Soil

Soil is a natural body consisting of layers (soil horizons) of mineral constituents of variable thicknesses, which differ from the parent materials in their morphological, physical, chemical, and mineralogical characteristics. Soil is composed of particles of broken rock that have been altered by chemical and environmental processes that include weathering and erosion. Soil differs from its parent rock due to interactions between the lithosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, and the biosphere. It is a mixture of mineral and organic constituents that are in solid, gaseous and aqueous states. Soil is commonly referred to as dirt. Soil particles pack loosely, forming a soil structure filled with pore spaces. These pores contain soil solution (liquid) and air (gas). Accordingly, soils are often treated as a three state system. Most soils have a density between 1 and 2 g/cm. Soil is also known as earth: it is the substance from which our planet takes its name. Little of the soil composition of planet Earth is older than the Tertiary and most no older than the Pleistocene. In engineering, soil is referred to as regolith, or loose rock material.

Characteristics Soil color is often the first impression one has when viewing soil. Striking colors and contrasting patterns are especially memorable. The Red River (Mississippi watershed) carries sediment eroded from extensive reddish soils like Port Silt Loam in Oklahoma. The Yellow River in China carries yellow sediment from eroding loessal soils. Mollisols in the Great Plains are darkened and enriched by organic matter. Podsols in boreal forests have highly contrasting layers due to acidity and leaching. Soil color is primarily influenced by soil mineralogy. Many soil colors are due to the extensive and various iron minerals. The development and distribution of color in a soil profile result from chemical and biological weathering, especially redox reactions. As the primary minerals in soil parent material weather, the elements combine into new and colorful compounds. Iron forms secondary minerals with a yellow or red color, organic matter decomposes into black and brown compounds, and manganese, sulfur and nitrogen can form black mineral deposits. These pigments produce various color patterns due to effects by the environment during soil formation. Aerobic conditions produce uniform or gradual color changes, while reducing environments result in disrupted color flow with complex, mottled patterns and points of color concentration.

Soil structure is the arrangement of soil particles into aggregates. These may have various shapes, sizes and degrees of development or expression. Soil structure affects aeration, water movement, resistance to erosion and plant root growth. Structure often gives clues to texture, organic matter content, biological activity, past soil evolution, human use, and chemical and mineralogical conditions under which the soil formed. If the soil is too high in clay, adding gypsum, washed river sand and organic matter will balance the composition. Adding organic matter to soil that is depleted in nutrients and too high in sand will boost the quality. Soil texture refers to sand, silt and clay composition. Soil content affects soil behavior, including the retention capacity for nutrients and water. Sand and silt are the products of physical weathering, while clay is the product of chemical weathering. Clay content has retention capacity for nutrients and water. Clay soils resist wind and water erosion better than silty and sandy soils, because the particles are more tightly joined to each other. In mediumtextured soils, clay is often translocated downward through the soil profile and accumulates in the subsoil. Soil resistivity is a measure of a soil's ability to retard the conduction of an electric current. The electrical resistivity of soil can affect the rate of galvanic corrosion of metallic structures in contact with the soil. Higher moisture content or increased electrolyte concentration can lower the resistivity and increase the conductivity thereby increasing the rate of corrosion. Soil resistivity values typically range from about 2 to 1000 m, but more extreme values are not unusual.

Soil affecting Site Planning

The different types of soil present are analyzed. Soil decides the stability of land, foundation, suitability, excavation, erosion, drainage, and plant growth (as the top soil is essential for good plant growth). The bearing capacity of soil is an important factor to be considered while locating buildings.

Site Preparation Site preparation is a fundamental and challenging activity in the organization and execution of construction projects. It is a step-by-step process that includes soil testing, siteplan designs, zoning restrictions, environmental concerns, how utilities will run within the home, and clearing and excavation. Each step will be carefully investigated and eventually will go through a process of approval, and finally put into action. The result will be utilities, water, and sewer or septic properly placed and a suitable foundation. Soil Testing Soil testing is an important tool in developing efficient soil for a construction site. A soil test provides basic information on the composition of the soil and its ability to support a structure; as well as the absorption and drainage rate of the soil. The absorption rate will give homeowners an idea on how well the soil will accommodate septic and water. A soil test determines where a septic system and well will be placed. For this reason, soil tests are usually performed before a site is purchased. Site-Plan Design A site-plan design is a crucial step in site preparation. It is the step that indicates the anticipated placement of the building, septic tank and leach field (or public sewer connections), well location (or public water connections), and any other fixtures. The site-plan design will also

portray current vegetation that will be removed, surrounding wetlands or protected areas, access roads for construction vehicles, anticipated location of any paved driveway or road, and curb-cut locations. All site-plan designs must adhere to local or town regulations and be brought before zoning-approval boards to be used in the permitting process. This step takes places shortly after soil testing.

