SOIL
SCIENCE




SOIL SCIENCES

SOIL TYPES

SOIL FERTILITY

SOIL DEPLETION

HUMUS

PLANT LITTER

ALLUVIUM SOIL

LIGHTWEIGHT EXPANDED CLAY AGGREGATE -LECA

ABIOTIC FACTORS

ORGANIC MATERIAL

HYDROPONIC GROWTH MATERIALS

INORGANIC FERTILIZERS

PEDOLOGY

AGROLOGY

EDAPHOLOGY

EARTH SCIENCE

SOIL SCIENCE LINKS



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SECTION 1




SOIL
SCIENCE




SOIL SCIENCE:

Soil science deals with soil as a
natural resource on the surface of
the earth including:

soil formation,
classification,
mapping,
physical,
chemical,
biological,
fertility properties.

These properties are in relation
to the use and management of soils.

Sometimes terms which refer to branches
of soil science, such as pedology and
edaphology, are used as if synonymous
with soil science.

The diversity of names associated with
this discipline is related to the various
associations concerned.

Indeed:
engineers,
agronomists,
chemists,
geologists,
geographers,
biologists,
microbiologists,
sylviculturists,
sanitarians,
archaeologists,
and specialists in regional planning, all
contribute to further knowledge of soils
and the advancement of the soil sciences.

Sometimes terms which refer to branches of soil
science, such as pedology and edaphology, are
used as if synonymous with soil science. The
diversity of names associated with this
discipline is related to the various
associations concerned. Indeed, engineers,
agronomists, chemists, geologists, geographers,
biologists, microbiologists, sylviculturists,
sanitarians, archaeologists, and specialists
in regional planning, all contribute to further
knowledge of soils and the advancement of the
soil sciences.

Because an understanding of soil science is
important to the correct practice of a wide
variety of disciplines, it is not unusual to
find soils specialists within many related
disciplines. Soils specialists within related
disciplines sometimes choose to refer to
themselves as soils scientists,leading to some
confusion as to qualifications.To distinguish
themselves from soil specialists, professional
soil scientists in the USA can seek professional
registration and certification.


TIP:

Good water drainage improves microbial habitats
by increasing oxygen availability.


HEALTHY SOIL

A teaspoon of healthy soil can contain twenty
million fungi, five million bacteria, one million
protozoa, and two hundred thousand algae. There
are about 9,500 soil types in the United States
along. Depending on the climate, it takes several
hundred to several thousands of years to produce
fertile soil naturally. Add water to this soil,
and in time you have a natural resource, called
by some the other "BLACK GOLD".




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SECTION 2



SOIL
TYPES




SOIL TYPES:

Soil types are usually defined as:
clay, loam and sand.


CLAY SOIL:
Clay soil is a type of soil filled with
nutrients, but too little organic matter.


LOAMY SOIL:
Loamy soil is the ideal/best type, as it
contains the best balance of nutrients,
organic material, water and air particles.


SANDY SOIL:
Sandy soil on the other hand is a type of
grainy and dry soil, with little nutrients
or organic matter usually adequate for your
desert plants.



SAND, SILT, CLAY:
Sand, silt, and clay are the basic types of
soil. Most soils are made up of a combination
of the three.
The texture of the soil, how it looks and feels,
depends upon the amount of each one in that
particular soil. The type of soil varies from
place to place on our planet and can even vary
from one place to another in your own backyard.




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SECTION 3




SOIL
FERTILITY




SOIL
FERTILITY:


Fertile soil or Soil fertility is
soil that can support abundant
plant life, in particular the term
is used to describe agricultural
and garden soil.

Fertile soil has the
following properties:

It is rich in nutrients necessary
for basic plant nutrition including:

nitrogen,
phosphorus,
potassium.

It contains sufficient minerals:
(trace elements):
for plant nutrition including:

boron,
chlorine,
cobalt,
copper,
iron,
manganese,
magnesium,
molybdenum,
sulfur,
zinc.

It contains organic matter, that
improves soil structure and water
retention.

pH is in the range 5.5 to 6.2.

Good structure,
creating well drained soil.

A range or microorganisms,
that support plant growth.

It often contains large
amounts of topsoil.




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SECTION 4




SOIL
DEPLETION




SOIL DEPLETION:

Soil depletion occurs when the
components which contribute to
fertility are removed and not
replaced, and the conditions
which support soil fertility
are not maintained.

