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Highly oxidized red soil in Tirunelveli District, India. Red colors often indicate iron accumulation or oxidation in oxygen-rich, well-aerated soils. [4] Iron concentrations caused by redox reactions because of diffusion of iron in crystalline and metermorphic rock, in periodically saturated soils may also present red colors, particularly along root channels or pores.
Soil bulk density, when determined at standardized moisture conditions, is an estimate of soil compaction. [60] Soil porosity consists of the void part of the soil volume and is occupied by gases or water. Soil consistency is the ability of soil materials to stick together. Soil temperature and colour are self-defining.
It was also known to early North American colonists arriving from Europe. Common colonial green manure crops were rye, buckwheat and oats. [6] Traditionally, the incorporation of green manure into the soil is known as the fallow cycle of crop rotation, which was used to allow the soil to regain its fertility after the harvest. [citation needed]
The remaining freshwater is found in lakes, rivers, wetlands, the soil, aquifers and atmosphere. All life depends on the solar-powered global water cycle, the evaporation from oceans and land to form water vapour that later condenses from clouds as rain, which then becomes the renewable part of the freshwater supply. [12]
Soil erosion occurs naturally, but human activities can greatly increase its severity. [28] Soil that is healthy is fertile and productive. [29] But soil erosion leads to a loss of topsoil, organic matter, and nutrients; it breaks down soil structure and decreases water storage capacity, reducing fertility and water availability to plant roots.
Soil microbial communities experience shifts in the diversity and composition during dehydration and rehydration cycles. [5] Soil moisture affects carbon cycling a phenomenon known as Birch effect. [6] [7] Temperature variations in soil are influenced by factors such as seasonality, environmental conditions, vegetation, and soil composition.
Brazil's vast inland cerrado region was regarded as unfit for farming before the 1960s because the soil was too acidic and poor in nutrients, according to Norman Borlaug. However, from the 1960s, vast quantities of lime (pulverized chalk or limestone) were poured on the soil to reduce acidity. The effort went on for decades; by the late 1990s ...
Soil management techniques, including composting kitchen and yard wastes, to maintain and enhance healthy soil that supports a diversity of soil life; Integration and adoption of renewable energy, including solar-powered lighting [21] Development of lawn alternatives [22] such as xeriscaping, [23] floral lawns, [24] and meadows. [25]