardo/ES_2020
 Natural Resources
• Made by NATURE
• Cannot be replaced
• Must be conserved (saved)!
 Ways to Conserve Soil
• Plant trees
• Plant grass
• Healthy farming
• Plant gardens to grow crops

• What else can you do to conserve soil?

 END OF
PRESENTATION