SHAWNEE COUNTY CONSERVATION DISTRICT
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Soil Basics

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Soil!  Some call it dirt, but it is... Soil!  The essence of our being.  The medium in which crops are grown to feed humans as well as animals.  One of our natural resources (soil, water, air, plant and animal).
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Soil, by volume, on the average, consists of 45% mineral, 25% water, 25% air, and 5% organic matter (both living and dead organisms.) There are thousands of different soils throughout the world.

Five important factors influence the specific soil that develops.
  • Parent Material
​Minerals and organic materials present during it's formation. Materials from volcanoes, sediment transported by wind, water, or glaciers, or minerals left behind by drying lakes are good examples of parent materials.
  • Climate
​Parent material is broken down into smaller pieces by a process called weathering. Cycles of freezing and thawing, wetting and drying, and the frequency of these occurrences couples with average temperature and moisture levels of a region play an important role in soil formation. These smaller pieces are known as sand, silt, and clay, (clay being the smallest size.)
  • Living Organisms
​Both plants and animals help to create a soil. As they die, organic matter incorporates with the weathered parent material and becomes part of the soil. Living animals such as moles, earthworms, bacteria, fungi, and nematodes are all busy moving through or digesting food found in the soil. All of these actions mix and enrich the soil.
  • Topography
​Topography is the hilliness, flatness, or amount of slope of the land. Soils vary with topography primarily because of the influence of moisture and erosion. In many areas, moist, poorly drained soils are located in low areas and depressions of the land. In contrast, soils in sloping areas can be drier and well drained. These soils tend to be moderately deep and well developed. Erosion can remove all or part of the topsoil and subsoil, leaving weakly developed soil.
  • Time
​It may take hundreds of years to form one inch of soil from parent material. Only the top few inches are productive in the sense of being able to sustain plant growth. This is why soil conservation is so important.

The result of all of these forces is soil that develops into layers known as horizons. The first or top 48 inches of these horizons and it's unique set of characteristics is used by soil scientists to classify and name a soil. Just as an oak tree is named due to it's unique characteristics, so is a soil. The USDA NRCS Web Soil Survey has maps and descriptions of all of the soils in Shawnee County and the United States.
​

These horizons collectively are known as a soil profile. The thickness varies with location and, in disturbed locations such as heavy agriculture, building sites, or severe erosion, not all horizons will be present.

Soil Profile

The uppermost part is called the organic horizon or O horizon. It consists of detritus, leaf litter, and other organic material lying on the surface of the soil. This layer is dark because of the decomposition that is occurring. This layer is not present in cultivated fields.

Below that is the A horizon or topsoil. Usually, it is darker than lower layers, loose and crumbly with varying amounts of organic matter. In cultivated fields, the plowed layer is topsoil This is generally the most productive layer of the soil. This is the layer on which soil conservation efforts are focused.

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As water moves down through the topsoil, many soluble minerals and nutrients dissolve. The dissolved materials leach downward into lower horizons.
​

The next layer is the B horizon or subsoil. Subsoils are usually lighter in color, dense, and low in organic matter. Most of the materials leached from the A horizon stops in this zone.

Still deeper is the C horizon. It is a transition area between soil and parent material. Partially disintegrated parent material and mineral particles may be found in this horizon.

At some point the C horizon will give up to the final horizon, bedrock.
Note: This page was developed from information found in a USDA, Soil Conservation Service (now, Natural Resources Conservation Service) publication, "Conserving Soil".
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  • Home
  • About Us
    • Conservation Priorities
    • History
  • Contact Us
  • Equipment
    • No-Till Drill >
      • No-Till Drill for Rent
      • Drill Use Documents
      • Seed Photos and Information
    • Root Plow
  • Construction
    • Contractors
    • Ponds - Construction, Problems, Repair, Fish >
      • Basic Elements of a Pond Dam (Drawings and Text Version)
      • Pond Dams Build Right - Pictorial Version
      • Pond Management
      • Pond Maintenance
      • Excess Vegetation Management
      • Replacing A Pond Pipe
      • Sealing A Leaky Pond
    • Plugging Abandoned Water Wells 2
  • Partners
    • Other Agencies
  • Natural Resources
    • Conservation Balance
    • Natural Resources
    • Non Point Source Pollution >
      • Non Point Source Pollution
      • Plugging Abandoned Water Wells
      • Septic System Maintenance Links
      • Septic Tank Maintenance
    • Soil >
      • Soil Basics
      • Soil Ecosystem
      • Soil pH
      • Soil Testing
    • Cropland Planting Resources
    • No-Till and Water Infiltration
    • Cover Crops >
      • Cover - Forage Crops
      • Planting - Managing Cover Crops
    • Livestock Water
    • Top 9 BMPS for Nutrient Management
    • Maintain Soil Nutrients
    • Problem Weeds
    • Brush Management
    • Caucasian Bluestem
    • Air Quality
  • Urban and/or Small Acreage
    • Why Urban Conservation
    • Urban/Small Acreage Essentials
    • Country Living Considerations >
      • Country Living
      • Essential Check List
    • Backyard - Projects In Your Own Backyard
    • High Tunnels
    • Urban Hydrology
    • Erosion Control On Construction Sites
    • Preventing Urban Water Pollution
  • Education
    • Request A Presentation
    • What Is A Watershed
    • Outdoor Classrooms
    • Nature's Code of Ethics
    • Student Videos >
      • Student Videos
      • Student - More Info - Turbidity Test Expanded
      • Student - More Info - Properties of Water Expanded
      • Student - More Info - Soils
    • Get Outdoors With Conservation
    • Conservation Word Search Puzzles >
      • Agricultural Puzzle
      • NPS Puzzle
      • What We Can Do Puzzle
    • Photos >
      • Conservation Practice Photo Gallery
      • Livestock Agriculture Photos
      • Pond Photos
      • Prescribed Burning Photos
      • Rural Agriculture Photos
      • Urban Conservation Photos
    • Key Conservation Practices
    • Progress In Conservation
  • Financial Assistance
    • State Cost-Share
    • WRAPS
  • Events (Click Here for Winter Events)
    • District Annual Meeting
    • Envirothon
    • Topeka Water Festival
    • History & Environmental Fair
  • Awards
    • 2021 Grassland Award
    • 2022 Soil Conservation Awards
    • 2021 Outstanding Young Conservation Award
  • NEWSLETTERS