Soil.
Components of soil.
Soil is a mixture of inorganic materials, organic materials, air water and soil organisms. The inorganic materials found in the soil is the weathered rocks which are made up of minerals combined in different ways.
The organic materials are the decaying living matter. This could be plants or animals that have died and decayed until they become part of the soil.
The amount of water in the soil is closely linked with the climate and other characteristics of the region. The amount of water in the soil affects the amount of air. Very wet soil like those in a wetland probably has very little air. The composition of the soil affects the plants and therefore the animals that can live there.
Types of soil
There are three basic types of soil, namely clay soil, loamy soil and sandy soil. Loamy soil is the ideal; the other two types present challenges for irrigation.
How do you find out which types of soil you have?
-Pick up a marble-sized chunk of moist soil and roll it between your thumb,forefinger and middle finger, as if trying to shape it into a little ball.
-If your rolling is successful, you will end up with a ball the size of a marble, then your soil is clay soil.
-If your attempt at forming a ball is completely unsuccessful, and the soil falls apart, then your soil is sandy soil.
-If your attempt at forming a ball is not so successful, and the soil falls apart once you leave off applying pressure, then your soil is loamy soil.
Most soils are made up of a combination of the three. The type of soil varies from place to place on our planet and can even vary from one place to another in your own backyard.