This document discusses different types of soil including sandy soil, clay soil, silty soil, loamy soil, chalky soil, and peaty soil. It describes the characteristics of each soil type and some of the problems associated with each. For example, it notes that sandy soil does not hold water well and nutrients drain quickly through it, while clay soil is difficult for air and water to penetrate, creating problems for plant growth. The document also discusses soil conservation and its importance.

1. SOILIf you want to eat food, prevent soil
erosion dude….!!

2. GROUP MEMBERS:
•Shehnas Jabir
•Afrin Shajahan
•Maryam Logar
•Umma Salma
•Shamma Parveen
•Muna Mohammed

3. SOIL
• Soil (sometimes called dirt) is the combination
of rock, mineral fragments (pieces), organic matter (dead
and living things), water and air.
• It is mostly made up of grains of rock (weathered
by wind, rain, sun, snow and humus. The type of soil
depends on the mix of humus and on the size of the grains
of the rock. The grains can be very small and smooth, such
as clay, or they can be larger, like grains of sand or even a
piece of gravel.

4. • Soils are important to our ecosystem for six main reasons:
first, soils are a place for plants to grow; second, soils
control the speed and the purity of water that moves
through them; third, soils recycle nutrients from dead
animals and plants; fourth, soils change the air that
surrounds the earth, called the atmosphere;
• fifth, soils are a place to live for animals, insects and very
small living things called microorganisms; sixth, soils are
the oldest and the most used building materials. The
climate is very important when soil is made. Soil from
different climates can have very different qualities the
types of soil varies from.

5. USES OF SOIL
• Soil is used in agriculture, where it serves as the anchor and
primary nutrient base for plants; however, as demonstrated
by hydroponics, it is not essential to plant growth if the soil-
contained nutrients can be dissolved in a solution. The types
of soil and available moisture determine the species of plants
that can be cultivated.
• Soil material is also a critical component in the mining,
construction and landscape development industries Soil
serves as a foundation for most construction projects. The
movement of massive volumes of soil can be involved
in surface mining, road building and dam
construction. Earth sheltering is the architectural practice of
using soil for externalthermal mass against building walls.
Many buildinG materials are soil based.

6. • Soil resources are critical to the environment, as well as to food and
fibre production. Soil provides minerals and water to plants. Soil
absorbs rainwater and releases it later, thus preventing floods and
drought. Soil cleans water as it percolates through it. Soil is the
habitat for many organisms: the major part of known and
unknown biodiversity is in the soil, in the form
of invertebrates (earthworms, woodlice, millipedes, centipedes, snails
, slugs, mites, springtails, enchytraeids, nematodes, protists), bacte
ria, archae, fungi and algae; and most organisms living above
ground have part of them (plants) or spend part of
their lifEcycle (insects) below-ground. Above-ground and below-
ground biodiversities are tightly interconnected making soil
protection of paramount importance for any restoration or
conservation plan.

7. TYPES OF SOIL
There are many types of soil:
• Sandy soil
• Clay soil
• Silty soil
• Loamy soil
• Chalky soil
• Peaty soil

8. SANDY SOIL
• Sandy soil is gritty to the touch and will often be dry. Soils with high
sand content break apart easily and will not form a clump when
squeezed hard. Wet sand does not stick together. Sand particles are
visible to the eye and will not merge with other grains.
Problems with Sandy Soil
• Sandy soil will not hold water for extended periods. This causes drought
conditions in the soil, reducing the growth of plants growing in it.
Nutrients drain straight through the soil, causing deficiency. Plant
roots can't take hold in excessively sandy soils.

9. CLAY SOIL
• Clay soil is a sticky soil. When wet, clay will stain the hands a red
or orange color. Clay is shiny when rubbed by hand. When rolled
between the hands, clay will form a long ribbon that does not break
when wet.
Problems with Clay Soil
• Clay soil has tightly compacted pores that are difficult for air and water to
penetrate. This creates problems with plants. Nutrients are not free to move
throughout the soil, causing nutrient deficiencies in plants. Standing water
in clay soil rots plant roots. The roots are unable to grow through clay soil that
is compacted due to surface human and animal activity.

10. SILTY SOIL• Silt soils, comprised mainly of intermediate sized particles, are fertile, fairly
well drained and hold more moisture than sandy soils, but are easily
compacted
• Pure silt soils are rare, especially in gardens. They have a slightly soapy,
slippery texture, and do not clump easily
Problems with sandy soil
• These soils are made up of fine particles that can be easily compacted by
treading and use of garden machinery. They are prone to washing away and
wind erosion if left exposed to the elements without plant cover. However, they
contain more nutrients than sandy soils and hold more water, so tend to be
quite fertile. You can bind the silt particles into more stable crumbs by the
addition of organic matter.

11. LOAMY SOIL
• Loams are comprised of a mixture of clay, sand and silt
that avoid the extremes of clay or sandy soils and are
fertile, well-drained and easily worked. They can be clay-
loam or sandy-loam depending on their predominant
composition and cultivation characteristics
Problems with loamy soil
• These soil types are prone to particular problems. Loamy
soils can suffer drainage problems and may not suit
plants that need free draining conditions. Light, loamy
soils need a lot of watering.

12. CHALKY SOIL• Chalky soils are extremely alkaline, and usually have stones
of varying size mixed in with them. Chalky soil stops plants
from uptaking important minerals, and dries out very easily,
making it less than ideal for planting.
Problems with chalky soil
• It is more difficult to lower soil pH (i.e. reduce alkalinity) than
it is to raise the pH (i.e. increase alkalinity). Consequently,
lowering the pH is only practical in slightly alkaline soils.
Where attempts are made to reduce alkalinity, the soil should
be checked annually to monitor the change in pH and repeat
the treatment if necessary.

13. PEATY SOIL
• Peaty soils are high in organic matter, usually with large amounts
of dead plants in them, but the organic matter is unable to
decompose fully because of a high acid content in the soil. Peaty
soil isn’t particularly rich in nutrients, but if well handled can
actually be an excellent soil for planting.
• The peat soil now has subsided below the water levels in the river.
They are not drainable anymore by gravity and pumped drainage
in the wet tropics is not economic, certainly not for tree crops. These
abandoned not drainable peat soils are not suitable anymore for
any use, also not for forestry.

14. CONSERVATION OF SOIL
• Soil conservation is the prevention
of soil from erosion or reduced fertility caused by
overuse, acidification, salinization or other
chemical soil contamination. slash-and-burn and
other unsustainable methods of subsistence
farming are practiced in some lesser developed areas.
A sequel to the deforestation is typically large
scale erosion, loss of soil nutrients and sometimes
total desertification.