Additional Steps Additional steps in site preparation include clearing and excavation. Certain sites will require you to remove trees and stumps from the building site in order to make room for septic systems, wells and utilities. The process of clearing and excavation is very expensive. For this reason, it is suggested that you only clear the necessary areas. Too much clearing can be very expensive and affect erosion.

Soil Preparation & Site Planning

There is no better time to enhance a lawns ultimate beauty and success than by improving the soil before any planting takes place.

Quick Facts About Soil Preparation Why Is Good Soil Important? For optimum growth, turfgrass needs just four things (in the proper balance) sunlight, air, water, and nutrients. Reduce any of these, or provide too much of any one and the grass may die or simply suffer. In the right proportions, the gross will flourish, providing beauty to the landscape and a clean and safe place to play plus many benefits to the environment. Grass obtains three of the four essentials factors (air, water, and nutrients) form the soil, but many soils are less that ideal fro growing grass. Some soils contain too much clay and may be very compacted great for roads, bad for grass, because air and water arent available to the roots and they cant grow. Other soils may have too much sandbeautiful on a beach, but difficult to grown grass because water and nutrients wont stay in the root zone long enough for the plant to use. Another frequently observed problem with many soils is that its pH (the degree of acidity or alkalinity) is too high or too low for optimum growth

What Is The Best Soil? Loams, sandy loams and loamy sands, with as pH of 6.0 to 7.0 are the very best soils for producing a beautiful, high-use, low-maintenance lawn. Unfortunately, this ideal soil mixture is seldom found on any property after construction.

How Deep Should the Soil Be? The absolute minimum quality soil depth for a care-free lawn is 4 inches; however for deeper root penetration and the benefits that that brings, the accepted standard is 6 inches.

Can Soils Be Improved? Practically, without exception, not only can most soils be improved, they usually need to be improved to get the maximum results with only a minimum of on-going effort. The knowledge of whats necessary, the amount and availabi lity of materials and the immediate costs of time and money are the factors that typically deter people from taking the steps necessary to improve the soil. The fact is that failing to improve the soil before planting is only inviting a much greater and continual investment of time and money that will never return its value as fully as good preparation.

Step-by-Step Site Preparation The beauty is in the blades, but the action is in the roots, is a good adage to remember when growing grass. Thus, the value of proper site preparation and soil improvement, before any planting takes place, is that it will be easier for the grass roots to penetrate deeply and evenly. Deep roots will make the lawn more drought resistant, a more efficient water and nutrients user and more dense as new grass plant shoots emerge. A dense lawn crowds out weeds and better resists insects and disease.

Follow these simple steps for a beautiful, healthy and trouble-free lawn: Clear the site of all building materials (wood, cement, bricks, etc.) as well as any buried stumps, rocks, stones or other debris that are larger than 2-3 inches in diameter. Rough grade the entire area to eliminate any drainage problems on the property. This would include sloping the grade away from building foundations, eliminating or reducing severe slopes and filling low-lying areas. A tractor mounted blade and/or box are most often used for rough grading, but if the area is small, it can be done with hand tools. The rough grading will probably uncover more debris that should be removed and not buried. Initial tilling to a depth of at least 2 inches, should be completed prior to adding any topsoil or soil amendments. This will control most annual weeds, alleviate subsoil compaction, permit a bonding of the topsoil to the subsoil and improve root penetration as well as air exchange and water movement. Add topsoil to achieve a total topsoil depth of 4-6 inches after firming. The topsoil should be a loamy sand, sandy loam, clay loam, loam, silt loam, sandy clay loam or other soil suitable for the area. Test the soil pH with a chemical soil test to determine if any pH correcting materials are required. Acidic Soils (pH of 6 and below) can be improved with the addition of lime. The type (or source) and total amount of applied lime will be determined by the level of acidity and should be based on the recommendations of a reliable garden center, turf professional, or soil scientist.

Alkaline soils (pH of 7.5 and higher) can be improved with the addition of sulfur or gypsum. As with acidic soil correcting materials, the type and total amount of materials will be determined by the level of alkalinity and should be based on a professionals recommendation. Apply starter fertilizer that is high in phosphate (P or the middle number on a bag of fertilizer) at a rate recommended for the particular product. To avoid root injury to the newly installed turfgrass sod, the fertilizer should be raked into the top 3-4 inches. Finish grade the entire site, maintaining the rough grading contours and slopes, with a tractor mounted box blade for large areas or a heavy-duty rake for smaller sites. Roll the area with a lawn roller one-third full of water to firm and settle the surface. Low spots revealed by this step should be filled to match the surrounding grade surface. If time permits, allow the area to settle further with rainfall or by applying irrigation water.

