1 image – a soil profile lecture #6 – plant nutrition and soils

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Image – a soil profile

Lecture #6 – Plant Nutrition and Soils

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Key Concepts:

• ResourcesWhich are requiredHow they are used

• Essential elementsWhat they areWhat they do

• Soils and soil forming factors• The rhizosphere• Some alternate methods to acquire

nutrients

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Resource requirements for plant growth???

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Where do plants get these resources???

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Where do plants get these resources???

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Diagram – plant resource requirements and sources

Image – root system of a grass

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Plant tissue composition by weight:

• Fresh herbaceous tissue is 80-85% water• Little water is incorporated into plant tissue

What does water contribute to tissue???• Most water is in the cell solution, in the

vacuoles, or passing through in the transpiration stream

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Critical Thinking

• Does wood have such a high percentage of water???

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Critical Thinking

• Does wood have such a high percentage of water???

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Plant tissue composition by weight:

• Fresh herbaceous tissue is 80-85% water• Little water is incorporated into plant tissue

What does water contribute to tissue???

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Plant tissue composition by weight:

• Fresh herbaceous tissue is 80-85% water• Little water is incorporated into plant tissue

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Plant tissue composition by weight:

• Fresh herbaceous tissue is 80-85% water• Little water is incorporated into plant tissue

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DRY plant tissue composition by weight:

• 45% carbon• 45% oxygen• 6% hydrogen• 5% inorganic mineral nutrients

Each a tad under 45%

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DRY plant tissue composition by weight:

• 45% carbon – from ?? CO2

• 45% oxygen – from ?? CO2

• 6% hydrogen – from ?? water• 5% inorganic mineral nutrients – from ??

soil

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DRY plant tissue composition by weight:

• 45% carbon – from • 45% oxygen – from• 6% hydrogen – from• 5% inorganic mineral nutrients – from

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DRY plant tissue composition by weight:

• 45% carbon – from • 45% oxygen – from • 6% hydrogen – from • 5% inorganic mineral nutrients – from

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Diagram – what goes into photosynthesis and what comes out

C, H, O – source and fate in photosynthesis

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DRY plant tissue composition by weight:

• 45% carbon – from CO2

• 45% oxygen – from CO2

• 6% hydrogen – from water• 5% inorganic mineral nutrients – from

0.75-1% of wet weight, but many are essential to plant growth and function

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Critical Thinking

• What is the difference between a chemical element, a molecule and a macromolecule???

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Dia

gram

– s

truc

ture

of

chlo

roph

yll m

olec

ule

Critical Thinking

• What is the difference between a chemical element, a molecule and a macromolecule???

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Essential Elements

• Chemical elementsNot molecules, though some are delivered in

that form – N vs. NO3-

• Required for growth and function of the plant• Can’t be replaced by some other element

• Some contribute to structural components• Some contribute to metabolic processes or

the maintenance of homeostasis

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Essential elements in structural plant components:

?

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Essential elements in structural plant components:

• Cellulose – ??• Lignin – ??• Pectin – ??• Cell membranes – ??• Proteins (cell membrane, cytoskeleton) – ??

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Essential elements in structural plant components:

• Cellulose –• Lignin –• Pectin –• Cell membranes –• Proteins (cell membrane, cytoskeleton) –

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Essential elements for metabolic processes:

?

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Essential elements for metabolic processes:

• Chlorophyll – ??• Nucleic acids – ??• ATP – ??• Enzymes and other proteins – ??• Enzyme cofactors – ??• Elements that control water, charge and

solute balance – ??

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Essential elements for metabolic processes:

• Chlorophyll –• Nucleic acids –• ATP –• Enzymes and other proteins –• Enzyme cofactors – many • Elements that control water, charge and

solute balance –

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Macro Nutrients vs. Micro Nutrients

• Nitrogen• Potassium• Calcium• Magnesium• Phosphorous• Sulfur

• Chlorine, Iron, Boron, Manganese, Zinc, Copper and Molybdenum

• Some plants also require Nickel, Sodium, Silicon, Selenium or others

mass

All used in large quantities to support the structures and processes listed before

Mostly used in enzymes, as enzyme cofactors or in electron transfers – often reused, less required

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Table – essential nutrients, both macro and micro

Study table in book!

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Memory device in honor of my friend and mentor, Dr. Chuck Davey –

celebrated in 2006 for 50 years of service to soil science!!!

“C HOPKNS CaFe, Mg, Mn B CuZn Mo, Cl”

C. Hopkin's cafe, mighty good, managed by cousin Mo, waitress Clara

Nickel may also be essential

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Images – various plants that use additional elements

Silicon in horsetails

Sulfur in mustards

Uranium in macadamia nuts

Some minerals required, some by chance…

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Critical Thinking

• How do you tell which are required???

