Soils Somewhat Simplified

1. Soils Somewhat Simplified • Its NOT DIRT!!!

2. Soils Somewhat Simplified • SOILS FORM IN MINERAL AND ORGANIC DEPOSITS • OVER THOUSANDS TO MILLIONS OF YEARS • NEW ENGLAND SOILS ARE YOUNGLESS THAN 15OOO YEARS OLD (AFTER THE LAST GLACIATION)

3. Soils Somewhat Simplified • 12 “GREAT GROUPS”OF SOILS IN THE WORLD • 4 FOUND IN NH • ENTISOLS • INCEPTISOLS • SPODOSOLS • HISTOSOLS

4. Soils Somewhat Simplified • SOILS CONSIST OF FOUR CONSTITUENTS • MINERAL • ORGANIC • WATER • AIR • IN VARYING AMOUNTS

5. Soils Somewhat Simplified • NRCS (OLD SCS) HAS NAMED MANY “SOIL SERIES” BASED ON PROPERTIES • NOW NUMERIC IN NEWER VERSIONS • OFTEN ASSOCIATED IN COMPLEXES • SOIL CATENAS ARE SIMILAR SOILS IN DIFFERENT DRAINAGE CLASSES

6. Soils Somewhat Simplified • LIMIT OF MAPPING IS ABOUT FIVE ACRES • MOST MAPPED UNITS WILL HAVE SOME OR MANY INCLUSIONS OF OTHER SOILS

7. Soils Somewhat Simplified • SOILS FORM IN PARENT MATERIALS WITH VARYING CHARACTERISTICS • WHICH WILL STRONGLY INFLUENCE THE DEVELOPED SOIL • COARSER, FINER, MORE OR LESS COMPACT

8. Soils Somewhat Simplified • FOUR SOIL FORMING PROCESSES • ADDITIONS • TRANSFORMATIONS • TRANSLOCATIONS • LOSSES

9. Soils Somewhat Simplified • ADDITIONS MAY INCLUDE FERTILIZERS, POLLUTANTS, WIND AND WATER MOVED MATERIALS

10. Soils Somewhat Simplified • TRANSFORMATIONS ARE CHANGES THAT TAKE PLACE WITHOUT MOVING MATERIALS-”IN SITU” • BY WEATHERING, BIOLOGIC ACTION, FROST, ETC

11. Soils Somewhat Simplified • TRANSLOCATIONS MOVE MATERIALS DOWN, OR SIDEWAYS OR UP, SOMETIMES LEAVING THE SOIL • WATER MOVES SOLUBLE SALTS, CLAYS, ORGANICS, CHEMICALS DOWN OR SIDEWAYS • AND SOMETIMES UP

12. Soils Somewhat Simplified • LOSSES COME FROM WATER MOVEMENT • MAJOR LOSSES FROM EROSION OR WIND • MAY RESULT IN ADDITIONS ELSEWHERE

13. Soils Somewhat Simplified • SOILS HAVE DIMENSION- HORIZONTAL AND VERTICAL • AND ARE SURROUNDED BY OTHER SOILS WITH DIFFERENT PROPERTIES

14. Soils Somewhat Simplified • SOILS HAVE DISTINCT LAYERS CALLED “HORIZONS” • “O” FOR ORGANIC • ABOVE THE MINERAL HORIZON • DECOMPOSING MATERIALS

15. Soils Somewhat Simplified • A-TOPSOIL • FIRST MINERAL HORIZON • DARK DUE ORGANIC MATERIAL • AND LOSS OF IRON AND OTHER COMPOUNDS • THIN IN FORESTED AREAS • THICKER WHERE PLOWED “Ap”

16. Soils Somewhat Simplified • E HORIZON SOMETIMES FOUND- GRAY DUE TO LOSS OF IRON, ALUMINUM AND CLAY • “ELUVIATED” DOWNWARDS • “ALBIC” HORIZON”

17. Soils Somewhat Simplified • B OR SUBSOIL COLORED BY IRON AND OTHER MATERIALS “ILLUVIATED” FROM ABOVE • WEATHERED BY WATER, FROST, ROOTS, BOILOGIC ACTIVITY

