Soils

        

 

Soils are dynamic, natural bodies which contain and support many life forms.  As such, soils are vital for human existence.  Soils are also quite variable, and so have different characteristics which make them suitable for different land uses.  This variability also makes soils susceptible to different kinds of damage which can impair their function and health. 

Under Soils and Land Use, the goal is to gain some knowledge, understanding, and appreciation of soils - how soils  are formed, how to recognize different soil features, how these features relate to soil function and ecology, and how different soils are compatible with different uses of the land.  

  Basic Knowledge:

Gain a level of understanding of the main factors that influence soil development: (i) climate, (ii) parent material, (iii) topography, (iv) organisms (including humans), and (v) time

• Understand the difference between soil parent material and rock, and know the main parent material types.
   
  Know what components make up a soil.
   
• Gain a level of understanding of the main soil formation processes: (i) weathering, (ii) eluviation and illuviation, (iii) organic matter enrichment, and (iv) gleying.
• Understand terms used to describe soils and soil properties (for example: horizon, texture, colour, structure, consistence, permeability, porosity, bulk density, pH, mottles).

 Ecology

•    Understand soil water and factors that affect its movement, storage, and availability for plants.
•     Understand soil drainage classes and the soil/site features that can be used to assess drainage class.
•     Appreciate the role of soils in maintaining or enhancing water quality.
•     Understand the nature of plant nutrients and how they are made available in soil.
•     Appreciate the role of soil microbes and the process of decomposition in a healthy soil ecosystem.

Land Use

• Appreciate the concept of matching land use to soil type.
•  Gain a level of understanding of the ways soils can be damaged (for example: erosion, compaction, organic matter loss, nutrient depletion, pollution, acidification).
•  Understand some of the ways soil damage can be avoided or reduced (ie. best management practices).
• Understand how to use soil survey reports to glean information on different soils and their suitability for different uses.

 Hands-on:

• Identify main horizons in a soil pit
•  Estimate soil texture class in the field
• Determine soil drainage class in the field
• Use a Munsell colour guide to describe soil colour.
• Identify mottles and gley colours in a soil pit.

Canon Envirothon - Learning Objectives 

Students  will analyze long term and short term environmental, social, and economic factors relative to recreational impacts upon natural resources and their management.

• Students  will examine  unique challenges for natural resources managers in the host state, due to its aridity, prolonged drought, and burgeoning human population and focusing on management concerns in the face of increasing recreation.
• Examine land usage and soil patterns following recreational activity or anticipated to be caused by future activity
• Examining relationships between the native and non-native vegetation of an area