How To Make Soil Models
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Models of soils help us
to observe soil properties and explain how soil they form.
They are also valuable teaching tools when it is difficult
to look at soils in the field. Soil monoliths are a kind
of soil model that professional soil scientists use. A
soil monolith is a vertical section that is removed from
a soil profile in the field that is prepared for mounting. Other
types of models of soil can also be made that would help
capture its profile properties.Each
soil profile is different because soils differ greatly
from each other and from one place to another, due to
interactions between the Five
Soil-Forming Factors. Each section of soil on a landscape
has its own unique characteristics. The face of a soil,
or the way it looks if you cut a section of it out of
the ground, is called a soil profile, like the profile
of a person's face. Every soil profile is made up of layers
called soil horizons. Soil horizons can be as thin as
a few millimeters or thicker than a meter.Soil
profiles and their horizons change as you move across
a landscape, and also change as you move downward deeper
into the soil at one location. In fact, soil samples taken
at the surface may have entirely different characteristics
and appearances from soil dug deeper in the soil profile.
One common reason soil horizons are different as you dig
deeper is because of mixing of organic material in the
upper horizons and weathering and leaching in the lower
horizons. Erosion, deposition, and other forms of disturbance
might also affect the way a soil profile looks at a particular
location. How many soil types are
there? The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)
and other agencies map and collect soil data at many different
scales. According to the USDA, there are over 50,000 different
varieties of soil in the United States alone! Since parent
material, topogrtaphy, climate, organisms, and the amount
of time it takes for these to all interact varies worldwide,
so soil profiles also vary worldwide.Having
a soil model in you classroom might be a fun and informative
way to learn about the soil in your area. There are many
ways to create a model, ranging from the way professional
soil scientists make them, to some simple methods to bring
soil profiles into the class. Here are some options:
- Professional Method: Make a soil monolith.
- Easy Method: Put soil into a tube or a jar, and layer the horizons as they are extracted from the ground.
- Easy Method: Use the one meter long Hydrology turbidity tubes to fill with soil horizons, to get a full scale profile.
- Easiest Method: Draw a soil profile and color in the different horizons (perhaps using large pieces of paper glued to cardboard)
Let us know if you have discovered some other ways to make soil models that we can share!
Here is an example of a soil monolith in the making. This photo is from Thailand.