This leads to poor crops, which
may in turn affect the health of
the animals that consume those
crops.

In agriculture, depletion is often
due to inadequate soil management.
This may occur through a combination
of effects, including that of overtillage,
which damages soil structure, and the
overuse of inputs such as synthetic
fertilizers and herbicides, which
leaves residues and buildups that
inhibit microorganisms.




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SECTION 5



HUMUS




Humus is a word actually used for two
different things, which are both related
to soil and thus get used interchangably.

First, in earth sciences "humus" is any
organic matter which has reached a point
of stability, where it will break down no
further and might, if conditions do not
change, remain essentially as it is for
centuries, or millenia.

Second, in agriculture, "humus" is often
used simply to mean mature compost, or
natural compost extracted from a forest
or other spontaneous source for use to
amend soil.




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SECTION 6




PLANT
LITTER




Plant litter sometimes called:
leaf litter,
leaf mold,
tree litter,
is dead plant material, such as
leaves, bark, and twigs, that has
fallen to the ground.

Litter provides habitat for small
animals, fungi, and plants, and
the material may be used to construct
nests. As litter decomposes it becomes
humus.




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SECTION 7



ALLUVIUM
SOIL




The word comes from Latin alluvius,
from alluere, "to wash against."

Alluvium is soil or sediments deposited
by a river or other running water. The
structure formed is called an alluvial
deposit.

Flowing water associated with glaciers
may also deposit alluvium, but deposits
directly from ice are not alluvium.

A river is continually picking up and
dropping solid particles of rock and
dirt from its bed throughout its length.

Where the river flow is fast, the more
particles are picked up than dropped.
Where the river flow is slow, the more
particles are dropped than picked up.

Areas where more particles are dropped
are called alluvial or flood plains, and
the dropped particles are called alluvium.

Even small streams make alluvial deposits,
but it is in the flood plains and deltas
of large rivers that large, geologically
significant alluvial deposits are found.




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SECTION 8



LIGHTWEIGHT
EXPANDED
CLAY
AGGREGATE
LECA




Lightweight Expanded Clay Aggregate:
LECA:
expanded/fired clay pellets,
clay pebbles,
perlite,
vermiculite,
gravel,
charcoal,
rockwool,
coconut husk chips and their combinations.

Diatomite is expanded silicaseous earth,
good as a component and beautiful too.




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SECTION 9



ABIOTIC
FACTORS




Abiotic factors are the non-living
factors of the Earth which affect
the ability of living organisms to
survive in an environment.

These can include both physical and
chemical factors.

The main factors effecting the growth
of plants and where they grow can be
associated with abiotic factors rather
than biotic factors which contribute
less to there existence.

Physical abiotic factors include:
soil,
weather,
availability of consumable water.

Natural disasters can also
be considered abiotic.




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SECTION 10



ORGANIC
MATERIAL




In soil science, organic matter
refers to that of soil.

Organic material or organic matter
refers to any material that is capable
of decay or of being decomposed or is
the product of decomposition, and is
usually the remains of a recently
living organism, and may also include
still-living organisms.

Polymers and plastics, although they
may be organic compounds, are usually
not considered organic material, due
to their poor ability to decompose.




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SECTION 11



HYDROPONIC
GROWTH
MATERIALS




Sphagan moss
Peagram (rock and/or sand)
Per-vemic-lite
Rock wool
Popcorn clay




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SECTION 12



INORGANIC
FERTILIZERS




Fertilizers provide some of the nutrients needed
by organisms and will favor those species that
can best use these forms of nutrients. The pH
and salt effect of some fertilizers (e.g.
ammonium nitrate, ammonium sulfate, and
urea formaldehyde) reduces populations of
fungi, nematodes, and probably protozoa,
at least temporarily. It is not clear how
long this effect lasts in different situations.
situations.

Because fertilizer use increases plant growth,
and therefore organic inputs into the soil,
biological activity may be higher in the
fertilized soil than in soil with low levels
of plant nutrients.



DECOMPOSITION:
Turning organic compounds into other organic compounds.


MINERALIZATION:
Turning organic matter into inorganic compounds that
may be used by plants.



IMMOBILIZATION:
Turning inorganic compounds into organic compounds.
Farmers depend on bacteria for one more transformation.



MINERAL TRANSFORMATION:
Turning inorganic matter into other inorganic compounds.



