DIRT

media type="youtube" key="1D1V-t3UTHA" height="344" width="425"This is a video modeling soil erosin with and without grass. in this case grass is like a sponge. It sucks in the water.

"What is the difference between soil and dirt? Dirt is what you find under your fingernails."says the discovery channel!2 SOIL SCIENCE is dealing with soils as a natural recorce on earth's surface. Soil scientists study many different properties of soil, or dirt! Soil scientists are people who study the few meters of the earth's crust. They also study the psycial and chemical features of soil. Why is soil science and conservation important? For one thing, farmers need good healthy soil to grow their crops. "Soil can accept, hold, and release water to plants and streams. It also promotes and sustains root growth."1 In other words, soil holds and releases water to plants. With good soil, roots can grow quickerand the plant can grow healthier.

Soil is also a great way to dispose of unwanted items that are decomposeable. now were not saying go out and dump all of your trash on your yard,but that's how it used to happen.5 Soil holds .01% of the earth's water.6

Many orginisims, such as, amobeas, bacteria, beetel mites, The eastrn mole, the roundworm, night crawlers, and root fungus live here in the soil under our feet. Five to 10 tons of animal life can live in a simple acre of soil.3There is more orginisims in a shovelful of soil than there are people on this planet.7 Did you know that it takes more than five hundred years to create one inch of topsoil?4 It probably took millions of years to create the layers. Soil is a nonrenewable resorce. Soil consist of weathered rock. There are many layers to the soil that are called horizions. Soil layers are as follows as seen in figure 2. > A horizion- this layer consists of topsoil that is disolved by rain water. > B horizin- This is a zone of subsoil the A horizion has diposited iorn oxides in the form of clay. > C horizin- this layer is composed of decomposed rock. It cannot support plant life. 2 > > Soil is always being formed. "only about one inch is formed about every 5oo to 1,000 years."3 The begining of the formation of soil starts with the weathering of bedrock. Bedrock is the base of almost all soil on earth. Water, wind, and temprature break down soil and debris. In time this creates soil. > > Soil erosin affects many people across many countries. As you can see in figure 1, it only really becomes a problem when we humans cause activity to make it go faster and erode to many layers for farming! 4 Things helping soil erode are as follows, gravity, water, ice, and gravity. It all depends on climate, the dry heat and sun could erode the rocks, and wind with rain could destroy soil also.3 > > > Sources 1.__NRCS.__2008.United States Department of Agriculture.20 February 2009 2.__Twelve Soil Orders.__2009.Universaty Of Idaho.20 February 2009< http://soils.ag.uidaho.edu/soilorders/> 3.__Discoverey Education.__2008.Discoverey channel.25 February 2009 4. __U.S. Enviromental Protection Agency.__2009. Stennis Space Scenter.3 Mar. 2009< http://www.epa.gov/gmpo/edresources/soil.html > 5.__NDSU.__2008.North Dokata Universaty.4 Mar. 2009 6. __Facts About Soil.__2008.Buzzlehttp:// 7.__Dig It.__2008.Mesuem of Natural History.5 Mar.2009
 * O horizion- this is typically the organic level.