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Getting the Dirt on Soils

Getting the Dirt on Soils. What are 4 things we cannot live without?. SOIL. AIR. WATER. SUNLIGHT. SOIL. AIR. WATER. SUNLIGHT. Does Soil = Dirt?. NO!. Dirt is the stuff under your fingernails or that you sweep off the floor. Soil Facts. Topsoil is the most productive layer

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Getting the Dirt on Soils

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  1. Getting the Dirt on Soils

  2. What are 4 things we cannot live without?

  3. SOIL AIR WATER SUNLIGHT

  4. SOIL AIR WATER SUNLIGHT

  5. Does Soil= Dirt?

  6. NO! Dirt is the stuff under your fingernails or that you sweep off the floor

  7. Soil Facts Topsoil is the most productive layer Five tons of topsoil spread over an acre is only as thick as a dime Soil supplies water and nutrients for plants Most of our food comes from soil It can take more than 500 years to form one inch of topsoil

  8. Soil Facts An acre of corn gives off 4000 gallons of water a day in evaporation Soil Scientist have identified over 70,000 different soils in the U. S. Erosion of soil clogs rivers and lakes Soil influences the life spans of roads

  9. Soil Facts Soil is alive…. 1 gram of soil contains up to a billion bacteria There many thousands of types of bacteria in soil 15 tons of soil per acre pass through earthworms each year

  10. Soil Facts Soil is the largest single wastewater treatment unit in North Carolina 4 million North Carolinians rely on soil to treat and disperse wastewater Soil is extremely effective at wastewater treatment Best of all…

  11. Soil makes great mud pies …and is just plain fun!

  12. A soil is a porous natural body of mineral, air, water and organic matter that changes, or has changed, in response to climate, topography, time, and organisms.

  13. What do you see in these photos?

  14. What is soil made of? Soil is composed of minerals, organic matter, air, water

  15. Soil is made of: • Solid material • Minerals • Dead organic material • Living organic material • Pore space • Air • Water

  16. Factors of Formation

  17. Factors of formation • Parent Material • Topography • Vegetation/Biology • Climate • Time

  18. The soil forms through the interaction of these factors.

  19. Parent Material

  20. Parent Material • Transported materials • Bedrock or residual material • Organic materials

  21. Transported Sediments • Water transported or deposited • Marine • Fluvial • Lacustrine • Wind transported • Aeolian • Gravity transported • Colluvium • Ice transported • Glacial

  22. Topography

  23. Slope Names • Summit or Ridge top • Shoulder • Back or side slope • Foot slope • Toe slope • Terrace • Drain way or channel

  24. Summit Shoulder Side or back slope Foot slope Toe slope Drainage way

  25. Soils on a slope

  26. Vegetation/Biology

  27. Grass Vegetation • Thick top soil (A horizon) • Stable soil structure

  28. Forest Vegetation • Thin top soil (A horizon)

  29. Coniferous Vegetation • Acidic • Highly leached by organic acids • Low fertility

  30. Mixed Forest Vegetation • In general more fertile • In general less acidic

  31. Climate

  32. Humid Climate • High rainfall • Obvious horizons • Illuviation/eluviation process dominant • Organic matter accumulation at surface • Clay accumulation

  33. Arid Climate • Low rainfall • Little organic accumulation • Salts or carbonates may accumulate • Horizons less obvious

  34. Time Past, present, and future

  35. Newly Deposited Material

  36. Undisturbed to Disturbed

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