5 Different Soil Types

What is soil?

Soils are the loose mineral or organic materials found on the earth's surface, usually (or
averagely) made up of about 25% air, 25% water, 45% mineral and 5% organic matter
(humus, tiny living organisms and sometimes plant residue).

It is the stuff that supports rooted plants in a natural environment. There are soils
practically on every land that is not covered by water.

There are many types of soils, usually placed in classes (types) based on their color,
profile, texture, composition or structure. Each soil type is formed differently, and can
be found in specific places on the earths immediate surface, mid and deep under the
surface. Soils on the surface (a few millimeters deep) are usually exposed to direct
climatic and environmental factors, and are easily blown away by wind, washed away
by water or even broken down by temperature changes, human and animal activity.
There are also soils found deep down the earth, often protected from climatic and
environmental factors. (see more under soil profile)

Because soils are formed from a variety of ways and in infinite conditions, it is hard to
give a number for the types of soils we have on earth. However they can be grouped
using the stuff that they are made of.

For this lesson we shall look at Sandy, Silty, Clay, Loamy, Peaty and Chalky Soils.

One important subject that many farmers and soils scientists look out for is soil
chemistry. This includes soil pH (the acidity of the soil), nutrient level, its organic
content and the chemical composition of the minerals found in it. This is partly because
different soils are used for different things and it is important to know something about
the soils you choose. These are usually determined by the geographic location of the
soils, the types of plants growing in them, and even the environmental factors (water
and air) that the soil is exposed to.

The study of soils as naturally occurring phenomena is called pedology, and a person
who studies soils (soil scientist) is called a pedologist.

Importance (Functions) of soils

Soils are essential for life, in the sense that they provide the medium for plant growth, habitat for many insects and
other organisms, act as a filtration system for surface water, carbon store and maintenance of atmospheric gases. Let
us take a closer look at each of these:

Medium for plant growth:

soil functionsSoils support roots and keep them upright for growth.
soil functionsSoils provide plants with essential minerals and nutrients.
soil functionsSoils provide air for gaseous exchange between roots and atmosphere.
soil functionsSoils protect plants from erosion and other destructive physical, biological and chemical activity.
soil functionsSoils hold water (moisture) and maintain adequate aeration.

Habitat for many insects and other organisms:

soils are habitat for animals
soil functionsInsects and microbes (very tiny single cell organisms) live in the soils and depend on soils for food and
air.
soil functionsSoils are homes to a diverse range of organisms such as worms and termites. They provide the needed
moisture and air for breakdown of organic matter. (learn more about soil ecosystem)
soil functionsThey provide a home for many organisms such as insects to lay and hatch eggs and rodents to give
birth to new off springs.

Filtration system for surface water:

After rainfall and snowmelts, water flows on the earths surface to water bodies, but much of it soaks and gets
infiltrated into the ground. As it continues its way downwards through the many layers in the ground, it is filtered from
dust, chemicals and other contaminants. This is why aquifers (underground water) are one of the purest sources of
water. Filtered water also provides plants with clean, unpolluted water needed for growth.

Carbon store and maintenance of atmospheric gases:

Soils help regulate atmospheric Carbon dioxide (co2) by acting as a carbon store. During humification (a process
where soil organisms form complex and stable organic matter) some organic matter breakdown do not occur
completely, especially in soils like peat, owing to its high acid and water content.
On a global scale, soils contain about twice as much carbon as the atmosphere and about three times as much as
vegetationsource1.
This results in the accumulation of organic matter in the soil which are high in carbon content. Nitrogen, phosphorus,
and many other nutrients are stored, transformed, and cycled in the soil.

What is soil conservation?

From the pages earlier, we learned about the role of soils and how essential they are

for life on earth. Unfortunately, soils are under threat in many ways, from excessive
farming practices, use of chemicals during agricultural practices, water, land and air

pollution, erosion and so on. These upset the natural function of soils and affect many

ecosystems that depend on it for survival.

This is why soil conservation is very important. It is the process or activities we can do

or apply to our use of soils and lands to ensure their sustained health and quality.

Here are a few:

Planting vegetative cover:

The root systems of vegetative cover holds soils in place and prevents wind and water

erosion. It also ensures its supply of organic matter from dead leaves and dropping of

animals waste. Vegetative cover also shelters the soils from excessive heat form the

sun. It helps to reduce evaporation and retain soil moisture, needed for the breakdown

of organic matter.

