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Soil health is a state of a soil meeting its range of ecosystem functions as appropriate to its environment. In more colloquial terms, the health of soil arises from favorable interactions of all soil components (living and non-living) that belong together, as in microbiota, plants and animals.
Soil aeration is the mechanism of improving the exchange of gases between the atmosphere and soil. Through soil microbial activity and plant root respiration, certain gases such as oxygen will be depleted in the soil, while others, such as carbon dioxide, will build up in the soil. [1] Lack of oxygen in the soil can impact plant growth.
Topsoil products typically are not as suitable for potting plants or growing fruit and veg as potting soil or compost. Using it for this purpose can also work out prohibitively expensive compared to other alternatives. Topsoil is also used for proper surface grading near residential buildings.
Soil conditioners may be used to improve water retention in dry, coarse soils which are not holding water well. The addition of organic material for instance can greatly improve the water retention abilities of sandy soils and they can be added to adjust the pH of the soil to meet the needs of specific plants or to make highly acidic or ...
Soil is composed of organic matter (decomposing plants, animals, and microbes), biomass (living plants, animals, and microbes), water, air, minerals (sand, silt, and clay), and nutrients (nitrogen, carbon, phosphorus). [4] For optimal plant growth, a proper carbon to nitrogen ratio of 20–30:1 must be maintained. [3]
Soil stabilization is a general term for any physical, chemical, mechanical, biological, or combined method of changing a natural soil to meet an engineering purpose. [1] Improvements include increasing the weight-bearing capabilities, tensile strength, and overall performance of unstable subsoils , sands, and waste materials in order to ...
Nutrients in the soil are taken up by the plant through its roots, and in particular its root hairs.To be taken up by a plant, a nutrient element must be located near the root surface; however, the supply of nutrients in contact with the root is rapidly depleted within a distance of ca. 2 mm. [14] There are three basic mechanisms whereby nutrient ions dissolved in the soil solution are brought ...
Soil fertility refers to the ability of soil to sustain agricultural plant growth, i.e. to provide plant habitat and result in sustained and consistent yields of high quality. [3] It also refers to the soil's ability to supply plant/crop nutrients in the right quantities and qualities over a sustained period of time.