SOIL TYPES AND TESTING

Soil can be described in many different ways, such as heavy, light, sandy, clay, loam, poor or good. Scientists typically describe soil according to its:

Color Compaction Moisture content Organic content pH Profile Structure Temperature, and Texture

Although each of these factors is important, three factors (texture, organic content and pH) are more important than the others. Regardless, we will provide a brief overview of all nine factors below. Color Soil color can provide information about organic matter in the soil, drainage, biotic activity, and fertility. The chart below can give you some insight into the condition of your soil just from its appearance. To identify the color of your soil, you should take a garden spade or shovel, and dig a shallow hole, at least 3" - 4" deep, and gauge the color (you should do this quickly before the sun can dry it out). Color Dark high low

Condition organic matter erosion factor

Moderately dark medium medium

Light low high

aeration available nitrogen fertility Compaction

high high high

medium medium medium

low low low

To be healthy, a soil needs to be able to breath and water needs to be able to move through it reasonably easily. Compacted soils don't allow much air to circulate to the root zone and water (rainfall or irrigation) tends to just run-off. This increases erosion and strips away vegetation and topsoil. A normal, loosely compacted soil helps to absorb and retain water, releasing it slowly, and allows the root zone of plants to "breath". These soils are generally more productive, since plants can grow much more readily. Dense, highly compacted soils typically have less plant growth, which increases runoff. Sand is the largest particle in the soil. When you rub it, it feels rough. This is because it has sharp edges. Sand doesn't hold many nutrients or water. Silt is a soil particle whose size is between sand and clay. Silt feels smooth and powdery. When wet it feels smooth but not sticky. Clay is the smallest soil particle. Clay is smooth when dry and sticky, or plastic when wet. Soils high in clay content are called heavy soils. Clay can hold a lot of nutrients, and some kinds can hold quite a bit of water, but the structure of clay doesn't let air and water move through it well. Most of the water in a clay soil is so tightly bound to the clay particles that plants can't get it loose. Moisture The amount if moisture found in soil varies greatly with the type of soil, climate and the amount of humus (organic material) in that soil. The types of organisms that can survive in your soil is largely determined by the amount of water available to them, since water acts as a means of nutrient transport and is necessary for cell survival. Soil moisture can be estimated visually, although this is quite imprecise. Soil moisture can also be determined by a soils laboratory. Soils labs typically dry a sample in an oven or on a hot plate (approximately 225 F for 24 hours) and compare the weight of the soil before drying to the weight after drying. The moisture content is reported as percent moisture on a weight basis. Several irrigation system manufacturers have developed soil moisture indicators that can be used to control irrigation more precisely, turning the system on only in areas where more water is needed and then only for the minimum time necessary to get the soil moisture back up to the desired level. Organic Content The organic content of soil greatly influences the plant, animal and microorganism populations in that soil. Decomposing organic material provides many necessary nutrients to soil inhabitants. Without fresh additions of organic matter from time to time, the soil becomes deficient in some nutrients and soil populations decrease. The amount of organic material can be determined by ignition. Organic material is made of carbon compounds, which when heated to high temperatures are converted to carbon dioxide and water. In the ignition process, a dry solid sample is heated to a high temperature. The organic matter in the soil is given off as gases. This results in a change in weight which allows for calculation of the organic content of the sample. Oven-dry the sample to remove water (see soil moisture). Weigh a crucible and lid, evaporating dish and cover, or other covered container. Place approximately 10 grams of soil sample in the container, cover it and weigh the sample, container and cover. Place the container on a metal stand and heat it with a propane torch. Allow the fumes to escape, but not the soil particles.