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SECTION 13



PEDOLOGY




This discipline is known under several
names, soil science, edaphology, or
agrology. The diversity of names
associated with this discipline is related
to the various associations concerned. Indeed,
agronomists, chemists, geologists, geographers,
biologists, sylviculturists, specialists in
regional planning, have all contributed to
further knowledge on soil formation and soil
distribution and use.




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SECTION 14




AGROLOGY




The word agrology derived from the
Greek words "agros" meaning land,
farm, and "logy" meaning word, or
wisdom.
Use of the term is most active in
Canada. Use of the term outside of
Canada is sporadic but significant.
The term appears especially well
established in Russia and China,
with agrologists on university
faculty lists and the agrology
curricula.




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SECTION 15



EDAPHOLOGY




The word edaphology is derived from the Greek words;
"edaphos" meaning ground or floor, and
"logy" meaning word or wisdom.

Edaphology is one of the two main branches of soil
science, the other being pedology.

Edaphology is concerned with the influence of soils
on living things, particularly plants. The term is
also applied to the study of how soil influences
man's overall use of the land.

General subfields within edaphology are:
Agricultural soil science (known by the term agrology in
some regions outside of the United States and Canada)

Environmental soil science.




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SECTION 16



EARTH
SCIENCE




Earth science,
Geoscience,
Geosciences,
Earth Sciences.


An all embracing term for the sciences
related to the planet Earth.

It is arguably a special case in planetary
science, being the only known life-bearing
planet.
There are both reductionist and holistic
approaches to Earth science.


Major historic disciplines use:

Physics,
Geography,
Mathematics,
Chemistry,
Biology.


To build a quantitative understanding of the
principal areas or spheres of the Earth system:


Earth's spheres:

Geology describes the rocky parts of the Earth's
crust (or lithosphere) and its historic development.


Major subdisciplines:

Mineralogy,
Petrology,
Geochemistry,
Geomorphology,
Paleontology,
Stratigraphy,
Sedimentology.


Geodesy and Geophysics (joined together in the IUGG)
investigate the figure of the Earth, its reaction to
forces and its potential fields (magnetic and gravity
field).
Geophysicists explore also the Earth's core and mantle
and the natural deposits, Geodesists the movement of
stars and satellites.

Soil science covers the outermost layer of the Earth's
crust that is subject to soil formation processes (or
pedosphere).


Major subdisciplines include:

Edaphology,
Pedology.


Oceanography and Hydrology (incl. Limnology) describe the
marine and freshwater domains of the watery parts of the
Earth (or hydrosphere).


Major subdisciplines include:

Hydrogeology,
Physical,
Chemical,
Biological oceanography.


Within the scientific union IUGG the disciplines are joined
with Geophysics, except the chemical ones.

Glaciology covers the icy parts of the Earth (or cryosphere)

Atmospheric sciences cover the gaseous parts of the Earth
(or atmosphere) between the surface and the exosphere
(~1000 km).


Major subdisciplines are:

Meteorology,
Climatology,
Aeronomy.




SECTION 17



SOIL
SCIENCE
LINKS




American Society of Agronomy (ASA)
http://www.agronomy.org/

American Society of Agronomy
Crop Science Society of America
Soil Science Society of America

http://www.asa-cssa-sssa.org/

BASEMENT LIGHTING
http://www.basementlighting.com/

British Society of Soil Science
http://www.soils.org.uk/

Forest, Range,
Wildland Soils
Soil Science Society of America

http://www.forestsoils.org/

THE GARDEN HELPER
http://www.thegardenhelper.com/

GROW BIOINTENSIVE
http://www.growbiointensive.org/

GROWELL
http://www.growell.co.uk/



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GROW STUFF PLUS
http://www.growstuffplus.com/

International Union of Soil Sciences
http://www.iuss.org/

THE NATURAL FOOD GARDENER
http://www.naturalhub.com/

SOIL ASSOCIATION
http://www.soilassociation.org/

SOIL MOIST
http://www.soilmoist.com/

Soil Science International
http://www.soilscience.com/

Soil Science Society of America (SSSA)
http://www.soils.org/

The Soil Science Society
of Southern Africa

http://www.soils.org.za/

SOIL SECRETS
http://www.soilsecrets.com/



Soil Restoration:
5 Core Principles

https://www.ecofarmingdaily.com/soil-restoration-5-core-principles/?fbclid=IwAR2r3WaGBWfd0DxIxS4exEzqjNoGocKpBFFKu9pkG5-WAS0gYUhEuRgsT_o




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