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Critical Thinking

• How do you tell which are required???

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Critical Thinking

• How do you tell which are required???

• How would elements NOT required enter the plant tissue???

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Critical Thinking

• How do you tell which are required???

• How would elements NOT required enter the plant tissue???

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Images – signs of deficiency

All plants will exhibit signs of deficiencies…..

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Critical Thinking

• If the deficiency appears first in the older leaves, is that nutrient mobile or immobile???

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Critical Thinking

• If the deficiency appears first in the older leaves, is that nutrient mobile or immobile???

• How???

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Critical Thinking

• If the deficiency appears first in the older leaves, is that nutrient mobile or immobile???

• How???

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Mg deficiency in older leaves (mobile)

Fe deficiency in younger leaves (immobile)

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Critical Thinking

• Why would some elements be mobile, and others not???

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Critical Thinking

• Why would some elements be mobile, and others not???

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Image – roots

Most plants get most of their nutrients from the soil – absorbed

through the roots

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Soil is not just Dirt!

• Soil is the “skin” of the earth

• Soil provides for virtually all our food

• Soil supports the forests that maintain the hydrological cycle

• Soil supports virtually all terrestrial ecosystems – from micro-organisms to charismatic macro-fauna

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Image – erosion after tropical deforestation

The results of deforestation are ecological, economic and social disaster ( )Rosie

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Removing the plants removes the soil’s protective “blanket” and erosion is almost inevitable

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More images – erosion

Erosion from deforestation in

Madagascar

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Image – sediments from eroded land flooding out to sea

Sedimentation from erosion – this represents a huge loss of soil “capital”

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Image – sediments eroding off Haiti into the sea

Sediments eroding off Haiti

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Image – the political boundary is clear from the deforestation

Haiti

Dominican Republic

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Image – the drought in Haiti, where residents eat mud to survive

Haiti’s drought is caused largely by deforestation – the hydrological cycle has been snapped

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Maps – deforestation in England and in the US

Deforestation in Warwickshire, England

Deforestation in the US

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Map – soil loss in the Southern Piedmont of the US due to deforestation and abusive agricultural practices

Piedmont soil erosion in the

southeastern US

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Image – eroded land in the Southern Piedmont

The USFS Calhoun Experimental Forest in the 1950’sUnion County, South Carolina

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Maps – loss of farms, rise of industrial forestry, creating the biological deserts of pine plantations

Loss of soil (along with the boll weevil)

nearly eliminated productive

agriculture in the Southern Piedmont after the 1920’s – now most of the Piedmont is in industrial pine

plantations because it can no longer

support productive agriculture

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Social

JusticeYou can help!!!

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Compassionate Thinking

• What can you do to help???

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Compassionate Thinking

• What can you do to help???

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Soil:

A dynamic natural body in which plants grow, composed of mineral and organic materials, air, water,

and living organisms

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Soil:

A dynamic natural body in which plants grow, composed of mineral and organic materials, air, water,

and living organisms

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Soil:

A dynamic natural body in which plants grow, composed of mineral and organic materials, air, water,

and living organisms

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Soil:

A dynamic natural body in which plants grow, composed of mineral and organic materials, air, water,

and living organisms

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Soil:

A dynamic natural body in which plants grow, composed of mineral and organic materials, air, water,

and living organisms

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Soil:

A dynamic natural body in which plants grow, composed of mineral and organic materials, air, water,

and living organisms

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Soil:

A dynamic natural body in which plants grow, composed of mineral and organic materials, air, water,

and living organisms

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Soil:

A dynamic natural body in which plants grow, composed of mineral and organic materials, air, water,

and living organisms

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Soil:

A dynamic natural body in which plants grow, composed of mineral and organic materials, air, water,

and living organisms

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Soil:

A dynamic natural body in which plants grow, composed of mineral and organic materials, air, water,

and living organisms

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Soil Forming Factors:

Parent MaterialClimate

Living OrganismsTopography

Time

All soil forming factors interact!!!

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Parent Material

• The substrate from which soil forms

• May be bedrock or some deposited material (sediments, organic material…)

• Determines soil texture, mineral content

• Influences soil structure and pH

71Igneous rocks form from molten rock

Sedimentary rocks form from deposited

materials

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Metamorphic rocks form from igneous or sedimentary rocks that have been altered by heat and pressure

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In the Charleston area, our soils form from unconsolidated Coastal Plain sediments

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Critical Thinking

• Why???

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Critical Thinking

• Why???