Heat the sample strongly after most of the gases have escaped; continue heating until there are no visible fumes. Cool the container, lid, and sample. Reweigh and calculate the percent of organic material. Soil pH Most people think that rainwater has a pH of 7, so it comes as something of a shock when they learn that rainwater (if its not polluted) has a normal pH of about 6 - 6.5, which is slightly acidic. This is due to dissolved carbon dioxide from the air, which reacts with water to form a dilute acid (carbonic acid), much like the carbon dioxide in soda. It should then come as no surprise that most plants grow their best at around the same pH*. You can determine the pH of your soil very easily using a universal indicator solution or pH paper, available at most hardware stores in the pool supplies section. To determine the pH, just put a small amount of the soil to be tested in a clear or white container, being careful not to touch the sample. Pour a small amount of universal indicator over the soil, then match the color of the indicator solution (not the soil) with the pH color chart. If you decide to use pH paper, pour a small amount of water on the soil sample. Touch the pH paper to the sample and match to color of the paper to the pH color chart. (*Please note that some plants, such as rhododendron, camellias, azaleas, blueberries, ferns, spruce, pines, firs, and red cedar prefer soil that is more acidic, with a pH of 4.0 to 5.0. Other plants, such as beech, mock orange, asparagus and sagebrush tolerate soils with a pH 7.0 to 8.0. Above a pH 8.5, the soil is too alkaline for most plants, while if the soil pH is below 3.5 it will be too acid. You should also note that each layer of soil may have a different pH, which means that pH can vary within the soil, although the differences are usually not too great.) Soil Profile If you really want to know about your soil, the best way to start is to obtain a cross-section of the various layers. This can be done fairly easily if you use a soil core tool. A soil core tool is little more than a hollow tube 2 to 4 feet in length with a handle and cross piece like a shovel to help push it in. Once the tool has been inserted into the soil, it should be turned to loosen the soil and then pulled out. The resulting soil core can be easily examined to identify the various layers (each layer is also called a horizon) in the soil, the aggregate of which is called a soil profile. To determine a soil horizon, you simply mark where the soil changes color and/or general appearance. Many soils have three major layers or horizons, top soil, subsoil and parent material. Depending on where you sample, the top zone may be comprised of actively growing plants and dead plant materials (for example, if you sample in your lawn.) The top soil is typically darker colored and usually has more organic matter, higher biotic activity, abundant roots, and commonly lower in nutrients than underlying layers. The first inch of top soil may be lighter in color because many of the nutrients may have been leached out by water, and organic material may have been partially oxidized by sunlight and heat. The soil immediately below the first inch is usually somewhat darker, has many roots, moderate organic matter, and provides most of the nutrients for the plants. The next major layer is the subsoil. This layer is typically 1 to 2 feet below the surface and is characterized by a lighter color with much fewer, larger roots. The subsurface layer generally has less clay than the topsoil. The third layer, which may not be observable, is the parent material. This consists of unconsolidated, slightly weathered rocky materials from which soil develops. It is characterized by limited biotic activity and very few roots. Soil Structure

Soil structure tells how the soil affects the movement of water, air and root penetration into the soil. The geometric shapes of the soil determine how it is put together. Words such as blocky (the blocks of soil are large, with the same number of cracks going horizontal as vertical), granular (the blocks of soil are small, with the same number of cracks going horizontal as vertical), columns (the blocks of soil and related cracks are generally longer in the vertical direction than in the horizontal), and plate-like (the blocks of soil and related cracks are generally longer in the horizontal direction than in the vertical), describe soil structures. To determine the structure of your soil, carefully break apart each layer and match its characteristics with the appropriate structural type shown below. STRUCTURAL TYPE columns blocky granular plate-like Soil Temperature Soil temperature has a significant role in helping to determine the rate of plant growth, and whether a plant will even survive. The temperature in your soil changes greatly with depth. To measure soil temperature, find an area that is not in direct sunlight. Using a thermometer, measure the air temperature at shoulder height. Hold the thermometer still for about one minute (make sure your fingers are not on the thermometer bulb), read and record the air temperature. Next, measure the temperature at the surface of the ground. Put the thermometer flat on the ground and record the temperature after one minute. To determine the temperature below the ground surface, use a dowel that you have marked at 1 inch, 2 inches, 6 inches and 12 inches. Start by pushing the dowel into the ground till you reach the 1 inch mark. Remove the dowel and insert the thermometer for one minute, then remove the thermometer and quickly record the temperature. Repeat this procedure to obtain temperature readings at 2 inches, 6 inches and 12 inches. Take temperature readings at different times throughout the day at the same location. To compare with soil temperatures for areas in direct sun, just repeat using the same procedure but select an area that gets full sun. You will note that the soil temperatures in these areas are typically much higher than in the shaded areas. Soil Temperature Less than 40 F 40 F to 65 F 65 F to 70 F 70 F to 85 F above 85 F Soil Texture Sandy soil absorbs more than two inches of water per hour. It is very porous, with large spaces between soil particles. Little water is retained and the sandy soil dries out quickly. Loam soil absorbs from .25 inches to 2 inches per hour. The soil is loose and porous and holds water quite Conditions during growing season no growth, bacteria and fungi are not very active some growth fastest growth some growth no growth WATER PENETRATION good good good moderate DRAINAGE good moderate best moderate AERATION good moderate best moderate

well. Clay soil absorbs less than .25 inches of water per hour. Clay soil is dense with few air spaces between particles and holds water so tightly that little water is available for plants. Characteristics of Different Soil Types It can be argued that no two soils are ever exactly alike. Although this is true, it is useful to group soils into categories. Three major categories of soil dominate our area. These are:

Sandy soil Loam soil, and Clay soil

Source:
www.wikipedia.com http://www.becksturf.com/soil_site.php http://www.rain.org/global-garden/soil-types-and-testing.htm