18. Soils Somewhat Simplified • C IS SUBSTRATUM, LESS AFFECTED BY WEATHERING- “PARENT MATERIAL”

19. Soils Somewhat Simplified • R IS ROCK • SOMETIIMES WEATHERED INTO SAPROLITE-NOT REALLY SOIL

20. Soils Somewhat Simplified • SOILS HAVE PROPERTIES • TEXTURE • STRUCTURE • CONSISTENCE • COLOR

21. Soils Somewhat Simplified • TEXTURE IS COARSENESS-FINENESS • PROPORTIONS OF SAND, SILT, CLAY • SAND IS >0.05 MM, >2.0 MM • SILT IS > 0.002MM • NAMES INCLUDE SAND, LOAM, SILT LOAM,THE COMMON “FINE SAND LOAM” • CLAY IS RARE

22. Soils Somewhat Simplified • STRUCTURE IS THE WAY SOIL PARTICLES OR “PEDS” ARE ARRANGED • GRANULAR, PLATY, BLOCKY, MASSIVE • IN SANDY SOILS, SINGLE GRAIN

23. Soils Somewhat Simplified • WATER MOVES THROUGH STRUCTURAL CRACKS, ROOT CHANNELS • OR AROUND SAND GRAINS • BY ADHESION OR BY GRAVITY

24. Soils Somewhat Simplified • CONSISTENCE IS THE FIRMNESS OF THE SOIOL PEDS OR MASSES

25. Soils Somewhat Simplified • COLOR IS USUALLY FROM THE COATINGS OF IRON, ALUMINUM AND CLAY • MOST MINERALS IN NH GRAY • COLOR CHANGES DUE TO SOIL FORMING, WETNESS, BOILOGIC ACTIVITY, TRANSLOCATION

26. Soils Somewhat Simplified • COLORS ARE THE PROPERTIES THAT GUIDE US TO MANY INFERENCES ABOUT SOIL CONDITIONS • PARTICULARLY WETNESS

27. Soils Somewhat Simplified • SEASONAL HIGH WATER TABLE IS A CONCEPT • NOT THE HIGHEST OBSERVED EVENT • BUT AN AVERAGE OVER TIME • DURING THE GROWING SEASON

28. Soils Somewhat Simplified • IRON AND COLORING AGENTS THAT COAT THE SOIL • ARE CHANGED DURING WET TIMES • BY BIOACTIVITY • BECOME “REDUCED” AND CAN DISSOLVE • THEY TRANSLOCATE

29. Soils Somewhat Simplified • IRON OXIDIZES WHEN SOIL DRIES • GRAY PATCHES ARE LEFT BEHIND-”DEPLETIONS” • IRON DEPOSITS ARE CALLED ACCUMULATIONS • THESE APPEAR AS “MOTTLES” • AGAINST THE “MATRIX” COLOR

30. Soils Somewhat Simplified • THE MODERN TERM IS “REDOXIMORPHIC” FEATURES • WHICH REFERS TO THE REDUCTION AND OXIDATION THAT DRIVES THE PROCESS • REDOX FEATURES ARE DUE TO WETNESS • EXCLUDES OTHER PROCESSES THAT MAY PRODUCE COLOR DIFFERENCES

31. Soils Somewhat Simplified • DRAINAGE CLASSES RUN FROM EXCESSIVELY WELL DRAINED TO VERY POORLY DRAINED

32. Soils Somewhat Simplified • POORLY AND VERY POORLY DRAINED ARE THE “HYDRIC” SOILS • ONE OF THREE PARAMETERS FOR DETERMINING WETLAND STATUS • ALONG WITH HYDROPITIC PLANTS AND HYDROLOGY

33. Soils Somewhat Simplified • URBAN SOILS ARE OFTEN VERY ALTERED • COMPACTED, MOVED, ADDED, ERODED • PROPRETIES TAKE SOME TIME TO FORM • COLOR USUALLY COMES FIRST, AND MAY FORM QUICKLY

34. Soils Somewhat Simplified • THANKS!!!