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PM determines

soil texture = percentage of sand, silt and

clay

Loam soils have ~ equal percentage of each texture

class

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CLAY

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Clays are especially important

• Tiny (<2um)Huge surface area per unit mass (1000X more

than same volume of sand)

• Typically platy in structure = vast additional internal surface area (800 m2/gm)

• Typically clay minerals carry a negative charge

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Critical Thinking

• Why is a huge surface area of negative charge important to soil fertility???

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Critical Thinking

• Why is a huge surface area of negative charge important to soil fertility???

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Most clays carry negative charge on both external

and internal surfaces

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Cation Exchange – remember the root cap – protons displace cations

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Texture also influences soil

moisture – clays hold onto more

water

Small pore size and negative

charge

Relationship between soil texture, field capacity and

water availability

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Hands On• Determine soil texture• Take some soil from your jar and dampen

slightly – use the flow chart• Mix the soil with your hands – can you make

a firm ball of soil???• Can you make a ribbon of clay with your

fingers???• Rub a bit of soil between your fingers – can

you feel the grit of sand??? The powder of silt and clay???

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Hands On

• Add water to your jar and shakeHave a ruler ready

• Set the jar down and mark the timeMeasure sediments after 40 seconds = sandMeasure again at 30 minutes = sand + siltRemainder is clay – we may have to wait until

tomorrow to get final measurementsDivide the depth of each layer by the total to get

percentage of sand, silt and clayUse textural triangle to determine soil texture

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Parent materials

are weathered

by other soil forming

factors to form soil

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Soils are typically

layered, in horizons,

because of downward movement of water, clays, etc

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Critical Thinking

• Which soil horizon has the most biological activity???

• Why???O

A

B

C

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Critical Thinking

• Which soil horizon has the most biological activity???

• Why???

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“A” Horizon

The topsoil is the most

biologically active horizon – more air, water

and organic materials from

the surface

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Soil Profile – a cut that reveals the horizons

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Climate

• Primarily temperature and precipitation patterns

• Temperature controls freeze-thaw cycles that contribute to physical weathering

• Temperature also affects the rate of biochemical reactions

• Temperature also affects the rate of decomposition by fungi, bacteria, and other living organisms

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Climate

• Precipitation contributes to soil moisture, which affects plant growth and the activity of decomposing organisms

• Precipitation affects erosion (the physical loss of soil particles) and leaching (chemical losses from the soil solution as water passes through the soil – this contributes to profile formation)

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Major biomes are determined by climate – microclimate is also important in soil development

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Living Organisms

• Macro-organisms, including plants and animals

• Micro-organisms, including bacteria, fungi, single-celled “protists”, and micro-fauna

• Human activity typically results in abrupt and very negative changes to soil

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Living Organisms – Plants

• Contribute organic material – both from above (shoots) and below (roots), and both sources affect horizonation

• Help to mix the soil – root channels, wind throws

• Cycle nutrients from soil to plant and back (sometimes through animals, always through decomposers)

• Help prevent soil erosion by breaking the force of rain, providing a litter layer

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Same parent material will

develop into a different soil

under different plant communities

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Critical Thinking

• Why are grassland soils so dark at the surface???

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Critical Thinking

• Why are grassland soils so dark at the surface???

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Living Organisms – Animals

• Contribute organic material when they die

• Contribute to nutrient cycling

• Help to mix the soil by burrowing, some even “eat” soil (earthworms)

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Critical Thinking

• How do animals contribute to nutrient cycling???

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Critical Thinking

• How do animals contribute to nutrient cycling???

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Living Organisms – Micro-orgs

• Decompose organic material, cycle nutrients, add OM

• Trillions/kg of soil (double handful of soil….)• N-fixing bacteria = supply virtually all N for

plant growth, either free living or in nodulethe nitrogen paradox….bacteria convert

atmospheric N to forms suitable for plant uptake• Mycorrhizae = mutual symbiotic association

between fungi and roots, present in most plants, required by some

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Small animals, soil dwelling micro-fauna, fungi, bacteria, and other micro-organisms decompose dead

OM, cycling nutrients back into the soil

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Living Organisms – Micro-orgs

• Decompose organic material, cycle nutrients, add OM

• Trillions/kg of soil (double handful of soil….)• N-fixing bacteria = supply virtually all N for

plant growth, either free living or in noduleThe nitrogen paradox….bacteria convert

atmospheric N to forms suitable for plant uptake• Mycorrhizae = mutual symbiotic association

between fungi and roots, present in most plants, required by some

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N-fixing bacteria in symbiotic mutualisms, mostly with legumes

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N-fixing bacteria in trees!

