SOIL AND WATER

HOW TO IDENTIFY GOOD OR BAD SOIL QUALITY

• Soil profile / horizons
• Composition
• Texture
• Particle size
• Permeability
• Ph level

THE THREE HORIZONS IN QUALIY SOIL

• Valuable topsoil- contains clay and minerals. Rich in nutrients. Most animals live here.
• Subsoil- doesn't contain much humus.
• Parent material

PH LEVEL AND PERMEABILITY. HOW ARE THEY IMPORTANT?

• Most plants grow with the ph level between 5 and 7. The lower the number is, the more acidic the soil will be. If the soil is too acidic, it will kill the plants.
• A fertilizer called lime can be added to soil to make it less acidic( more basic )
• Permeability is the open spaces in the soil that allow water drainage. If there isn't enough, then some plants may die from lack of water.

WHY IS GOOD QUALITY SOIL IMPORTANT?

• We need good soil so we can grow crops to eat and feed to livestock.
• Even plants in the wild that we don't consume need good soil to grow.
• Also, if here wasn't any good soil and bigger plants couldn't grow we would have some HUGE erosion problems.

WHY IS EROSION BAD?

• Erosion along with other factors build up and wear down the earths surface.

WATERSHED

• The more it rains, the higher the water in a watershed will be.

AQUIFER

• An aquifer is a underground rock with groundwater.

WATER TABLE

• A water table is groundwater flowing through underground rocks
• It can for tunnels and caves

HOW CAN WE PROTECT OUR GROUNDWATER?

• Pick up litter in your community
• Encourage friend and family to reduce, reuse, and recycle
• Find alternatives than riding a car or bus to school. Ex. Bike skateboard.