Careful waste disposal and management:

When we recycle more and compost our food waste, we reduce the amount of
contaminants that we introduce to soils. We also give back to the land, rich humus from

composts that we do. This is why we need to manage our waste well to ensure that our

soils are alive and healthy.

Farming practices:

No till farming, terrace and contour farming are all great

ways to conserve soil quality. Regarding no-tilling, crops

are allowed to stay after the harvest season, to shed off

naturally, thereby holding the soil together and

sheltering the soils from wind and water action. Terrace

and contour farms take into account the slope of the land to reduce run-off after the

rains. In many places, wind breaks, usually composed of trees or shrubs planted along

specific distances in farms are effective ways in controlling wind

Last time, we discussed basic soil facts that you need to know before you started digging
around in your garden. This time, were going to look at different soil types and how to
determine the kind of soil thatll be host to your plants.
There are 5 different soil types that gardeners and growers usually work with. All five is
a combination of just three types of weathered rock particles that make up the soil:
sand, silt, and clay. How these three particles are combined defines your soils type
how it feels to the touch, how it holds water, and how its managed, among other things.

1. Soil Type: Sandy

Sandy soil has the largest particles among the different soil types. Its dry and gritty to
the touch, and because the particles have huge spaces between them, it cant hold on to
water.

Water drains rapidly, straight through to places where the roots, particularly those of
seedlings, cannot reach. Plants dont have a chance of using the nutrients in sandy soil
more efficiently as theyre swiftly carried away by the runoff.

The upside to sandy soil is that its light to work with and warms much more quickly in
the spring.

Testing what type of soil youre working with involves moistening the soil and rolling it
into a ball to check the predominating soil particle. When you roll the slightly wet sandy
soil in your palms, no ball should be formed and it crumbles through your fingers easily.

2. Soil Type: Silty

Silty soil has much smaller particles than sandy soil so its smooth to the touch. When
moistened, its soapy slick. When you roll it between your fingers, dirt is left on your
skin.

Silty soil retains water longer, but it cant hold on to as much nutrients as youd want it
to though its fairly fertile. Due to its moisture-retentive quality, silty soil is cold and
drains poorly.

Silty soil can also easily compact, so avoid trampling on it when working your garden. It
can become poorly aerated, too.

3. Soil Type: Clay

Clay soil has the smallest particles among the three so it has good water storage
qualities. Its sticky to the touch when wet, but smooth when dry.

Due to the tiny size of its particles and its tendency to settle together, little air passes
through its spaces. Because its also slower to drain, it has a tighter hold on plant
nutrients. Clay soil is thus rich in plant food for better growth.

Clay soil is cold and in the spring, takes time to warm since the water within also has to
warm up. The downside is that clay soil could be very heavy to work with when it gets
dry. Especially during the summer months, it could turn hard and compact, making it
difficult to turn. (When clay soil is worked while its too wet though, its prone to
damage).

If moistened soil feels sticky, rolls up easily, and forms into a ball or sausage-like shape,
then youve got yourself clay.

4. Soil Type: Peaty

Peaty soil is dark brown or black in color, soft, easily compressed due to its high water
content, and rich in organic matter. Peat soil started forming over 9,000 years ago, with
the rapid melting of glaciers. This rapid melt drowned plants quickly and died in the
process. Their decay was so slow underwater that it led to the accumulation of organic
area in a concentrated spot.

Although peat soil tends to be heavily saturated with water, once drained, it turns into a
good growing medium. In the summer though, peat could be very dry and become a fire
hazard. (I kid you notpeat is the precursor of coal.) The most desirable quality of peat
soil, however, is in its ability to hold water in during the dry months and its capacity to
protect the roots from damage during very wet months.

Peat contains acidic water, but growers use it to regulate soil chemistry or pH levels as
well as an agent of disease control for the soil.

When wet peat soil is rolled, you wont form a ball. Its spongy to the touch and when
squeezed, water could be forced out.

5. Soil Type: Saline Soil

The soil in extremely dry regions is usually brackish because of its high salt content.
Known as saline soil, it can cause damage to and stall plant growth, impede
germination, and cause difficulties in irrigation.

