Identifying Soil Profiles from Moisture and Air Content Brown soil: High air content; high water permeability; relatively fertile Podzol soil: Low air content (leacing causing hardpan); high water permeability; low fertility Gley soil: Low air content; low water permeability (water table usually present); low fertility Peaty soil: Low air content; low water permeability; low fertility
Task 5: Measure the permeability of one soil sample Amount of water that goes through the soil (ml)
Length of time (seconds/mins)
Identifying Soil Profiles from Soil Permeability
Brown soil: Generally has good soil structure with adequate space for air and water; water would flow through quite easily; good fertility.
Podzol soil: Water will also flow through this type of soil quite easily; however, poor fertility due to leaching and presence of hardpan.
Gley soil: May have a poor soil structure. These soils may be sticky and hard to farm, as water does not flow through them easily, which can result in flooding.
Peaty soil: Can often be saturated; this is because peat is good at retaining water, which can cause peat soils to flood; permeability is poor; fertility is poor.
Peer Comparison
Compare the soil profiles from the experiments carried out by your group with those of another group.
z„ z„ z„
What experiments did the other group choose? Did the results from their experiments confirm similar soil types to yours?
Were any results considerably different to your group’s results? If so, what factors may have contributed to that (weather, choice of location for samples, etc.)?
