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    APES Soil Notes

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    Naviv
    Mature soil has more organic material and nutrients, but very old soils may be nutrient-poor due to leaching by plants and water over time. While mature soil supports more plant growth, excessively old soil loses its ability to do so as its nutrients are depleted. The age and development of a soil determines whether it can sufficiently sustain plant life.

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    APES Soil Notes

    Uploaded by

    Naviv
    77 views42 pages
    Mature soil has more organic material and nutrients, but very old soils may be nutrient-poor due to leaching by plants and water over time. While mature soil supports more plant growth, excessively old soil loses its ability to do so as its nutrients are depleted. The age and development of a soil determines whether it can sufficiently sustain plant life.

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    APES soil notes

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    Mature soil has more organic material and nutrients, but very old soils may be nutrient-poor due to leaching by plants and water over time. While mature soil supports more plant growth, excessively old soil loses its ability to do so as its nutrients are depleted. The age and development of a soil determines whether it can sufficiently sustain plant life.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pptx, pdf, or txt
    77 views42 pages

    APES Soil Notes

    Uploaded by

    Naviv
    Mature soil has more organic material and nutrients, but very old soils may be nutrient-poor due to leaching by plants and water over time. While mature soil supports more plant growth, excessively old soil loses its ability to do so as its nutrients are depleted. The age and development of a soil determines whether it can sufficiently sustain plant life.

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    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pptx, pdf, or txt
    of 42

    •Mature soil has more organic material and more nutrients

    •BUT very old soils may be nutrient-poor due to plants and


    water leaching nutrients
    Soil Horizons

    Onion
    And
    Everything
    Bagels
    Cause
    Rigor mortis
    SOIL
    Notes
    Weathering
    1. PHYSICAL: Mechanical breakdown of rocks andminerals
    •Abiotic causes: water, wind, temperature variations
    •Biotic causes: plant roots, burrowing animals
    Increases surface area, leads to…
    2.Chemical
    •Releases essential nutrients from rocks
    •Important part of phosphorus cycle
    Anthropogenic chemical weathering
    Fossil fuel combustion 🡪 Sulfur and
    nitrogen oxides 🡪 react with water
    vapor 🡪 sulfuric acid
    🡪 acid precipitation (acidrain)
    Acid rain
    effects
    1. Limestone, marble (statues,
    gravestones)
    2.Acidification of soils and
    trees
    3.Impaired Visibility
    4. Human health: asthma,
    bronchitis, emphysema
    Soil development
    •From below: Physical breakdown of rocks and primarymaterials (newly
    exposed minerals) provide raw material
    •From above: Deposition of organic material fromdead organisms and
    their waste
    Soil Services
    2. Cycling of
    nutrients

    3. Habitat
    1.Plant growth

    5. Water storage 4. Engineering


    and filtration medium
    O Horizon =“Organic”
    •Decomposed organic material
    •Sometimes called humus (lower layer)
    •Most pronounced in forests
    A Horizon =topsoil

    •Surface soil/topsoil

    •Organic mixedwith mineral


    material
    •Most biological activity
    E Horizon =“Eluviated”
    •In some acidic soils
    •Metals and nutrients are leached, or eluviated, fromabove
    (iron, aluminum, organic acids)
    B Horizon =Subsoil

    •Mineral
    material – zone
    of
    accumulation of
    metals and
    nutrients
    C Horizon
    •Least
    weathered
    •Similar to
    parent
    material
    5. Time
    Anthropogenic Soil Degradation
    •Topsoil plowed and removed,
    increases erosion
    SOIL
    FORMATION
    AND EROSION
    Properties of Soils
    determined by…
    1.Parent Material
    2.Climate
    3.Topography
    4.Organisms
    5.Time
    Properties of Soils determinedby…
    1.ParentMaterial
    •Quartz🡪 Nutrient-poor
    (Atlantic coast)
    •Calcium carbonate🡪
    high calcium, high pH,high
    agricultural productivity
    2. Climate
    •Too cold: Muchundecomposed organic material

    •Humid tropics: Rapid weathering, leaching of nutrients,


    decomposition of organicdetritus

    Permafrost Amazon
    3. Topography
    •Slope and arrangement of
    landscape
    •Amount of erosion, depth of soil
    4. Organisms
    •Plants: Nutrient removal, excretion of acids
    •Animals: Tunneling and burrowing
    (earthworms, gophers, voles)
    •All organisms: Cycling of nutrients (fungi,
    bacteria)
    •Humans
    Soil Texture
    Chart
    Permeability: Sand
    >Silt >Clay
    Properties of Soil:
    Physical
    •Drying due to
    compaction—loss of
    ability to retain water

    Compaction of soil
    bymachines,
    humans, livestock
    Less vegetation, erosion increases
    (POSITIVE FEEDBACK!)
    Agriculture🡪 depletion of
    soil nutrients
    Pesticides🡪 chemical pollution
    Properties of Soil: Physical

    1. Size and
    weight of
    particles
    🡪
    Sand/silt/clay
    1. CEC (Cation Exchange
    Properties of Capacity)
    Soil:
    • Nutrient
    Chemical
    holding
    capacity
    • Clay, acidic
    pH, organic
    material
    Properties of 2. Base saturation
    Soil: Chemical • Proportion of basesto
    acids, expressed as
    percentage
    • Bases =essential for
    nutrition (Ca, K, Mg,
    Na)
    • Acids =detrimental (Al,
    H)
    Many landfills are lined with clay
    Greater risk of groundwater
    contamination when dominated
    by sandy soils (Long Island)
    Best agricultural soil: Mixture of sand/silt/clay
    (loam)
    •Balanced water drainage and retention
    Peninsula Soil:
    •Floodplain soil that has nutrient-
    holding clays and also the good
    drainage of silt and sand
    •Fertile loam
    Properties of •Fungi, bacteria, protozoans = 80-
    90%
    Soil: •Rodents, earthworms, snails, slugs
    Biological (detritivores)🡪 mixing, breakdown
    of material
    •Nitrogen-fixing bacteria

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