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- https://www.sciencenews.org/blog/science-public/dirt-not-soil
- http://soils.tfrec.wsu.edu/mg/nutrients.htm
- Soil presentation notes
- http://www.oneplan.org/Water/soil-triangle.asp
- https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detail/soils/survey/?cid=nrcs142p2_054167
-http://gardeningsolutions.ifas.ufl.edu/care/planting/florida-soil.html
-http://www.fairchildgarden.org/home-gardening/gardening-how-tos/soils-media

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* Soil is the collection of minerals, air, water, animals, and other living matter like decaying bodies, and all the becomes compacted over time
* Dirt is basically particles moved over time
* In soil you can grow things, but in dirt there is no nutrients nothing can grow and soil has nutrients and there is living organisms in soil.

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* The three main nutrients found in soil are Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and potassium.
* Their also known as NPK.
* Other important nutrients that are found in soil is calcium, magnesium, and sulfur

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Roles of pH and its effects on plant growth

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Roles of pH and its effects on plant growth

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-pH is used to measure acidity. Soil values below 7 are considered acidic, values above 7 are considered alkaline, and 7 itself is neutral
-Essential plant nutrients become more or less available depending on the pH of soil
-Most plants do best in slightly basic soils, but some, like blueberries and azaleas, prefer strongly acidic soils

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*  When parent rock material is exposed to the atmosphere or when minerals are dropped on to the ground, soil formation begins.  In how well the soil is formed will affect the properties of the soil.
*  The most important ingredient in soil formation is time.
* Climate - warmer climates means more decomposition.

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-consists of rock, sand, and marl; doesn't retain water or nutrients that well, keeping plants alive can be difficult
-Myakka => covers most of FL (1.5 million acres), official state soil

Different Characteristics in Different Regions
-North/Central Florida = very sandy
-Panhandle = large amounts of clay
-Everglades = peat-based, extremely fertile
-South Florida = shallow soil, high pH because of limestone bedrock

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-Soil classification is based on relative proportions of silt, sand and clay
-Follow any two percentages to find the nominal name of the soil
-Loam = holy grail of soil (40% sand, 40% silt, 20% clay)

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-Sand
-Silt
-Clay
-The perfect mix of all three is 20% clay, 40% sand, and 40% silt
-Soil as a filter - in Long island they have very sandy soil above their ground water which allows contaminated surface water to easily pass into the group water supply and little filtration occurs

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Clay can be positively or negatively charged

-Not enough clay = potassium and nutrients can easily move through the soil and won't get taken up by plants
-Too much clay = potassium, nutrients and water can't move through the soil

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-a medium for plant growth
-filters water
-habitat for a variety of organisms such as worms
-breaks down organic material
-recycles nutrients
-soils is the mixture of organic and geological material
-organic - decomposition from above
-geological - from underlying parent rock below
-bacteria in soil => usable nitrogen for plants

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soil = the mixture of organic material and inorganic rock

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1. Why is soil important?  Provide as many specific examples as possible

2. What role does clay play in soil?  Be sure to include cation exchange capacity in you response.

3. What are the three main particles in soil?  What ratio of these particles make for the ideal soil?  Why?

4. How do you use a soil texture triangle?

5. What are some of the major characteristic of Florida’s soils?

6. How is soil formed?

7. What role does pH play in soil and its effects on plant growth?

8. What are the major nutrients found in soil that plants need to survive?

9. What is the difference between soil and dirt?