Water Movement in Soil Video
Soil/Land Use Resources (sorted by topic)
Soil/Land Use & Non-Point Pollution
General Soil/Land Use Resources
- Introduction to Soils- Colorado NRCS
- Illinois Soils: Understanding Soils
- Soillife.org
- Soils.org
- Smithsonian Environmental Research Center
- Check out the interactive games!
- Soils: Useful Things to Know
- Fundamental Soils Concepts
- Soils: 10 Key Messages
- Principles of High-Functioning Soils
- Bedrock Formation
- Soil Health U Articles
- What is Soil Health? Why Should I Care?
- Kansas NRCS Soils/Land Use Training
Bulk Density
Climate Affecting Soils
Erosion
Organic Matter
Parent Material
Pollinators & Soil
Resource Videos
- Soil Formation: 5 Soil Factors
- *Note:
- High Organic Matter (OM) in prairie/grasslands & forests
- Soils vary on different land forms
- E Horizon: not high in clay, has light colors, lower OM, and has a coarser texture than the B Horizon below it
- *Note:
- Soil Formation: 4 Processes
- *Note:
- Translocation moves up/down in the profile; agents include water and organisms.
- *Note:
- Soil Properties
- New York State Envirothon 2021 Soils- Erie County, NY
Soil Color
- *See Practice Activities for Soil Color Practice
- Interpreting Soil Color
Soil Surveys
- *See Practice Activities for Soil Survey Practice document
- From the Surface Down
Soil Taxonomy
Soil Texture
- *See Practice Activities for Soil Texture Exercise Document
- Soil Texture Guide Flow Chart
- Soil Texture Triangle
Soils & Water
Soil/Land Use Key Points
Key Point 1- Physical Properties of Soil and Soil Formation
Learning Objectives:
- Understand the importance of soils and appreciate the relatively small amount of usable soil that exists on Earth.
- Know the five soil-forming factors, and understand how they influence soil properties.
- Understand the origin and types of soil parent materials.
- Understand the basic soil-forming processes, including additions, losses, translocations, and transformations.
- Recognize and understand features of Soil Profiles, and be able to use this information to determine basic soil properties and limitations.
- Identify and describe soil characteristics (texture, structure, and color- using Munsell color charts).
Suggested Activities:
Generate a list of reasons why soils and the study of soil science are important to sustaining life on Earth, and explore how much soil is available on Earth for human use.
Describe the five factors of soil formation and be able to explain how each factor affects the soil profile.
Conduct a field analysis by digging or using an auger to examine a soil pit. Determine soil characteristics and properties by describing soil horizons and recording data.
Use soil profile information to compare soil samples from agricultural cropland, wetland, forest, and an urban area, and explain why there are differences in water table, permeability, runoff, infiltration, and water holding capacity.
Estimate the percentage of sand, silt, and clay in soil samples collected and determine the texture class using the texture triangle. Explain how texture is important in soil fertility and soil management.
Key Point 2- Soil Ecosystems
Learning Objectives:
- Recognize that biological diversity is important for soil health and, hence, plant, human, and environmental health.
- Understand how the hydrologic, carbon, and nutrient cycles relate to soil management.
- Recognize that understanding soil ecosystems is important to soil management.
Suggested Activities:
Construct a Burlese funnel to explore the diversity of life found in the soil. Draw a soil food web showing the five trophic levels and discuss why biodiversity is important to healthy soil. (Note: some important soil organisms will not show up in the Burlese funnel, but they should be included in the trophic level diagram.)
Draw the nitrogen, carbon, and phosphorus cycles and identify the types of organisms (flora and fauna) involved in these cycles. Identify their roles in decomposition and nutrient cycling.
Discuss the decomposition and transformations of organic matter, toxins, and pesticides. Discuss the importance of microorganisms, and what would occur if they were not present in the food chain.
Discuss how Integrated Pest Management can affect biological diversity.
Key Point 3- Chemical Properties of Soil Nutrients
Learning Objectives:
- Understand the procedure for taking a soil sample and conducting nutrient analysis.
- Know that plants must receive essential micronutrients and macronutrients from the soil in order to be healthy, and understand that soil fertility relates to the physical and chemical properties of the soil in addition to the quantity of nutrients.
- Understand why soil fertility reflects the physical, chemical, and biological state of the soil.
Suggested Activities:
Collect a representative soil sample from a piece of land (preferably your own) as an introduction to soil testing. Conduct soil test experiments to measure pH and determine the amounts of plant-available nitrogen (N), Phosphorus (P), and Potassium (K) in soil samples collected from various locations, including cropland, forested areas, and floodplains. Record your data, analyze, and compare the results.
Explain the ABCs of Nutrient Management, and how Nutrients and Plant Health, Pest, Profits, and the Environment relate to healthy soil.
Explain why soil fertility reflects the physical, chemical, and biological state of the soil.
Compare and contrast the benefits and risks of using nutrients from a synthetic fertilizer with those from a natural source.
Key Point 4- Soil Conservation and Land Use Management
Learning Objectives:
- Compare different land uses and conservation practices, as well as their impact on soils and erosion.
- Understand how soil is impacted by point & non-point source pollution & the importance of soil management to agriculture and clean water.
- Understand that soil management and environmental protection requires agricultural and resource managers to use spatial tools such as Geographic Information Systems (GIS), and Global Positioning Systems (GPS) in order to make the best possible resource decisions.
- Learn about career opportunities and the role of government in the management of natural resources.
Suggested Activities:
Identify or recommend Best Management Practices to maximize agricultural production and control water movement to prevent erosion and pollution on construction sites, residential development, and cropland.
In a land use planning discussion, identify types of soil erosion and explain how soil is a factor in non-point source pollution, and describe how soils can be used to clean up pollutants.
Become familiar with the Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE), and learn how it is used to estimate the soil erosion rates of a selected construction site and cropland field.
Practice using topographic and thematic maps to uncover mysteries about the cultural and physical geography of the Earth. USGS Map Mysteries Activities.
Key Point 5- Web Soil Surveys & Soil Surveys
Learning Objectives:
- Access and use published and online soil data and other resources to learn how land use affects soil, and the limitations of local soils.
- Understand the eight Land Capability Classes and how they are important in determining appropriate land use.
- Understand soil drainage classes and be able to recognize the characteristics of hydric soils and know how soils fit into the definition of wetlands.
Suggested Activities:
Download your local area’s soil survey map to learn the limitations that local soils have for septic systems, foundations, agriculture, and future development.
Describe the eight Land Capability Classes and use a soil profile and site description to determine the land capability class.
Visit your local land-use planning office and ask how GIS and GPS systems are used in making land-use planning and development decisions. Explain how GIS and GPS can be used in learning about the soil characteristics in a wetland soil.
