Human Impact on Soil Health
Lesson 9
Soil Characteristics and Tests
What type of tests did we perform on the different soil samples?
How did we use our observations to make a claim about soil health?
Soil Tests
Test | Tools | What does it tell us? |
Compaction | Pencil | The amount of space in the soil for water and air |
Texture | Hand Lens | The size of the different particles |
Water Absorption | Eye Dropper | The amount of water that the soil can hold |
Careers in Agriculture and Soil Science
A soil scientist may serve a variety of different roles. They may perform tests to monitor soil health as the area is used to grow food. A soil scientist may also design and implement strategies to improve soil fertility.
Guiding Questions:
What is the title of this image?
What do you think it means?
What are the two keys?
What information do they provide?
What might be causing the data to change over time?
Testing the soil in our local community
Use the different soil tests to measure how soil may be impacted by human activity
What would you do?
You and your friends want to start a garden on campus. You were given a site on campus and performed soil tests. The following was your results:
What are some specific things that you could do to prepare the soil at this site?
Test | Observations |
Compaction | The tip of the pencil went in about 2 cms |
Texture | 75% Sand 25% Silt |
Water Absorption | Water formed drops at the top of the sample and took a long time to travel through |
What would a soil scientists do?
The circles with a heavy black circle marks an area where something was added.
What do you think the soil scientist added?