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NOVA explores life underground, from foxes and badgers through moles and Worms down to the myriad of micro-organisms that make soil the most complex substrate for life on Earth. Included in the film is extraordinary footage of a mole burrowing and of roots growing.
Cutans are oriented deposits [1] which can be composed of any of the component substances of the soil material. [2] Cutans are common features in soil and represent focuses of chemical and biological reactions. Cutans may include clay skins or coatings of silica, sesquioxide, manganese, ferromanganese, soil organic matter or carbonate. [3]
Tilth is a physical condition of soil, especially in relation to its suitability for planting or growing a crop. Factors that determine tilth include the formation and stability of aggregated soil particles, moisture content, degree of aeration, soil biota, rate of water infiltration and drainage.
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 bulk density, when determined at standardized moisture conditions, is an estimate of soil compaction. [3] 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.
Soil quality reflects how well a soil performs the functions of maintaining biodiversity and productivity, partitioning water and solute flow, filtering and buffering, nutrient cycling, and providing support for plants and other structures. Soil management has a major impact on soil quality. Soil quality relates to soil functions. Unlike water ...
Water-soluble soil conditioners offer the following benefits: [10] increase pore space in soils containing clay; increase water infiltration into soils containing clay; prevent soil crusting; stop erosion and water runoff; make friable soil that is easy to cultivate; make soil dry quicker after rain or irrigation, so that the soil can be worked ...
Serpentine soil is an uncommon soil type produced by weathered ultramafic rock such as peridotite and its metamorphic derivatives such as serpentinite. More precisely, serpentine soil contains minerals of the serpentine subgroup , especially antigorite , lizardite , and chrysotile or white asbestos, all of which are commonly found in ultramafic ...