1 / 22

Leaving Certificate Agricultural Science

Leaving Certificate Agricultural Science. Soil 5 – Soil Groups. The General Soil Map of Ireland. This was first published in 1969, with a second edition in 1980.

nichelle
Download Presentation

Leaving Certificate Agricultural Science

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript


  1. Leaving Certificate Agricultural Science Soil 5 – Soil Groups

  2. The General Soil Map of Ireland • This was first published in 1969, with a second edition in 1980. • These show the distribution of the major soil groups throughout Ireland (and each county also) as well as a discussion on their land use potential. • The major soil groups • a. The Podzols • b. Brown Podzolics • c. Grey – brown Podzolics • d. Brown Earths • e. Gleys • f. Rendzinas • g. Lithosols • h. Blanket peats • i. Basin Peats

  3. Soil Groups • Because of the huge variety of rock types in Ireland there is a huge variety of soil types. • The ordinance survey of Ireland has classified ~15 great groups. • Four of these are of agricultural importance. • Grey Brown Podzolics: Top quality soil type very desirable. • Brown Earths (acid) :Top quality soil type very desirable • Gleys: Intermediate quality • Podzols: Poor quality

  4. Soil Profiles • These are gotten by digging down vertically into a soil to its parent rock and looking face on at the different layers. • Profiles using the colour, texture and depth of a soil tell us all the properties of that particular soil. • Horizon (Peat) only appears in Podzol. It is made up of Organic Matter. • A Horizon – Topsoil • B Horizon – Subsoil • C Horizon – Parent Rock

  5. Profile of a Grey Brown Podzolics – top quality A1 Earthworm activity has increased OM causing dark colour (3-6cm) A2 Mature* well drained mineral soil. High C.E.C. – fertile, good friability (5-7cm) B1 Has a slightly darker colour due to translocation of clay fraction. This is a horizon of enrichment. Texture is heavy or blocky. C This is calcareous rock (limestone). It is permeable (porous). Generally there is never a drainage problem.

  6. Profile of a Grey Brown Podzolics – top quality *Maturity –relatively stone free. • This soil is used extensively for tillage (malting barley). Most crops are grown under contract for the 2 major breweries (Guinness and Murphy’s).

  7. Profile of a Brown Earth (Acid) – Top Quality

  8. Brown Earths A1 This is a mature well- drained mineral soil – well-aerated sand, silt and clay, friable, good structure, good root penetration (60cm) A2 Accumulation of leached calcium ions C Calcareous parent material –limestone – porous and permeable

  9. Profile of a Brown Earth (Acid) – Top Quality • These soils are mature, well drained mineral soils. • They have not suffered from serious cases of leaching (loss of minerals) • They have a uniform profile (i.e. No distinct horizons or layers) • The Brown Earths in Ireland are mainly found in areas where the underlying rock is acidic, and therefore the soil is acidic.

  10. Profile of a Brown Earth (Acid) – Top Quality • With regular liming and fertilising the soils can be quite a productive soil. • Brown earth soils have an extensive use range, however they are used mainly for grazing. • They are the soils of the Golden Vale – East Limerick, South Tipperary, Waterford, and North and West Cork, and are all excellent producers of grass for the liquid milk market.

  11. Profile of a Gley Soil

  12. Profile of a Gley Soil A2 Thin layer of topsoil Accumulation of OM gives darkened colour. B Accumulation of clay particles. Blue-grey in colour and has mottles of Fe. Leaching is not a feature. Texture is heavy due to capillary water trapped by clay particles – structure less. C Generally impermeable sandstone rock.

  13. Profile of a Gley Soil • Gley soils form on areas of rolling lowland or gentle sloping hillsides. • They suffer from frequent water logging (West of Ireland 205 rain days annually). • They develop of impermeable parent rock and suffer because of excess run off from higher ground. • Gleys have a limited use range.

  14. Profile of a Gley Soil • They are confined mainly to summer grazing. • Stock will have to be removed during the winter to prevent poaching. • However with careful draining and liming the potential of this land is hugely increased e.g. mole drains (15cm deep)

  15. Profile of a Podzol soil – very poor

  16. Profile of a Podzol soil – very poor O A layer of organic matter. If it exceeds 30 cm it is referred to as a blanket bog. Sphagnum moss grows here (can absorb ~10X its own weight in water). Here there are anaerobic conditions. B2 A very poor subsoil – very strong Bir Impermeable iron pan – behaves like a perched water table C Generally an acid rock. Typical example – old red sandstone.

  17. Profile of a Podzol soil – very poor • If water logging or flooding occur, then little or no oxygen will be available and organic matter will eventually form an O Horizon. • This is the first stage of a formation of a peat and the soil is now known as a Peaty Podzol. • When the O Horizon becomes deeper than 30 cm, then the soil is no longer podzol, but is now a blanket peat.

  18. Profile of a Podzol soil – very poor • Podzols are not very useful as tillage soils, or for grazing. • This is due to their poor drainage and poor root penetration. • It has an extremely limited use range. It is confined almost exclusively to forestry (conservation). • Where it is used for agriculture – commonage – but they suffer from severe leaching when overgrazed.

More Related