Yesterday, we looked at the texture of a soil – the sand, silt and clay particles in a soil. Now we turn towards STRUCTURE. Soil structure can be regarded as the architecture of soil (the way it is built). By adding organic matter and water to the sand, silt and clay (and allowing for aContinueContinue reading “Soil Structure”
Category Archives: soil
Soil Texture: Sand, Silt and Clay
Today, as part of the series of posts on soils, we are going to look at ‘soil texture’. Soil forms the basis for all life but it’s important to know about its mineral constitution as well as its biological profile. Texture refers to the ‘feel’ of the soil. This is affected by the constituent materialsContinueContinue reading “Soil Texture: Sand, Silt and Clay”
The Five Factors of Soil Formation
If you have ever looked closely at soils in different areas you will know that they all look, feel and smell different. They also play host to different plants and some contain more visible organisms than others. Why is this? How have they come to be so different? What factors should be considered? These wereContinueContinue reading “The Five Factors of Soil Formation”
Soil – ‘the cinderella subject’
Last week I gave a talk to a brilliantly engaged audience (or so they seemed!) in Essex on the hopelessly neglected subject that is ‘soil’. I have received several messages asking for the topic to be profiled more regularly on the blog, so this post will be the first of a week’s worth of posts dedicatedContinueContinue reading “Soil – ‘the cinderella subject’”
Secrets of the soil: mycorrhizal fungi
Out of all known habitats the soil is by far the most biodiverse and yet we know only a fraction of the information we know about other areas. I am near the beginning of my own ‘soil journey’, something that may sound a bit bizarre, but is a process of investigation that will be life longContinueContinue reading “Secrets of the soil: mycorrhizal fungi”
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