BRAC University

Lecture 8: Environmental resources: soil and agriculture

Instructor: Dr. Md. Mostafizur Rahman

Email: [email protected]
 Soil
The collection of natural bodies occupying parts of the earth’s surface that have
properties due to integrated effect of physical, chemical and organic processes so
that it can support plant growth.
According to Kellog,
“Soil is a collection of natural
bodies occupying a portion of
the earth’s crust that supports
plant growth and that have
properties due to integrated
effects of climate and
vegetation acting upon parent
material as conditioned by
relief over a period of time.”
 Soil
 Soil Forming factors:
 Climate
 Organisms
 Parent Material
 Topography
 Time

 Interactions of Soil Forming Factors:

The formation of soil is a complex process,
and the five soil formation factors are active
simultaneously and interdependently.
Individual factors are of interest because they
help us simplify and explain soil formation.
 Composition of Soil
 Consists of four major components:
 Organic matter : 5%
 Mineral matter : 45%
 Water : 20-30%
 Air : 20-30%

 Soil is made up of air and water in

roughly equal parts, although the
percentages keep changing
depending on the water. Mineral
particles are formed by weathering of
the rock. Organic matters come from
dead plant and animals.
 Soil Texture
 The mineral particles present in soil vary in size. The size ranges between 2
mm to less than 0.002 mm in diameter. Depending on size there are three
types of soil particles:
 Sand
 Silt
 Clay

 The relative proportions of sand, silt and clay in soil is called soil texture. Soil
texture is important because
 Influence on soil properties
 Affects the suitability of soil for most uses
Soil Texture

dia. in mm

Soil Texture indicates the relative

content of particles of various sizes, such
as sand, silt and clay in the soil.
 Soil Horizon and Profile
 The process of soil formation creates vertical
difference in layers that are often quite
distinct. These horizontal layers are known
as horizons. A vertical slice through the
different horizons is called the soil profile.
 Why study soil
profile?
 can learn about
the type and
characteristics
of soil and helps
to determine
how the soil can
be used.
 Importance of Soil as a Resource
 Soil is one of the three major natural resources, alongside air and water.

 Soil acts as a principal medium of plant growth-which provide food for human

 Regulates water supplies

 Recycles raw materials and waste products

 Serves as a major engineering medium for human built structure

 Indirectly regulates the climate keeping our environment habitable

 Concern regarding soil
 We are concerned about soil because once the soil is lost from the field it takes
more time than we have for new soil to be developed. It takes nature under the
most favourable climatic conditions together with good vegetative cover 200 to
1000 years or more to build one inch of topsoil from the raw material of subsoil.

 If a seven inch layer of topsoil is allowed to wash away at least 1400 to 7000
years of nature’s work goes to waste. Hence for all practical purposes it could
be said that soil is by far the most important, basic and irreplaceable resource.

 The growing degradation and loss of soil means that the expanding population
in many parts of the world is pressing this resource to its limits and its absence
in the environment is going to have devastating results for humanity.
 Weathering
 Weathering refers to the physical, chemical and
biological factors/processes that disintegrate and
decompose rocks and the minerals contained in
them, at or near the earth’s surface, into
separate solid particles and dissolved materials.

 Physical weathering breaks rocks into small

mineral particles.

 Chemical weathering dissolves and changes

minerals at the Earth’s surface.

 Biological weathering occurs by biological agents

like microorganisms, plant roots etc. which can
cause the breakdown or bind the particles
together .
 Erosion
 The wearing away of land surface by wind, water, ice or other geologic agents.
Soil erosion is the detachment and movement of soil particles by water, wind ice
or gravity.
 It is a natural process happening all the time, but usually slowly because of the
protective coverage of vegetation. It is part of both soil formation and soil loss.

Water erosion in agricultural field

Severe gully erosion on cropland
Wind erosion in Bolivia
 Erosion
 Why concerned about soil erosion?
 top layer of soil or topsoil (12-25cm) contains essential chemical elements for
plants and soil biota.

 Erosion can occur naturally and also be accelerated by human activities.

 Rates of soil erosion are highest in dry climates where there is little surface
vegetation to shelter the soil against wind.

 On steep slopes in wet climates where the gradient increases the speed of
surface water flows during heavy rainfall.

 Humans cause soil erosion (clear natural vegetation)

 Three major human practices that expose soil to erosion and lead to soil
degradation are over cultivation, overgrazing and deforestation.
 Factors of Soil Erosion
 Climatic factors
 include the amount and intensity of precipitation, the average temperature, as
well as the typical temperature range, and seasonality, the wind speed, storm
frequency.

