Soil

Soil- Scientific Unit

 Have you ever thought about the importance of

soils to mankind and other living beings, or what
the planet and life would be like would be if they
did not exist?
Soil- Scientific Unit

 Soil is the basis for the development of plants and of various animals, including
the human species. It is in that
 Plants fix their roots and obtain water, air, and the nutrients used in the process of
photosynthesis;
 Water is stored, originating the springs that form the rivers and lakes form the
rivers and lakes and supply the cities;
 We make the foundation of the houses, buildings and other works that we build.
Soil- Scientific Unit

 Soil erosion compromises agricultural production,

causes silting up of rivers, dams, and port areas.
The removal of vegetation and the occupation of
steep slopes steep slopes provoke landslides that
cause many deaths cause landslides that cause many
deaths and damage to property. damage.

*silting: Filling with sand; Clogging

Soil- Scientific Unit

 Human action on the environment – through

agricultural practices and forms of urban
occupation without planning or concern for soil
conservation - greatly accelerates soil
degradation accelerates soil degradation and
compromises environmental, social, and
economic sustainability.
Soil- Scientific Unit

 Soil is an important natural resource, with various possibilities for

economic exploitation, which makes its preservation very important for
the maintenance of socio-environmental balance.
 In areas of mineral or agricultural exploration, it is important to reduce
the environmental aggression caused by these activities.
 The following photos show different forms of exploitation of soils:
Soil- Scientific Unit

 The company "Empresa das Lousas de

Valongo" is the owner of more than 100
hectares of extractable area. The
"Milhária Quarry" is the oldest in activity
that exists in Portugal, with 15 ha of
extraction area and reserves for several
years.
Soil- Scientific Unit

 Intensive farming practices are major drivers of

global climate change, accelerating soil erosion and
overall environmental pollution due to improper
carbon sequestration, fossil fuel emissions, and
exploitative approach to land and water use. Impact
on human health.
Soil- Scientific Unit

Some concepts about soil:

 Geography - Pedology: considers soil to be the natural integrated into the landscape, which
supports the plants that plants that develop in it;
 Edaphology - Defines soil as a natural environment in which man cultivates plants, being
interested in thech aracteristics related to agricultural production.
 Pedology - is the name given to the study of soils in their natural environment natural
environment
 Edaphology: is the science that deals with the influence of soils on living things living
things, particularly plants, including the use of soil by humans to provide human beings for
the purpose of plant development.
Soil- Scientific Unit

 Soil - Formed in a continuous process of decomposition and disaggregation of

rocks.
 When exposed to the atmosphere, rocks suffer the direct action of the sun's heat
and rain water among other factors, that modify their physical aspects and the
chemical composition of the minerals that compose the chemical composition of
the minerals that compose them.
 That is, they suffer the action of physical and chemical weathering.
Soil- Scientific Unit

 In tropical humid areas it takes, on average100 years to form just two centimeters
of soil.
 In areas with a cold, dry climate this period is even longer.
 Soil that results from the chemical and physical weathering and the addition of
organic matter to its surface organizes it selfits surface is organized into layers
with different characteristics that are called horizons.
Soil- Scientific Unit

 The soil is the topmost layer of the earth’s crust

consisting of air, water, inorganic minerals (rock, sand,
clay, and slit), and organic matter (dead plants and
animals). It forms the source of food for plants. It
provides shelter for many animals such as insects,
centipedes, burrowing animals, microorganisms, and
many others. It is thus also called the ‘skin of the
earth.’

 There are different soil types, each having unique

characteristics like color, texture, structure, thickness,
mineral content, and organic matter.
Soil- Scientific Unit

 The horizons are identified by letters and become differentiating themselves more
and more from the parent rock as their distance from it increases.to it.
 The process that creates soils and their horizons is called pedogenesis.
Soil- Scientific Unit
 Horizon O
Layer with high presence of organic matter, water, animals, and plants.
 Horizon A
Darker because it has organic matter, water, and mineral salts. A layer rich in humus, which consists of partially
decomposed organic material mixed with mineral soil.
 Horizon B
Accumulates mineral salts and material from the O and A horizons, and has a greater presence of air. A region of little
organic material whose chemical composition resembles that of the underlying rock.
 Horizon C
Consisting of disintegrated rock fragments from the D horizon; large presence of air. Mostly slightly modified
material similar to the parent rock.
 Horizon R
Parent rock or soil origin. Consists of consolidated rock, showing little or no weathering.
Soil- Scientific Unit