• Mosses on old-growth trees in the coastal Pacific Northwest forests host significant populations of N-fixing cyanobacteria

• Rain washes the nitrogen into the soil• Trees absorb from soil• Trees > 100 years old

Must be old for moss• Published 2011

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/06/110607121144.htm

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Living Organisms – Micro-orgs

• Decompose organic material, cycle nutrients, add OM

• Trillions/kg of soil (double handful of soil….)• N-fixing bacteria = supply virtually all N for

plant growth, either free living or in nodulethe nitrogen paradox….bacteria convert

atmospheric N to forms suitable for plant uptake• Mycorrhizae = mutual symbiotic association

between fungi and roots, present in most plants, required by some

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Critical Thinking

• What do you think mycorrhizae might contribute to the symbiosis???

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Critical Thinking

• What do you think mycorrhizae might contribute to the symbiosis???

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Mycorrhizae are symbiotic mutualisms between fungi and plants – fungal hyphae vastly

increase surface area for water and nutrient absorption – 85% of plants depend on them

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Hands On

• Shake up class sample of soil / water to mix• Examine a drop of soil “solution” for

microorganisms

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Living Organisms – The human impact

• Removing vegetation dramatically increases erosion, cultivation exacerbates

• Deforestation can snap hydrological cycles• Excessive fertilizer and pesticide use

contaminates both soil and water• Improper irrigation salinates soil• Wetland drainage damages wetland soils• and on….

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Topography – the shape of the land

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Topography – the shape of the land

• Determines the movement of water, thus affecting erosion and leaching rates

• Determines where water accumulates, which affects soil moisture, which affects organismal activity, which affects soils….

• Aspect affects the amount of solar radiation at the surface, and thus soil temperature

• Large topographic features influence precipitation patterns

• Even micro-topography influences plant distribution

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Topographic Aspect – red and blue face S and W; green and

yellow face N and E

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Critical Thinking

• Why are the north and east slopes of a hill cooler???

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Critical Thinking

• Why are the north and east slopes of a hill cooler???

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Topography – the shape of the land

• Determines the movement of water, thus affecting erosion and leaching rates

• Determines where water accumulates, which affects soil moisture, which affects organismal activity, which affects soils….

• Aspect affects the amount of solar radiation at the surface, and thus soil temperature

• Large topographic features influence precipitation patterns

• Even micro-topography influences plant distribution

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Orographic lifting makes it rain

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Critical Thinking

• What the heck is orographic lifting and why does it cause rain???

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Critical Thinking

• What the heck is orographic lifting and why does it cause rain???

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Critical Thinking

• What the heck is orographic lifting and why does it cause rain???

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Orographic lifting causes cooling and precipitation, rain shadow to the leeward

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Topography – the shape of the land

• Determines the movement of water, thus affecting erosion and leaching rates

• Determines where water accumulates, which affects soil moisture, which affects organismal activity, which affects soils….

• Aspect affects the amount of solar radiation at the surface, and thus soil temperature

• Large topographic features influence precipitation patterns

• Even micro-topography influences plant distribution

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Small change in elevation…

…big change in the plant

community!

Images showing pond embedded within longleaf pine community

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Hands On

• Let’s go outside for this one….• Trays of soil at different slopes to

demonstrate erosion x slope + erosion vs. leaching

• Pour water from same height and at same rate on different slopes

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Time….

• The length of time all these factors have been acting determines the characteristics of the soil

• The same parent material will develop different soils as time passes

• Major component of primary succession

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Soil development on glacial till

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Soil Forming Factors:

Parent MaterialClimate

Living OrganismsTopography

Time

Remember – all soil forming factors interact!!!

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The Rhizosphere

The area of interaction between root and soil.A huge volume of soil, but a very narrow zone

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The rhizosphere is the zone of cation exchange, nutrient and water uptake

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The Rhizosphere

• Complex zone with many interacting factors• Plant affects soil through compounds

secreted by the plant’s roots• Relative proportions of nutrients in the soil

solution can affect uptake of all nutrients• Also, different species have different

nutrient requirements• Rhizosphere is the control zone for

plant/soil interactions

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Some plants use alternate methods to absorb some nutrients

• Parasites, saprophytes, carnivores

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Key Concepts: QUESTIONS???

• ResourcesWhich are requiredHow they are used

• Essential elementsWhat they areWhat they do

• Soils and soil forming factors• The rhizosphere• Some alternate methods to acquire

nutrients

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Hands On

• What can you tell from this data???

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Extra Credit

• Putz around on the USDA soils site• http://

soils.usda.gov/education/resources/college/index.html