Running head: PROPERTIES OF SOIL LAB 1
PROPERTIES OF SOIL LAB
SCI 207: Our Dependence Upon the Environment
, PROPERTIES OF SOIL LAB 2
Properties of Soil Lab
Soil can affect the agriculture and water availability for an area due to its chemical
composition and profile. There are three different textures that soil is broken down into, sand,
silt, and clay. These different textures are measured in particle size to determine the soil's ability
to filter water. Another way soil is measure is by its structure, which is defined as how each
particle clumps together. When you combined the texture and the structure, your result is the
permeability of the soil. There is also the soil fertility, which is how well the soil can grow
plants. Soil fertility is determined by the pH level of the soil and the decomposition that happens
in and around the Soil (Carolina Distance Learning, n.d). Soil science is important to scientists
because it provides an understanding of how soil properties relate to and can be managed for
optimal agricultural production, forest, range, and wetland management, urban land use, waste
disposal and management, and reclamation of drastically disturbed sites, such as mines
(Glasener, 2013). Scientists also focus on soil because there has been a significant degradation to
soil globally due to population increasing. Scientists must study where the soil is damaged the
most and develop ideas on how to further prevent soil from becoming useless (Kopittke,
Menzies, Wang, McKenna &Lombi, 2019).
The purpose of this lab is to examine soil samples and determine their characteristics,
such as porosity, particle size, chemical composition, and profile. Once these characteristics are
determined, the goal is to understand the effects these soil samples have on agriculture and water
availability. Also, determining the pH of the soil is an objective to assess the productivity of the
soil. The last test is to determine the nutrient levels of the soil, which are essential for plant
growth.
PROPERTIES OF SOIL LAB
SCI 207: Our Dependence Upon the Environment
, PROPERTIES OF SOIL LAB 2
Properties of Soil Lab
Soil can affect the agriculture and water availability for an area due to its chemical
composition and profile. There are three different textures that soil is broken down into, sand,
silt, and clay. These different textures are measured in particle size to determine the soil's ability
to filter water. Another way soil is measure is by its structure, which is defined as how each
particle clumps together. When you combined the texture and the structure, your result is the
permeability of the soil. There is also the soil fertility, which is how well the soil can grow
plants. Soil fertility is determined by the pH level of the soil and the decomposition that happens
in and around the Soil (Carolina Distance Learning, n.d). Soil science is important to scientists
because it provides an understanding of how soil properties relate to and can be managed for
optimal agricultural production, forest, range, and wetland management, urban land use, waste
disposal and management, and reclamation of drastically disturbed sites, such as mines
(Glasener, 2013). Scientists also focus on soil because there has been a significant degradation to
soil globally due to population increasing. Scientists must study where the soil is damaged the
most and develop ideas on how to further prevent soil from becoming useless (Kopittke,
Menzies, Wang, McKenna &Lombi, 2019).
The purpose of this lab is to examine soil samples and determine their characteristics,
such as porosity, particle size, chemical composition, and profile. Once these characteristics are
determined, the goal is to understand the effects these soil samples have on agriculture and water
availability. Also, determining the pH of the soil is an objective to assess the productivity of the
soil. The last test is to determine the nutrient levels of the soil, which are essential for plant
growth.
