- •Department of Soil Science & Soil Conservation
- •Introduction
- •2. General scheme & processes of soil formation.
- •3. Morphological features of the soil profile.
- •4. Soil ecology.
- •Study outline:
- •1. Soil definition and the factors of plant growth.
- •2. Plant roots and soil relations.
- •3. Soil fertility and soil productivity.
- •4. Soil texture.
- •1. Sources and composition of som.
- •2. Residue decomposition and humus formation.
- •3. Agronomical and ecological roles of som.
- •4. Maintenance and balance of som.
- •2. Nature and properties of soil colloids.
- •3. Pole in soil genesis and soil productivity development.
- •4. Types and practical significance of soil absorbing capacity.
- •2. Soil Properties as Effected by Exchangeable Cations.
- •3. Soil Acidity & Acid Soil Amendment.
- •4.Soil Alkalinity & Sodic Soil Amendment.
- •5. Soil Buffer Capacity & Significance of Soil pH.
- •2. Managing soil structure.
- •3. Particle density and bulk density.
- •4. Soil porosity and aeration porosity.
- •5. Mechanical properties of mineral soils and their management.
- •2. Soil Water Movement.
- •3. Plant and Soil Water Relations.
- •4.Soil Water Regime.
- •6. Soil Water Management.
- •1.1. Composition and concentration of soil solution.
- •1.2. Osmotic pressure of soil solution.
- •1.3. Redox potential and redox processes in the soils.
- •2. Soil air, a gaseous phase of the soil.
- •2.1. Soil air composition and properties.
- •2.2. Plant requirements to soil aeration.
- •3. Management of soil redox and aeration regimes.
- •1. Soil temperature & modes of energy transfer.
- •2. Conduction of heat in soil. Heat-related soil properties.
- •3. Thermal conductivity of soil.
- •4. Thermal regime of soil profiles &its control.
- •2. Principles of soil cover zoning in Ukraine.
- •3. Soil Zoning in the Mountain regions.
- •4. Fao nomenclature of soils.
- •2. Soddy Podzolic and Soddy Podzolic Gleyed soils.
- •3. Soddy soils.
- •4. Bog and Peat soils.
- •5. Practices of soil management in Ukrainian Polissya.
- •2. Grey Forest and Podzolized soils.
- •3.Chernozems of the Steppe Zone.
- •2. Dark chestnut and chestnut soils.
- •3. Salt-affected soils.
- •4. Practices of soil amendment and land use improvement in the arid steppe zone.
3. Soddy soils.
Some soddy soils are encountered in the Forest zone of Ukraine. They were formed under grassland vegetation. The most widespread among them are soddy gleyed, soddy sandy of the pine forests on the terraces (“dernovi borovi” in Ukrainian) and soddy carbonatic (rendzinas) in the western part of Ukrainian Polissya, bordering with Poland, whence the name rendzinas (making the plow ring).
Soddy sandy soils occupy a total area of about 1.3 mln ha with 0.24 mln ha being under cultivation. Below is a typical soil profile description.
H 0-25 cm: humus-containing surface horizon, grey with brownish tint, very slightly and nonuniformly humusified, sandy, single-grained, scanty grass roots; very distinct transition.
Ph 25-35 cm: transitive horizon, grayish-yellow with very low OM content, spotty in color, sandy, loose, structureless; distinct transition.
P 35-116 cm: dirty-yellow fine grained sand, very loose; transition clear.
F1 116-166 cm: a once surface horizon of a buried soil.
The soils like this are of a very low natural productivity. Very often they are subjected to wind erosion.
They are for the forests, not for agriculture.
Soddy carbonatic soils occupy a total area of about 0.95 mln ha, 0.46 mln ha being in agriculture use. The soil described below was encountered near the town of Chervonoarmiysk (Rivne region):
Hk 0-20 cm: surface horizon of humus accumulation, dark grey, well and uniformly humusified, calcareous, light loam, of grainy structure, strong with inclusions of shells and gradual transition to the next horizon.
HPk 20-40 cm: transitive horizon, grey, with lower OM content compared with Hk horizon; with abundant inclusions of the fragments of chalk; some rusty-brown spots of seasonal gleying may be encountered; transition clear.
Pk 40-100 cm: parent material, dirty-white, with dark grey spots and streaks of humusified material and with a multitude of rusty mottles.
The soils like this are moderately good for small grain crops, sugar beet and forage crops. They are no good for flax and hemp, as well as for orchards: apple-trees from the iron deficievey and develop chlorosis.
Gleyed soddy soils are encountered in deep depressions of the topography within the watersheds on the periphery of swamps and on the low floodplains. The soil described below had been photographed near the town of Shostka (Sumy region) on the low-level of the Shostka (river) floodplain. Ground water level was 220 cm deep at the moment of soil profile description.
Hd(t) 0-3 cm: a horizon of sod with abundant grassroots and peat fragments.
Hgl 3-23 cm: a horizon of humus accumulation, gleyed dark-grey with some rusty-brown spots, sandy loam, of grainy structure, with abundant grassroots and gradual transition to the next horizon.
HPgl 23-32 cm: a lower transition horizon, gleyed, dull grey, with a multitude of rusty spots and thin veins along the tunnels made by the roots and earthworms, moist, light loam, crumbly in structure, sticky, transition to the next horizon is quite clear.
PGl 32-130 cm: parent material; severely gleyed glacial outwash of loamy texture, dull grey with olive and bluish mottling.
Such soils are managed as natural grasslands and meadows. But the feeding quality of natural grasses is low as they are rich in sedges and some unpalatial species.