Soil types and How They Are Formed
Soil contains Minerals, Air, Water and Organic Matter.
All these components are present in different proportions depending on the Soil type.Micro Organisms, small animals, fungi, bacteria, and viruses also live within the soil. You will also find plant remains such as dead roots thatch and Leaf Litter in the soil.
|
Before It Was Soil
|
|
These Rocks will eventually become soil and are contributing to the soil content almost every day. The weather holds a major part in this in that it decays the Rocks via Rain, Heat and the Wind and also the Cold Temperatures. These elements constantly batter the Rocks and cause the Rocks to decay in various forms. The Heat will cause the Rocks to crack open and there for reduce the Rock,s size and the remnants of the Rock will ultimately land on the Soil, which will then be washed into the Soil and so ad to the the Soil Matter.
|
|
Required Nutrients Within the Soil
|
|
These Elements are the main Elements that are required by most Plants to grow and sustain themselves healthily.
If one of these Elements is missing, then it would have an adverse effect on the plant to which the plant can be susceptible to disease. Too much of any one Elememt would have the same effect, not so much much the susceptibility of disease, but the effects would be just as unwanted. A fine balance is hard to maintain, but with a little experience the Greenkeeper can inspect his Sward and tell what is needed to preserve the Status Quo of the soil and the plants that are using it to survive.
You will notice the plus sign and the minus, (negative) sign. These are there to indicate the amount of the element we can find depending on the acidity or alkalinity of the different soil types. Also to display the Potential Hydrogen, [pH], of the soil.
An example of this is to look at the diagram and follow the element Iron. The more acidic the soil is, the better likelihood there is of finding Iron. As the soil becomes less acidic the traces of Iron start to diminish untill the soil is free from Iron altogether.
|
|
