Agriculture

  Soil degradation   Is the decline in soil condition caused by its improper use or poor management,  usually for agricultural, industrial or urban purposes. It is a physical, chemical and biological decline in soil quality. It spreads at an alarming rate, endangered land fertility and productivity and by extension the world's food supply.  Factors that causes soil degradation   Physical factors: rainfall, surface runoff, floods, wind erosion etc, results in the loss of fertile topsoil thereby decline soil quality. Biological factors: human activities like: poor farming practices and some plant activities may deplete soil nutrients thus, diminishing soil fertility.  Chemical factors: reduction of soil nutrients because of alkalinity,  can cause soil degradation. Deforestation: cause soil degradation on the account of exposing soil minerals by removing trees.

  Soil temperature   Is the measurement of the ground's interent warm, simply the measurement of the warmth in the soil. Soil temperature regulates seed germination, breaking of seed dormancy, plant and root growth and the availability of nutrients.  The ideal soil temperature for most plants are 65 F to 75 F (180°C to 24°C) Nighttime and daytime, soil temperature are both important.  It is important as it affects how plants grow It affects the speed of chemical reactions. 

  Soil aeration   Is a rapid exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide between the soil pore spaces and the atmosphere, in order to prevent efficiency of oxygen and toxicity of carbon dioxide in the soil air. Soil aeration influences the availability of many nutrients.  Aeration is the process by which air is circulated through,  mixed or dissolved on liquid or substance that act as a fluid.  It helps the roots grow deeply and produce a stronger, more vigorous lawn. The main reason is to alleviate soil compaction.  A lawn is an area soil-covered land planted with grasses and other durable plants like clover, which maintained at a short height with a lawn mower. Commonly referred to as part of of a garden. 

  Soil porosity Is the space between particles called pore space, it refers to how many pores, holes, a soil has. May be formed due to the movement of roots, warms and insects; expanding gases trapped within these spaces by ground water; and/or the dissolution of the soil parent materials. Factors that affect the porosity of the soil Soil structure -  a soil having granular and crumbs structure contains more pore spaces than that of prismatic and platy soil structure.  Soil texture -  in sandy soils the pore space is small whereas, in fine textured clay and clayey loam soil total pore space is high and there is a possibility of more granulation in clay soil. Arrangement of soil particles - when the sphere-like particles in arrangement in columnar form, it results in low amount of pore spaces. Macro-organism  macro-organisms like Earth worm, insects etc, increase macro-pore in the soil. Organic matter soil containing high organic matter possesses high porosity be...

  Soil structure  Is the way in which individual soil profile are arranged in relation to one another. The soil structure is classified on both soil grain shape and size. Structure can be as granular, blocky, prismar, columnar, platy or single-grained. The major classes of soil structures Granular: resembles cookie crumbs and is usually less than 0.5 cm in diameter. Commonly found in surface horizons where roots have been growing.  Blocky:  irregular blocks that are usually 1.5 - 0.5 cm in diameter.  Prismatic:  vertical columns of soil that might be a number of cm long. Usually found in lower horizons. Platy: thin, fat plates of soil that lie horizontally. Usually found in compacted soil. Single-grained: soil is broken into individual particles that do not stick together. Always accompanies a loose consistence.

  Soil texture   - refers to the different soil particles when touched or courseness or finess of individual soil particles. It is the proportion of sand, silt and clay soil particles that make up the mineral fraction of the soil.  Soil structure can be determined by the following methods 1.Feel method In the text is commonly.      determined by the sense of feel. The soil is rubbed between thumb and fingers under wet conditions. Sands feel gritty and its particles can be easily seen Silt when dry feels like flour and talcum powder and slightly plastic when wet Clay particles feel very plastic and exhibit stickiness when wet and hard under dry conditions. 2.   By making a sausage  can also determined by try to mould and rub them in the form of sausage.  Sands cannot form a sausage form, it's particles are never sticks together.  Silt they can form a sausage form but will have cracks. Clay can easily moulded into a sausage form, b...

Soil profile  Soil profile  is a vertical section of the soil that is exposed by a soil pit. A soil pit is a hole that is dug from the surface of the soil to the underlying bedrock. Types of the soil profile  Horizon A ( Topsoil ) This is the layer that we call " topsoil ". It is usually dark in colour due to human presence. It is well aerated and well drained. It consists of good crumb structure and is highly weathered and fertile. It also contains soil living organisms and usually cultivated part of soil. Horizon B (Sub-soil) This is the layer that we call " sub-soil ". It is located below Horizon A. It has clay and mineral deposits. It accommodates few plants roots and soil organisms. It is usually poorly drained and aerated. Leached plant nutrients from topsoil accumulate in subsoil. It is less susceptible to erosion and weathering.  Horizon C ( Parental material ) This is the layer that we call " parent material/semi-watered " and is located below the...

  Formation and the weathering processes  Soil forms through accumulation and decay of organic matter and through the mechanical and chemical weathering processes.  Factors affecting how Soil forms are: Climate (e.g. temperature, precipitation, types of vegetation) The parent rock or weathered sediment The slope of the surface where soil is accumulating  How long soil has been forming at a location Weathering processes  Weathering is the mechanical and chemical process by which rocks are broken down into simpler pieces.  Types of weathering  Physical/mechanical weathering is the process of breaking down rocks by natural factors without changing the chemical composition of the rocks. Chemical weathering is the process of breaking down rocks by changing composition of the soil. Biological weathering is the process by which rocks are disintegrated by the activities of living organisms. 

Three types of soil Loam soil  Sand soil Clay soil Characteristics of soil Loam soil   Is a combination of sand, silt and clay. Loam soil will vary depending on how much of each component is present. It is the best for farming crops as it consists of better nutrients and better water holding capacity, it holds moisture but also allows for good drainage. Sand soil is actually small particles of weathered rock. Sand soil is fairly coarse and it has high drainage of water. Because of its good drainage of water, it's not good for growing plants because sandy soil will not hold water or nutrients, and can't anchor the plant roots. Clay soil is very fine-grained soil. Its particles are smaller than slit, so there is very little space between the fine grains for air or water to circulate. Thus, it is not good for plant growth, plants cannot grow in this type of soil. It is therefore, the best soil type for pottery, it can be moulded into shapes such as pottery bowl or a building bric...

  Introduction Soil is a hard surface of Earth, that made up of dead organic and inorganic particles. It provide structural support for plants used in Agriculture and is also their source of water and nutrients.