Transcript Where is soil?

SOILS
•Great civilizations began because of farming ... good soil and fresh water
is needed for farming
•Ancient Egyptian and Mesopotamian societies are great examples
Egyptian civilization
grew up around the
fertile Nile River and
its Delta
The Sahara Desert,
which has poor
sandy soil, doesn’t
have very many
people living there
because the people
can’t grow things in
the soil.
90% of Egypt’s
population lives with
20 km of the Nile
River or its delta.
•Toronto is Canada's economic, political and cultural powerhouse, it
started as a farming centre
•51% of Canada's good farmland can be seen from the top of the CN
tower; most of it is paved or built on
Where is soil? What is soil made of?
Soil Profile
HUMUS
TOPSOIL
Decaying leaves, needles, grasses, animals, lots of
nutrients
Spongy, rotted plants and animals,
bacteria, earthworms
SUB SOIL
PARENT
MATERIAL
Hard layer, more rocks and clay, fewer spaces for air
and water, difficult for plant roots to grow
Broken rocks and gravel
Soil is made up of four (4) main parts: MOMA!
4. MOISTURE
1. MINERALS:
•come from
broken up rock,
which is called
parent material
•minerals provide
nutrients to
plants
2. ORGANIC
MATERIAL:
•partly
decomposed
plants and animal
material
•forms humus,
which provides
nutrients
•water dissolves
nutrients (makes
them like a liquid)
so they can be
taken up by plants
•helps to break
down rock and
decay organic
material
3. AIR
•need air around
roots of plants
•air holes are
created by
worms, insects,
small animals
Activity #1
http://schoolmediainteractive.com/view/object/clip/39AF264E18CC8C8B9159B485
83E95449
1. Click on ‘Interactives’
2. Select ‘Making Soil Application’
3. Complete the activity
Activity #2
http://www.classzone.com/books/ml_science_share/vis_sim/esm05_pg113_soil/esm0
5_pg113_soil.html
SOIL PROFILE:
A cross section of soil from the surface to
the bedrock.
O – organic material – dying
material (plants and animals) –
things in the process of breaking
down
A horizon – topsoil – rich in organic
materials; takes hundreds of years to
produce; thin layer
B horizon – sub-soil; mainly
inorganic material (broken up rock)
with some organic material
C horizon – parent material – broken
pieces of rock and/or solid rock
What does Humus look like?
O Horizon: Organic
Material
What does Topsoil look like?
A Horizon
What does Subsoil look like?
B Horizon
What does the
Parent Material look like?
C Horizon
Soil Horizons Quiz!
Soil Horizons for 1
Question: Soil from rock or from organic material will form in layers that
lie ____ to the surface of earth.
Soil Horizons for 1
Answer: parallel
Soil Horizons for 2
Question: The uppermost layer of soil is called the ____ horizon.
Soil Horizons for 2
Answer: 0
Soil Horizons for 3
Question: The “A” horizon is generally _____ than the horizons below and
may be from a few inches to several feet thick.
Soil Horizons for 3
Answer: darker
Soil Horizons for 4
Question: The bedrock upon which the other soil horizons rest is called
the __ horizon.
Soil Horizons for 4
Answer: “R”
Soil Horizons for 5
Question: This layer is the material from which soil originated.
Soil Horizons for 5
Answer: “C” Horizon
LEACHING
•where there is a lot of precipitation
•downward movement of water
through soil
•dissolves nutrients and carries
downward
CALCIFICATION
•in drier climates
•water drawn to surface by capillary
action
•water evaporates
•Nutrients dissolved in soil water
are carried to surface and
deposited there as the water
evaporates
•can lead to rich topsoil – full of
nutrients
•In extreme cases so much is
deposited that the soil becomes
poisonous to plants
Soils in Canada
Soils in Ontario
Soil in P.E.I.