Soils and Soil Health

Tony Rolfes
Assistant Director for Soil Science and
Natural Resource Assessments
Pacific Islands Area

Earth Thickness Comparison

Four Things We Cant Live Without

Soil

Composition of a Soil
20 to 30 %
Water
45Minerals
55%
(Sand, Silt
And Clay
45-55 %

20 t 30 %
20 to 30 %
Air
00to
to55%
%
Organic Matter

The Living Soil

The Living Soil

Key Soil Properties

Horizons
Color
Texture

Major Horizon Designations

Surface Organic Layer

O horizon

Surface Mineral Layer

A Horizon

Subsoil

B Horizon

Underlying
Material

C Horizon
R Horizon

Bedrock

Soil Color
Soil color indicates presence of:

Organic matter (dark colors)

Iron (red colors)

Different ash fall events

Soil Texture

Expression of the proportion of

sand, silt, and clay in a soil
Sand (0.05-2.00 mm)
Silt (0.002-0.05 mm)
Clay (<0.002 mm)

Relative Sizes of Soil Particles

Simplified
Textural
Triangle

NRCS, Bozeman MT

Hands On

Texturing

pH

Oahu soils

Mesopotamia
Origin of Agriculture
6000 - 7000 BC
Fertile Crescent

Ancient City of Babylon

Buried by desert sands due to
soil erosion and siltation of
irrigation canals

Dust Bowl
1930 - 1940

Sediment into the Bay in Guam

Water erosion on Big Island

Wind Erosion on Maui

SOIL HEALTH:
The continued capacity of the
soil to function as a

VITAL LIVING ECOSYSTEM

that sustains plants, animals, and humans.

http://environment.yale.edu/poe/v2014/

Soil Organic Matter

Most important
indicator of soil health

FIELD OBSERVATION:

Soil color

Darker colors indicate

higher amounts of
organic matter

Decomposing plant
matter

Where do Soil Organisms Live

In Litter

Around Roots

Spaces between
aggregates

In Humus

On Surface of
Soil Aggregates

Glue-makers

Its all about the Food

Bacteria stick it to me.

Fungi seal the pipes.

microaggregation
Macroaggregation

Aggregates are habitat

Microbes must be fat to make good
aggregates.

Carbon

2,300,000,000,000

Soils Capture and Store Water

Four Principles to Improve Soil

Health

1.

Maximize Diversity

2.

Keep Living Roots in the Soil

3.

Keep the Soil Covered at all Times

4.

Minimize Soil Disturbance

3
4

What is the most limiting element to crop production?

Nitrogen ?

Water ?

Carbon

Feed the soil its Alive

Cover Crops

Maximize Diversity

Keep Living Roots in the Soil

Keep the Soil Covered at all Times

Minimize Soil Disturbance

Question of Energy Use

Ancient Solar energy using fossil fuels
* Fuel for Equipment $$
* Fertilizers $$

Harvest current solar energy Plants

* Free nutrient supply

Things We Can do for our Food

1. Eat fresh, unprocessed foods

3. Choose organic foods

2. Buy local

4. Reduce food waste, compost at home, school, work

The
Connection
Healthy Soil

Healthy Food

Healthy People

Healthy Planet

Out of the long list of

natures gifts to man, none is
perhaps so utterly essential to
human life as soil.
--Hugh Hammond Bennett

Helping People Help the Land

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