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Natural topsoil is mined and conditioned for human use and makes up the bulk of commercial topsoil available. The current rate of use and erosion outpaces soil generation. [4] It is possible to create artificial topsoil which supports some of the engineering or biological uses of topsoil. [4]
Soil gases (soil atmosphere [1]) are the gases found in the air space between soil components. The spaces between the solid soil particles, if they do not contain water, are filled with air. The primary soil gases are nitrogen, carbon dioxide and oxygen. [2] Oxygen is critical because it allows for respiration of both plant roots and soil ...
Soil is used in agriculture, where it serves as the anchor and primary nutrient base for plants. The types of soil and available moisture determine the species of plants that can be cultivated. Agricultural soil science was the primeval domain of soil knowledge, long time before the advent of pedology in the 19th century.
Tilled surface soil of a cotton field 1.3: 51 Trafficked inter-rows where wheels passed surface 1.67: 37 Traffic pan at 25 cm deep 1.7: 36 Undisturbed soil below traffic pan, clay loam 1.5: 43 Rocky silt loam soil under aspen forest 1.62: 40 Loamy sand surface soil 1.5: 43 Decomposed peat 0.55: 65
In soil science, agriculture and gardening, hardpan or soil pan is a dense layer of soil, usually found below the uppermost topsoil layer. [1] There are different types of hardpan, all sharing the general characteristic of being a distinct soil layer that is largely impervious to water. Some hardpans are formed by deposits in the soil that fuse ...
Soil chemistry is the study of the chemical characteristics of soil.Soil chemistry is affected by mineral composition, organic matter and environmental factors. In the early 1870s a consulting chemist to the Royal Agricultural Society in England, named J. Thomas Way, performed many experiments on how soils exchange ions, and is considered the father of soil chemistry. [1]
Soil functions are general capabilities of soils that are important for various agricultural, environmental, nature protection, landscape architecture and urban applications. Soil can perform many functions and these include functions related to the natural ecosystems, agricultural productivity, environmental quality, source of raw material ...
The most relevant human-induced causes of soil compaction in agriculture are the use of heavy machineries, tillage practice itself, inappropriate choice of tillage systems, as well as livestock trampling. Use of large and heavy machineries for agriculture often causes not only topsoil but subsoil compaction. Subsoil compaction is more difficult ...