1. The origin of soil science
Russia’s soils
The origin of soil science
Lesson 3  Starter

2. What is soil? The uppermost layer of the planet Earth
Around one metre in depth in the UK
Made up of broken-down particles of rocks (sand, clay) and the decomposed organic remains of plants
Water and air occupy the tiny spaces between particles
The most fertile soils contain high levels of nutrients such as calcium (from the rock particles and organic remains). Fertile soils are valuable for farming

3. soil types Soils are described by their: depth fertility colour
layers (horizons)

4. Russian soil science
In the 1800s, Russian scientists studied how and why the soils in Russia varied from place to place
Russia’s large range of biomes has given rise to a large range of soil types
The soil scientists gave each different soil type its own name, such as podzol (a forest soil) and chernozem (a grassland soil)
Soil scientists today use a classification system that is based on the early studies made in Russia

5. Vasily Dokuchaev Lived 1846-1903 ‘The father of soil studies’
His work is still used today

6. Russian geographers
Alexander Middendorff, born in Russia, 1815, explored Russia’s regions of permafrost (frozen ground)
Vladimir Köppen, born in Russia, 1846, developed a climate classification system that is still taught in school today
Yuly Shokalsky, born in Russia, 1856, was an oceanographer who was elected into the Royal Geographical Society in 1904

7. Investigating soils
Russian soil scientists were amongst the first to recognise that:
important soil characteristics, such as fertility, are governed by the climate, particularly the water balance between precipitation and evaporation
large areas of the world’s soils, including Russia’s, are frozen. This frozen ground is called permafrost

8. Water balance
In this lesson, we will learn about the balance between precipitation and evapotranspiration

9. Frozen soils
In this lesson, we will study the distribution of permafrost (frozen ground) and gley soils (waterlogged soils)

10. Transect mapping
In this lesson, we will think about how soils, climate and vegetation change along a line called a transect

11. Picture credits Slide 3 en.wikipedia.org Slide 5 en.wikipedia.org
Slide 9 Flickr creative commons user: Konstantin Zamkov
Slide 10 Flickr creative commons user: NASA Goddard