SOIL AND THE

SOIL
ECOSYSTEM

GROUP 6
Soil and the Soil Ecosystem
 Soil is the link between the air, water, rocks, and organisms,
 Soils are rich ecosystems; it plays an important role in all of our natural ecological cycles
 Ninety percent of the world's food comes from land-based agricultural systems
 Throughout the world agricultural soils are being degraded by erosion, buildup of salts, and
other problems that can only undercut future productivity.
Plant and Soil
A plant is a living thing that grows in the earth and has a stem, leaves, and roots. When someone plants land with a
particular type of plant or crop, they put plants, seeds, or young trees into the land to grow them there.
 Soil can make the difference between harvesting a luxuriant crop or abandoning the field to a few meager weeds. A rich soil
that supports a luxuriant crop is so much more than the dirt you might get out of any hole in the ground. Indeed, agriculturists
cringe when anyone refers to soil as dirt.
 Benefits of Healthy Soil
 Soil allows food to grow
 Soil contains many nutrients needed by all plants to grow
 Decreasing erosion and air pollution
 The healthier the soil, the more nutrients any plant can soak up
Soil for Supporting Plants
 Soil fertility refers to the ability of soil to sustain agricultural plant growth, that is to provide plant habitat and result in
sustained and consistent yields of high quality.
 Mineral nutrients are inorganic substances that must be ingested and absorbed in adequate amounts to satisfy a wide variety
of essential metabolic and/or structural functions in the body.
 Organic fertilizer are the plants or animals wastes or both; manure and compost
 Water holding capacity is the total amount of water a soil can hold at field capacity
 Soil aeration is defined as the exchange of gases between the soil and the atmos- phere

 Relative Acidity (pH) - The term pH refers to the acidity or alkalinity of any solution
 Salt and Water Uptake - A buildup of salts in the soil makes it impossible for the roots to take in water
Bare Soil, Erosion, and Desertification
 Bare soil means soil or sand, including sand found in sandboxes, not
covered with grass, sod, or some other similar vegetation, or paving.
 Erosion is the geological process in which earthen materials are worn away
and transported by natural forces such as wind or water.
 Desertification refers to the persistent degradation of dryland ecosystems
by climatic variations and human activities.
 CAUSING AND
CORRECTING EROSION
THE MAJOR PRACTICES THAT EXPOSE SOIL TO EROSION

1. O V E R C U LT I VAT I O N

2. OVERGRAZING

3. DEFORESTATION
O V E R C U L T I VA T I O N

•  is the excessive use of farmland to the point where productivity falls due to soil exhaustion or
land degradation .
• Cultivation has the potential to destroy soil structure and make soils more prone to other forms
of degradation, such as erosion. 
• In order to prevent over cultivation, it is necessary to let the soil rest.
OVERGRAZING
• Occurs when plants are exposed to intensive grazing for extended periods of time, or without
sufficient recovery periods.
• Overgrazing leads to soil compaction, decreased water retention, increased salinity, and loss of
some nutrients, particularly nitrogen.
• To prevent overgrazing, taking plant-growth rate, natural processes of grazing lands and animal
grazing behavior into consideration are essential.
D E F O R E S TAT I O N

• Deforestation is the permanent removal of trees to make room for something besides forest. 
• The loss of trees and other vegetation can cause climate change, desertification, soil erosion,
fewer crops, flooding, increased greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, and a host of problems for
indigenous people.
• Direct causes of deforestation are agricultural expansion, wood extraction, and infrastructure
expansion such as road building and urbanization.
Soil as an Ecosystem
 Soils are rich ecosystems, composed of both living and non-living matter with a multitude of

interaction between them. Soils play an important role in all of our natural ecological cycles
carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, water and nutrient. They also provide benefits through their

contribution in a number of additional processes, called ecosystem services. These services

ecosystem. A handful of soil can contain bil­lions of different organisms that play a critical role in
soil quality to support plant growth. Although we understand the vital services that these

organisms provide by breaking down organic debris (plants, animals, and other organic
materials) and recy­cling nutrients, scientists have only begun to study the rich and unique
diversity that is a part of the soil ecosystem.
Have a good supply of nutrients
-Most soils have a large supply of nutrients in them, and they get taken up by plants when plants absorb
water. Soils need to be healthy to grow large quantities of plants, and animals need plants to grow
strong.
Allow infiltration and have good water-holding capacity
-The water holding capacity of a soil is a very important agronomic characteristic. Soils that hold
generous amounts of water are less subject to leaching losses of nutrients or soil applied pesticides. This
is true because a soil with a limited water holding capacity a sandy loam reaches the saturation point
much sooner than a soil with a higher water holding capacity a clay loam. After a soil is saturated with
water, all of the excess water and some of the nutrients and pesticides that are in the soil solution are
leached downward in the soil profile.
Have a porous structure that permits good aeration
 The benefits of soil aeration are rich, fertile, properly draining soil and full, healthy plants. Without an

adequate exchange of water and oxygen within the spaces between soil particles, trees, shrubs and
herbaceous plants may suffer too.

Have a pH near neutral

Soil pH is defined as the negative logarithm of the hydrogen ion concentration. The pH scale goes from 0 to 14 with pH 7 as
the neutral point. As the amount of hydrogen ions in the soil increases the soil pH
decreases thus becoming more acidic. From pH 7 to 0 the soil is increasingly more acidic and from pH 7
to 14 the soil is increasingly more alkaline or basic.
Have a low salt content
 -Soil salinity is an enormous problem for agriculture under irrigation. In the hot and dry regions of the

world the soils are frequently saline with low agricultural potential. In these areas most crops are grown

under irrigation, and to exacerbate the problem, inadequate irrigation management leads to secondary
salinization that affects 20% of irrigated land worldwide.

Soil Texture
 -As rock weathers, it breaks down into smaller and smaller fragments. Below the size of small stones,

we classify the fragments as sand, silt, and clay called soil separates. You are familiar with sand as
individual rock particles, and probably with the finer particles called silt, but it may surprise you to note

that clay is made up of microscopic particles. Consider washing clay in water; the water immediately
takes on a cloudy or muddy appearance because the clay panicles are suspended in the water. The
moldable “gooey” quality of clay appears when just enough water is added for the particles to slide
about one another on a film of water but still cling together.
What is Loam
 Loam soil is composed of almost equal amounts of sand and silt with a little less clay.
 Because of the balance of ingredients, loam is the ideal garden soil.1 Its texture is porous, allowing
water to flow through slowly enough for the plants to access it but fast enough to avoid waterlogged,
soggy soil. Loam is loose and crumbly in our hands. This is referred to as friable. Loose soil provides
• room for air to mix into the soil, which is also necessary for optimal plant growth. Loam is also nutrient-
rich.

Three basic considerations enable you to determine how infiltration, nutrient and water-
holding capacities, and aeration are influenced by soil texture.
1. Larger particles have respectively larger spaces separating them than smaller particles
have.
2. Smaller particles have more surface area relative to their volume.
3. Nutrient ions and water molecules tend to cling to surfaces
SALAMAT HUH!