The salinity is due to the buildup of soluble salts in the rhizospherehigh salt contents
prevent water uptake by plants, leading to drought stress.

Its easy enough to test if you have saline soil. Youll probably see a white layer coating
the surface of the soil, your plants are growing poorly, and theyre suffering from leaf tip
burn, especially on young leaves.
The Ideal Soil Type: Loam

The type of soil that gardens and gardeners love is loamy soil. It contains a balance of all
three soil materialssilt, sand and clayplus humus. It has a higher pH and calcium
levels because of its previous organic matter content.

Loam is dark in color and is mealysoft, dry and crumblyin your hands. It has a tight
hold on water and plant food but it drains well, and air moves freely between soil
particles down to the roots.

The feel test for loam yields a smooth, partly gritty, partly sticky ball that crumbles
easily.

Although loamy soil is the ideal material to work with, dont despair if you dont have it
in your garden. Thats because soil will always favor one particles size over the two
others. Then again, there are many ways to condition your soiladding beneficial soil
inoculants, covering your soil with compost, or simply spraying leaves and soil
with compost tea.
One Last Soil Typing Trick

If you really want to know what soil type youre working with but dont want to get dirty,
fill a smallish jar with soil sampling from your garden. Shake vigorously and let the soil
settle overnight. Next day, youll see distinct soil layers. Sand stays at the bottom, clay at
the top and silt in between. Their percentages will be your clue on your soil type.
Stay tuned for our next blog posts, where well discuss how to manage sandy, silty and
clay soils and the ideal plants to grow in each soil type. In the meantime, try the jar trick
and tell us what type of soil youre working with and how youre managing that soil.

Soil ecosystems?
There are some really cool ecosystems that many of us forget to mention when we talk
about ecosystems. If you could turn yourself into a small soil burrowing insect, you
would be amazed by the life and interactions that go on under the surface of soils. All
the members of this wonderful ecosystem are so tiny that it is hard for the eyes to see.

Look at this illustation below. It shows a basic food web in the soils. The arrow shows
the direction of energy flow.

In the soils, there are roots of plants. That is a biotic factor. The roots depend on
nutrients, moisture, air and temperature (abiotic factors) to survive. The roots also
depend on fungi and bacteria to protect the roots from harmful bacteria attaching to it.
There are also tiny organic matter existing there.

Nutrients and air are provided by tiny animals such as arthropods shredders, (weevils,
millipedes, termites and worms) that dig and turn the soils as they feed on fungi and
bacteria on dead plant material. The waste (droppings) of these arthropods provide the
chemicals needed for the decomposition of other organic material.

Birds and small animals like moles also depend on mites, weevils and insect-eggs for
food. Together, they all depend on moisture and air to live in the soils.

It is important that all the members of this ecosystem, together with their abiotic
factors are active to ensure the survival of the ecosystem.

Sandy soil are light, warm, dry and tend to be acidic and low in nutrients. Sandy soils
are often known as light soils due to their high proportion of sand and little clay (clay
weighs more than sand). These soils have quick water drainage and are easy to work
with. They are quicker to warm up in spring than clay soils but tend to dry out in
summer and suffer from low nutrients that are washed away by rain. The addition of
organic matter can help give plants an additional boost of nutrients by improving the
nutrient and water holding capacity of the soil.

Clay soil are heavy soils that benefit from high nutrients. Clay soils remain wet and
cold in winter and dry out in summer. These soils are made of over 25 percent clay, and
because of the spaces found between clay particles, clay soils hold a high amount of
water. Because these soils drain slowly and take longer to warm up in summer,
combined with drying out and cracking in summer, they can often test gardeners.

Silt soil are light and moisture retentive soils with a high fertility rating. As silt soils
compromise of medium sized particles they are well drained and hold moisture well. As
the particles are fine, they can be easily compacted and are prone to washing away with
rain. By adding organic matter, the silt particles can be bound into more stable clumps.

Peat soil are high in organic matter and retain a large amount of moisture. This type of
soil is very rarely found in a garden and often imported into a garden to provide an
optimum soil base for planting.

