Exam 1 Flashcards
Objectives of soil conservation
- Use of land
2. Maintaining its productive capacity (sustainability)
Soil survey and uses
- Tool
- Building house: Basement, septic tank
- Agricultural production use
- History
- potential crop yields
- Land use
- Capability classes
- Locations: Township and range
- Basically anything you need to know about the land
Land use capability classes
1-8
Land use sub classes
c, w E and S will kick you out of one
C
Climate (cache valley’s issue)
W
Water
E
Erosion and sedimentation (Biggest issue in US)
S
Plant root Restrictions
Most important in the valley
8, Ranching or dry land farming
Prime agricultural land (definition)
Land that has the best Soil, climate and chemical for food feed fiber soil seed.
Unique farm land
ex. Cranberry bogs, benches in Utah for air drainage and soil texture.
Critical Lands
Lands that have special for a variety of reasons. ex. military value, historical value, indian village of 180
soil
renewable, just not in our lifetime
Soil degradation
Physical, Chemical and biological
Physical degradation
Sand, Silt, Clay
Chemical degradation
Organic matter, house fertility and enzymes.
Issue of more land
the land can no longer support the # of people in the world so we need more land to support them. however if we treated the land better then we could produce more on less
Increasing production
we can, but it stresses the soil. We don’t know the limit of of plant production. there is increasing yields, but there will be a point where it will level off and we will no longer e able to support the population. Also the soil will degrade and productivity will drop we will not be able to continue the way we are doing
cheap energy
the cheap oil made the price of food drop and is making it less expensive, however when the price increases the food prices will be increased.
Rate of soil formation
0.466 T/ac/yr or 1 mt/Ha/yr. this is very general in cache valley it is much lower. Soil will never generate back in our lifetime
Point source
You look at it and cans solve it
Non-point source
can not specifically identify
Concern about erosion
Big concern if you like to eat. Food will be grown on land.
Obstacles to conservation
- Tradition: the way its always been
- Culture insecurity : may not have food
- Money
4.
Soil factors for conservation
Texture, Climate, Slope, aspect, all sorts of things interact together
Processes that elevate land
- Erosion and deposition
- Plate techtonics
- Organic deposition
Stream systems
- open- Colorado goes to ocean
2. Closed- Bear River does not go to ocean
Mass wasting
Driven by gravity. water is lubricant
Sedimentary landforms
- Wind
2. Water
Water landforms
- Flood plane
- Terraces
- Alluvial Fans
- Piedmont
- Deltas
- Bottom deposits
Wind Landforms
- Sand: Sanddunes
- Silt: Loess
- Clay: Clay blown areas
- Volcanic ash
