Questions tagged [soil-science]
Questions regarding the state and functioning of soil, its interaction with the biota, hydrosphere and atmosphere
38
questions
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votes
0answers
6 views
Watering seedlings from bottom up, is water level from the tray a reliable indicator for water requirements? [migrated]
As the title says, I'm watering the seedling from bottom up.
I built an IoT device which reports various greenhouse environment information.
The seedlings are growing in trays and these trays are ...
4
votes
2answers
48 views
How does manure & other organic matter improve soil structure?
How does manure & other organic matter improve soil structure? Based on my understanding, soil structure refers to the arrangement of the aggregates within the soil; a good soil structure prevents ...
4
votes
1answer
75 views
Generalized Soil Unit Information on Soil Characteristics of FAO/UNESCO Soil Map
I have some doubts regarding the FAO/UNESCO Soil Map of the World. I have downloaded the ESRI shapefile format of Digital Soil Map of the World (3rd download link on this page).
Among other files, ...
1
vote
1answer
23 views
"Down wash" as a source for mineral particles in the soil
In a previous IGCSE examination paper$^1$, the following question was asked and answer provided:
State one source of mineral particles in soil.
Marking Scheme:
Accept any one of:
rock;
down wash;
...
7
votes
1answer
150 views
How deep is soil?
I am curious of the lower boundary of soil. Soil is formed after going through complex processes and it has been through coevolution with living organisms. According to the USDA, for soil ...
1
vote
0answers
15 views
How to Distribute Soil moisture output of Thornthwaite and Mather (1954) Soil Water Balance Model into different layers?
in Thornthwaite & Mather (1954) Soil Water Balance Approach
The soil moisture output is generated for the whole soil profile, i.e whatever depth we take for the ...
4
votes
0answers
27 views
USDA soil classification vs FAO/UNESCO soil classification
I am making a global social media website for farmers and gardeners which can be used to share information about plant varieties. This sharing is done via so called garden journals.
In a garden ...
3
votes
0answers
42 views
Do long-term anaerobic conditions caused by flood-irrigation lead to irreversible soil degradation?
In fields that have been cultivated with rice, frequent flood irrigation can lead to soil degradation.
When this type of cultivation has been implemented for several decades, will the soil suffer from ...
1
vote
0answers
62 views
Why is the concentration of nitrogen gas almost equal in soil air and the atmosphere?
From the composition of soil air, we know that oxygen is much less than that of atmospheric air. On the other hand, carbon dioxide is higher in soil. However, nitrogen gas is very much similar in both ...
0
votes
0answers
18 views
Application of Visual Sample Plan to composite samples
I have a site in which I would like to compare the site average to a fixed threshold, however, the data that I have for the site are composite samples. The site is subdivided into 17 composite units, ...
4
votes
1answer
1k views
Is silicon dioxide (silica) found in all types of soil on the planet?
Known that it is found in sand, silt and clay but is it found in all soils?
0
votes
1answer
20 views
sub soil data finding
I am going to search and finding some subsoil data, (vanGenuchten Parameters, specific storage, Hydraulic conductivity, porosity, Manning coefficient and humidity of root zone) I have no idea about ...
2
votes
3answers
142 views
Is a hotter climate making trees grow faster and have lighter wood?
I started thinking about this after seeing several articles about falling trees, in particular a few articles about very large trees falling in Los Angeles and New York City. Plus, just thinking about ...
1
vote
0answers
20 views
Looking for variables to compare against pH of soil
I'm doing a project in junior year chemistry where I get to choose what I investigate as long as it covers course content. I'm interested in exploring how quantitative (ig. incremental) change in an ...
1
vote
1answer
66 views
Can we define "drainage density" for a soil column (point-scale)?
From what I read all over the web and articles, drainage density is a parameter that is defined for a catchment.
I want to use a hydrological model to simulate the percolation from the bottom of a ...
15
votes
5answers
4k views
How did forests end up covering pyramids?
I went to Mexico and the pyramids are covered by vegetation. It's only after archeologists clean them that you can actually see the pyramids. Before that they looked like a natural hill, with soil, ...
2
votes
1answer
64 views
How to obtain the saturation point of a soil layer from the volumetric soil water content data?
Would you please let me know if the following is accurate as an answer to the question:
Suppose we have sensors which measure the volumetric soil water content of a soil layer for a long period (more ...
0
votes
1answer
50 views
What will be the depth that water can sink to the ground? [duplicate]
Currently there is a pond in one acre of land which is of 4 feet depth. If the pond is filled with water it is expected that some percent of the water will be absorbed by the ground under the pond. To ...
