Lecture 6

Chapter 3

Two physical properties, aeration and temperature, exert a profound effect on soil life. Each soil-reliant organism has an optimal temperature and both high and low temperatures at which growth ceases. Likewise each macroorganism and most microorganisms need O₂ to complete their life cycle. Soil color can be a helpful indicator of aeration, mineralogy and humus content of a soil.

1. Natural respiration consumes O₂, and produces CO₂. Soil air is lower in O₂ and higher in CO₂ than the atmosphere. This is due to the difficulty with which gases in the soil exchange with gases in the atmosphere.
   
   
2. Dry atmospheric air has a fairly stable makeup. It contains (by mole fraction):
   
   79% N₂
   21% O₂
   0.035% CO₂
   
   Plus small amounts of other gases
   These contents apply only to dry air, because water vapor (%RH) varies greatly, ranging from 20 to 100% relative humidity.
   
   
3. Rate of O₂ exchange and rate of O₂ consumption determine O₂ content in soil. Diffusion can be rapid or slow, but will most certainly be slower in the soil than in the atmosphere. Because wet soils have very little air-filled porosity, they can be anaerobic. Also, deep soils, clay soils, and heavily compacted soils are at risk for being anaerobic.
   
   
4. Anaerobic conditions affect soil biology and chemistry. As normal respiration ceases, anaerobic glycolysis proceeds. This is an inefficient and generally undesirable way to produce useable energy. Some microorganisms have the ability to reduce substances other than O₂, especially NO₃^-, SO₄^2-, and others (see Table 3-5 in the textbook). Anaerobic products are often toxic, and are generally unwanted.
   
   
5. Soil color reveals information about the soil. White specks are usually salts or lime. Dark colors usually indicate the accumulation of microscopic pieces of organic matter. Mottles indicate periods of poor aeration. Gray, colorless soils are usually anaerobic.
   
   
6. Color notation is defined by hue, value, and chroma. The Munsell color book is the standard from which colors are described. The hue is the rainbow color; red, yellow, etc. The chroma refers to purity of color, and is analogous to how much tint is put in a bucket of paint. The value is the relative blackness or whiteness, in other words, it describes what shade of gray the paint was before the tint was added.
   
   
7. Soil temperature affects soil biology and chemistry. Each organism has an optimum temperature for growth and reproduction. Some plants require heat units or chill units to complete their annual cycle. Temperature also affects chemical weathering--it proceeds more rapidly at higher temperatures. Temperature affects phase changes of water (evaporation & freezing).
   
   
8. Many factors affect soil temperature. The amount of heat absorbed is controlled by such factors as: reflection (at least 30% of solar radiation is reflected back into space), slope and aspect (a south-facing slope receives sunlight at higher intensity than does a north-facing slope), color and cover (affect reflection and wetness), specific heat (water has a much higher specific heat than does dry soil), photosynthesis (about 3% of solar energy is trapped by photosynthesis), and evaporation.
   
   Most energy is used for evaporation. To evaporate 1 g water requires 540 cal @ 20 ^oC. This is a very high number. Evaporation absorbs latent heat which can be released upon condensation.
   
   Heat is transported by conduction and other mechanisms. Heat conduction is sinusoidal (see Figure 3-9 in the textbook). Note that heat flow from soil surface to the subsoil undergoes a time lag and a damping effect.
   
   
9. Aeration and temperature are somewhat manageable. Management of temperature is accomplished by mulching (i.e., covering the soil with plastic, organics, etc.). Both aeration and temperature are affected by soil water management techniques such as irrigation and drainage.
   

Students are encouraged to look up the following vocabulary words in the textbook glossary or elsewhere and to browse the following web site.

Vocabulary

	aeration
	anaerobic
	mulch
	hue
	value
	chroma
	specific heat
	evaporation
	respiration

The Merriam-Webster page is a convenient place to look-up unfamiliar words.
URL: www.m-w.com

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