Soil
SOIL EROSION
Janeen Uy
I BS MANAGEMENT
ES 10 J
Submitted to: Dr. Severino Salmo III
March 8, 2012
Soil is found on the Earth's crust and formed through weathering and decay of organisms. It may be considered dirt to a lot of people but it is highly an important tool for our survival. The soil holds the roots of the plants where nutrients are stored. It is important since it enables the soil to store and regulate the flow of water, filters the pollutants and improves the soil's quality for sufficient plant growth. The soil is composed of four elements namely, the mineral particles, organic matter, water and air (See Figure 1). Humus, an organic matter, composes the upper layers of the soil and gives it a dark color. It provides the plants with nutrition since it is the primary sources of carbon and nitrogen in the soil composition and it also increases the water and mineral holding capacity of the soil.
Figure 1 The Composition of a Soil The formation of soil, like growing a tree, takes time but it could be destructed easily thus, soil must be conserved and not be taken for granted. It can take about a thousand years for the weathered rocks and minerals to entirely break down and mixed with organic matter, creating a thin layer of soil. The breaking down of rocks or weathering has two types: chemical and physical weathering. With chemical weathering, the rock material may change after a period of time into a softer material through the decomposition of rocks whereas physical weathering is the disintegration of minerals due to temperature affected factors. In the Philippines, chemical weathering could usually be seen with the formation of soil because of our tropical conditions. The properties of soil could determine the solubility and availability of minerals and what plants could grow in that particular soil. The first property would be the texture of the soil. This refers to the amount of nutrients available in the soil. There are three
Janeen Uy
I BS MANAGEMENT
ES 10 J
Submitted to: Dr. Severino Salmo III
March 8, 2012
Soil is found on the Earth's crust and formed through weathering and decay of organisms. It may be considered dirt to a lot of people but it is highly an important tool for our survival. The soil holds the roots of the plants where nutrients are stored. It is important since it enables the soil to store and regulate the flow of water, filters the pollutants and improves the soil's quality for sufficient plant growth. The soil is composed of four elements namely, the mineral particles, organic matter, water and air (See Figure 1). Humus, an organic matter, composes the upper layers of the soil and gives it a dark color. It provides the plants with nutrition since it is the primary sources of carbon and nitrogen in the soil composition and it also increases the water and mineral holding capacity of the soil.
Figure 1 The Composition of a Soil The formation of soil, like growing a tree, takes time but it could be destructed easily thus, soil must be conserved and not be taken for granted. It can take about a thousand years for the weathered rocks and minerals to entirely break down and mixed with organic matter, creating a thin layer of soil. The breaking down of rocks or weathering has two types: chemical and physical weathering. With chemical weathering, the rock material may change after a period of time into a softer material through the decomposition of rocks whereas physical weathering is the disintegration of minerals due to temperature affected factors. In the Philippines, chemical weathering could usually be seen with the formation of soil because of our tropical conditions. The properties of soil could determine the solubility and availability of minerals and what plants could grow in that particular soil. The first property would be the texture of the soil. This refers to the amount of nutrients available in the soil. There are three