Tue 30 Dec 2008
Although the ground beneath our feet seems solid enough, only half of the soil is actual soil particles. The rest is composed of air and water. A soil is good if water makes up at least half of the empty space. The water holds many dissolved chemicals and nutrients that are essential for plant growth. The air content is important also as it provides plants with oxygen for plant roots and soil organisms.
Soil organisms are abundant in good soils since plants depend on them to convert nutrients into forms they can use, and to recycle nutrients from organic matter. The best strategy to create awesome soil is to build up and boost this ecosystem, keeping it in balance.
The main components of soil are:
- Water
- Air
- Rocks
- Minerals
- Nutrients
- Organic Matter
- Well-decomposed organic matter - Humus
- Organisms
The spaces between the solids are called pores. Good soil contains lots of these and is described as porus. This way air can easily circulate through the soil to reach plant roots and allow water to drain easily. The solid portion is mostly rock particles and bits of dead material and organic matter.
Organic layer - thin layer of plant material
Topsoil - Where most of the nutrients, roots and organisms exist.
Subsoil - Most water that plants use is stored here
Parent Material - rocky rubble that hasn’t weathered down fine enough to be soil
Bedrock - underlying layer of solid rock
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