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Approaches to the Study of the Soil

The study of the soil is generally divided into two parts: Field study and Laboratory study.

1. Field Study

A description (quantitative and qualitative) of the soil is best done in the field in its natural environment. Laboratory analysis entails much disturbance of soil properties. Some of the properties are lost in the process of transferring soils from the field to the laboratory. 

For instance, the moisture content and color distribution where mottling exists. One unique feature of soil study in the field is that soil is studied as a component of the land.   

Read Also: Importance of Soil and How it affects Crop Production

In essence, apart from describing the soil itself, the immediate environment may be fully described. This is to say that at any point of soil description, the characteristics of the site must be fully described. Such characteristics include:

  • The climate of the locality
  • The nature of the parent materials
  • The mass and character of the vegetation
  • The relief of the locality
  • The age of the landscape.

The site of study must be precisely recorded so that future references and relationships with the environment can be correctly made.

2. The Laboratory Study

The laboratory study of the soil is chemical and mineralogical. In such studies, considerable damage is done to the soil in as much as field characteristics are badly disturbed.

Read Also: The Physical Soil Factors Affecting Crop Production

Morphological studies however strive to present the soil as it is; sometimes, trying to study the finer aspects or characteristics of the soil.

In soil survey and land evaluation studies, much attention is paid to the field studies.

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