 The O, A and B horizons are the most important for agriculture because of their fertility:
the greater the balanced availability of certain chemical elements, such as potassium,
nitrogen, sodium, iron and magnesium, the greater their fertility and fertility and its
potential for agricultural productivity. These horizons are also important for the
ecosystem, because of the density and variety of life inside, (e.g. ants, earth worms and
microorganisms)
Soil- Scientific Unit

 The O, A and B horizons are the most important for

agriculture because of their fertility: the greater the
balanced availability of certain chemical elements,
such as potassium, nitrogen, sodium, iron and
magnesium, the greater their fertility and fertility and
its potential for agricultural productivity. These
horizons are also important for the ecosystem,
because of the density and variety of life inside, (e.g.
ants, earth worms and microorganisms)
Soil- Scientific Unit

 Texture
 Soil texture is the relative portion of solid particles in
the soil mass, the relative portion between sand, silt
and clay in some soil material
Soil- Scientific Unit

 Structure
 The soil structure corresponds to the arrangement of the
primary particles with other substances, such as organic
matter, iron and aluminum oxide, etc., and can be
characterized as to type, size, and degree of development.
 Type: laminar, prismatic, columnar, angular blocks,
subangular blocks, and granular;
 Size: very small, small, medium, large, and very large;
 Degree of development: loose, weak, moderate and strong;
Soil- Scientific Unit

 Porosity
 The porosity of a soil is given by the volume of empty spaces existing between the solid
particles. The pores are actually never empty, because they are either occupied by water or
by air.
 In a wet soil, practically all the pores are occupied by water, in a humid soil they will be
occupied partly by water and partly by air, while in dry soil, all the pores will be occupied
by air.
 The pores are the result of joining the solid particles that make up the soil, which can be
arranged in various ways, forming spacing that may favor the movement and
displacement of water or its permanence, as well as the displacement of air.
Soil- Scientific Unit

 Porosity
 The porosity of a soil is given by the volume of empty spaces existing between the solid
particles. The pores are actually never empty, because they are either occupied by water or
by air.
 In a wet soil, practically all the pores are occupied by water, in a humid soil they will be
occupied partly by water and partly by air, while in dry soil, all the pores will be occupied
by air.
 The pores are the result of joining the solid particles that make up the soil, which can be
arranged in various ways, forming spacing that may favor the movement and
displacement of water or its permanence, as well as the displacement of air.
Soil- Scientific Unit

 Porosity
 The porosity of a soil is given by the volume of empty spaces existing between the solid
particles. The pores are actually never empty, because they are either occupied by water or
by air.
 In a wet soil, practically all the pores are occupied by water, in a humid soil they will be
occupied partly by water and partly by air, while in dry soil, all the pores will be occupied
by air.
 The pores are the result of joining the solid particles that make up the soil, which can be
arranged in various ways, forming spacing that may favor the movement and
displacement of water or its permanence, as well as the displacement of air.
Soil- Scientific Unit

 Porosity
 The porosity of a soil is given by the volume of empty spaces existing between the solid
particles. The pores are actually never empty, because they are either occupied by water or
by air.
 In a wet soil, practically all the pores are occupied by water, in a humid soil they will be
occupied partly by water and partly by air, while in dry soil, all the pores will be occupied
by air.
 The pores are the result of joining the solid particles that make up the soil, which can be
arranged in various ways, forming spacing that may favor the movement and
displacement of water or its permanence, as well as the displacement of air.
Soil- Scientific Unit

Bibliography

Blake, G.R., Hartge, K.H. (1986). Bulk density. In: Klute, A. (ed.). Methods of Soil Analysis, Part 1:
Physical and Mineralogical Methods. American Society of Agronomy-Soil Science Society of America.
Brady, N.C., Weil, R.R. (2016). Elements of the Nature and Properties of Soils, 4th Edition. Pearson
Education, Inc.
Bronick, C.J., Lal, R. (2005). Soil structure and management: a review. Geoderma, 124(1-2), 3-22.
Jones, J.B., Case, V.W. (2012). Sampling, Handling, and Analyzing Soils and Plant Tissue Samples.
CRC Press.
Lal, R. (2014). Soil carbon sequestration to mitigate climate change. Geoderma, 123-124, 1-22.
Van Genuchten, M.T. (1980). A closed-form equation for predicting the hydraulic conductivity of
unsaturated soils. Soil Science Society of America Journal, 44(5), 892-898.
Zhang, H., Cui, P., Zhou, J., Fu, G. (2018). Factors affecting soil erosion: a review. Journal of Mountain
Science, 15(8), 1570-1587.