| Soil and agriculture are indivisibly linked. Soil determines the agriculture that will grow in a given area and vegetation determines what type of soil will form based on the nutrients added and removed1. In cultivating the land, it is important to know the effects that soil has on crop production, environmental degradation, and land maintenance.
Soil is made up of minerals, organic matter, gas and water. The minerals are limited to the parent material (bedrock) or depositional materials that are transported to form the soil1. Living and dead biological material makes up the organic matter and is specifically related to the climate and vegetation of the region2. Water is an important element as it enables nutrient uptake and changes soil chemistry2. In the Willamette Valley, the Missoula floods occurred between 10,000 and 20,000 years ago and gouged the landscape of the valley, depositing alluvial materials3. This deposition was important for the formation of the fertile soil in the region3. |
Soils / Suelo Translation Needed
La traducción española para este sitio es un trabajo en curso. Redacte por favor cualquier gramática o las faltas de ortografía que usted encuentra. |
 |
Willamette Valley Soil Subtopics / Temas de Suelo del Valle de Willamette
- Soil Classification / Clasificación de Suelo
- Soil Distribution / Distribución de Suelo
- Soil Maintenance / Mantenimiento de Suelo
- Soil Erosion / Erosión de Suelo
References
1. Strahler, A. & Strahler A. (2005) Physical Geography: Science and Systems of the Human Environment, Third Edition (USA: John Wiley & Sons, Inc).
2. Miller, T.G. (2007) Living in the Environment, Fifteenth Edition (Canada: Thompson).
3. OPB (2002) Ice Age Flood; Catastrophic Transformation of the West. Available at www.opb.org/education/iceageflood/viewing/time15_23.html (accessed July 2009).