 Geologic factors
 include the sediment or rock type, its porosity and permeability, the slope
(gradient) of the land, and if the rocks are weathered or not.

 Biological factors
 include ground cover from vegetation or lack thereof, the type of organisms
inhabiting the area, and the land use.
 In general, areas with high-intensity
precipitation, more frequent rainfall, more
wind, or more storms are expected to have
more erosion.
 Effects of Soil Erosion
 Land becomes less productive.

 Crop yields go down.

 Cost of farming go up.

 Environmental calamity like famine or flood becomes more frequent.

 Eroded particles increase the amount of sediment at rivers.

 Agriculture and Soil
 Agriculture is very important, old and traditional type of primary economic activity.

 It is an economic activity conducted by Humans to grow crops and raise livestock

directly from the field under their direct supervision.
 Agriculture and Soil
 Agriculture involves use of fertilizer, pesticide, irrigation etc.

 Agriculture depends heavily on soil quality. Intensive agriculture can also lead to
the decline in the soil quality.

 Intensive agriculture uses high levels of complementary inputs such as irrigation,

chemical fertilizers and pesticides to achieve maximum yields at the lowest
possible cost.
 Agriculture and Soil
 The negative impacts of intensive agriculture may include
 Deforestation and emission of greenhouse gases
 Soil erosion
 Soil degradation or decline in soil quality
 Over extraction of groundwater
 Excess use of pesticide and fertilizer may lead to surface and groundwater
pollution
 Overgrazing leading to loss of biodiversity

The solution is Soil conservation and Sustainable agriculture.

 Soil Conservation
 Soil conservation is the preventing of soil loss from erosion or reduced fertility
caused by over usage, degradation or other chemical soil contamination.
 Soil conservation involves using a variety of ways to reduce soil erosion and
restore soil fertility.
 Some of the methods to reduce soil erosion :

 Terrace Farming is a way to grow

food on steep slopes without
depleting topsoil.

 The terraces form a series of steps,

each at a higher level than the
previous.
 Soil Conservation
 When the ground has a significant slope, a technique known as Contour Planting
can be used to reduce soil erosion.
 It involves plowing and planting crops in rows across the slope of the land rather
than up and down.
 Each row acts as a small dam to help hold topsoil and to slow water runoff.
 Soil Conservation
 Strip Cropping involves planting alternating strips of a row crop (such as corn or
cotton) and another crop that completely covers the soil, called a cover crop (such
as alfalfa, clover, rye, or a grass–legume mixture).
 The cover crop traps topsoil that erodes from the row crop and catches and
reduces water runoff.
 When one crop is harvested the other
strip is left to catch and reduce water
runoff.

 Other ways to reduce erosion are to

leave crop residues on the land after the
crops are harvested or to plant cover
crops immediately after harvest to help
protect and hold the topsoil.
 Soil Conservation
 Alley Cropping, or agroforestry, is planting one or more crops together in strips or
alleys between trees and shrubs, which provide shade.
 It reduces water loss by evaporation, helps retain and slowly release soil moisture.
 Alley cropping can diversify farm income, improve crop production and provide
protection and conservation benefits to crops.
 Soil Conservation
 Windbreaks are sufficiently dense rows of trees around crop fields to reduce wind
erosion.
 These trees also retain soil moisture, supply wood for fuel, increase crop
productivity by 5-10%, and provide habitats for birds, pest-eating and pollinating
insects, and other animals.
 Soil Conservation
 Changing farming practices – crop rotation, mixed cropping

Crop rotation for 3 growing seasons

 Community solution – tree planting on slopes in and next to farming areas, in order to
replace trees already cleared
 Sustainable Agriculture
 Sustainable agriculture should involve the successful management of resources
to satisfy changing human needs while maintaining or enhancing the quality of
the environment and conserving natural resources.
 Ecologically sound
 Economically viable
 Socially & culturally appropriate
 Based on holistic scientific approach
 Goal of Sustainable agriculture is
 to produce food and fiber on a sustainable basis
 Produce good-quality food
 repair the damage to the environment caused by destructive practices
 regulate environmental health
 conservation of natural resources
 economic viability
 energy conservation
 Sustainable Agriculture
 Some appropriate technology in sustainable agriculture:
 Improved irrigation
 Chemicals – Mixture of Organic and Inorganic fertilizers
 Mixed cropping , Crop rotation
 Natural predators
 New seeds and plant varieties
 High-yielding variety of seeds( HYVs)
 Power from living resources (biofuels, biogas)