Soil

This section is in addition to Chapter 3

 Soil
 Produced slowly (200-1000 years typically)
by weathering of rock, deposition of
sediments, and decomposition of organic
matter

 Soil horizons – separate zones within soil

 Soil profile – cross-section view of soil
 Horizons
 O horizon – surface litter
 A horizon – top soil, made up of inorganic
particles (clay, silt, sand) and humus (organic
particles from decomposed organisms)
 Dark topsoil is richer in nutrients
 Releases water and nutrients slowly
 Provides aeration to roots
 Healthy soil contains many nematodes and
bacteria, fungi, etc.
 Oak tree Lords and
Word ladies
sorrel
Dog violet
Earthworm Organic debris
Grasses and Builds up Rock
Millipede small shrubs
Mole Moss and fragments
Fern Honey lichen
fungus

O horizon
Leaf litter
A horizon
Topsoil

Bedrock
B horizon Immature soil
Subsoil
Regolith

Young soil
Pseudoscorpion
C horizon
Parent Mite
material
Nematode

Actinomycetes
Root system Red earth
Springtail Fungus
mite
Mature soil Bacteria
Fig. 10.12, p. 220
 Poor topsoil
 Grey, yellow and red are not the colors of
healthy topsoil
 Generally means that soil is lacking nutrients

 Best soil is called loam with equal parts sand,

silt, clay and humus

 Leaching – dissolving and carrying nutrients

(or pollutants) through soil into lower layers
 B – horizon and C - horizon
B – Subsoil mostly broken down rock
with little organic matter

C- parent material broken down rock on

top of the bedrock
 Soils
Texture – relative amount of different
sized particles present (sand, silt, clay)
Porosity – volume of pore space in the
soil
Permeability – the ability of water to
flow through the soil
 Water Water

High permeability Low permeability

Sandy soil Clay soil

 Soils
Clay – high porosity, low permeability
Sand – high permeability, low porosity

Acidity is another factor

Where rain is low, calcium and other
alkaline compounds may build up (sulfur
can be added – turns to sulfuric acid by
bacteria)
 Forest litter
leaf mold Acid litter
Acidic and humus
light-
colored Humus-mineral Light-colored
humus mixture and acidic
Light, grayish-
brown, silt loam
Iron and
aluminum Humus and
Dark brown
compounds iron and
mixed with Firm clay
aluminum
clay compounds

Tropical Rain Forest Soil Deciduous Forest Soil Coniferous Forest Soil
(humid, tropical climate) (humid, mild climate) (humid, cold climate)

Fig. 10.15b, p. 223

 Mosaic
of closely
packed
pebbles,
boulders
Alkaline,
Weak humus- dark,
mineral mixture and rich
in humus
Dry, brown to
reddish-brown
with variable
accumulations Clay,
of clay, calcium calcium
carbonate, and compounds
soluble salts

Desert Soil Grassland Soil Fig. 10.15a, p. 223

(hot, dry climate) (semiarid climate)
 Soil erosion
Causes – mainly water and wind
Human induced causes – farming,
logging, mining, construction,
overgrazing by livestock, off-road
vehicles, burning, and more (go us!)
 Soil erosion
Types
Sheet
Uniform loss of soil, usually when water
crosses a flat field
Rill
Fast flowing water cuts small rivulets in soil
Gully
Rivulets join to become larger, channel
becomes wider and deeper, usually on
steeper slopes or where water moves fast
 Global soil loss
 This is a major problem world wide
 Have lost about 15% of land for agriculture to soil
erosion
 Overgrazing
 Deforestation
 Unsustainable farming
 Also 40% of ag land is seriously degraded due to soil
erosion, salinization, water logging and compaction
Moderate Severe Very Severe

Fig. 10.21, p. 228

Desertification of arid and semiarid lands
 Areas of serious concern

Areas of some concern

Stable or nonvegetative areas

Fig. 10.19, p. 226

Global soil erosion
 Desertification
Turning productive (fertile) soil into less
productive soil (10% loss or more)
Overgrazing
Deforestation
Surface mining
Poor irrigation techniques
Poor farming techniques
Soil compaction
 Salinization
 As water flows over the land, salts are leached out
 When water irrigates a field it is left to evaporate
typically
 This repeated process causes the dissolved salts to
accumulate and possibly severely reduce plant
productivity

 Fields must be repeatedly flushed with fresh water to

remove salt build up
 Waterlogging
 When fields are irrigated they allow water to
sink into the soil.
 Winds can dry the surface
 As more water is applied the root area of
plants is over saturated reducing yield

 As clay is brought to subsoil levels it can act

as a boundary for water infiltration
 Evaporation Transpiration
Evaporation
Evaporation

Waterlogging

Less permeable
clay layer

Fig. 10.22, p. 229

 Soil conservation
Conservation tillage – (no till farming)
disturb the soil as little as possible

Reducing erosion also helps – save

fuel, cut costs, hold water, avoid
compaction, allow more crops to be
grown, increase yields, reduce release
of carbon dioxide
 Soil conservation
 Terracing – making flat growing areas on
hillsides
 Contour farming – planting crops
perpendicular to the hill slope, not parallel
 Strip cropping – planting alternating rows of
crops to replace lost soil nutrients (legumes)
 Alley cropping – planting crops between rows
of trees
Control planting and strip cropping
Fig. 10.24b, p. 230
Alley cropping
Fig. 10.24c, p. 230
 Fig. 10.24a, p. 230
Terracing
 Soil conservation
 Gully reclamation – seeding with fast growing native
grasses, slows erosion or “reverses” it
 Also building small dams traps sediments
 Building channels to divert water or slow water
 Windbreaks – trees planted around open land to
prevent erosion
 Retains soil moisture (shade, less wind)
 Habitats for birds, bees, etc.
 Land classification – identify marginal land that
should not be farmed
Windbreaks

Fig. 10.24d, p. 230

 Soil fertility
Inorganic fertilizers – easily transported,
stored, and applied
Do not add humus – less water and air
holding ability, leads to compaction
Only supply about 3 of 20 needed nutrients
Requires large amount of energy for
production
Releases nitrous oxide (N2O) during
production, a green house gas
 Soil fertility
 Organic fertilizers – the odor is a problem
 Animal manure – difficult to collect and
transfer easily, hard to store
 Green manure – compost, aerates soil,
improves water retention, recycles nutrients
 Crop rotation – allows nutrients to return to
soil, otherwise same crop continually strips
same nutrient, keeps yields high, reduces
erosion