1. What can you infer on the map shown?

Give a brief explanation on the type of soil of the Philippines basing on

the soil order map.
- Based on the map shown, there are six major soil orders in the Philippines namely: ultisols, inceptisols,
altisols, vertisols, entisols and oxisols. The type of soil that is mostly covered the Philippines is ultisols
with a percentage of 41.5% along with the soil that least covered the Philippines which is oxisols with a
percentage of 0.3%.Most of ultisol soil can be seen in the Luzon area, there are substantial Inceptisols
soils in parts of the map, including the Palawan Region and parts of Visayas and Mindanao. This shows
the diversity of colors that presents the type of soil. The Philippines is fortunate for being rich in natural
resources which includes the diversity of soil resources.

2. Notice the long chain of land mass in red in the East of Luzon, to its center part, and even a part in the Eastern
Visayas regions. What are characterized by these basing on type of soil? Do they have common vegetation? Or
what do you think caused this

- The soil in the east region of Luzon and parts of Eastern Visayas is mostly ordered as Oxisols and
Ultisols. Both orders being rich in mineral deposits, like Iron and Aluminium oxide present in Oxisols, and
Ultisols being acidic. The reason for this order of soil being prominent in this regions is because of the
geologic features and location it has. We have the backbone of the Philippines to thank for this, the
Sierra Madre Mountain range. The Siera Madre in Luzon and other mountainous or forest regions in
Eastern Visayas has mineral rich soils. Leaching the soils present in that area, hence why Ultisols are
prominent. Also, rich metal deposit are also widely abundant in those regions, like Iron and Aluminium
causing the reddish hue in the soil. Oxisols and Utisols have low fertility for crop production because the
soil is acidic, In order to support the agriculture in the region they use fertilizer and lime to neutralize the
acidity of the soil. Also, due to the typhoons that always come from east, and people who live near were
the ones who always experience the effects of typhoon first. Because of the never ending rain due to the
typhoons, the quality of the soil there were different from others. This caused, too much weathering that
is common in tropic climates.

3. Basing on the map, do you agree that the Philippines is an agricultural country? Why?

- The Philippines is one of the riches country in terms of agricultural, with a large portion of Filipinos living
in rural areas, supporting themselves through agricultural activities. It is why our land is covered with
natural suitable resources for forestry that can be cultivated agriculturally. We have rich land, natural
resources, hardworking farmers and agri-research institutions. Ultisols were stand effectively in
agriculture, it consists of lime, fertilizers and weathered soils because of the warm and humid climates.
Its output sustains the local demand and considered to be essential commodities within the country.
Recent figures suggest that about a quarter of employed Filipinos work in the agricultural sector which is
made up of four sub-sectors: farming, fisheries, livestock, and forestry.

4. Having the mind of an agricultural secretary, how would you take advantage of the difference/variety of soil
orders mainly in contributing big for the economy and opening more opportunities for farmers?

- Agriculture is critical to economic development and progress. It is a cornerstone of human existence

since it provides nourishment. Advances in watersheds, natural resources, and environmental sciences
have shown that soil is the foundation of basic ecosystem function. Soils supply the essential nutrients
like water, oxygen and root support that our food-producing plants need to grow and flourish. However
natural disasters continue to jeopardize the agricultural sector. Managing our soil resources on
agricultural land for high and healthy crop yield since 10.18% of our total economy depends on
agriculture and as a newly industrialized country, we need to stabilize the economy and that just means
that we also want to increase the exports of agricultural products. Also developing policies on farming,
agriculture, and food that focuses mainly on interest of farmers to make more opportunities for them,
opportunities that hold the most promise for improving the environmental performance of farming
systems whilst improving our economy.