Save soil

Describe how soil is created

1. The Ground Beneath Our Feet
S6E5. Students will investigate the scientific view of how the
earth’s surface is formed.
h. Describe soil as consisting of weathered rocks and
decomposed organic material.
i. Explain the effects of human activity on the erosion of the
earth’s surface.
j. Describe methods for conserving natural resources such as
water, soil, and air.

2. Directions
•Read each slide. Some
slides are just facts, look
for the bold and
underlined words to
complete the notes

3. Precious Soil
You step on it. You stomp on it. You walk all
over it. Soil doesn’t seem very precious. But
it is. Without soil, which is a mixture of
weathered rock and humus, there would be
no plants. Without plants, we would have no
food to eat and no oxygen to breathe. Soil is
very precious to our way of living. Some
people spend their entire careers studying
soil.
•Why don’t you give it a try?

4. Explain this quote after you
complete the notes
“The nation that destroys
its soil, destroys itself.”

5. What Is Soil Made Of?What Is Soil Made Of?
Start Here Start Here (Copy on chart)(Copy on chart)

6. Read this: Soil begins to form
when bedrock is broken apart
into small pieces of minerals
(rock). The agents rain, ice,
wind, freezing, and thawing
can do this breaking.
Chemical changes can do
this , too to rock.

7. continue reading: Plants and animals
that live in small rock pieces help
break apart rocks. As plant roots
grow down, they pry apart rocks.
Burrowing animals, such as
earthworms and ants, create tunnels
between rock pieces. Some of
these tunnels fill with air and water.
Water expands as it freezes, further
breaking apart the rocks.

8. Read: How Soil FormsRead: How Soil Forms

9. Humus becomes mixed with
the rock pieces. Finally, a material
that can be called soil is produced.
Soil is a mixture of tiny rock
particles, minerals, humus, water,
and air. Soil takes a long time to
form. It may take hundreds to
thousands of years for one inch of
soil to form.

10. Bacteria and fungi also help create soil. They
decompose dead plants and animals for energy.
The leftover plant and animal matter is called
humus.

11. Food for thought:
Explain this cartoon!

12. The importance of soil
•Soil provides minerals and other
nutrients for plants.
•All animals get their energy from
plants, either by eating plants or by
eating animals that have eaten
plants.
•Soil stores water for plant use
•Soil also prevents water run off

13. Uses of soil: How do Humans (people) use the land (soil)?
•Agriculture
•Development-Construction of homes,
stores, office buildings, etc.

•Mining-Removal of iron, copper, and coal

14. Harm to Soil: Damage and loss
•Soil can be damaged from overuse by poor
farming techniques or by over grazing.
•Deforestation: Cutting large masses
of trees leaving bare forest land
•Overuse– soil loses its nutrients
•Overgrazing– animals eat (destroy) plants
and leave the soil bare and exposed
to erosion.

15. DEFORESTATION
clear cutting the trees

16. DEFORESTATION
clear cutting the trees

17. WHAT ABOUT THE ANIMALS?
Where and how will they live?

18. pasture

19. pasture

20. Over grazing

21. Over grazing leads to ???

22. Overgrazing

23. SOIL POLLUTION chemicals being
carried in water from field to river

24. Soil Movement: Erosion
•Erosion is the process by which wind,
water or gravity transport soil and
sediment from one location to
another.
•Plant roots anchor the soil and keep
it in place
•By taking care of the plants you also
take care of the soil.

25. EROSION

26. DUST BOWL wind erosion
When you are finished with your
notes go back to the soil food
diner.
Select any Dust bowl link to help
you answer the questions watch
the video clips, and look at the
images.

27. How do we SAVE OUR SOIL!
•Predict three ways that
soil can be conserved?

28. Soil Conservation
•Soil conservation is a method
to maintain the fertility of the
soil by protecting the soil from
erosion and nutrient loss
•Soil is a resource that must be
conserved.

29. Methods of soil
conservation
1. Contour plowing
2. Terracing
3. No till farming (non tillage)
4. Cover Crop
5. Crop rotation

30. Contour plowing
•To prevent erosion farmers
plow and plant across the hill
instead of plowing and planting
down the hill.
• The rows act as
a series of dams
that slow the flow
of water

31. Contour plowing

32. Terracing
•If hills are very steep farmers
use terracing. Terracing
changes the hill into a series of
smaller flatter fields to reduce
water runoff

33. Terracing

34. Terracing

35. No till Farming
•Farmers leave old stalks in a
field to protect the soil. It
prevents rain water run off and
slows erosion. The decaying
stalks renew the nutrients to
the soil.

36. Non tillage

37. No till cotton plants

38. Cover crop
Crops planted between the harvested
crop to replace the nutrients in the soil
and prevent erosion
Cover crop

39. Crop rotation
•Planting different crops in
rotation on the same piece of soil.
Not planting the same crop year
after year on the same ground.
The rotation of crops slows the
loss of nutrients
from the soil.
Corn
Soy
beans

40. Crop rotation

41. Plowing under cover crop to renew
nutrients

42. LANDSCAPING FOR SOIL
CONSERVATION (terracing)

43. Consider this!
Now go and select any Dust bowl
link to help you answer the
questions watch the video clips, and
look at the images.