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Resources
Material compiled by
Jim Turenne and Everett Stuart
USDA - Natural Resources Conservation Service, Warwick, RI
Soil Science
Soils Information
Soil Profile Photos
References
See List of Study Materials for the references that are provided to Envirothon teams.
Other references, such as basic soils and earth science texts, are available (the RI Envirothon Inc. has copies in
their library) and teachers are encouraged to seek them out. Two examples are:
- The Nature and Properties of Soils, Nyle C. Brady, Macmillan Publishing Co.
- Soils - An Introduction to Soils and Plant Growth, Roy Donahue, Raymond Miller, and John Shickluna, Prentice-Hall, Inc.
Note to Teachers and Students
The following information is presented to assist you in extracting information from the references provided:
The two basic references to work with are the Soil Survey of Rhode Island and the publication Soils of Rhode
Island Landscapes. These provide a wide range of information. The other reference materials provided to you
are more topic specific. There is some redundancy between the basic references and the other reference
materials. Several of the items, such as the "hydric Soils" and "Important Farmlands" publications, provide information which is not available from the basic references.
- For background on how soils form, see:
Soils of RI Landscapes, pages 5 - 9
Soil Survey of RI, page 57
- For information on the properties of soils (color, texture, structure, consistence, permeability, drainage,
available water capacity, soil reaction [acidity], etc.), see:
Soils of RI Landscapes, pages 10 - 20.
Soil Survey of RI, pages 55 - 57
- Students should be able to field identify basic soil features, and understand the relationships between
features they can see (or feel) and soil characteristics that affect the use or management of the soil. To
get this experience, there is no substitute for spending time looking at soils in the field. This can be done at shallow soil pits, road cuts, or similar places where soil profiles are visible.
Particular attention should be focused on:
~ Soil color and its relation to soil wetness (soil colors can often be used to predict if a soil is wet part
of the year, and at what depth from the surface.
~ Soil texture and consistence, and their relationship to soil permeability and available water capacity.
- Information relating to the soil taxonomy system (i.e. soil orders, suborders, great groups, etc.) will not be
covered at the Rhode Island Envirothon.
- Students should be familiar with the Soil Survey of Rhode Island to the extent that they know how to dig
information from it. They should know how to extract information from the soil maps and relate it to the
soil ratings provided in the middle section of the report, as well as the hydric soils list and the Important Farmland list.
Safety Note: Safety is paramount, so students and teachers must not enter pits that are more than waist deep. Side banks of pits, or vertical banks, can cave-in causing serious injury or death.
SAFETY NOTE
Safety is paramount, so students and teachers must not enter pits that are more than waist deep. Side banks of pits, or vertical banks, can cave in causing serious injury or death.
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