Chalk soil can be either light or heavy but always highly alkaline due to the calcium
carbonate or lime within its structure. As these soils are alkaline they will not support
the growth of ericaceous plants that require acidic soils to grow. If a chalky soil shows
signs of visible white lumps then they cant be acidified and gardeners should be
resigned to only choose plants that prefer an alkaline soil.

Loam soil are a mixture of sand, silt and clay that are combined to avoid the negative
effects of each type. These soils are fertile, easy to work with and provide good drainage.
Depending on their predominant composition they can be either sandy or clay loam. As
the soils are a perfect balance of soil particles, they are considered to be a gardeners best
friend, but still benefit from topping up with additional organic matter.

Different Types of Maps

POLITICAL MAP Shows Political boundaries(borders) between states and countries Normally labels
capital cities and other important cities within a state or country The multi-colored maps you normally
see in classrooms are often political maps

PHYSICAL MAP A physical map is a map that highlights the physical features of a region or area
Normally shows mountain ranges, major lakes and rivers
RELIEF MAP A relief map is a special physical map that uses shading to help show differences in
elevation

ELEVATION MAP An elevation map is another special physical map that uses different colors to show
different elevations in an area. A key is used to show which colors represent different ranges of
elevation. (Red=100ft -999ft)

ROAD MAP A road map shows how to get from one place to another. Normally they show the
freeways and the major cities. Sometimes they may show physical features; rivers, lakes, mountains,
or points of interest; famous places, rest stops, and sometimes even the distance between location.

HISTORICAL MAP Information about how a place looked at certain points in history. They can also be
used to show the locations of historic places and events. Historical map can also be used to show how
locations have changed over time. The size, shape, and other aspects of states have been changed
throughout history. The 5o states were not always the 50 states.

In Planning, Bedroom are usually oriented in what direction?

Proper building orientation

By: Amado de Jesus - @inquirerdotnetPhilippine Daily Inquirer / 12:06 AM October 26, 2013

BY INPUTTING the altitude and longitude of the lot, design software can simulate exactly how the
building will look under different sunlight conditions throughout the year. In this way, the simulation is
able to check if the building design and orientation are correct. photo: Architect Amado de Jesus

I like my house to face the morning sun is probably one of the most popular requirements of people
who want to build their house. Another one is, I like to face the East when I get up in the morning.
Whether they realize it or not these people are talking about orientation.

The orientation of the lot influences the physical configuration of the house including the living
conditions and well-being of the occupants.

What is orientation? Orientation is the location of a home or building in a property relative to the points
of the compass. Good orientation means minimizing the exposure of rooms to direct sunlight which is
on the east-west axis (the sun rises in the east and sets in the west).
ADVERTISEMENT

Many do not realize that orientation is directly related to energy efficiency. Houses with poor
orientation have west-facing bedrooms that require either air conditioning units or ceiling fans that are
constantly running to cool the rooms. Good orientation brings in natural lighting in a room particularly
at the north side. This is the most ideal side of the house for most artists due to the consistent lighting
throughout the day.

Good orientation, particularly for a hot humid country like ours, is critically important as it brings
thermal comfort to the house occupants. The elderly are particularly affected by high temperature as
they are more susceptible to illnesses related to thermal discomfort.

Ideal conditions

Good orientation starts with the position of the lot in relation to the east and west sides. Normally the
lot dictates the shape and orientation of the building, therefore the ideal lot should have the long side
facing the north and south axis, while the short side faces the east-west axis.

On an ideal lot, the building will also follow with the short side facing the east-west axis. Since the east-
west sides will still be exposed to the sun, the windows on these sides should have protection from
direct sunlight.

There are several ways to do this. Providing wide roof overhangs is one of the simplest strategies to
shield the building from the sun. Another method is to recess the windows from the exterior walls,
these are called cavity walls. Overhead ledges that protrude above the window can also be adopted.
Modern buildings attach what is known as sunshades or brise-soleil to protect wide windows. Light
shelves, placed halfway through the windows, offer the advantage of giving shade to the space below
while allowing light to bounce off the shelves deep inside the rooms.

Solar studies
In the design stage of buildings, precise solar studies can be made to simulate the sun path and its
impact on the exterior of the building. By inputting the altitude and longitude of the lot, design software
can simulate exactly how the building will look under different sunlight conditions throughout the year.
In this way, the simulation is able to check if the building design and orientation are correct.