Soil, Plants, and the Energy Cycle Activity Source: Soil Science Society of America. Adapted with permission. Soils are critical for many aspects of our daily life. They provide food such as grains, vegetables, and animal feed. They provide fiber for clothing, as in cotton, flax-linen, and hemp. And they provide shelter materials like wood and brick. But did you realize that soils also are an important part of the energy cycle? [Read More]

Soil, the Forgotten Resource Activity Source: Adapted with permission by Ward’s Natural Science. Soil is often overlooked as a natural resource. Like fossil fuels, we depend on it for energy in the form of foods. And, like fossil fuels, it is nonrenewable. Soil is a delicate balance of inorganic minerals, organic matter, living organisms, soil water, and soil atmosphere. The natural development of soil is an exceedingly slow process. In a few hours, a heavy rain falling on exposed soil can remove inches of what took hundreds of years to form. [Read More]

Soil’s Role in Carbon Sequestration The map, “Earth’s Biomes,” shows the locations of 18 types of biomes and their distribution around the world. Compare the map to the Soil Orders on the front of the Geologic Map Day Poster and the Carbon Sequestration Map on the back of the 2022 Geologic Map Day poster. Earth’s Biomes Credit: Creative Commons, Ville Koistinen, Full-size version available at: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e4/Vegetation.png a. What trends do you notice about the biomes that match up with soils capable of carbon sequestration? [Read More]

State Soil Investigation Activity Source: Soil Science Society of America. Adapted with permission. Many states have a designated state bird, flower, fish, tree, rock, and so on. Many states also have a state soil — one that has significance or is important to the state. The Soil Science Society of America has developed a collection of state soil booklets, designed and written by professional soil scientists from the region to share in-depth information on each state soil. [Read More]

Surficial Features Activity Source: America Geophysical Union. Adapted with permission. Various types of sediments, or “surficial features,” lie above the bedrock in many places. The U.S. Geological Survey provides a map illustrating this phenomenon at http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2003/of03-275/. “Most daily human activities occur on or near the Earth’s surface,” as the introduction to the map states. “Homeowners, communities, and governments can make improved decisions about hazard, resource, and environmental issues, when they understand the nature of surficial materials and how they vary from place to place. [Read More]

Sustaining Living Soil with Composting Activity Source: Soil Science Society of America. Adapted with permission. Composting is the decomposition of organic waste materials in the presence of water, air, and microorganisms to produce organic fertilizer. Organic matter improves soil quality by feeding soil organisms, provides plants nutrients for growth, and enhances soil structure and water holding capacity., while reducing our dependence on synthetic fertilizers. A key part of a healthy compost pile is a balance of green and brown organic matter. [Read More]

The Slope of Land in Your Community Activity Source: Adapted from the American Geosciences Institute’s EarthComm: Understanding your Environment Background Landslides constitute a major geologic hazard. They are widespread, occurring in all 50 states, and cause $1-2 billion in damages and more than 25 fatalities on average each year. Landslides commonly occur with other major natural disasters, such as earthquakes and floods (USGS Learning Web). The slope of the land and the materials under ground must be considered when planning how to build on the land in a community to lessen landslide risk. [Read More]

Traveling Nitrogen Activity Source: Windows to the Universe. Adapted with permission. Nitrogen is an element that is found both in living things and the nonliving parts of the Earth system. In this classroom activity, students play the role of nitrogen atoms traveling through the nitrogen cycle to gain understanding of the varied pathways through the cycle and how nitrogen is relevant to living things. For the teacher: To prepare, set up nitrogen reservoir stations around the classroom (or outside). [Read More]