sustainable soil for crops (acidity) Flashcards
5 drivers of soil degradation
- climate change
- deforestation
- urbanization and expansion
- pollution and waste
- unsustainable soil management
what are the 2 main constraints of the Australian system soil degradation
acidity and salinity
6 consequences of soil degradation
- water scarcity
- food and nutrient scarcity
- rapid climate change (Co2)
- poverty and social insecurity
- migration
- reduction in ecosystem services
what are the 8 main types of degradation of the soil
- soil erosion
- decline in organic C
- nutrient imbalances
- salinization and sodification
- loss of biodiversity
- contamination
- acidification
- compaction
percent of drylands on the earth surface and how much is susceptible to wind erosion
40% of the earth land surface
430 million hectares are susceptible
how is soil nutrients imbalanced
continuous harvesting (lots of output of nutrients)
continuous fertilizers of N and or P
this leads to excess macronutrients and lack of micro nurtients
why is Cacl2 used to measure pH instead of water
water has high variability due to natural presence of salts therefore Cacl2 reduces effect of salts on pH. however this can displace some H ions making the solution more acidic than normal.
what is pH 7 a measure of
this is when oH- and H+ ions are in equilibirum in concentrations
6 sources of acidity in soils and which are the most important
- product removal
- metabolic activity of microorganisms
- leaching of nitrate from ammonium fertilisers and N fixation
- pH imbalance from nutrient uptake
- mine spoil
- acid rain
(1-3 are most important)
how does product removal increase acidity
acidification is a natural process that occurs over time through weathering of minerals and rainfall etc however agriultrual removal of biomass increases this process quickly through removing base cations (alkaline) through harvest increasing Concentration of H ions. Hay is largest contributor of removal of base cations therefoe need large about of lime to replace
how does microbes increase acidiy
the breakdown of organic C and other metabloc processes increases Co2 and other organic acids in soil
how does nitrification increase acidification
reaction of ammonium into nitrate is an acidic processs however plants usually uptake this nitrate in exchnage for hydroxl = equilibium. however when No3 is lost through leaching the system is left with H ions (acidic)
how does nutrient uptake cause pH imbalance (rhizosphere)
ammonium (cation) or nitrate (anion) are uptaken by plants and exchanged for either H+ ions or OH- ions. nitrate feeding plants raise pH (OH-) and ammonium feeding plants lower pH (H+ acidification)
when can pH be toxic to plants
5.5 and less
5 effects of low pH (less than 7)
- decrease in base cations (calcium, sodium, potassium, and magnesium)
- Al3+ increases
- negative charge on humus decreases
- availability of toxic elements increases eg Al and Mn
- activity of microorganisms reduced