1
vote
1answer
99 views
What is the "pressure gradient" within the richards equation
I'm trying to understand the Richards equation that can be used to compute the flow of water in soil. In a textbook I found the following:
Unfortunately, the textbook doesn't really explain what the ...
5
votes
2answers
116 views
What is the connection (if any) between jarosite and subsoil biological activity near Spain's Río Tinto?
In the short BBC video Spain's otherworldly red river, Ricardo Amils, a researcher in Spain's Astrobiology Center says the following (amateur transcription):
Río Tinto is a peculiar place in our ...
3
votes
0answers
38 views
Which unsupervised classification method for non linear multivariate time series earth observation data in python
I have collect several data sets for a small region in Germany called Hessisches Ried (about 90 km²) from different sources for a time period from 2015 to 2019. Daily rainfall amount & daily ...
14
votes
3answers
3k views
How to make Martian soil
My son wants to replicate some experiments and try to grow plants in Martian soil for his A-level science project. I know NASA have managed to produce soil that mimics Martian soil, however I also ...
6
votes
0answers
30 views
How to make Martian soil [duplicate]
My son wants to replicate some experiments and try to grow plants in Martian soil for his A-level science project. I know NASA have managed to produce soil that mimics Martian soil, however I also ...
0
votes
1answer
52 views
The state of Nitrogen, Phosphorous and Potassium during Anaerobic Digession
I am planning to go for organic farming and I would like to utilize available weeds as fertilizers with either anaerobic or aerobic digestion. I understand that during the aerobic process (composting),...
0
votes
2answers
91 views
Leaching Requirement
How can we determine supplemental irrigation needed to reduce soil salinity knowing ETP of a crop and the annual precipitation?
2
votes
0answers
57 views
How can shake amplitude influence the damping ratio and resonant frequency of a soil base structure?
I have performed an experiment using a shaking table to simulate the response of a soil base structure to an earthquake. A multi-floor structure was placed on a sand (90% relative density) bed and the ...
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votes
2answers
4k views
Can Some not all mountains actually be Giant petrified Tree Stumps? [closed]
Is it possible That The process that had occurred with the flood have actually petrified ginormous tree stumps during the flood??
4
votes
2answers
56 views
Effect of organic matter on salinity
Organic manure is used in agriculture around the globe.
I am interested in how does organic matter affect the salinity of soil? Does it increases, increases or remains unaffected? and is there a study ...
1
vote
0answers
19 views
Get NPK values of soil without spectroscopy
I stumbled upon this new device called Teralytic. Which can measure salination, NPK values and all sorts of things.
Unfortunately it's sold out and I think when it'll be available again rather ...
0
votes
0answers
33 views
What's a Good Soil Quality Index for Plowed Farm Lands?
I'm currently conducting research using Satellite/Weather/Soil (Mostly Sentinel-2 Satellite Imagery) Data to Model Smallholder Farms and their dynamics before Planting.
Key to my progress is to find ...
1
vote
0answers
13 views
Why do allophane soils behave as gels?
It is notoriously difficult to determine the texture of soil containing allophane and immogolite. According to the literature this is because the clay fraction "behaves as a gel", i.e. it's not ...
1
vote
0answers
55 views
soil that is dried (no pore space) weight?
How much would 1 m3 of an ideal mineral SOIL that has been completely dried (all pore space is empty) weigh in Mg on Earth? Answer = ______ Mg
1
vote
0answers
47 views
How many kg $ha^-$$^1$ of exchangeable $Mg^2$$^+$ is there in the top 15cm of this field?
Soil testing from a well-drained soil sample in 0-15cm depth of a farmers field provides the following
information:
• Wet weight of a soil sample from a volume of 100 $cm^3$: 200 g
• Moisture ...
1
vote
0answers
385 views
How eluvial process determines the difference in colour of soil layers [closed]
How eluvial process determines the colour of E horizon lighter compared to O horizon?
2
votes
0answers
35 views
Passive capillary wick samplers
I am interested in sampling soil solution at different depths on Andean soils. I have found that Passive-capillary samplers have been extensively used to sample soil water, however I was not able to ...
4
votes
2answers
1k views
Soil Science and the carbon cycle - is carbon released from soil into the atmosphere?
Is carbon lost from topsoil when it's degraded/removed? What is the scientific process?
2
votes
0answers
30 views
Can caliches form in arctic soils?
Caliches are signature features of many arid soils. In addition to the typical places of formation in deserts, they also occur in parts of the Tibetan plateau. Can they also form in polar climates? If ...
11
votes
4answers
623 views
How can poor tropical soils be enriched by biological means?
I have been reading a lot recently about agriculture in Africa, and one of the big impediments in a lot of places is the poor quality of the soil. Primarily this refers to a lack of usable molecular ...