Its NOT DIRT!!! Soils Somewhat Simplified

SOILS FORM IN MINERAL AND ORGANIC DEPOSITS OVER THOUSANDS TO MILLIONS OF YEARS NEW ENGLAND SOILS ARE YOUNGLESS THAN 15OOO YEARS OLD (AFTER THE LAST GLACIATION) Soils Somewhat Simplified

12 “GREAT GROUPS”OF SOILS IN THE WORLD 4 FOUND IN NH ENTISOLS INCEPTISOLS SPODOSOLS HISTOSOLS Soils Somewhat Simplified

SOILS CONSIST OF FOUR CONSTITUENTS MINERAL ORGANIC WATER AIR IN VARYING AMOUNTS Soils Somewhat Simplified

NRCS (OLD SCS) HAS NAMED MANY “SOIL SERIES” BASED ON PROPERTIES NOW NUMERIC IN NEWER VERSIONS OFTEN ASSOCIATED IN COMPLEXES SOIL CATENAS ARE SIMILAR SOILS IN DIFFERENT DRAINAGE CLASSES Soils Somewhat Simplified

LIMIT OF MAPPING IS ABOUT FIVE ACRES MOST MAPPED UNITS WILL HAVE SOME OR MANY INCLUSIONS OF OTHER SOILS Soils Somewhat Simplified

SOILS FORM IN PARENT MATERIALS WITH VARYING CHARACTERISTICS WHICH WILL STRONGLY INFLUENCE THE DEVELOPED SOIL COARSER, FINER, MORE OR LESS COMPACT Soils Somewhat Simplified

FOUR SOIL FORMING PROCESSES ADDITIONS TRANSFORMATIONS TRANSLOCATIONS LOSSES Soils Somewhat Simplified

ADDITIONS MAY INCLUDE FERTILIZERS, POLLUTANTS, WIND AND WATER MOVED MATERIALS Soils Somewhat Simplified

TRANSFORMATIONS ARE CHANGES THAT TAKE PLACE WITHOUT MOVING MATERIALS- ”IN SITU” BY WEATHERING, BIOLOGIC ACTION, FROST, ETC Soils Somewhat Simplified

TRANSLOCATIONS MOVE MATERIALS DOWN, OR SIDEWAYS OR UP, SOMETIMES LEAVING THE SOIL WATER MOVES SOLUBLE SALTS, CLAYS, ORGANICS, CHEMICALS DOWN OR SIDEWAYS AND SOMETIMES UP Soils Somewhat Simplified

LOSSES COME FROM WATER MOVEMENT MAJOR LOSSES FROM EROSION OR WIND MAY RESULT IN ADDITIONS ELSEWHERE Soils Somewhat Simplified

SOILS HAVE DIMENSION- HORIZONTAL AND VERTICAL AND ARE SURROUNDED BY OTHER SOILS WITH DIFFERENT PROPERTIES Soils Somewhat Simplified

SOILS HAVE DISTINCT LAYERS CALLED “HORIZONS” “O” FOR ORGANIC ABOVE THE MINERAL HORIZON DECOMPOSING MATERIALS Soils Somewhat Simplified

A-TOPSOIL FIRST MINERAL HORIZON DARK DUE ORGANIC MATERIAL AND LOSS OF IRON AND OTHER COMPOUNDS THIN IN FORESTED AREAS THICKER WHERE PLOWED “Ap” Soils Somewhat Simplified

E HORIZON SOMETIMES FOUND- GRAY DUE TO LOSS OF IRON, ALUMINUM AND CLAY “ELUVIATED” DOWNWARDS “ALBIC” HORIZON” Soils Somewhat Simplified

B OR SUBSOIL COLORED BY IRON AND OTHER MATERIALS “ILLUVIATED” FROM ABOVE WEATHERED BY WATER, FROST, ROOTS, BOILOGIC ACTIVITY Soils Somewhat Simplified

C IS SUBSTRATUM, LESS AFFECTED BY WEATHERING- “PARENT MATERIAL” Soils Somewhat Simplified

R IS ROCK SOMETIIMES WEATHERED INTO SAPROLITE- NOT REALLY SOIL Soils Somewhat Simplified

SOILS HAVE PROPERTIES TEXTURE STRUCTURE CONSISTENCE COLOR Soils Somewhat Simplified

TEXTURE IS COARSENESS-FINENESS PROPORTIONS OF SAND, SILT, CLAY SAND IS >0.05 MM, >2.0 MM SILT IS > 0.002MM NAMES INCLUDE SAND, LOAM, SILT LOAM,THE COMMON “FINE SAND LOAM” CLAY IS RARE Soils Somewhat Simplified

STRUCTURE IS THE WAY SOIL PARTICLES OR “PEDS” ARE ARRANGED GRANULAR, PLATY, BLOCKY, MASSIVE IN SANDY SOILS, SINGLE GRAIN Soils Somewhat Simplified

WATER MOVES THROUGH STRUCTURAL CRACKS, ROOT CHANNELS OR AROUND SAND GRAINS BY ADHESION OR BY GRAVITY Soils Somewhat Simplified

CONSISTENCE IS THE FIRMNESS OF THE SOIOL PEDS OR MASSES Soils Somewhat Simplified

COLOR IS USUALLY FROM THE COATINGS OF IRON, ALUMINUM AND CLAY MOST MINERALS IN NH GRAY COLOR CHANGES DUE TO SOIL FORMING, WETNESS, BOILOGIC ACTIVITY, TRANSLOCATION Soils Somewhat Simplified

COLORS ARE THE PROPERTIES THAT GUIDE US TO MANY INFERENCES ABOUT SOIL CONDITIONS PARTICULARLY WETNESS Soils Somewhat Simplified

SEASONAL HIGH WATER TABLE IS A CONCEPT NOT THE HIGHEST OBSERVED EVENT BUT AN AVERAGE OVER TIME DURING THE GROWING SEASON Soils Somewhat Simplified

IRON AND COLORING AGENTS THAT COAT THE SOIL ARE CHANGED DURING WET TIMES BY BIOACTIVITY BECOME “REDUCED” AND CAN DISSOLVE THEY TRANSLOCATE Soils Somewhat Simplified

IRON OXIDIZES WHEN SOIL DRIES GRAY PATCHES ARE LEFT BEHIND- ”DEPLETIONS” IRON DEPOSITS ARE CALLED ACCUMULATIONS THESE APPEAR AS “MOTTLES” AGAINST THE “MATRIX” COLOR Soils Somewhat Simplified

THE MODERN TERM IS “REDOXIMORPHIC” FEATURES WHICH REFERS TO THE REDUCTION AND OXIDATION THAT DRIVES THE PROCESS REDOX FEATURES ARE DUE TO WETNESS EXCLUDES OTHER PROCESSES THAT MAY PRODUCE COLOR DIFFERENCES Soils Somewhat Simplified

DRAINAGE CLASSES RUN FROM EXCESSIVELY WELL DRAINED TO VERY POORLY DRAINED Soils Somewhat Simplified

POORLY AND VERY POORLY DRAINED ARE THE “HYDRIC” SOILS ONE OF THREE PARAMETERS FOR DETERMINING WETLAND STATUS ALONG WITH HYDROPITIC PLANTS AND HYDROLOGY Soils Somewhat Simplified

URBAN SOILS ARE OFTEN VERY ALTERED COMPACTED, MOVED, ADDED, ERODED PROPRETIES TAKE SOME TIME TO FORM COLOR USUALLY COMES FIRST, AND MAY FORM QUICKLY Soils Somewhat Simplified

THANKS!!! Soils Somewhat Simplified